Mujahideen Shura Council (January 2006–October 2006) Abu Omar al-Baghdadi (Arabic: أبو عمر البغدادي, romanized: ʾAbū ʿUmar al-Baghdādī; /ˈɑːbuː ˈoʊmɑːr ɑːl bɑːɡˈdɑːdi/ ⓘ AH-boo OH-mar ahl bahg-DAHD-ee; 1964 – 18 April 2010), born Hamid Dawud Mohamed Khalil al-Zawi (Arabic: حَمِيدُ دَاوُدَ مُحَمَّدُ خَلِيلِ ٱلزَّاوِيِّ, romanized: Ḥamīd Dāwud Muḥammad Ḵalīl az-Zāwī) was an Iraqi militant who was the Emir of the Islamic militant umbrella organization Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC),[3][4][5] and its successor, the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), which fought against the U.S.-led Coalition forces during the Iraqi insurgency.

Abu Omar al-Baghdadi was born Hamid Dawud Mohamed Khalil al-Zawi in 1964 in the village of Al-Zawiyah,[citation needed]close to Haditha in Al-Anbar Governorate.

[6] Abu Omar's group gained notoriety on 31 August 2005[9] when it shelled the nearby Al-Aimmah bridge,[10] causing seven people to die and 35 to be wounded.

[12][13] The detainee identified as Khaled al-Mashhadani, a self-proclaimed intermediary to Osama bin Laden, claimed that al-Baghdadi was a fictional character created to give an Iraqi face to a foreign-run group.

[23][24] On April 18th 2010, Abu Omar was killed when a joint operation of US and Iraqi forces raided a safe house 10 kilometres (6 mi) southwest of Tikrit.

"During the operation computers were seized with e-mails and messages to the two biggest terrorists, Osama bin Laden and [his deputy] Ayman al-Zawahiri", al-Maliki added.

ISI spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani also confirmed both of their deaths in an audiotape released on a jihadist forum website.

Vice president Joe Biden said that the killings were "potentially devastating" blows to the terror network there and proof that Iraqi security forces are gaining ground.

[26][27] On 25 April 2010, a four-page statement by the Islamic State of Iraq was posted on a militant website early Sunday confirmed the death of Abu Ayyub and Abu Omar, saying "After a long journey filled with sacrifices and fighting falsehood and its representatives, two knights have dismounted to join the group of martyrs," the statement said.

The ISI sharia minister, Abu al-Walid Abd al-Wahhab al-Mashadani, said the two leaders were attending a meeting when enemy forces engaged them in battle and launched an airstrike on their location.