Topic: The capture of Al-Qaeda Senior Operative
NSACLASSIFIED's photo
Mon 05/07/07 09:38 PM
Importance Very High
Location of Detention U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba3
Capturing Authority CIA

Affiliation Al-Qaeda2
Role Senior Operative2
Supervisor Osama bin Laden
Affiliation Al-Qaeda in Iraq2
Affiliation Mujahideen Shura Council1,3
Affiliation Al-Qaeda Military Committee3
Full Given Name Nashwan Abdulrazaq Abdulbaqi
Nationality Iraqi1
Alias(es) Abu Abdallah
Alternate Spelling(s) Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, Al-Hadi al-Iraqi, 'Abd
al-Hadi al-Iraqi, Nashwan 'Abd al-Razzaq 'Abd al-Baqi
Possibly the same as Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi
Rough Age 46

Date of Birth 19613
Place of Birth Mosul, Iraq1,3
Height 5-11
Weight 220 lbs
Gender Male
Description Eyes: Hazel. Hair: Brown. Complexion: Fair. Wears a
mustache and long beard.
History Veteran of Afghanistan-Soviet civil war (1980-1989)2
History Attended training camp in postwar Afghanistan (1990-2001)


Narrative and Notes

Reliable Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi was one of al-Qaida's most senior
operatives and paramilitary commanders at the time of his capture in
Fall 2006. He had been in direct communication with both Osama bin Laden
and Ayman al-Zawahiri; at one point, he served as al-Zawahiri's
caretaker.

He was in Afghanistan during the late 1990s. He commanded several
training camps and functioned as the organization's "internal operations
chief."

He commanded cross-border raids into Afghanistan (presumably from
Pakistan) between 2002 and 2004. He also oversaw plots to assassinate
Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf and an undisclosed U.N. official.

In particular, he led a rocket attack against U.S. forces in Afghanistan
in Fall 2003.

In recent years, he has served as a senior deputy of Osama bin Laden
monitoring events in Iraq; he has helped communicate between bin Laden
and al-Qaeda in Iraq.

He also met with al-Qaeda operatives in Iran to exhort them to do more
in Iraq and in Iran.

He served as a major in Iraqi army under Saddam Hussein before going to
fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

Regarded as skilled, intelligent and respected al-Qaeda commander.

He was captured at an undisclosed location in 2006 while trying to reach
Iraq. He was in CIA custody until he was turned over to the U.S.
military and taken to Guantamamo Bay, Cuba, in April 2007.

The U.S. government offered a reward of up to $1 million for information
leading to his capture