Iraqis set free terrorist, U.S. forces kill him

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - The U.S. military in Baghdad said Friday that an al Qaeda leader announced as killed in 2006 and again this year was in fact released after his capture last year and then killed.

The Examiner reported Friday that Kamal Jalil Uthman, the leader of al Qaeda terrorists in Mosul, was listed killed last year in a military report on efforts to "bring down" terrorists groups.

His demise was announced again on Monday in Baghdad as a recent killing. When The Examiner asked the command why it announced his death twice, a spokesman took the question and issued a statement that said, "You are correct that we did previously announce that we killed him. We can probably do a better job on saying 'previously announced' when we do a long-term roll ups to show an overall effort."

A second spokesman contacted The Examiner Friday to say further research showed that Uthman had been captured, not killed, last year.

For a reason the spokesman did not know, Iraqi officials this spring released Uthman, whom the U.S. had identified as one of al Qaeda's top leaders and a "very dangerous terrorist." The U.S. military killed Uthman during a raid last month, the spokesman said, as he was planning more suicide bombings that have killed hundreds of Iraqis.

rscarborough@dcexaminer.com