Military identifies remains of last American service member unaccounted for in Iraq

BAGHDAD (AP) — The U.S military announced Sunday that it has recovered the remains of the last American service member who was unaccounted for in Iraq, an Army interpreter seized by gunmen after sneaking off base to visit his Iraqi wife in Baghdad during the height of the insurgency.

The remains of Staff Sgt. Ahmed al-Taie, who was 41 when militiamen seized him on Oct. 23, 2006, were positively identified at the military’s mortuary in Dover, Del., the Army said in a statement released Sunday. Army officials said they had no further details about the circumstances surrounding his death or the discovery of his remains.

Al-Taie’s brother, Hathal Al-Taie, told The Associated Press the military officer who visited the family’s home to inform them about the remains said they are still in Dover, but that he didn’t know the circumstances surrounding his brother’s death.

“We have no information right now, not even how the body looks like or when they’re going to release him,” Hathal Al-Taie said by phone from Ann Arbor, Mich., where the family settled after leaving Iraq for the U.S. when his brother was still a teenager.

Their uncle, Entifadh Qanbar, said he was told by the Army major who informed the family in Ann Arbor that the remains were received at Dover on Feb. 22.

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