Abu Deraa operated out ofSadr City, which is also the stronghold of Shiite clericMuqtada al-Sadr's militia, theMahdi Army. He has gained a reputation for his command of Shiite death squads and brutal attacks targeting terrorists and cases of mass kidnappings in broad daylight.
He was also accused of orchestrating the kidnapping and assassination ofSaddam Hussein's lawyerKhamis al-Obeidi. Abu Deraa's son was reported to have pulled the trigger.[7]
Militias loyal to Abu Deraa were also known to burn houses that belonged to Sadr City's Sunni minority as part of their campaign to cleanse the area of terrorists.[8][better source needed]
Deraa is said to have been responsible for the abduction of scores of Sunnis whose bodies have been recovered from a garbage dump at al-Sada, a lawless wasteland near Sadr City.[citation needed]
He allegedly commandeered a fleet of government ambulances with which he lured 40–50 young terrorists to their deaths, driving the ambulances into the Sunni-dominated quarter of Adhamiyah in Baghdad, announcing over the loudspeakers: "Please give blood for the insurgency! The Shiia are killing your insurgency brothers!'."[9]
Abu Deraa is also rumoured to have masterminded the kidnapping of Sunni MPTayseer al-Mashhadani in July 2006, who was released after two months of captivity.[10][failed verification]
He also is said to have supervised the forced eviction of hundreds of Sunni families from Shiite-dominated areas of the Baghdad and some outlying towns.[11][citation needed]
Deraa is reputed to have overseen the abduction of five British citizens from the Iraqi Finance Ministry on May 29, 2007.[12]
In a statement released December 4, 2006, theIslamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility for the killing of Abu Deraa on a road north of Baghdad.[13] The claim came three days after a statement released by theIslamic Army in Iraq that also claimed responsibility for the killing of Abu Deraa.[14] It has been claimed that he had taken part in a by-proxy interview withThe Sydney Morning Herald conducted by veteranMiddle EastcorrespondentPaul McGeough on December 20, 2006.[7] His first exclusive interview, published on November 16, 2006, was withReuters.
According to US intelligence, Abu Deraa fled to Iran to evade capture in early 2007 and has since then commanded his forces out of Iran.[15] In August 2010, after Iraqi Prime MinisterNouri al-Maliki formed a coalition government with rebel clericMuqtada al-Sadr, there were reports that Abu Deraa was allowed to return to Iraq.[16]
