WASHINGTON, April 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. military said a top associate of Osama bin Laden was killed near Baghdad's western Abu Ghraib neighborhood on March 27.
Rafid Ibrahim Fattah, also known as Abu Umar al-Kurdi, was also tied to the Taliban in Afghanistan. He was associated with two insurgent groups in Iraq, Jaysh al Islami and Ansar al Sunnah, the U.S. military said in Baghdad Thursday.
Kurdi was killed during an early morning raid conducted by coalition and Iraqi forces in the largely Sunni area.
He has been active for the last six months in Baqubah, the military said.
During the same period, U.S. military officials told UPI insurgent tactics and weapons had increased in sophistication, suggesting there was a new "bad guy" in town. After a period of relative calm, he kidnapped and allegedly murdered a woman in Iraq several months ago, according to the U.S. military.
He traveled throughout Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq for the last 15 years, forming a relationship with al-Qaida in 1999. He served as a liaison between terrorist networks, as an operations officer coordinating the activities of the various terrorist groups, and as a security chief for a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan, according to the U.S. military.
Kurdi moved to Iraq in 1992, joining the Islamic Movement of Kurdistan.
