First Baghdad — and then the Big Apple.
The al Qaeda-affiliated insurgent leader threatening to topple Iraq’s government offered an ominous warning when he parted ways with the US soldiers who once held him prisoner: “I’ll see you in New York.”
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who now leads the Sunni ultra-extremist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, was held at Camp Bucca in southern Iraq for four years before he was handed over to the Iraqi government in 2009.
Many of the troops running the prison were reservists who were members of the NYPD or FDNY. Camp Bucca itself was named for Ronald Bucca, a military police officer and FDNY fire marshal killed in the 9/11 attacks.
“He knew we were from New York, and he knew he was going to get out,” said Col. Kenneth King, who oversaw the former detention facility near the Kuwaiti border.
King told Fox News Channel that he escorted al-Baghdadi on a flight to Baghdad, where the handover took place. Al-Baghdadi was ultimately released by Iraqi government officials.
“Their decision to let him go was personally disappointing,” King said. “But I have to respect the decisions of a sovereign government.”
In another interview with The Daily Beast, King said he took al-Baghdadi’s words as something of a joke — “like, ‘This is no big thing. I’ll see you on the block.’ ”
But al-Baghdadi didn’t seem like the type who’d end up leading an insurgency that threatens to topple Iraq’s government.
“I’m not surprised that it was someone who spent time in Bucca, but I’m a little surprised it was him,” King said. “He was a bad dude, but he wasn’t the worst of the worst.”
On Saturday, Iraqi government forces battled back against the insurgency, retaking Ishaqi, a town about 70 miles northwest of Baghdad. Troops backed by a pro-government Shiite militia helped retake Miqdadiyah, a town about 70 miles northeast of Baghdad.
Thousands of Shiites from Baghdad and across southern Iraq answered prominent cleric Ali al-Sistani’s urgent call to arms by joining government security forces in the fight. Another cleric, Ammar al-Hakim, showed up on TV wearing military fatigues.
Meanwhile, an Iranian general has taken command of Iraq’s defense of Baghdad, the Sunday Times of London reported. Maj. Gen. Qassem Suleimani, the leader of Iran’s elite Quds Force, traveled to Baghdad last week with 67 top advisers.
He’s taken charge of “arming deploying forces, weaponry and planning the battles,” a source told the newspaper. “He also brought light and medium weapons, rockets, heavy machine guns and lots of ammunition.”
Soldiers dug in 15 miles north of Baghdad.
“Our forces are ready for any emergency,” said Iraqi army Col. Abduljabbar al-Assadi — who suffered a broken arm when insurgents attacked a checkpoint. “Despite that, I refused to leave the checkpoint, and I will not abandon it,” he said.
During a televised news conference, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was asked if the Tehran government would work with the US to battle the Iraqi insurgency. “We can think about it if we see America starts confronting the terrorist groups in Iraq or elsewhere,” Rouhani said.
US officials ordered the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush into the Persian Gulf in case President Obama decides to launch an aerial assault on the insurgents. Ordering the USS Bush to the Persian Gulf “will provide the commander-in-chief additional flexibility should military options be required,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
The giant carrier is accompanied by a guided missile cruiser and a guided missile destroyer. Obama said Friday he needed several days to determine how the US would deal with the militants’ advance.