Ahmed Kousay al-Taie
Ahmed Kousay Altaie
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File:SgtAhmedKousayAltaie.png | |
Born | Iraq |
22 July 1965
Died | 2007 (aged 41–42) Iraq |
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/ |
United States Army |
Years of service | 2004–2007 |
Rank | 25px Staff Sergeant (promoted in absentia) |
Unit | Provincial Reconstruction Team Baghdad |
Battles/wars | Iraq War |
Spouse(s) | Linda Racey |
Ahmed Kousay Altaie (born 22 July 1965 – 2007) was a United States Army soldier, who was captured in October 2006 in Baghdad and later executed by his captors.
Contents
Early life and education
Altaie was born in Iraq[1][2][3][4] on 22 July 1965, to Kousay and Nawal Altaie. At the age of nine, he emigrated with his family from Iraq to the United Kingdom.[citation needed] He was of mixed Sunni and Shia parentage.[5]
Career
Altaie enlisted in the United States Army Reserve in December 2004. He was mobilized in August 2005 and deployed to Iraq in November 2005. During his tenure in the United States Army, Altaie served as a linguist.[6]
Prisoner of war
On 23 October 2006, Altaie left his military base in Iraq without authorization or the knowledge of his superiors. It is believed that he was in the Karrada neighborhood in central Baghdad, Iraq to visit the family of his second wife, Israa Abdul-Satar, a student at al-Mustansiriya University. He was captured by armed men and forced into a waiting vehicle outside.
On 2 November 2006, a ransom demand for Altaie was relayed to his uncle Entifadh Qanbar, a former spokesman for the Iraqi National Congress and recently an official in the Iraqi Ministry of Defense. Qanbar made contact with an intermediary trusted by the kidnappers. In a secret location in Baghdad, the mediator met with members of the group who showed Qanbar a grainy video on a cell phone screen of a man they claimed was Altaie, beaten up and bloody, and demanded $250,000 from the soldier's family to secure his release.
Qanbar stated that he wouldn't talk about a price until he had seen for himself some proof that Altaie was still breathing. Qanbar suggested they have his nephew describe the inside of his home in Ann Arbor or that the kidnappers photograph the soldier holding a current newspaper by 4 November 2006 at 12:00pm.
The U.S. government said on 11 November 2006 that it was offering a US $50,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of Altaie's body.
On 14 February 2007, a proof of life video of Altaie was posted on a militant Shiite website. A previously unknown group called the "Ahel al-Beit Brigades" claimed responsibility for Altaie's abduction. The eight second video showed Altaie reading from a paper but no audio was heard. He appeared thin but in good health. His uncle identified him as the man in the video.[7]
Altaie was the last American serviceman to be accounted for in Iraq. He was captured when he was the rank of Specialist and was promoted to Sergeant, then Staff Sergeant.
On 26 February 2012, U.S. military officers knocked on the door of the family home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with news that Army Staff Sgt. Ahmed Altaie was confirmed dead. The remains of Altaie were turned over as part of an amnesty exchange agreement between the Iraqi government and the militant group Asaib Ahl al-Haq. Altaie's captors acknowledged killing him within a year of his capture.[8][9][10][11]
Personal life
Altaie's first wife was Linda Racey of Farmington Hills, Michigan.[12][13]
See also
- Wassef Ali Hassoun – A U.S. Marine who claimed to be captured by Iraqi insurgents; later discovered to be a hoax
- American POWs in the 2003 invasion of Iraq
- 2004 Iraq KBR convoy ambush – Capture and execution of Keith Matthew Maupin, a U.S. Army soldier
- June 2006 abduction of U.S. soldiers in Iraq – Capture and execution of Kristian Menchaca and Thomas L. Tucker, two U.S. Army soldiers
- Karbala provincial headquarters raid – Capture and execution of Brian Freeman, Jacob Fritz, Jonathan Chism and Shawn Falter, four U.S. Army soldiers
- May 2007 abduction of U.S. soldiers in Iraq – Capture and execution of Alex Ramon Jimenez, Joseph John Anzack and Byron Wayne Fouty, three U.S. Army soldiers
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.npr.org/2012/02/27/147523337/remains-of-last-missing-us-soldier-return-from-iraq
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Ryan, John, "Search for Iraq-born soldier still ongoing", Military Times, 27 December 2011.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Army IDs remains of last missing U.S. soldier in Iraq
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Phillips, Michael M., "Last Missing Soldier In Iraq: Family Finally Learns Fate", Wall Street Journal, 27 February 2012, p. 1.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/last-missing-soldier-in-iraq-returned-home-to-southeast-michigan
External links
Wikinews has related news: Taliban publicize video of captured U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl |
Wikinews has related news: U.S. Army identifies remains of last U.S. soldier unaccounted for in Iraq |
- Search goes on for missing Americans in Iraq[dead link]
- A Ransom Demand for the Missing U.S. Soldier
- Parents call missing U.S. soldier 'man of peace'[dead link]
- Report: Abducted GI had married Iraqi woman
- Report: Missing soldier married Iraqi[dead link]
- Iraqi prime minister gives U.S. envoy an earful in private talks
- US names kidnapped soldier
- Use dmy dates from June 2014
- Pages with broken file links
- Pages using infobox military person with unknown parameters
- Articles with unsourced statements from January 2014
- Articles with dead external links from January 2014
- United States Army soldiers
- American military personnel of the Iraq War
- Iraq War prisoners of war
- Iraqi emigrants to the United States
- Iraqi emigrants to the United Kingdom
- Linguists
- 1965 births
- 2000s deaths
- American Muslims
- American prisoners of war
- Kidnapped American people
- People from Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Foreign hostages in Iraq