Abu Dua Information
Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri (ابراهيم عواد ابراهيم علي البدري), more commonly known as Abu Dua, and also known as Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al-Samarrai, Dr. Ibrahim, and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,[2] is the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), which is the Iraqi division of the international Salafi jihadi militant organization al-Qaeda.
On 4 October 2011, the US State Department marked Dua as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist while announcing a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture or death.[3] Only Ayman al-Zawahiri, chief of the global al-Qaeda organization, merits a larger reward at $25 million.[4]
Militant activity
Abu Dua is in charge of running all AQI activity in Iraq, and is responsible for managing and directing large-scale operations such as the 28 August 2011 attack on the Umm al-Qura mosque in Baghdad that killed prominent Sunni lawmaker Khalid al-Fahdawi.[3]
Following the 2 May 2011 US commando raid that killed al-Qaeda supreme leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, Dua released a statement eulogizing bin Laden and threatened violent retaliation for his death.[3] On 5 May 2011, he claimed responsibility for an attack in Hilla that killed 24 policemen and wounded 72 others.[3] Between March and April 2011, AQI claimed 23 other attacks south of Baghdad, all of which are alleged to have been carried out under Dua's command.[3]
On 15 August 2011, a wave of AQI suicide attacks beginning in Mosul resulted in 70 deaths.[3] Shortly thereafter, AQI pledged on its website to carry out 100 attacks across Iraq in retaliation for bin Laden's death.[3] The statement claimed the campaign would feature various methods of attack including raids, suicide attacks, roadside bombs and small arms attacks in all cities and rural areas across the country.[3]
On 22 December 2011, a series of coordinated car bombings and IED attacks struck over a dozen neighborhoods across Baghdad, killing at least 63 people and wounding 180; the assault came just days after the US completed its troop withdrawal from the country.[5] On 26 December, the Islamic State of Iraq - AQI's political front - released a statement on jihadist internet forums claiming credit for the operation, stating that all targets of the Baghdad attack were "accurately surveyed and explored," and that the "operations were distributed between targeting security headquarters, military patrols and gatherings of the filthy ones of the al-Dajjal Army (Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army)."[5]
Assassination attempt
On 26 October 2005, a US warplane struck a suspected insurgent safehouse near the Syrian border in an attempt to kill Dua.[6] At the time, he was identified as a "senior al-Qaeda in Iraq figure" who was part of a network of AQI operatives based in a string of towns along the Syrian border northwest of Baghdad; Dua's personal role was that of a facilitator in the smuggling of Syrian and Saudi Arabian militants into Iraq.[6] Coalition intelligence, in stating that Dua was the "emir of Rawa," also said that he was responsible for running Taliban-like Islamic courts in order to terrorize the local population, claiming "Dua held religious courts to try local citizens charged with supporting the Iraqi government and coalition forces. He would kidnap individuals or entire families, accuse them, pronounce sentence and then publicly execute them."[7]
Although intelligence indicated that he was inside the house at the time of the strike, his body was never recovered[6] and he eventually became overall leader of AQI in 2011.
References
- ^ a b "SECURITY COUNCIL AL-QAIDA SANCTIONS COMMITTEE ADDS IBRAHIM AWWAD IBRAHIM ALI AL-BADRI AL-SAMARRAI TO ITS SANCTIONS LIST". UN Security Council Department of Public Information. 5 October 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/62d4QbpRM. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
- ^ "Wanted: Abu Du’a; Up to $10 Million". Rewards for Justice. http://www.webcitation.org/62Hxw9AqD. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Terrorist Designation of Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri". United States Department of State. 4 October 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/62HxbVjBF. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
- ^ "IRAQ: U.S. offers $10-million reward for Al Qaeda in Iraq leader". Los Angeles Times. 7 October 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/62I0kqNH3. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
- ^ a b "Al Qaeda in Iraq claims Baghdad suicide attack, bombings". The Long War Journal. 27 December 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/64IUw7ek0. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
- ^ a b c "US launches airstrike near Syrian border". Jerusalem Post. 26 October 2005. http://www.webcitation.org/62INR9Sis. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
- ^ "Western Anbar Roundup". The Long War Journal. 28 October 2005. http://www.webcitation.org/62INraCv8. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Badri, Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali |
| Alternative names | Abu Dua |
| Short description | Member of al-Qaeda in Iraq |
| Date of birth | 1971 |
| Place of birth | Samarra, Iraq |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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