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Hamid Raja Shalah

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Hamid Raja Shalah
حامد رجا شلاح
Born1950 (age 73–74)
Baiji, Salah al-Din, Iraq
Allegiance Iraq
Service / branch Iraqi Air Force
RankAir marshal
CommandsIraqi Air Force
Battles / warsIran–Iraq War
Persian Gulf War
Iraq War Surrendered

Hamid Raja Shalah (Arabic: حامد رجا شلاح), also known as Hamid Raja-Shalah Hassan al-Tikriti or Hamid Raja-Shalah Hassum al-Tikriti (born 1950)[1] is a former commander of the Iraqi Air Force under Saddam Hussein.

Career

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During Shalah's air force career, he served as a pilot. In the 1980s, during the Iran–Iraq War, Shalah commanded several air bases, including the Kirkuk air base. He rose to three-star rank and was appointed commander-in-chief of the Iraqi Air Force in the mid-1990s.[2]

He was reported by the United States Central Command to be in coalition custody on June 14, 2003. Prior to his capture, Shalah was number 17 (ten of spades) on the in the U.S. deck of most-wanted Iraqi playing cards.[3] He was held as a prisoner of war until his release in 2007.[4]

References

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  1. ^ [1] Archived July 3, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "U.S. Forces Capture Iraqi Air Force Commander". Fox News. 2003-06-14. Archived from the original on 2007-05-23. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  3. ^ John Pike (2003-06-14). "Hamid Raja Shalah Al-Tikriti Taken Into Custody". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  4. ^ Jane Sutton (2007-08-17). "As last Iraqi POW released, Noriega only U.S. POW". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2019-02-26. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
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