Man Suspected Of Leading Al-Qaeda Arrested In Phoenix

PHOENIX, AZ — Phoenix resident Ali Yousif Ahmed Al-Nouri, 42, arrested in Phoenix Thursday, is suspected by the Iraqi government of leading an Al-Qaeda group and killing two Iraqi police officers in 2006. The Phoenix arrest, the first step in fulfilling the request of the Iraqi government to extradite Ahmed to stand trial there, was announced Friday by U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Michael Bailey and Justice Department Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski.

Friday was also the day Ahmed faced a federal judge in Phoenix in connection with his extradition to Iraq. According to the Iraqi government’s extradition request, Ahmed is suspected of leading an Al-Qaeda group in Al-Fallujah, Iraq. The request also accuses Ahmed and Al-Qaeda group members of shooting and killing two Iraqi police officers, one in June 2006 and one in October 2006, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

After the extradition request was received, and according to an Iraq/U.S. treaty, U.S. Magistrate Judge John Z. Boyle Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for Ahmed, who was detained Thursday. Ahmed’s arrest resulted from cooperation among the HSI Phoenix Field Office, the FBI Phoenix Field Office and the U.S. Marshals Service.

U.S. officials say the allegations in the complaint haven’t been proven. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona will handle the extradition case. If the court certifies Ahmed’s extradition, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo will then decide whether the U.S. extradites Ahmed to Iraq, the news release said.

Officials didn’t say how long Ahmed had resided in Phoenix or how he originally entered the United States.