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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Senior militant 'killed in Iraq' | Senior militant 'killed in Iraq' |
| (about 18 hours later) | |
| British forces have killed a senior al-Qaeda fugitive in a raid on a house in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, security sources say. | British forces have killed a senior al-Qaeda fugitive in a raid on a house in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, security sources say. |
| Officials named the dead man as Omar al-Farouq, a top lieutenant of Osama Bin Laden in South East Asia. | |
| Farouq was captured in Indonesia in 2002 but escaped from a US military prison in Afghanistan last year. | Farouq was captured in Indonesia in 2002 but escaped from a US military prison in Afghanistan last year. |
| Security sources say although he was hiding in Basra, al-Qaeda was not known to be actively operating in the area. | Security sources say although he was hiding in Basra, al-Qaeda was not known to be actively operating in the area. |
| British military spokesman Maj Charlie Burbridge said Farouq, whom he called a "very, very significant man" had been tracked across Iraq to Basra. | British military spokesman Maj Charlie Burbridge said Farouq, whom he called a "very, very significant man" had been tracked across Iraq to Basra. |
| He said about 200 troops surrounded the house, from where they came under fire. | He said about 200 troops surrounded the house, from where they came under fire. |
| A gun battle erupted and Farouq was killed in the exchange. | A gun battle erupted and Farouq was killed in the exchange. |
| Maj Burbridge said there was apparently nobody else in the building and there were no further casualties. | Maj Burbridge said there was apparently nobody else in the building and there were no further casualties. |
| Prison escape | Prison escape |
| Born in Kuwait of Iraqi parents, Farouq is believed to have joined al-Qaeda in the early 1990s and trained in Afghanistan. | Born in Kuwait of Iraqi parents, Farouq is believed to have joined al-Qaeda in the early 1990s and trained in Afghanistan. |
| They will not be able to stop the march of jihad Omar al-FarouqFebruary 2006 Profile: Omar al-Farouq He became a top lieutenant of Osama Bin Laden in South East Asia and he is believed to have been planning a series of bomb attacks on US embassies there when he was arrested in Indonesia in 2002. | |
| In what the BBC's Jim Muir describes as a considerable embarrassment for the US, Farouq and three others escaped from the US military prison at Bagram airbase in Kabul last year. | In what the BBC's Jim Muir describes as a considerable embarrassment for the US, Farouq and three others escaped from the US military prison at Bagram airbase in Kabul last year. |
| He even appeared in a video on an Arab TV station to boast about it. | He even appeared in a video on an Arab TV station to boast about it. |