Juba

Juba (a.k.a. "Joba") is the pseudonym of an alleged sniper involved in the Iraq War's insurgency, featured in several online videos. The second of these videos shows Juba claiming to have shot 37 American soldiers. His current status, location and identity are unknown.

Case History
Juba became famous after remarkable shooting skills were demonstrated in online videos that were subsequently released onto the internet.

Juba likely worked in mostly Sunni parts of Iraq, typically the Anbar province which was the bloodiest region for US troops during Iraq War. Juba's videos were of low quality but showed real battle scenes with background nasheeds. In many videos, Juba is seen killing multiple US soldiers with what seems to be a Dragunov, a Russian sniper rifle. Juba is seen killing within ranges of few hundred meters to a thousand odd meters in the released videos with extreme precision.

Several video clips which allegedly show the actions of Juba have been circulated over the Internet. Videos included parts of the actual clips taken during anti US sniper operations with digital cameras mounted over the sniper rifle.

First video
In November 2005, a video which was circulating in Iraq appeared on the Internet. The video, attributed to the Sunni insurgent group, the Islamic Army in Iraq, showed American soldiers being shot and falling to the ground. The video starts with a man saying, "I have nine bullets in this gun, and I have a present for George Bush. I am going to kill nine soldiers. I am doing this for the viewers to watch. God is great. God is great." With that, he makes his way from the vehicle, and a series of separate scenes follow showing several individuals shot in action.

Second video
A second "Juba" video was distributed in 2006 in western Baghdad and released on the Internet in late October 2006. The video contained an interview with the supposed commander of the Baghdad sniper division, the footage shows numerous fighters being trained in the use of sniper rifles. The video discusses the alleged fear generated in coalition forces by insurgency snipers and shows "Juba" returning from a mission, marking a tally of 37 on a wall. The sniper then sits down to make a diary entry. The video claims that there are dozens of snipers operating within the IAI and other factions, and shows more being trained. The rest of the video shows numerous clips of U.S. soldiers being shot with nasheed music in the background, and an insurgent commander explaining that his men are inspired and trained to an extent based on the information in the book The Ultimate Sniper by retired Major and U.S. Army sniper John Plaster.

Third and fourth videos
In December 2007, "Juba - The Baghdad Sniper 3" was released on the Internet. The production quality of the video was improved from Islamic Army's previous releases; the video was made available in nine languages. This video also refers to a website that is supposedly connected to the Juba character. In 2008, "Juba - The Baghdad Sniper 4" was released on the Internet and on that website.

Profile
Juba is believed to be, based on Iraqi culture a male, as women aren't allowed to serve in the military, no witness descriptions exist as Juba always shot from a hidden position, from cover. The filming and publishing of his kills is a cruel way to hurt the families of his victims. A psychopath with military training is highly dangerous and probably would not have stopped killing, it is highly likely that Juba was killed in 2008 as he probably would have continued murdering American troops until incapacitated by death, injury or imprisonment. During his childhood he is likely to have been abused but his hatred of American soldiers probably stems from an incident involving Americans, a figure who he looked up to and admired may have been murdered by U.S. forces. Juba is likely a sexual sadist as he often doesn't kill U.S. troops but cripples or seriously injures them likely enjoying watching them suffer.

Modus Operandi
Juba's M.O. is pretty simple, he shoots to kill or brutally injure American troops during the Iran-Iraq War. He shoots from varying distances from between 200-1000 yards with exceptional precision. Juba never fires more than one shot from the same position as he keeps moving to avoid being found or tracked. He often stalked American patrols and hunted them for days.

Fate
It is likely that Juba is deceased.