Azhar al-Dulaymi was the mastermind of the January 20, 2007 attack in Karbala where English-speaking fighters, wearing US military uniforms and carrying American weapons, attacked a joint military command headquarters, leaving five US soldiers dead.[1][2] Al-Dulaimi was believed to be a member of the Khazali Network, a Mahdi Army faction.[3] He was tracked down and killed by U.S. forces on May 19, 2007, in Sadr City.[4] The U.S. military had received intelligence reports that al-Dulaimi received training and funding from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Hezbollah.[4]
On October 22, 2010, The New York Times reported that in the Iraq War documents leak, US intelligence analysts described why they thought al-Dulaimi had been trained in the "dark arts of paramilitary operation" by Iran and Hezbollah.[5]
Dulaymi reportedly obtained his training from Hizballah operatives near Qom, Iran, who were under the supervision of Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF) officers in July 2006.
On October 25, 2010, the Foreign Policy Journal published an article skeptical of the conclusions The New York Times had drawn from the leaked documents.[6]
According to Mark Urban's book on Special Forces in Iraq, Task Force Black, documents seized on March 20, 2007, when Qais Khazali and Ali Musa Daqduq were captured, described al-Dulaimi's role in the Karbala attack and provided sufficient information for the raid where al-Dulaimi died.[10]
^Bill Roggio (2007-05-21). "Azhar al-Dulaimi, the tactical commander of the Karbala PJCC attack, killed". Long War Journal. Retrieved 2011-11-09. Multinational Forces Iraq has killed a major player in the kidnapping and murder of five American soldiers during a complex attack on the Provincial Joint Coordination Center in Karbala on January 20th. On May 19, Coalition forces killed Azhar al-Dulaimi during a raid north of Baghdad after he resisted attempts to detain him. Azhar al-Dulaimi is described as the "mastermind" and "tactical commander" of the Karbala attack, as well as other high profile terror attacks in Iraq.
^"US troops kill Iraq raid 'leader'". BBC News. 2007-05-21. Retrieved 2012-08-24. US forces had been hunting al-Dulaimi since the sophisticated January attack, in which English-speaking gunmen with American weapons and military uniforms attacked a joint US-Iraqi military headquarters in the Shia city.
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Jeffrey Hammond (2010-10-25). "Thin evidence from War Logs of Iranian backing of Iraqi miitias". Foreign Policy Journal. Retrieved 2012-08-24. The Times' summary of the leaked intelligence report states that a month after this threat assessment was made, four American soldiers were killed in "an abortive effort to kidnap American troops" in Baghdad. "An American spokesman said that Mr. Dulaimi's fingerprints were found on the getaway car", the Times notes. Although the Times cites details of that attack from the leaked documents, no explanation is offered for how the U.S. or allied forces came to be in possession of the car if it was used successfully to escape the scene. Nor is there an explanation of how U.S. or allied forces were able to obtain Dulaimi's fingerprints to compare them to those found in the car.
^Kimberly Kagan (2009). The surge: a military history. Encounter Books. p. 179. ISBN978-1-59403-249-3. Retrieved 2011-11-09. The affiliated kills and captures included secret cell leader Abu Zaki; Azhar al Dulaimi, the executor of the Ministry of Health and Karbala attacks and Abu Tiba, one of his gang members; al Hilfi, the head of secret cells in Baghdad; Sheikh (Ahmed) Mohammad Hassan Shahi Al Khafai, who supplied weapons to Baghdad; and many others.
^Bill Roggio (2007-01-26). "The Karbala attack and the IRGC". Long War Journal. Archived from the original on 2012-01-02. Retrieved 2011-11-09. On January 20th, a team of twelve men disguised as U.S. soldiers entered the Provincial Joint Coordination Center in Karbala, where U.S. soldiers conducted a meeting with local officials, and attacked and killed five soldiers, and wounded another three. The initial reports indicated the five were killed in the Karbala JCC, however the U.S. military has reported that four of those killed were actually removed from the center, handcuffed, and murdered.
^Bill Roggio (2010-09-10). "Iranian-backed Shia terror group kidnaps US civilian in Baghdad". Long War Journal. Retrieved 2011-11-09. The attack on the Karbala Provincial Joint Coordination Center was a complex, sophisticated operation. The assault team, led by tactical commander Azhar al Dulaimi, was trained in a mock-up of the center that was built in Iran. The unit had excellent intelligence and received equipment that made them appear to be US soldiers. Some of the members of the assault team are said to have spoken English.
