BAGHDAD – The governor of western Iraq's volatile Anbar province (search) has been killed during clashes between U.S. forces and the insurgents who abducted him, the Iraqi government said Tuesday.
Government spokesman Laith Kuba said the body of Raja Nawaf Farhan al-Mahalawi (search), who was abducted May 10, was found two days ago in the village of Rawah, about 175 miles northwest of Baghdad.
The U.S. military confirmed his death and that his family had identified his body on Tuesday in Qaim, an Iraqi city near the Syrian border, which was the scene of a major U.S. offensive earlier this month.
A military spokesman said a U.S. helicopter had flown al-Mahalawi's body to Qaim on Monday. He did not elaborate on how he was killed nor when his body was found.
Al-Mahalawi was found tied to a gas cylinder inside a house following a fierce gun battle between U.S. forces and insurgents holed up in the house, Kuba, the Iraqi government spokesman, said.
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