NCTC missing 2010 Kidnapping

One of my ongoing projects is trying to find as much information as possible for the status table of Americans Missing in Iraq.

Every so often, I have to check in with the annual Department of State Country Reports on Terrorism. The National Counterterrorism Center typically provides statistical data for the annual reports beginning more or less with 2005. The data for 2008 is (sort of) missing and the link for 2004 is bad. Still, it's a good starting place, for comparing reported kidnappings between the Country Reports and the leaked SIGACT reports.

U.S. Department of State

Country Reports on Terrorism

Index of Annual Reports - by year

The most recent Country Reports on Terrorism for 2010 from the Department of State were issued on August 18, 2011.

Terrorism Deaths, Injuries, Kidnappings of Private U.S. Citizens, 2010
Country Reports on Terrorism 2010
US Department of State
August 18, 2011

The report shows no known kidnappings in 2010 - which is surprising because an Iraqi American contractor, Issa T. Salomi, of El Cajon, California was kidnapped by Asaib Ahl al-Haq, an Iranian backed insurgent group in Baghdad on January 23, 2010. Salomi was released in exchange for four militants in Iraqi detention on March 25, 2010.

Salomi was reported to be an 'Army civilian employee' by the Department of Defense. In theory, that should make him eligible for inclusion in the data, unless Asaib Ahl al-Haq is not classified as a Terrorist organization. Which I would have thought they were given that they kidnap people and then make political demands. I must be missing something here.

That's not the only oddity in all of this - in an article about Salomi's kidnapping, Officials confirm kidnapping of U.S. contractor in Iraq, authors Ernesto Londoño and Leila Fadel wrote:

The abduction of contractor Issa T. Salomi, 60, of El Cajon, Calif., marks the first reported kidnapping of an American in Iraq since the summer of 2008. [emphasis mine]

But as of yet, I have not found one single reported kidnapping of an American in Iraq in 2008, anywhere.


Country Reports on Terrorism for 2008 is missing the data page for Terrorism Deaths, Injuries, Kidnappings of Private US Citizens. A pie chart in the 2008 Report on Terrorism at the National Counterterrorism Center shows only 4 kidnappings for that year - 3 in Afghanistan and 1 in Panama.

I like my data neat, clean, and tidy. And here I have 2 years of Kidnapping Reports from the National Counterterrorism Center that both fail and 1 more a little suspect.

It's little details like this that make me worry I've stumbled on some sort of Cuckoo's Egg. If you don't know the story, it's the discovery of a real life hacker who was selling nuclear secrets to the KGB. He was eventually caught, and all because of a 75 cent accounting error.

Tidy data does matter.

Related Reading

Militant Iraqi group releases American hostage

By Leila Fadel, Washington Post, March 28, 2010

Officials confirm kidnapping of U.S. contractor in Iraq
By Ernesto Londoño and Leila Fadel, Washington Post, February 6, 2010

Issa Salomi

There's an interview with Issa Salomi about his kidnapping back in January. He talks about how easily his kidnappers moved through the check points manned by Iraqi personnel. Makes you wonder how vigilant were American personnel or did they just wave cars through?

San Diego man recounts Iraq kidnapping
By Julie Watson, San Diego Union Tribune, August 12, 2010

A U.S. Army contractor kidnapped in Iraq earlier this year described how his captors easily maneuvered past Iraqi checkpoints as he was held bleeding on the floor of their car.

In his first media interview since he was freed safely in March, Issa Salomi told The Associated Press he was handed over in exchange for four militants in Iraqi detention.

Shiite extremist group Asaib Ahl al-Haq, or "the League of the Righteous," claimed responsibility for his kidnapping. The group is believed to be close with Iran, and agreed last year to lay down its arms and join the Iraqi political process. Their current role is unclear.

Reintegration Program for Hostages

Good to know - there is a voluntary reintegration program for former hostages. I'm curious as to how family members participate in the reintegration process.

