Hamid Raja Shalah
Encyclopedia
Hamid Raja, also known as Hamid Raja-Shalah Hassan al-Tikriti or Hamid Raja-Shalah Hassum al-Tikriti (born 1950 in Baiji
, Salah al-Din Governorate, Iraq
) was a commander of the Iraqi Air Force
under Saddam Hussein
.
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.
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 Most-wanted Iraqi playing cards
.
Baiji, Iraq
Baiji is a city of about 200,000 inhabitants in northern Iraq some 130 miles north of Baghdad, on the main road to Mosul. It is a major industrial centre best known for its oil refinery, the biggest in Iraq and has a large power plant...
, Salah al-Din Governorate, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
) was a commander of the Iraqi Air Force
Iraqi Air Force
The Iraqi Air Force or IQAF is the military branch in Iraq responsible for the policing of international borders, surveillance of national assets and aerial operations...
under Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
.
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
Kirkuk
Kirkuk is a city in Iraq and the capital of Kirkuk Governorate.It is located in the Iraqi governorate of Kirkuk, north of the capital, Baghdad...
air base. He rose to three-star rank and was appointed commander-in-chief of the Iraqi Air Force in the mid-1990s.
He was reported by the United States Central Command
United States Central Command
The United States Central Command is a theater-level Unified Combatant Command unit of the U.S. armed forces, established in 1983 under the operational control of the U.S. Secretary of Defense...
to be in coalition custody on June 14, 2003. Prior to his capture, Shalah was number 17 (ten of spades) on the Most-wanted Iraqi playing cards
Most-wanted Iraqi playing cards
In the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition, the U.S. military developed a set of playing cards to help troops identify the most-wanted members of President Saddam Hussein's government, mostly high-ranking Baath Party members or members of the Revolutionary Command Council...
.