Officials: Al-Qaida chief killed in Syria raid
Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 9:04 pm
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Officials: Al-Qaida chief killed in Syria raid
By Pamela Hess - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Oct 28, 2008 14:54:11 EDT
WASHINGTON — A top al-Qaida in Iraq operative killed during a U.S. raid on a Syrian compound just over the Iraq border was about to carry out an attack in Iraq, U.S. officials say.
The operative, known as Abu Ghadiyah, was the leader of the most prolific network that moves foreign fighters linked to al-Qaida into Iraq. He was the target of the Sunday afternoon raid on the compound in Sukkariyeh, Syria.
Last spring U.S. intelligence picked up similar reports that Abu Ghadiyah was planning an attack in Iraq. The information — not detailed enough to act on — was followed by the murder of 11 Iraqi policemen. Abu Ghadiyah personally led the attack, a senior U.S. official told The Associated Press.
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