Abducted Army linguist glad to be back in US
By Michelle Roberts, Associated Press, Army Times, April 1, 2010

A civilian Army employee kidnapped while working as a linguist in Iraq released a statement Wednesday saying he is delighted to be back in the United States and is focused being able to reintegrate back into his normal life.

Issa Salomi, a 60-year-old Iraqi-American kidnapped in January, returned to the U.S. late Tuesday night and is undergoing medical tests and debriefings with Army officials at Fort Sam Houston, where a voluntary reintegration program for former hostages is housed.

Issa Salomi may be voluntarily participating in a program much like those trying to address PTSD:

The Post-Deployment Health Re-Assessment (PDHRA) is a new program to address both physical and psychological needs of Soldiers after demobilization.

The following pamphlet provides a broad overview of a variety of programs and links to the various branches involved:

Active Army Family Action Plan - PDF - specifically see Issue #603
Issue Update Book
April 2009

Information about Fort Sam:

Fort Sam Houston Soldier and Family Assistance Center

The Fort Sam Houston Soldier and Family Assistance Center (SFAC) partners with the Warrior & Family Support Center (WFSC) to provide all SFAC services. The SFAC is a one-stop administrative resource center hosting 14 different services supporting Warriors in Transition, their Family members and Surviving Spouses.

Issa Salomi - Released

Great news this morning via the Defense Base Act Compensation blog (thank you, Marcie!), Issa Salomi has returned home - very much alive - to his family:

Militant Iraqi group releases American hostage
By Leila Fadel, Washington Post, March 28, 2010

The Pentagon said the circumstances surrounding the disappearance in January of Issa T. Salomi, 60, of El Cajon, Calif., were under investigation. But the militant group Asaib Ahl al-Haq, or the League of the Righteous, suggested on a Web site the group uses that Salomi was released in exchange for four detainees in U.S. custody.

The U.S. military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Salomi's kidnapping followed the breakdown of talks between the Iraqi government and the group that U.S. and Iraqi officials had hoped would lead to reconciliation. The U.S. military has released hundreds of the group's members in a failed attempt to neutralize it.

No news on Alan McMenemy or Ahmed Qusai al-Taie. At one point, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, or the League of the Righteous suggested they were working on 'returning' him.

AFP - update on Issa Salomi

News is a bit slim but optimistic given the report of ongoing talks.

Iraq hopes kidnapped US translator to be freed 'soon'
AFP, February 28, 2010

Iraq is optimistic that a US translator kidnapped more than a month ago by a Shiite militant group will soon be freed, a national security adviser told AFP on Sunday.

Safa Hussein said a second American the militant group, the League of the Righteous, purports to be holding could also be released, but he admitted reports the hostage was dead could be true. [...]

Asked to give a time frame for Salomi's release, Hussein said he could not provide any details.

Hussein added the second American the League of the Righteous claims to hold, Sergeant Ahmed Qusai al-Taie, "will also be delivered" but again he did not say when.

Asked if Taie was dead, as has been reported in Iraqi media, Hussein replied: "We don't know for sure... There is no solid evidence. We don't have a proof of life, but we don't have anything to indicate that he is dead also."

Former Xe guards asked to leave Iraq

This makes me uncomfortable, assuming the following dots do in fact connect. On the one hand, if it brings Salomi home safely, that's great news for he and his family. However, the precendent sets up a political dynamic that could quickly spiral out of hand for foreign workers in Iraq.

What am I referring to?

Less than a week after the discovery of online video footage of American-Iraqi hostage, Issa Salomi, 250 former Blackwater (now Xe) security guards have been asked to leave Iraq. One of the kidnappers' demands, as presented by Salomi in the online video, was "the expulsion of former Blackwater security guards."

Iraq expels 250 ex-Blackwater staff
Al Jazeera, February 12, 2010
Making the announcement on Thursday, Jawad Bolani, the interior minister, said: "We have sent an order to 250 former Blackwater employees, who today are working with other security companies in Iraq, to leave the country in seven days and we have confiscated their residence permits.
"All of those concerned were notified four days ago and so they have three days to leave. This decision was made in connection with the crime that took place at Nisur Square."
Bolani was referring to an incident at the busy Baghdad square in September 2007, when five guards employed by Blackwater were accused of killing 14 unarmed Iraqis in a gun and grenade attack, and wounding 18 others.

