American Missile Kills Al Qaeda Leader
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
BAGHDAD — An American military helicopter fired a guided missile to kill a wanted Al Qaeda in Iraq leader from Saudi Arabia who was responsible for the bombing deaths of five American soldiers, a spokesman said yesterday.
U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Gregory Smith said Jar Allah, also known as Abu Yasir al-Saudi, and another Saudi known only as Hamdan, were both killed Wednesday in Mosul.
According to the military, al-Saudi conducted numerous attacks against Iraqi and American forces, including a January 28 bomb attack that killed the five American soldiers.
In that attack, insurgents blasted an American patrol with a roadside bomb and showered survivors with gunfire from a mosque. The soldiers died in the explosion, the deadliest on American forces since six soldiers perished January 9 in a booby-trapped house north of Baghdad.
Intelligence gathered in the Mosul area led the American military to al-Saudi, who was in a car with Hamdan. A precision helicopter strike killed both and destroyed their vehicle. American forces then confirmed the men’s identities.
Mr. Smith said their deaths brought to 142 the number of Al Qaeda insurgents killed or captured in Mosul since the beginning of the year.
Al-Saudi was the man who headed up the Al Qaeda network in southeast Mosul, an insurgent hotbed where American forces wage daily battles against the group.
