Federal authorities say they have arrested a Phoenix-area man suspected of killing two men while acting as a leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq.
The Department of Justice said that 42-year-old Ali Yousif Ahmed Al-Nouri appeared before a magistrate judge on Friday for proceedings to extradite him to Iraq.
The department says the government there has charged Al-Nouri with two counts of murder in connection with a killing in 2006 in Fallujah.
The government has also asked Al-Nouri to be extradited, though it is currently unclear whether or not U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will order so.
The department says that he and other members of Al Qaeda shot and killed a lieutenant and an officer with the Fallujah Police Directorate in 2006. The Department of Justice memo stated that Al-Nouri was a part of a group that intentionally targeted U.S-backed Iraqi police.
A U.S. magistrate judge issued a warrant for him on Wednesday.
It’s unclear how long Al-Nouri had lived in Arizona or how he came to the state. No further information was released.
The Associated Press contributed to this article