Abboud Qanbar

Abboud Qanbar( عبود قنبر), also known as Abu Haidar, is a Shia Iraqi General. On January 13, 2007, he was appointed by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki as the Iraqi commander for the Baghdad Operational Command, which controls all Iraqi security forces in Baghdad and is charged with securing the capital. His Chief of Staff is Major General Hassan, and his Chief of Plans is Staff Colonel Abd Alamir.

He hails from Amarah, a city in Iraq's Shiite-dominated south

Military history
Qanbar was a commander in the navy during Saddam Hussein's reign, and took part in the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88, and the war over Kuwait in 1990-91. In the latter, he commanded a garrison on the Kuwaiti island of Failaka, and was taken prisoner by U.S. Marines. Once released, he was posted in Basra where he refused to take part in crushing the Shiite revolt. That led to his unofficial exclusion from positions of command under Saddam.

He later fought in the Iran–Iraq War and was a brigadier general in the navy during the 1991 Gulf War. He was captured by American forces on Fialaka, a Kuwaiti island, and was briefly transferred to Saudi Arabia before his release. Despite being captured by American forces, Qanbar was later decorated by Saddam Hussein for his bravery in defense of the island. After the war, Qanbar was posted in Basra, but was excluded from new commands after he refused to stop the 1991 Shiite uprising.

He was appointed by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to lead the 2007 Baghdad crackdown in February 2007, though he was considered a relatively unknown officer. Qanbar was a compromise choice after the US Army rejected Maliki's first choice, Mohan al-Freiji. Qanbar announced the details of the new security plan on live Iraqi television on February 13.