U.S. army identifies Qaeda leader killed in recent raid
Baghdad, 04 December 2007 (Voices of Iraq)
An al-Qaeda leader killed during a recent Multi-National Force (MNF) operation in northeastern Samarra has been positively identified as Abu Maysara, the U.S. army said on Tuesday.
“Maysara, also known as Abu Basha’ir, was a Syrian who spoke an Iraqi dialect. He was a member of Abu Ayyub al-Masri’s inner circle and served as a senior advisor,” read a U.S. army statement received by the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
“Maysara was specifically responsible for providing extremist spiritual guidance and rebuttal on terrorist matters, perverting Islamic faith to allow terrorism, murder and torture. He was also known to provide logistical support to al-Qaeda operations and was a key leader in the al-Qaeda in Iraq media network,” the statement noted.
“Maysara was killed during an operation northeast of Samarra Nov 17… In March, Maysara and a group of foreign terrorists escaped from the Badush Prison. It is believed he was one of the lead planners of the escape.”
“Maysara fought against the Government of Iraq in Fallujah in 2004 and was reportedly one of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s senior advisors. On Nov. 29, 2004, Maysara was captured by Coalition forces in Fallujah, using the name Muhammad Wasim Abdullah Halabi, also known as Abu Assim. He had in his possession a forged Ministry of the Interior identification card with the name Ahmad Ibrahim Karim, also known as Abu Ibrahim,” according to the statement. Iraq Updates
“Abu Maysara was positively identified using DNA evidence,” it added.