Iyad Futayyih Khalifa al-Rawi ( ar, إياد فتيح خليفة الراوي) (1942 – 18 May 2018) was an Iraqi general of the Iraqi Republican Guard, and later served as the head of the

Jerusalem Army Jerusalem Army, also known as Al Quds Army, ( ar, جيش القدس), was a paramilitary volunteer force created on 17 February 2001 by the Iraqi government to assist the Palestinians to liberate Palestine (region), Palestine and Jerusalem from Isr ...

. He started his service in the Army as an officer in an armoured unit, later fighting in the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Counci ...

, receiving numerous medals and suffering a severe head wound whilst leading an Iraqi counterattack against an Iranian offensive. In total Rawi was awarded 27 medals during the Iran–Iraq War. He was perceived to be a staunch Saddam loyalist. Rawi was born in

Rawa The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) ( Persian:جمعیت انقلابی زنان افغانستان, ''Jamiʿat-e Enqelābi-ye Zanān-e Afghānestān'', Pashto:د افغانستان د ښڅو انقلابی جمعی� ...

in 1942, and died of a stroke in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesipho ...

on May 18, 2018.

Iran–Iraq War

He served as commander of the Republican Guard forces at the second battle of Al Faw, which comprised some 60% of the forces deployed. During his interview with the

Iraqi Perspectives Project The Iraqi Perspectives Project is a research effort conducted by United States Joint Forces Command, focusing on Operation Iraqi Freedom. Its first major product was A View of Operation Iraqi Freedom from Saddam's Senior Leadership, a comprehensi ...

, al-Rawi was named by General Hamdani as one of the few first-rate commanders. Hamdani lists one of the few reasons why Hussein Kamel's attempts to improve the quality of the Republican Guard during the Iran-Iraq War was successful was that he listened to al-Rawi.

Later career

Rawi went on to serve as Governor of both

and Ta'mim Governorates. He later became the Chief of Staff of the Al Quds Volunteer Army; a paramilitary force created in early 2001 in response to the beginning of the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada ( ar, الانتفاضة الثانية, ; he, האינתיפאדה השנייה, ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada ( ar, انتفاضة الأقصى, label=none, '), was a major Palestinians, Palestinian uprising a ...

. The force's objective was seemingly to defeat Israel and liberate Palestine and Jerusalem, and the force was declared to be composed of some 21 divisions and 7 million Iraqis, although in actuality the force was largely a propaganda stunt to show support for the Palestinians, and the force was small and ineffective. Prior to the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, Al-Rawi was on a list of sanctioned individuals.

Invasion and aftermath

Rawi was arrested on 4 June 2003, following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. He was no. 30 of Central Commands ''Top 55'' list, appearing as the seven of clubs in the

Most-wanted Iraqi playing cards During the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a United States–led coalition, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency developed a set of playing cards to help troops identify the most-wanted members of President Saddam Hussein's government, mostly high-ra ...

. Despite its claimed size, the Al Quds Army ended up playing virtually no role in the war. In 2008 Rawi received a life sentence for war crimes committed in the suppression of the 1991 uprisings in Iraq. He died in 2018 in prison.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rawi, Ayad Futayih al- 1942 births 2018 deaths Governors of Baghdad Governorate Governors of Kirkuk Governorate Iraqi generals Iraqi prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Iraqi people who died in prison custody Prisoners of war held by the United States Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Iraq Most-wanted Iraqi playing cards Iraq War prisoners of war Iraqi prisoners of war Prisoners who died in Iraqi detention