The American defense contractor whose death is at the center of escalating tensions between the United States and Iran has been identified as 33-year-old Nawres Hamid.
Hamid, an Arabic interpreter for American forces, was born in Iraq and lived in Sacramento, California. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2017, his widow Noor Alkhalil told the Washington Post.
On Dec. 27, 2019, Hamid was killed in an attack, during which U.S. authorities say an Iranian-backed militia fired rockets at a military base near Kirkuk, Iraq. Alkhalil said she began worrying about him when he stopped responding to her phone messages. Shortly after, representatives from Hamid’s employer, Virginia-based Valiant Integrated Services, knocked on her door and broke the news.
This is Nawres Hamid. He is the American killed in the Dec. 27 attack in Iraq that spiked tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
He worked as an interpreter for U.S. forces. He was a dad and husband, born in Iraq and naturalized as a U.S. citizen.
RIP.https://t.co/eTobIMLkSd pic.twitter.com/sJG0bwjBpW
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) January 8, 2020
In addition to Hamid’s death, the attack injured several coalition troops and led to President Trump ordering airstrikes on facilities controlled by Kataib Hezbollah in both Iraq and Syria. Following the strikes, hundreds of angry protesters backed by Iran stormed the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on New Year’s Eve. The president then retaliated again by ordering the killing of top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
Ahead of the strike that killed Soleimani, Trump invoked Hamid’s death, tweeting: “Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible.”
Hamid’s body was returned to the U.S., and he was buried in Sacramento on Saturday at the Greater Sacramento Muslim Cemetery. Valiant Integrated Services reportedly paid for the funeral. The company mourned Hamid in a statement calling him a “consummate professional and highly committed member of the Valiant team who was cherished and valued by his colleagues.”
Rep. Doris Matsui, a Democrat who represents the Sacramento area, also expressed condolences, saying in a statement: “Our U.S. military has relied on the expertise and professionalism of linguists in almost every mission around the globe, especially in Iraq. Nawres served and sacrificed for our nation, and we all owe him a debt of gratitude. My thoughts and prayers are with Nawres’ widow and children at this time.”
In addition to his widow, Hamid leaves behind two sons, ages 2 and 8. When asked about her future plans, Alkhalil, who moved to the U.S. with him in 2011, said she intends to remain with their children in Sacramento, where she hopes to become a medical technician.
“What would I return to in Iraq?” she asked. “Now my focus is on my two children; they are my world.”
Iran responded to the Soleimani strike by firing more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two military bases housing American troops in Iraq early Wednesday local time. No U.S. deaths have yet been reported.
