Officials identified the Al Qaida operative as a senior commander. They
said the unidentified insurgent served as "the gatekeeper" to the Al Qaida
commander for all of Baghdad.
The U.S. military said an Al Qaida commander and two of his aides were
detained in Baghdad. The military said the arrests took place on April 8 and
that the suspects were responsible for vehicle-borne improvised explosive
devices attacks.
One of the aides arrested was also identified as an Al Qaida cell
leader, Middle East Newsline reported. Officials said the cell leader was responsible VBIED strikes in the
Baghdad area.
"This is a significant step in our efforts to disrupt the VBIED network
and their devastating attacks against the Iraqi people," Lt. Col.
Christopher Garver, a spokesman of the U.S.-led Multi-National Force, Iraq,
said.
The capture of the Al Qaida operatives was reported as the U.S. military
has sustained heavy casualties in Iraq. On Tuesday, the military reported
the death of four U.S. soldiers, three of them by an IED in Baghdad on
Monday.
Later, a female suicide bomber blew herself up among some 200 police
recruits in Muqdadiya, some 100 kilometers northeast of Baghdad. At least 14
recruits were killed.
