Omar al-Faruq
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Omar al-Faruq alias Faruq al-Iraqi |
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| Born | May 24, 1971 Iraq |
| Died | September 25, 2006 Basra, Iraq |
Omar al-Faruq (Arabic: عمر الفاروق ) (24 May 1971 - 25 September 2006[1]) was a Kuwaiti of Iraqi decent[2], and a senior al-Qaeda member. He was a liaison between al-Qaeda and Islamic terrorists in the Far East, particularly Jemaah Islamiyah. He was captured somewhere in Southeast Asia in June 2002.[3] Al-Faruq's capture was based on information derived from the capture of Abu Zubaydah.[4] Al-Faruq in turn revealed information about a plot to bomb embassies in the Southeast Asia, giving rise the "yellow alert" of 10 September 2002.[3]
In July 2005, al-Faruq escaped from Bagram prison with three other al Qaeda suspects; see Bagram escape. The U.S. did not acknowledge his escape until November when they were unable to produce him as a witness called by defense attorney Michael Waddington, in the trial of a U.S. sergeant, Alan Driver, accused of abuse at the prison.
On September 25, 2006, Al-Faruq was killed by British troops operating in the Iraqi city of Basra. The operations took place in pre-dawn hours and involved over 200 soldiers. There were no British casualties.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ Omar al-Farouq at GlobalSecurity.org
- ^ Profile: Omar al-Farouq, BBC, 25 September 2006
- ^ a b Al-Qaeda: Dead or captured, MSNBC, last updated in 2005
- ^ Confessions of an al-Qaeda Terrorist, Time, 15 September 2002
- ^ Top al Qaeda figure killed in Iraq, Reuters, 25 September 2006
