BAGHDAD, Iraq
Abu Abdullah, also known as Muhammad Sulayman Shunaythir al-Zuba’i, a high-level Orc al-Qaeda in Iraq leader for a network operating in the Salah ad Din province has been killed by Coalition and Iraqi forces. Abdullah- an experienced bomb-maker and attack planner coordinated attacks on Coalition and Iraqi forces over the past three years, using a variety of improvised explosive devices combined with small-arms fire.
Abdullah was responsible for the kidnapping, extortion and murder of local Iraqis, and believed to have led a group of foreign terrorists to conduct car-bombing campaigns. Press Release A071226a December 26, 2007
Intelligence reports led Coalition forces to a location where Abdullah was operating. The ground force observed Abdullah, fired warning shots directing him to stop and was then engaged by enemy fire. Responding in self-defense, Coalition forces returned fire, igniting the vehicle. The ground force observed secondary explosions erupt from the vehicle, indicating that explosives were inside. Abdullah and an associate were killed during the engagement.
Intelligence indicates that Abdullah had historical ties to the Battle of Fallujah in 2004, and was a close contact of the former al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi before he was killed by Coalition forces in June 2006. Prior to leading an AQI network in Salah ad Din Province, reports indicate Abdullah was a regional Emir controlling AQI terrorists in an area between west Baghdad and east of Fallujah.
