Authorities arrested an Iraqi man living in Arizona who is believed to be the leader of a group of al Qaeda fighters in Fallujah.
The Justice Department announced Friday that authorities detained Ali Yousif Ahmed al-Nouri, 42, on murder charges. Al-Nouri is believed to have orchestrated attacks that killed two Iraqi police officers in Fallujah years ago in 2006.
The Iraqi government has issued an arrest warrant for al-Nouri and is requesting his extradition back to Iraq to face trial.
If al-Nouri’s extradition is certified by a U.S. magistrate, the decision of whether to surrender him to Iraq will be left to the State Department.
The arrest was executed by the FBI Phoenix Field Office, HSI Phoenix Field Office and the U.S. Marshals Service.