US Army First Lieutenant Jackson(R) hands over a uniform to a members of the US Army registered local Iraqi protection force
A senior Al-Qaeda leader killed in Iraq: US military
WASHINGTON (AFP) — A senior leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq was killed in a US air strike in Iraq this week, a US military commander said Friday, calling it a key loss to a group already fractured by US operations.
Brigadier General Joseph Anderson identified the man as Abu Usama al-Tunisi, a Tunisian described as a in line to succeed Abu Ayyub al-Masri, Al-Qaeda in Iraq's Egyptian leader.
Tunisi also led a cell in Yusifiyah that kidnapped and killed two US soldiers June 16, 2006 -- Kristian Menchaca, 23, and Thomas Tucker, 25, according to Anderson.
"Abu Usama al-Tunisi was one of the most senior leaders within Al-Qaeda in Iraq," said Anderson, the chief of staff of Multi-National Corps Iraq.
The general said the September 25 strike that killed al-Tunisi was a "significant blow" to al Qaeda in Iraq, which he said has been severely disrupted by US operations and may now be reassessing its position in Iraq.
He said his opinion was that Al-Qaeda will shift its forces from Iraq to Afghanistan, and try to expand its operations there.
"All we can tell you is that by numbers and how the groups are operating in very remote locations and not collaboratively they're fractured, ruptured, mitigated here. And the question becomes, where would they go? What would they do?" he said.
Anderson detailed a series of raids this month in Baghdad, Mahmudiyah, Yusufiyah and Musayyib in which scores of suspects were detained and nearly 20 others killed. Among those captured were other associates of Tunisi.
The military learned that the Tunisian was meeting with other Al-Qaeda in Iraq members south of Baghdad in the vicinity of Musayyib on Tuesday.
"United States Air Force F-16 aircraft attacked the target," Anderson told reporters here via video linkup from Baghdad.
"Reporting indicated that several Al-Qaeda members with ties to senior leadership were present at that time. Three were killed, including Tunisi," he said.
"His presence was confirmed by one of the two detainees from the operation, one who left the target area just prior to the air strike, who we eventually captured minutes later," he said.
An aerial video of the bombing shown to reporters at the Pentagon indicated that the target was a cluster of buildings in what appeared to be a rural area.
Ground forces recovered a handwritten note at the site that was believed to have been written by Tunisi, Anderson said, displaying a slide with photographs of the note.
"The key points in this hand-written note include, he's surrounded, communications have been cut and he's desperate for help," he said.
"What I make of that is that we're having great success in isolating these pockets," Anderson said.
He said the surge in US forces since the start of the year had driven Al-Qaeda in Iraq forces out of the Baghdad area into provinces north and west of the capital.
"They are very broken up, very unable to mass, and conducting very isolated operations," he said.
"And I think what that little note says is that he was very desperate; he wasn't getting the materials, the supplies, the guidance information; anything he needed."
Anderson said Tunisi oversaw the movement of foreign fighters in Iraq and hooked them up with cells launching suicide attacks and car bombings in the Baghdad area.
"He was the emir of foreign terrorists in Iraq and, as I stated, part of the inner leadership circle of Al Qaeda in Iraq who had direct contact with Abu Ayyub al-Masri," Anderson said.
Abu al-TunisiThe United States announced today that an airstrike against a house in Yusufiyah, Iraq on Tuesday completed its mission, killing insurgent commander Abu Usama al-Tunisi and two others. The airstrike, by an F-16 carrying two 500 lb bombs, came hours after a tip that al-Tunisi would be holding a meeting that day. 

However, al-Tunisi had been reported dead more than a year ago. 

downing of a helicopter, and mutilation of a pilot, by al-Tunisi's "Aeisha" brigade.The Tunisian militant had come to American attention during the Second Battle of Fallujah in November 2004, and had overseen anti-aircraft missions and participated in the 2005 attack against Abu Ghraib.  His death was reported by Abu al-Zarqawi's army on May 20, 2006 in an al-Hesbah communique later translated and released by FBI Terrorism consultant Evan Kohlmann. He was reportedly killed after a US helicopter attack in Yusufiyah killed him and four other insurgents.

Following this week's bombing, Brig. Gen. Joseph Anderson addressed a press conference at the Pentagon stating that the death of al-Tunisi would "fracture" the Sunni insurgency within the country - claiming that the man was "one of the most senior leaders" and "part of the inner leadership circle". His name did not appear on the Iraqi Government's list of 41 Most Wanted.

Anderson also stated that al-Tunisi's group, the Aisha Battalion of anti-aircraft operations, was responsible for the kidnappings and deaths of US soldiers in June of 2006, a month after he was reported killed. While the Army could not confirm which soldiers Anderson was referencing, a June 16 kidnapping led to the death of Spc. David J. Babineau, Pfc. Kristian Menchaca and Pfc. Thomas Tucker who were guarding a bridge into Baghdad. 

al-Tunisi was said to be a potential replacement for al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Hamza al-Muhajir who was killed by tribesmen in May of this year. Multinational Force Iraq spokesman Maj. Winfield Danielson stated that “This is one more al-Qaeda in Iraq criminal who will never kill another innocent civilian,” although all of al-Tunisi's known targets were American soldiers, not Iraqi civilians.

While the military stated that they had "definitively identified" the body as being al-Tunisi, they refused to elaborate on their methods of verification - stating only that two captured Iraqis told them that it was al-Tunisi. Although a letter found inside the house referred to being "desperate" and being unable to travel outside the city - it was unsigned, and the only evidence that it was written by al-Tunisi was that it "was with his belongings".

The tip was confirmed by a local Iraqi arrested near the site of the house just before the bombing, which killed three. Military press releases reported that al-Tunisi's body had been "definitively" identified and that his handwriting was evident on papers inside the bombed house.

Kohlmann said the contradiction raised "some pretty serious questions", and that any claims that al-Tunisi could have faked his own death to deceive US military intelligence would be "virtually unprecedented" behaviour for the insurgents.

In May, the US military was forced to admit that Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner's announcement declaring the death of al-Qaeda in Iraq lieutenant Kamal Jalil Uthman was incorrect after the San Francisco Examiner pointed out that the army had already reported Uthman killed a year earlier, in a document entitled "Tearing Down al Qaeda".