The same group believed behind the kidnapping of Issa Salomi, The League of the Righteous, recently released another hostage from, Peter Moore of the UK. Three of his bodyguards are dead, one remains missing. Moore's release came just after a jailed political leader affiliated with the League of the Righteous was transferred to Iraqi control.

Iraq hostage Peter Moore arrives back in UK
BBC, January 1, 2010
The release was thought to be connected Qais al-Khazali, the leader of Asaib al-Haq, or the League of Righteousness, was transferred from US to Iraqi custody shortly before the release of Mr Moore.

Additional Reading
Iraq orders former Blackwater security guards out

By Qassim Abdul-Zahra, Washington Post, February 11, 2010

Kidnapping of American in Iraq sparked by faltering reconciliation talks
By Jane Arraf, Christian Science Monitor, February 11, 2010

Issa Salomi, a linguist working on an Army project to map tribal structures, was seized on January 23 while visiting relatives in the Karrada neighborhood of Baghdad, according to the US military. A Shiite extremist group, The League of the Righteous, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, (AAH) last week released a video of Mr. Salomi dressed in a US Army uniform and calling for the release of insurgents who fought American forces - and the expulsion of former Blackwater security guards.

Salomi and al-Taayie

Update on Issa Salomi from Reuters also includes new information on an American hostage missing since 2006.

Iraq group says it has kidnapped U.S. contractor
By Suadad al-Salhy, Reuters, February 6, 2010

A senior leader of Shi'ite militia Asaib al-Haq, or Leagues of Righteousness, said the abducted contractor, whom he did not name, was seized because the government was not keeping a promise to free Asaib al-Haq supporters from prison.

Such a deal was widely believed to have been behind the release by the same group of British computer programer Peter Moore in December after 2-1/2 years in captivity, despite Iraqi and British government denials of a link.

"The government is carrying out many violations against us," the militant leader told Reuters, asking not to be identified.

The Reuters article also includes new information on US Army linguist, Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie (also Ahmed K. Altaie) of Ann-Arbor, Michigan kidnapped on October 23, 2006. Al-Taayie was last seen alive when a proof of life video was released by his captors on February 14, 2007.

The Asaib al-Haq leader said his group was also negotiating with the Iraqi government over the handover of the body of a U.S. contractor kidnapped and killed in 2006 by another group.

He said his group had received the body of the contractor, identified as Ahmed Qusay al-Taie, from the other militant organization and would release it once it received an assurance from his wife that she would not sue Asaib al-Haq.

Update - more on the status of al-Taayie from another news story

Iraqi Shiite group says holding two Americans

AFP, February 7, 2010

The second American could be US army Sergeant Ahmed Qusai al-Taie, also of Iraqi origin, who was reported missing on October 23, 2006.

An undated and soundless video of him appeared on the US television network CNN in February the following year having first been posted on the Internet by the League of the Righteous.

Taie left the heavily-guarded international "Green Zone" in Baghdad without his superiors' permission to visit close relatives at a family home in Karrada.

Local media later reported that [al-Taayie] was killed but there has been no official confirmation.

The following information is from a previous post, National POW/MIA Recognition Day, September 19, 2008

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.

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

Photo(s) were found publicly displayed on the web and are intended as "fair use" under Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107. Please email me if you'd like a photo removed, changed, or added.

Contractor Kidnapped in Iraq

News report that Issa Salomi, 59, of El Cajon, California, has been kidnapped in Iraq. An Iraqi-American with dual citizenship, Salomi disappeared in Baghdad on January 23, 2010.

As of this evening, there are very few news stories on the kidnapping. A San Diego news station, KFMB, has video of Salomi from an Iraqi website. In the video, Salomi states he is being treated well, and makes several demands for his kidnappers.

El Cajon Man Kidnapped in Iraq

KFMB, February 5, 2010

Sincere wishes for his safe return to family and friends.