Abu Omar al-Kurdi

Who is Abu Omar al-Kurdi?

Abu Omar al-Kurdi, real name Sami Muhammad Ali Said al-Jaaf, was a top bombmaker for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's organization in Iraq, Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad. He was captured in January 2005.

According to US and Iraqi officials, al-Kurdi was a veteran of training camps in Afghanistan and became a chief bombmaker of Zarqawi's group in 2003. Reportedly, al-Kurdi was able to assemble his bombs using hundreds of rockets and explosives another operative, Ammar al-Zubaydi, had stolen from Iraqi warehouses early in the war.

When he was captured in a January 15, 2005, raid in Baghdad, officials said he was responsible for making 75% of the car bombs in Iraq from August 2003, and he was said to confess to 32 of them. Among these were: the Jordanian embassy bombing, the bombing of U.N. Headquarters, the killing of Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, the bombing of the Italian base in Nasiriyah, and the bombing which killed Izzedin Salim, head of the Iraqi Governing Council.

Officials said that al-Kurdi was planning attacks against polling centers during the January 30, 2005 elections. He also provided information about Zarqawi's movements, hiding places, and communications methods.