(Reuters) – An Iraqi-Canadian man was sentenced to 26 years in prison by a federal judge in Brooklyn on Tuesday for his role in orchestrating the April 2009 truck bombing of a U.S. base in Mosul, Iraq, that killed five soldiers, officials said.
Two Iraqi police officers also died in the explosion.
Faruq Khalil Muhammad ‘Isa, 51, pleaded guilty in March 2018 to one count of conspiring to murder Americans. The charge carries a maximum sentence of life but prosecutors agreed to a sentence of 26 years under a plea deal, U.S. Justice Department officials said.
“Today’s sentence brings some measure of earthly justice to an individual involved in the deaths of five service members,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said in a press release.
“But it cannot begin to compensate for the evil he contributed to or alleviate the pain of those family members whose lives he changed forever,” he said.
Prosecutors have said that, while living in Canada, ‘Isa conspired with a group of militants that carried out a suicide truck bombing on April 10, 2009, at the United States’ Forward Operating Base Marez in Mosul.
The jihadists ‘Isa conspired with drove a truck loaded with explosives to the gate of the military base, officials said.
The blast left a 60-foot crater, officials said in the release.
‘Isa, who was born in Iraq and is an Iraqi and Canadian citizen, was arrested in Edmonton, Alberta, in 2011. He is also known as Sayfildin Tahir Sharif, officials said.