MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ
PRESS DESK
BAGHDAD, Iraq
http://www.mnf-iraq.com
703.343.8790

Sept. 9, 2007
Release 070909b

Coalition forces kill terrorist responsible for Ninawa bombings

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Coalition forces positively identified a terrorist killed in an operation Sept. 3 southwest of Mosul as one of the terrorists responsible for the August bombings in Ninawa Province resulting in over 700 casualties.

Abu Muhammad al-Afri, also known as Abu Jasim, Arkan Hassan Ali, Nuraddin, Hajar and Abu Ahmad al-Afri, was the al-Qaeda in Iraq emir of Sinjar and was one of the terrorists responsible for ordering the Aug. 14 truck bombings, which primarily targeted the Yazidi population.

al-Afri was killed during a kinetic strike in a very remote area 70 miles southwest of Mosul.  A fixed-wing aircraft conducted the strike, killing al-Afri and his driver.  Close associates and detainees confirmed that al-Afri was killed during the strike.

When Coalition forces arrived to assess the site of the kinetic strike, they found two armed men attempting to sanitize the scene.  The ground forces also found several files, a machine gun, military-style assault vests and bomb-making materials.  Coalition forces detained both men.

"This doesn't bring back the hundreds of innocent Iraqis who were killed in the vicious Ninawa bombings, but the death of Abu Muhammad al-Afri does bring justice to many families," said Maj. Winfield Danielson, MNF-I spokesman.  "We will continue to hunt down al-Qaeda in Iraq and its operatives, who conduct indiscriminate and brutal attacks."
 
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