Arrests of major Al Qaida leaders rock Iraq
Thursday, August 6, 2009 E-Mail this story Free Headline Alerts
BAGHDAD Ñ The Al Qaida network was said to have been badly damaged by a series of arrests in Iraq.
Officials said Iraqi and U.S. combat forces have captured several senior Al Qaida operatives in Iraq. They said the operatives were identified as commanders of assassination squads that targeted prominent Iraqis. Details from the investigations leading to the operations have shocked Iraqis.
The Iraqi government has, for example, announced the capture of an Al Qaida agent accused of killing a television journalist in 2006. Yasser Mohammed Al Takhi, the detainee, gave a confession broadcast by Iraqi television that described the abduction, rape and execution of Iraqi journalist Atwar Bahjat outside Samara. Ms. Bahjat was a correspondent for the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya satellite television.
"I got in the car and told Atwar that she was beautiful, that I liked the way she looked and I would like to have fun with her," Takhi said. "She answered that it was not her job. I told her, 'It is not up to you.'"
Iraqi security spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim Atta said three youngsters recruited by Al Qaida were also captured. Atta said Al Qaida was recruiting children, single and divorced women to carry out suicide attacks for as little as $8.
"They did this for money, not ideology," Atta said.
One of the Al Qaida-recruited teenagers was 17-year-old Ahmad Abdullah, accused of planting bombs in attacks against Iraq Army patrols. Abdullah, a resident of Baghdad, was said to have been trained in the detonation of car bombs and operated in both the Iraqi capital and Mosul.
"This operation is the result of a long-term investigation by the Iraqi army and police forces," a U.S. military statement said.
On Aug. 4, the U.S. military reported the capture of the commander of an AQI cell that operated in Mosul. Fakir Hadi Gari, arrested on July 24, was accused of organizing and financing suicide and other attacks as deputy commander of the Al Qaida-aligned Ansar Al Islam, founded in 2002 in the Kurdish areas of northern Iraq.
"He is also believed to have facilitated the movement of terrorists across the borders of Iraq," the U.S. military said.
The operation in Mosul was conducted by the Mosul Special Weapons and Tactics unit, Iraq Army soldiers and U.S. advisers. The statement said nine of Gari's associates were also arrested.
The joint operation was the first announced by the U.S. military since its withdrawal from Iraqi cities on June 30. Since then, the U.S. military has been prevented from joining Iraqi patrols and other field missions. In the Diyala province, U.S. troops were banned from police stations, which hampered training courses.
"Iraqi security forces and coalition advisors will continue to work closely together to ensure terrorists who threaten the security of Iraq are prosecuted under the Iraqi justice system," the U.S. military said.