Den marockanske terroristen med svenskt
pass Abu Qaswara, Al Qaedas andreman i
Irak, har genom US Armys försorg lämnat
oss....
The Swedish citizen who on Wednesday evening
was reported to have been killed by US forces in
Iraq was Abu Qaswara - according to the UN and
EU one of the most senior al-Qaeda leaders in the country.
**
Abu Qaswara was killed in the city of Mosul in northern
Abu Qaswara was killed in the city of Mosul in northern
Iraq on October 5th, reported Reuters.
Born in Morocco and known also as Abu Sara, Abu
Qaswara was described by the US as the second-
in-command in al-Qaeda in Iraq and the leader of
the organisation's groups in the north of the country.
Details about Qaswara's death were discussed at a
press conference in Baghdad on Wednesday by US
Rear Admiral Patrick Driscoll, a spokesperson for
the Multi-National Force in Iraq.According to
Sweden's security police, Säpo, the man died in a
fire fight with American forces when they tried
to capture him.
“We’ve known about the man since the 1990s.
He’s suspected of having led an Islamist network
which has supported terrorism in Afghanistan,
Iraq, and North Africa,” said Säpo spokesperson
Tina Israelsson to the TT news agency.Among
other activities, the network is believed to have
sent jihadist volunteer fighters to Iraq, with the
man having used Sweden as a base of operations.
“He came to Sweden in the middle of the 1980s,
became a Swedish citizen in the mid-1990s and
was here until 2006. In May 2006 he travelled
to Iraq and hasn’t returned since,” said Israelsson.
The foreign ministry was made aware of the incident
on Tuesday night."We are making contact with
the American authorities," foreign ministry
spokesperson Miriam Mannbro told The Local.
The ministry was reluctant to release any further
details until the family of the victim has been informed.
"But this could be difficult because they are probably
abroad," said Mannbro.In December 2006 Abu
Qaswara was named on the UN's and EU's terror list
and his assets have been frozen since then.Säpo was
aware of his activities."What we can say is that he
has been the subject of investigations but he was
never convicted of a crime," said Åsa Hedin, head
of information at Säpo.The man was also suspected
of taking part in terror attacks and fought in
Afghanistan in the 1990s.
His role within al-Qaeda was not deemed by Säpo
to pose a risk to Sweden or Swedish interests.
weden does not have any troops posted in Iraq.
Abu Qaswara's death is expected to cause a major
rift in al-Qaeda's network, wrote the US military
in a press release.
***
Läs mera på Operation Iraqi Freedom
