Background
Altaie was born in Iraq on 22 July 1965, to Kousay and Nawal Altaie.
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Ahmed Kousay Altaie
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At the age of nine, he emigrated with his family from Iraq to the United Kingdom. Altaie enlisted in the United States Army Reserve in December 2004. He was mobilized in August 2005 and deployed to Iraq in November 2005.
During his tenure in the United States Army, Altaie served as a linguist.
Prisoner of war
On 23 October 2006, Altaie left his military base in Iraq without authorization or the knowledge of his superiors. He was captured by armed men and forced into a waiting vehicle outside.
Qanbar made contact with an intermediary trusted by the kidnappers. Qanbar stated that he wouldn"t talk about a price until he had seen for himself some proof that Altaie was still breathing.
The United States. government said on 11 November 2006 that it was offering a United States $50,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of Altaie"s body.
A previously unknown group called the "Ahel al-Beit Brigades" claimed responsibility for Altaie"s abduction. The eight second video showed Altaie reading from a paper but no audio was heard. He appeared thin but in good health.
Altaie was the last American serviceman to be accounted for in Iraq.
He was captured when he was the rank of Specialist and was promoted to Sergeant, then Staff Sergeant. On 26 February 2012, United States. military officers knocked on the door of the family home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with news that Army Staff Sergeant
Ahmed Altaie was confirmed dead. The remains of Altaie were turned over as part of an amnesty exchange agreement between the Iraqi government and the militant group Asaib Ahl al-Haq.
Altaie"s captors acknowledged killing him within a year of his capture.
Membership
In a secret location in Baghdad, the mediator met with members of the group who showed Qanbar a grainy video on a cell phone screen of a man they claimed was Altaie, beaten up and bloody, and demanded $250,000 from the soldier"s family to secure his release.
