Ahmed Kousay al-Taie

Staff Sergeant Ahmed Kousay al-Taie (born July 22, 1965 – c. 2007) was a United States Army soldier, who was captured in October 2006 in Baghdad and later executed by his captors.

Early life
Altaie, an Iraqi American, was born on July 22, 1965, to Kousay and Nawal al-Taie. At the age of nine he emigrated with his family from Iraq to the United Kingdom, where he received his primary and secondary education. He then attended a technical school and earned his degree.

Military service
Altaie enlisted in the United States Army Reserve in December 2004. He was mobilized in August 2005 and deployed to Iraq in November 2005. During his tenure in the U.S. Army, Altaie served as a linguist.



Prisoner of war
On October 23, 2006, al-Taie violated military regulations and left his military base in Iraq without telling anyone. It is believed that he was in the Karrada neighborhood in central Baghdad, Iraq to visit the family of his wife, Israa Abdul-Satar, a student at al-Mustansiriya University. He was captured by armed men and forced into a waiting vehicle outside.

On November 2, 2006, a ransom demand for Altaie was relayed to his uncle Entifadh Qanbar, a former spokesman for the Iraqi National Congress and recently an official in the Iraqi Ministry of Defense. Qanbar made contact with an intermediary trusted by the kidnappers. In a secret location in Baghdad, the mediator met with members of the group who showed Qanbar a grainy video on a cell phone screen of a man they claimed was al-Taie, beaten up and bloody and demanded $250,000 from the soldier's family to secure his release. Qanbar stated that he wouldn't talk about a price until he had seen for himself some proof that Altaie was still breathing. Qanbar suggested they have his nephew describe the inside of his home in Ann Arbor or that the kidnappers photograph the soldier holding a current newspaper by Saturday, November 4, at 12:00pm.

The U.S. government said Saturday, November 11 that it was offering a US $50,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of Altaie.

On February 14, 2007, a proof of life video of al-Taie was posted on a militant Shiite website. A previously unknown group called the "Ahel al-Beit Brigades" claimed responsibility for al-Taie's abduction. The eight second video showed Altaie reading from a paper but no audio was heard. He appeared thin but in good health. His uncle identified him as the man in the video.

Al-Taie was the last American serviceman to be accounted for in Iraq. He was captured when he was the rank of Specialist and was promoted to Staff Sergeant.

On February 26, 2012, U.S. officers knocked on the door of the family home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with news that Army Staff Sgt. Ahmed al-Taie was confirmed dead. The remains of al-Taie were turned over as part of an amnesty exchange agreement between the Iraqi government and the militant group Asaib Ahl al-Haq. Al-Taie's captors acknowledged killing him within a year of his capture.