FBI Arrests Alleged Al-Qaeda Leader Hiding in Arizona
A man linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist group has been arrested in Arizona.
Ali Yousif Ahmed Al-Nouri, 42, was arrested Thursday in Phoenix in connection with murder charges that date back to 2006, according to a Justice Department statement.
The statement said that Al-Nouri was the leader of a terrorist group in Fallujah, Iraq, and now faces extradition to answer to charges in Iraq.
The statement said that Iraq’s government had asked for Al-Nouri to be extradited. It did not explain how Al-Nouri entered the U.S. or how long he’d been in the country.
According to the statement, Al-Nouri’s terrorist group in Fallujah targeted Iraqi police. At the time of the killings he is charged with, Iraqi police were working with the U.S. to bring order to the war-torn country.
Al-Nouri, in conjunction with others, is accused of killing a first lieutenant and an officer in the Fallujah police on two separate dates in 2006.
The ultimate decision over whether to send Al-Nouri to Iraq will be made by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The arrest was announced by Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Michael Bailey for the District of Arizona. The FBI Phoenix Field Office, Homeland Security Investigations Phoenix Field Office and the U.S. Marshals Service arrested al-Nouri.
The extradition case will be handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona and the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, the statement reported.
Man in Arizona accused of being Al Qaeda leader by Iraq: fedshttps://t.co/ymEq0Ttj6V
Not sure how he got here, but I’m sure we can thank Obama! “Authorities accused Ali Yousif Ahmed Al-Nouri, 42, of killing two police officers in Fallujah in 2006.”
— Mr. D (@MrD81344553) February 1, 2020
The extent of the war against the Iraqi police in 2006 was captured in a Global Policy Forum article that noted that despite American efforts to capture Fallujah, the city was receding into control by al-Qaeda.
‘We can win the war, but for now al-Qaeda has won in Fallujah,” the article quoted what it said was a police officer whose name was not used.
“They made the police force stop patrolling streets, and that’s a victory,” he said.
Aug 14 2006 After threat by insurgents only around 100 of Fallujah’s 1700 police showed up to duty https://t.co/xfNJztZY33
— Joel Wing (@JoelWing2) August 14, 2019
The article noted that killings and death threats led many to quit their jobs with the police.
“What was I going to wait for that would keep me on the force?” Mohammed Humadi, a former captain, said.
“Nothing was going to get any better. I have children, and if I were to sacrifice myself, it wouldn’t change anything,” he said.
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