IED Kills Marine; Coalition, Iraqi Forces Kill al Qaeda Leader
American Forces Press Service
A Marine assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), was killed by an improvised
explosive device Sept. 24 in Khalidiyah, Iraq, military officials reported today.
The Marine's name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
In other developments, Iraqi security and coalition forces killed the second-most-wanted al Qaeda terrorist in Iraq,
Abdallah Najim Abdallah Muhammad al-Juwari, otherwise known as Abu Azzam, the al Qaeda in Iraq "emir of Baghdad," during
an early morning raid Sept. 25 in Baghdad.
Abu Azzam was the operational commander for fugitive Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al Qaeda in Iraq
network, and he was responsible for the upsurge in violent attacks in the city since April, officials said.
Multiple intelligence sources and corroborating information from a close associate of Abu Azzam led coalition and Iraqi
security forces to the terrorist safe house where he was hiding. The mission was designed to capture him, but Abu Azzam
fired on the forces, and their return fire killed him, officials said.
"We continue to decimate the leadership of the al Qaeda in Iraq terrorist network and continue to disrupt their
operations," said Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, Multinational Force Iraq spokesman. "By taking Abu Azzam off the street,
another close associate of (Zarqawi, we have dealt another serious blow to Zarqawi's terrorist organization."
Abu Azzam had served as the terrorist emir of Anbar province for much of 2004 and led the largest group of al Qaeda in
Iraq fighters in Fallujah during autumn 2004 until coalition forces defeated them during Operation Dawn. In spring 2005,
he assumed the position of emir of Baghdad, in which he reportedly directed and controlled all terrorist activity and
operations in and around the city.
In other news from Iraq, Iraqi and coalition forces found and seized two weapons caches Sept. 26 west of Rawah. Troops
from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Iraqi Intervention Force, were conducting a combined area reconnaissance
mission with coalition forces when the caches were detected. The stashes were located within 600 meters of each other.
An inventory of the first cache produced 60 shotgun shells, five 40 mm grenades, 100 feet of detonation cord and a rifle
magazine with ammunition. The second cache contained small arms ammunition, a rocket-propelled grenade, two spare rifle
barrels, three AK-47 magazines and a gas mask. No injuries or damages were reported.
Elsewhere, Task Force Baghdad soldiers, acting on a tip from an Iraqi citizen, seized a weapons cache hidden in western
Baghdad on Sept. 25.
Soldiers from Company B, 1st Battalion, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, discovered 85 mortar rounds, 14 rockets, two
artillery rounds, and three mortar tubes. The cache also contained eight rocket-propelled-grenade launchers with 144
RPGs and 30 RPG chargers, three anti-tank weapons, 20 hand grenades, two machine guns, two assault rifles, 23
recoilless-rifle rounds, and 75 pounds of ammunition.
The patrol found bomb-making materials and 100 feet of detonation cord at the site as well. They secured the site to
deny terrorists from returning and using the munitions in the future.
In the air war over Iraq, coalition aircraft flew 29 close-air-support and armed-reconnaissance sorties Sept. 26 for
Operation Iraqi Freedom. These missions included support to coalition troops, infrastructure protection, reconstruction
activities, and operations to deter and disrupt terrorist activities, officials said.
U.S. Air Force F-16s provided close air support to coalition troops near Miqdadiyah. Ten U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft flew missions in support of operations in Iraq. British Royal Air
Force fighter aircraft also performed in a nontraditional ISR role with their electro-optical and infrared sensors.