“In October 2008, American commandos launched a cross-border raid into Syria to capture an Islamic militant known as Abu Ghadiya. He was accused of being one of al Qaeda in Iraq's main smugglers of fighters and money between Iraq and Syria.”

American journalist and author

Richard Engel is an American journalist and author, best known as the chief foreign correspondent for NBC News. He was appointed to that role in 2008, after working as the network’s Middle East correspondent and Beirut bureau chief. Before joining NBC in 2003, Engel covered the opening of the Iraq War for ABC News as a freelance reporter based in Baghdad. His work has focused on international reporting, especially the Middle East and major conflict zones.