How Surveillance and Betrayal Led to a Hunt's End (Zarqawi)

The New York Times ^ | June 9, 2006 | Dexter Filkins, Mark Mazzetti and Richard A. Oppel, Jr.

[StJacques]

BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 8 —Muhammad Ismael, a 40-year-old Iraqi taxi driver, was standing outside his home in the tiny village of Hibhib on Wednesday evening when something unusual caught his eye.
Three GMC trucks, each with blackened windows, rumbled past his home and toward the little house in a nearby grove of date palms that for more than three years had stood abandoned.
"It was something very strange," Mr. Ismael said in a telephone interview on Thursday. "That house is always empty."
Meanwhile, in Baghdad, American military commanders believed that they had at last cornered their most coveted prey: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian terrorist whose murderous onslaught against Iraqi civilians and American troops had made him the most wanted man in all Iraq.
For the first time, the Americans believed, they had a source deep inside his terrorist group. Mr. Zarqawi, the source told them, was in the little house in the palm grove.

American jets were in the sky above. . . .

[StJacques]

This article gives excellent details on the mission itself. Before I read it I was unaware that a ground action had begun before the jets were called in to strike the house, a decision which was made to make certain Zarqawi did not escape again.

There's some really good information here.

[rageaholic]

Its funny. The "spiritual advisor" was being watched over by a friend in the sky, but it wasn't Allah, it was Usaf.

When the spiritual advisor led Usaf to Zwachari, Usaf was pleased and sent them two 500 pound virgins.

[Recovering Ex-hippie]

Unless some or all of it is DIS information.

[don-o]

Got a fact wrong, though. He was alive when the troops / police found him.

[Perdogg]

Thuraya, The official carrier of Ba'athist thugs.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=News&id=200681

[Aquinasfan]

"We have managed to infiltrate this organization," said Mowaffak al-Rubaie, Iraq's national security adviser.

Wouldn't "no comment" be a better answer?

[StJacques]

"Wouldn't "no comment" be a better answer?"

That was exactly my first thought Aquinasfan. Why open our mouths and tell them to start looking?

But what if what we really have is some expanded technological surveillance capabilities, like listening devices, phone taps, satellite phone intercept capability, etc., rather than a human source? Wouldn't it be best in that event to tell the world that we DO have a source so that Al-Qaeda in Iraq will begin turning on itself?

You never know in the intelligence game.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Iraqi officials confirmed that Mr. Zarqawi had indeed been sold out by one of his own.

To me, this is a big deal. Each "freedom fighter" now has to start watching his own back. Muhammed might not be as be as loyal as you think he is.

[Dracian]

The neighbor says the house was usually unoccupied. Yet with the group was a woman and child. Obviously they didn't live there. Therefore their most likely use was for appearances when traveling -- just another family driving around.

[paul51]

Whoever was in the third SUV is going to get labeled the snitch. If they aren't dead already, they better go deep. Probably in coalition custody by now.

[Dracian]

Also, if there was a brief firefight before the bombs hit, then the Zark-o-man really did know he was in a fix before he got it.

[StJacques]

". . . their most likely use was for appearances when traveling -- just another family driving around."

One more item of Al-Qaeda in Iraq tradecraft to put in the books. I have no doubt that our own analysis of this mission will be very important to what we do in the future.

[ZGuy]

Gotta wonder if the NYT saying "Muhammad Ismael, a 40-year-old Iraqi taxi driver, was standing outside his home in the tiny village of Hibhib" will be enough to get Mr. Ismael killed by people who don't think he should be noticing things like that and telling it to the American press. Not that the NYT cares.

[burzum]

As the American commandos took up positions, Mr. Ismael said, someone from inside the house in the date grove began shooting. The Americans returned fire, Mr. Ismael said, but the firefight did not last long.

One of the F-16's, now in position over Hibhib, released a laser-guided 500-pound bomb.

Bam! The terrorists thought they were in the gunfight of their lives. Unfortunately for them, they brought guns to a bombfight.

[PackerBronco]

Whoever was in the third SUV is going to get labeled the snitch ...

"Take the gun, leave the cannoli ..."

[elhombrelibre]

Maybe, but it may be just as well to sow mistrust and discontent among the wicked. The more time they have to spend figuring out who the rat is the less time they can plot. And they're bound to accuse the wrong person more than a few times.

[Incorrigible]

Actually this is good psych-op procedure. Now that the Jihadists think there are Iraqi born moles among them, there will be a lot more distrust between all of them.

[coldoc]

I can imagine a meeting of the next "top 10" in the network. They are all sitting around a table looking at each other and trying to figure out which one will take over leadership of the group. Knowing that someone ratted the Zarkman out, probably is weighing heavily on their minds! Just exactly who was it?? "Hey, did anyone notice Abdul is never around when the infidels are attacking the Z-Man??" "Have you noticed how Abu seems to be quite a bit richer lately?"" etc...

Psyops!!

[Defiant]

Unless you are trying to sow fear within the terrorists. Now they don't know who to trust. Maybe we don't have any inside sources, and just have good sigint.

[definitelynotaliberal]

Also, it included a myth which has since been debunked. There was no child in the dwelling.