Ahmed Kousay Al-Taie (; 22 July 1965 – 2008) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

soldier who was kidnapped in October 2006 in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

and later killed by his captors; as of November 2021, he was the latest missing U.S. serviceman from the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

to be recovered.

Early life and education

Al-Taie was born in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

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 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

before moving to the United States, settling in

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. He was of mixed

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

and

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

parentage.

Career

Al-Taie enlisted in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed F ...

in December 2004. He was mobilized in August 2005 and deployed to Iraq in November 2005. During his tenure in the

, Altaie served as a

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

Prisoner of war

On 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 Karrada ( ar, كرّادة ''Karrāda'') is an upper-class district of the city of Baghdad, Iraq. It has a mixed population of Muslims and Christians. It is one of the most religiously diverse areas of the city, and is one of the two major distri ...

neighborhood in central

, Iraq to visit the family of his second wife, Israa Abdul-Satar, a student at

al-Mustansiriya University Mustansiriyah University (Arabic: الجامعة المستنصرية) is a university in Baghdad, Iraq. History The original Mustansiriya Madrasah was established in 1227 (or 1232/34 A.D. by some accounts) by the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mustansir ...

. 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 The Iraqi National Congress (INC; Arabic language, Arabic: المؤتمر الوطني العراقي ''Al-Moutammar Al-Watani Al-'Iraqi'') is an Iraqi political party that was led by Ahmed Chalabi who died in 2015. It was formed as an umbrella I ...

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 Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...

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. 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 Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

, then

staff sergeant Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, supervi ...

. 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. 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 Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH; ar, عصائب أهل الحق Aṣaʾib ʾAhl al-Haqq, "League of the Righteous"), also known as the Khazali Network ( ar, شبكة الخزعلي), is a radical Iraqi Shi'a political party and paramilitary group active ...

. Al-Taie's family believes he was killed at the end of 2008.

Personal life

Al-Taie's first wife was Linda Racey of

Farmington Hills, Michigan Farmington Hills is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Part of the affluent suburbs northwest of Detroit, Farmington Hills is the second most-populated city in Oakland County, after Troy, with a population of 83,986 at the 20 ...

References

External links