Coalition forces have killed an al Qaeda leader who orchestrated a massive bombing in an impoverished Baghdad neighborhood, a U.S. military spokesman announced yesterday.
Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner conducted a televised satellite briefing at Multinational Force Iraq headquarters in Baghdad to announce the killing of Abu Yakub al-Masri.
“He actually directed attacks specifically to incite sectarian violence,” Bergner told online journalists and “bloggers” during a conference call from Iraq after his briefing.
Masri, the so-called “emir of Taji,” masterminded a November car bombing that killed 180 people and wounded 250 others in Baghdad’s predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Sadr City, Bergner said.
The Egyptian-born terrorist was killed in an Aug. 31 raid by coalition forces near the city of Tarmiya, north of Baghdad, thanks to information provided, in part, by Iraqi citizens, the general explained. “They are increasingly the source of actionable intelligence and an important enabler,” Bergner said.
Much like Sunni sheiks who have railed against al Qaeda insurgents and Shiia leaders who are now urging their followers to do the same, Bergner said local citizens working with Iraqi and coalition forces is key to defeating terrorism in the country.
“We are continuing to focus precise raids against the al Qaeda leadership,” Bergner said. “We are also making progress in a variety of other places.”
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