Huthaifa al-Batawi

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Abu Huthaifa al-Batawi (Arabic: أبو حذيفة البطاوي, romanized: ʾAbū Ḥuḏayfah al-Baṭṭāwī) was a commander in the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) militant group and its leader in Baghdad. He was killed during an attempted jailbreak on May 8, 2011.[1][2]

Al-Batawi was accused of being the mastermind of the 2010 Baghdad church attack in which 70 people died.[3] His subordinates were also accused of being behind bombings against the Al Arabiya television station's Baghdad bureau and the city's central bank.[4] On November 27, one month after the church bombing, Iraqi security forces announced they had captured Al-Batawi and a number of other militants.[3]

On May 8, 2011, in a Baghdad prison mutiny, al-Batawi overpowered a police officer who was leading him to an interrogation room, taking his weapon and shooting him dead. Al-Batawi had been unshackled for interrogation. He then freed a number of other prisoners associated along with him in the church massacre and killed Iraqi Brigadier General Moayeh al-Saleh, the counter-terrorism chief for Baghdad's central Karrada district, before being himself killed in a firefight. 17 people were killed overall, including 11 senior al-Qaeda militants, according to the Baghdad police spokesman. Another police source said eight inmates, most facing death sentences, were killed along with nine security officers, three of them senior officials.[5]

References[]

  1. ^ "Al-Qaeda leader attempts Baghdad jailbreak leaving 18 dead". telegraph.co.uk. 8 May 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  2. ^ "Twelve arrested over deadly Baghdad church siege". BBC News. 27 November 2010. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Militant leader among 12 caught in connection with Iraq church siege". cnn.com. 27 November 2010. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  4. ^ Tawfeeq, Mohammed (8 May 2011). "Officials: Iraqi prisoner grabs gun; firefight leaves 17 dead". cnn.com. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  5. ^ Mohammed, Muhanad (8 May 2011). "Al Qaeda leader and 17 others killed in Iraq jail clash". uk.reuters.com. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
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