Ayad Futayyih Al-Rawi (born 1942 in Rawa) was a senior Iraqi military officer known for his service in the Iraqi Republican Guard and for leading the regime's so‑called Jerusalem or Al Quds Army. He rose through armored units, served during the Iran–Iraq War, and by the 1990s and 2000s was counted among the inner circle of leaders close to Saddam Hussein. His name also appears in Arabic as إياد فتيح خليفة الراوي.

Career and military roles

Al‑Rawi began his career as an officer in Iraq's armored forces and took part in conventional fighting during the prolonged Iran–Iraq War of the 1980s. Over subsequent decades he became associated with the Republican Guard, the elite formation responsible for regime security and major combat operations. In that capacity he held command and staff positions typical for senior generals within Saddam-era military structures.

The Jerusalem (Al Quds) Army

In the early 2000s the Iraqi leadership announced a volunteer formation named the Al Quds or Jerusalem Army, intended as a symbolic force in solidarity with the Palestinian cause and as a paramilitary reserve. Ayad al‑Rawi was reported as the head of this force. Despite the public proclamations about its size and purpose, the Al Quds Army remained largely symbolic and did not play a substantive role in combat during the 2003 invasion and collapse of the regime.

Arrest, detention and death

Following the U.S.‑led invasion of Iraq in 2003, al‑Rawi was detained by coalition forces on 4 June 2003. He remained a figure associated with the former regime during the years of occupation and subsequent instability. Ayad Futayyih al‑Rawi died on 18 May 2018 in Baghdad at the age of 76; reports attributed his death to a stroke.

Legacy and notable facts

  • Associated with Iraq's Republican Guard, a core element of Saddam-era military power.
  • Named as leader of the Al Quds (Jerusalem) Army, a force with largely symbolic objectives.
  • Arrested shortly after the fall of Baghdad in 2003 and thereafter remained linked to the history of the former regime.
  • His life illustrates the careers of senior officers who transitioned from conventional army roles into political‑military positions under Saddam.

Assessments of al‑Rawi tend to place him among the cadre of military commanders whose prominence derived as much from loyalty and political standing as from battlefield distinction. His roles reflect the intertwining of military command and regime politics in Iraq during the late twentieth and early twenty‑first centuries.