Spc. Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie (also Ahmed K. Altaie) of Ann-Arbor, Michigan was kidnapped on October 23, 2006
41-year-old Specialist in the US Army. Altaie is a linguist (translator) with the Provincial Reconstruction Team Baghdad. Married. Altaie was kidnapped with his brother-in-law when he went to visit his wife in Baghdad. His brother-in-law was quickly freed. A ransom demand was made for $250,000. Altaie has not been heard from since a proof of life video was released by his captors on February 14, 2007.
There's a short update this week in the Detroit newspaper. Still no word of his whereabouts.
Missing Michigan soldier's loved ones want his story told
By Korie Wilkins, Detroit Free Press, August 21, 2008
Sgt. Ahmed Al-Taie, kidnapped Oct. 23, 2006, is possibly the last U.S. soldier captured since the start of the 2003 combat operations in Iraq who has not been found. So his friends and family scan Internet sites, check e-mail, wait for phone calls and updates from the military. And they believe he's still alive, waiting to come home.Additional Reading
Al-Taie, a native Iraqi, joined the U.S. Army at age 40 to pursue a new career as an interpreter. He came to the United States in 1984 and recently lived in Ann Arbor.
A Ransom Demand for the Missing U.S. Soldier
By Brian Bennett, Time, November 2, 2006
Abducted Altaie Seen in Video - with updates
AII POW-MIA, February 14, 2007
al-Taayie
Wikipedia, includes additional sources
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5 comments:
Thank you for keeping these stories in the public eye. It's so easy for people to be forgotten as time goes along, and so vital for families and friends to know someone, anyone, is still listening.
I just came across this post. Why isn't this man's story in the news? He and Pfc. Bergdahl (captured in Afghanistan) should not be ignored.
For several years, I wore a bracelet for missing Gulf War pilot Scott Speicher, whose remains were recently found and brought home. When I took off his bracelet to send to his family, I decided to start wearing a bracelet for Spc. Altaie. Let's hope and pray that he is brought home faster than Capt. Speicher was, and that he comes home alive.
Kelly,
I don't know why but there seems to be little interest in those who are still missing in Iraq. I don't want to say that their lives have been written off...but I'm afraid that's very much the impression I got after my trip to Washington DC last year.
The military doesn't forget! Ahmed was remembered at our annual POW/MIA ceremony on base a couple weeks ago. I've since sent his bracelet to a friend on the opposite side of the country, and now all her friends are asking for the story behind it. Definitely not forgotten, and never will be!
-Active Duty SSgt (USAF)
I only wish I could have done more to find him.
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