Abdel-Wahab al-Saadi explained

Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi
Honorific Prefix:General
Native Name:عبدالوهاب الساعدي
Native Name Lang:ar
Birth Date:1963
Birth Place:Al-Thawra District, Baghdad, Iraq
Allegiance: Iraq
Branch:Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service
Rank: General
Battles:Iran–Iraq War
War in Iraq
Awards:National Order of the Legion of Honour (French: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur)[1]

Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi or Saedi (Arabic: عبد الوهاب الساعدي) is an Iraqi general who played a critical role in defeating ISIS during the War in Iraq (2013–2017) and who served as the head of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (ICTS) from 2020 to 2023. He received the French Legion of Honour in 2022.

Early life and education

Al-Saadi is born in 1963 in Al-Thawra District, Baghdad.

Al-Saadi graduated from the University of Mosul in Northern Iraq with a bachelor's degree in physics. He then graduated from the Iraqi Military College with a rank of lieutenant, then graduated from the Iraqi Military Joint Staff College in 1996.[2] [3] [4]

Career

Al-Saadi was the overall operations commander of Iraqi government forces in Battle of Baiji (2014–15), Second Battle of Tikrit, Third Battle of Fallujah (2016), and the Hawija offensive (2017) in the war against ISIL.[5] [6] Peter Bergen wrote that al-Saadi played a critical role in the overall defeat of ISIS in Iraq.[7] In September 2019, al-Saadi was removed from his office as second-in-command of ICTS by then Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and transferred to work in the Ministry of Defense, without mentioning the reasons for the decision. Al-Saadi said that the decision was at the request of the head of the Counter-Terrorism Agency, General Talib Shaghati and that it was considered "insulting to him and his military history." Many politicians, media and activists considered the decision unfair. The firing could be considered one of the reasons for protests that escalated into street clashes resulting in thousands of deaths.[8] [9] [10] After getting promoted to General, on May 10, 2020, newly appointed prime minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi promoted Al-Saedi to lead the counterterrorism service.[11] He was succeeded as head of ICTS by Lieutenant General on November 1, 2023.

Accolades

In 2022, Al-Saadi received the French Legion of Honour for his outstanding role in defeating ISIS.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: فرنسا تقلد رئيس جهاز مكافحة الإرهاب العراقي "وسام الشرف العالي". ShafaqNews.
  2. Web site: عبد الوهاب الساعدي.. من دراسة الفيزياء إلى قائد أبرز المعارك ضد داعش بالعراق. 2019-10-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20191003091158/https://www.alhurra.com/a/%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%85%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%82-%D9%85%D9%86-%D9%87%D9%88-%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%88%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AF%D9%8A-/513978.html. 2019-10-05. 2019-10-03.
  3. Web site: من هو الفريق الركن عبد الوهاب الساعدي. 2017-12-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20171215230902/http://www.alrasheedmedia.com/2017/01/26/60130. 2019-10-05. 2017-12-15. live.
  4. Web site: Iraq removes military commander who defeated ISIS on the ground. www.rudaw.net. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20191231034844/https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/28092019 . 2019-12-31 . 2019-10-05.
  5. Web site: Iraqi CTU Lieutenant General Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi to lead Hawija war - official.
  6. Web site: Exclusive: Abdel Wahab al-Saadi named as commander of Hawija operations - Iraq News - Local News - Baghdadpost. 2017-09-05. www.thebaghdadpost.com. en. 2019-09-28.
  7. Web site: Bergen: It wasn't Trump but this general's elite soldiers who defeated ISIS. 15 December 2017 .
  8. Web site: Is this Iraqi General behind Iraq's wave of protests?. 2019-10-03. euronews. en. 2019-10-05.
  9. Web site: Iran's influence seen in transfer of Iraqi war hero. Saadoun. Mustafa. 2019-10-04. Al-Monitor. en. 2019-10-05.
  10. Web site: Iraq faces political crisis after days of deadly protests CTV News. www.ctvnews.ca. 5 October 2019. 2019-10-05.
  11. Web site: New Iraqi PM Orders Jailed Protesters Freed. . 10 May 2020 .