U.S. forces kill top AQI leader

FALLUJAH, Iraq, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- U.S. forces operating in the western Iraqi province of Anbar killed the fourth senior leader of al-Qaida in Iraq in the past six weeks, an analysis shows.

U.S. special forces with a unit known as Task Force 88 took down Hajji Hammadi, variably known as Hammadi Awdah Abd Farhan or Abd al-Salam Ahmad Abdallah al-Janabi, in counter-terrorism raids Nov. 11, a report by The Long War Journal said Friday.

Task Force 88 also was involved in raids earlier this year that killed Arkan Khalaf Khudayyir, an al-Qaida ringleader who may have been connected to strapping explosives to handicapped suicide bombers in Baghdad earlier this year.

The late leader of AQI, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, had appointed Hammadi as the top commander of the terrorist network in the eastern portions of Anbar province, directing his forces in pivotal battles against U.S. forces in Fallujah in 2004.

The Long War Journal says Hammadi was involved in planning targeted assassinations against members of the Sunni paramilitary force, Sons of Iraq, and the 2004 kidnapping and killing of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Matt Maupin.

In June, Hammadi directed suicide strikes in the town of Karmah, killing several tribal elders and top U.S. military commanders.

Since Oct. 5, U.S. forces have killed four senior al-Qaida in Iraq leaders, including the No. 2 commander in Mosul, Abu Qaswarah al-Skani.