Ismail Hafidh al-Lami — known as Abu Deraa — is an Iraqi Shiamilitant whose men have been accused of terrorizing and killing Sunnis. His aim is allegedly to avenge Shia deaths at the hands of Sunni militants in Iraq, though he himself has stated that he is fighting for all Iraqis and only targets the 'occupiers'.
Biography
Little is known about Abu Deraa's background, however, judging by his surname, he probably hails from the Ma'dan Bani Lam tribe. He is believed to have fled to Sadr City as a refugee, having fled to Baghdad following the destruction of the Shiite villages in Iraq's southern marshes. He is believed to be married, with two children. Abu Deraa operated out of Sadr City, which is also the stronghold of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia, the Mahdi Army. He has gained a reputation for his command of Shiite death squads and brutal attacks targeting Sunni Muslims and cases of mass kidnappings in broad daylight. He was also accused of orchestrating the kidnapping and assassination of Saddam Hussein's lawyer Khamis al-Obeidi. Abu Deraa's son was reported to have pulled the trigger. He is thought to have been recently disavowed, at least tacitly, by Muqtada al-Sadr due to his unmitigated killing sprees. Militias loyal to Abu Deraa were also known to burn houses that belonged to Sadr City's Sunni minority as part of their campaign to cleanse the area from Sunnis.
Attacks
Deraa is said to have been responsible for the abduction of scores of Sunnis whose bodies have been recovered from a garbage dump at al-Sada, a lawless wasteland near Sadr City.
He allegedly commandeered a fleet of government ambulances with which he lured 40–50 young Sunnis to their deaths, driving the ambulances into the Sunni-dominated quarter of Adhamiyah in Baghdad, announcing over the loudspeakers: "Please give blood for the Mujahideen! The Shiia are killing your Mujahideen brothers."
Abu Deraa is also rumoured to have masterminded the kidnapping of Sunni MP Tayseer al-Mashhadani in July 2006, who was released after two months of captivity. He also is said to have supervised the forced eviction of hundreds of Sunni families from Shiite-dominated areas of the capital and some outlying towns.
Deraa is reputed to have overseen the abduction of five British citizens from the Iraqi Finance Ministry on May 29, 2007.
According to Alex Von Tunzelmann of The Guardian, the character known as "The Butcher" in the widely seen American movieAmerican Sniper, may be based loosely on Abu Deraa.
