Iraq detainee accused of killing 5 U.S. soldiers may go free

Iraq detainee accused of killing U.S. soldiers may go free
By Tim Lister, CNN
updated 9:52 PM EST, Wed November 30, 2011

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Case has become a tug-of-war between Iraq and the Obama administration
Ali Mussa Daqduq is accused of involvement in the murder of several U.S. soldiers
Iraq has given no indication it will allow Daqduq, a Lebanese militant, to be taken away
Daqduq accused of setting up kidnapping in Karbala in January 2007 that left five dead

(CNN) -- Ali Mussa Daqduq, a Lebanese militant accused of involvement in the murder of several U.S. soldiers in Iraq, has been in U.S. military detention in Iraq since 2007 -- but likely not for much longer.

As the last U.S. forces depart Iraq, Daqduq may soon go free without facing trial.

The Iraqis have given no indication that they will allow Daqduq to be taken out of the country, and the case has become a tug-of-war between Iraq and the Obama administration.

The prospect that Daqduq -- a veteran operative of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia -- may escape U.S. justice altogether has infuriated members of Congress. And even if the Iraqis agree to let him leave with his captors, just how and where he would face trial is another political minefield for the Justice Department.

Daqduq was accused of organizing a kidnapping in the Iraqi city of Karbala in January 2007 that left five U.S. soldiers dead.

After he was captured some months later, according to U.S. intelligence officials, Daqduq pretended to be a deaf-mute. But officials identified him as a 24-year veteran of Hezbollah who had commanded a special operations unit and been sent to Iraq to develop "Special Groups" within Shiite militia.
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