A man that federal authorities say was a leader of an al-Qaeda cell in Iraq and is suspected in the killing of two Iraqi police officers in Fallujah 14 years ago was arrested Thursday in Phoenix, where he reportedly ran an Arizona driving school, according to The Daily Caller.
The Justice Department announced Friday that authorities arrested Ali Yousif Ahmed al-Nouri, 42, on murder charges following an extradition request from Iraq on May 12, 2019 on charges that he took part in the premeditated murder of the two police officers in Iraq, in 2006.
Prosecutors said that the Iraqis believe Al-Nouri was a leader/Emir of the Al Qaeda cell in Fallujah, a stronghold for the terrorist group, which Osama bin Laden led at the time.
The group allegedly ambushed and murdered officer Issam Ahmed Hussein on June 1, 2006 and officer Khalid Ibrahim Mohammad on Oct. 3, 2006.
It is unclear how or when Al-Nouri was able to enter the U.S. however the Arizona Republic reported Al-Nouri had been in the U.S. for more than a decade and had recently married and had a child. He ran the A-Plus Driving School in Phoenix and was known by friends and acquaintances in Phoenix as an outgoing, friendly member of the city’s Iraqi community.