Armed group’s leading member killed near Baaquba

DIALA / IraqiNews.com: A leading member of the armed group of al-Naqshabandiya was killed in clashes with an Iraqi army force east of the city of Baaquba on Friday, an official security source in Diala said. “Clashes erupted today (Sept. 18) in al-Lateen neighborhood, al-Saadiya district, Khanaqin, (155 km) east of Baaquba, between Iraqi army soldiers and armed members of the al-Naqshabandiya group,” the source told Iraqi News. “The clashes left Aws Abdullatif al-Awsi killed and his brother, who is a member of the same group, detained,” he said, not giving further details. Khanaqin, one of the disputed areas between the central government in Baghdad and the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government Kurdistan RegionG), is 155 km east of Baaquba. Al-Naqshabandiya, an armed group self-proclaimed after 2003, is loyal to Izzat Ibrahim al-Dori, the vice president of the former Iraqi regime. Dori, who was born in 1942, used to be the vice chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council during the former regime’s time. He ranks 6th on a U.S. forces’ pack of cards of 55 most wanted persons after their invasion of Baghdad in April 2003, pledging a reward of $10 million for information leading to capturing him. The King of Clubs on this pack, Dori had been reportedly arrested more than once, perhaps the recent of which was in April 2008. The dissolved Baath Party had announced on November 11, 2005 that Dori has died, only to deny the reports shortly after. Baaquba, the capital city of the volatile province of Diala, lies 57 km northeast of Baghdad. AmR (S) 1