Military spokesman Major General William Caldwell said today that the military operations to find kidnapped US soldier Ahmed Qusai al-Taei were still underway in Baghdad,
focused on the area east of the Tigris river between Sadr City and the mixed area of Karrada. Reuters
Ahmed Qusai al-Taei was kidnapped in Karrada on October 23. His mother-in-law witnessed members of the Mahdi Army militia, led by a local commander known as Abu Rami drag him away from his wife's house.
The area in red is where the checkpoints around Sadr City were removed Tuesday per order of Iraqi PM al-Maliki. Major Caldwell says the hunt is now focussed on the area to the north of Sadr City, around the area of the circle.
Negotiations with Kidnappers
"At this point we believe the ones who kidnapped Ahmed currently still have him," Caldwell told reporters.
Asked if the U.S. military had been in contact either directly or indirectly with the kidnappers, Caldwell said:
"There is ongoing dialogue that is being done at different levels at this time, but it would be inappropriate for me to state with whom or at what level."
There have been several diaries on the subject of Ahmed Qusai al-Taei expressing outrage at the abandonment of the checkpoints around Sadr City per order of PM al-Maliki stating Leave No Soldier Behind. Today's news is that he was not left behind; he's not in Sadr City. The military is reporting they have good reason to believe that he is still being held in the area northwest of Sadr City and they are in negotiations for his release "with active support of the Maliki government."