Ahmed Kousay Al-Taie (Arabic: أحمد قصي الطائي; 22 July 1965 – 2008) was a United States Army soldier who was kidnapped in October 2006 in Baghdad and later killed by his captors; as of November 2021, he was the latest missing U.S. serviceman from the Iraq War to be recovered.
Ahmed Kousay Al-Taie | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 22 July 1965 Iraqi Republic |
| Disappeared | 23 October 2006 Baghdad, Baghdad Governate, Iraq |
| Died | 2008 Iraq |
| Cause of death | Gunshot wounds |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 2004–2008  |
| Rank |  Staff sergeant (promoted in absentia) |
| Unit | Provincial Reconstruction Team, Baghdad |
| Battles / wars | Iraq War |
| Spouse(s) | Linda Racey |
Early life and education
editAl-Taie 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 before moving to the United States, settling in Ann Arbor, Michigan.[5][6] He was of mixed Sunni and Shia parentage.[7]
Career
editAl-Taie 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.[8]
Prisoner of war
editOn 23 October 2006, Al-Taie 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 would not 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 Al-Taie 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.[9]
Al-Taie was the last U.S. 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 informed Ahmed Al-Taie's family that he was confirmed dead. An examination of his remains found that he had been shot once in the torso and once in the neck after being severely beaten.[10] The remains of Al-Taie were turned over as part of an amnesty exchange agreement between the Iraqi government and the militant group Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq. Al-Taie's family believes he was killed at the end of 2008.[11][12][13][14]
Personal life
editAl-Taie's first wife was Linda Racey of Farmington Hills, Michigan.[15][16]
See also
edit
- 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
- List of kidnappings
- List of solved missing person cases: post-2000
References
edit- ^ "Most Popular E-mail Newsletter". USA Today. 27 February 2012.
- ^ "Shiite extremist group returns remains of last US soldier missing in Iraq". Fox News. 27 February 2012.
- ^ "Remains of Last Missing US Soldier Return from Iraq". NPR.org.
- ^ "Now we know who kidnapped Staff Sgt. Ahmed al-Taie in Iraq in 2006". The Oregonian. 27 February 2012.
- ^ "Ahmed Altaie - Recipient -". Military Times. 2007.
- ^ "Remains of a missing solider [sic] from Ann Arbor identified". Michigan Public. 26 February 2012.
- ^ Von Zielbauer, Paul (3 November 2006). "Father of Missing U.S. Soldier Says Son Just Made a Mistake in Quest to Find His Calling". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
- ^ Ryan, John, "Search for Iraq-born soldier still ongoing", Military Times, 27 December 2011.
- ^ Arwa Damon; Yousif Bassel; Jomana Karadsheh; Mohammed Tawfeeq (14 February 2007). "Uncle: Abducted U.S. soldier appears in video". CNN. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ "Fritz v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 320 F. Supp. 3d 48". Casetext. 2 August 2018.
- ^ Allam, Hannah. "U.S. military receives remains of last soldier missing in Iraq – World Wires". MiamiHerald.com. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
- ^ Army IDs remains of last missing U.S. soldier in Iraq
- ^ "Michigan burial for last U.S. soldier missing in Iraq". Reuters. 27 February 2012. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012.
- ^ Phillips, Michael M., "Last Missing Soldier In Iraq: Family Finally Learns Fate", The Wall Street Journal, 27 February 2012, p. 1.
- ^ "Hunting for Our MIAs". Time. 27 January 2012.
- ^ "Last missing soldier in Iraq returned home to southeast Michigan". Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
External links
edit
- 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'
- 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