Two men the U.S. says are key figures in Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terrorist network are in U.S. custody following a sweep of Ramadi, Iraq, U.S. military sources revealed in a statement Saturday. Soldiers of the Marine Expeditionary Force captured Saleh Arugayan Kahlil (Mahalawi), also known as Abu Ubaydah, on December 8 and caught Bassim Mohammad Hazeem, also known as Abu Khattab, on December 12, the release states. According to the statement, the two men were cell leaders of the "Harun terrorist network," an al-Zarqawi-affiliated group operating in Ramadi and western al Anbar province. "This group is responsible for intimidating, attacking and murdering innocent Iraqi civilians, Iraqi police and security forces and business and political leaders throughout the Anbar province," it read. The U.S. military blames the Harun terrorist network for kidnapping and killing 11 Iraqi National Guardsmen during the last several months and carrying out several lethal bombing attacks. The terrorist cell also is believed to have smuggled foreign terrorists into Iraq, in an effort "to destabilize the region and prevent economic growth in Iraq," according to the statement. The soldiers who captured the men were attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Marine Division of the I Marine Expeditionary Force.U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has returned from a surprise visit to Iraq where he visited troops on Friday in Tikrit, Mosul, Falluja and Baghdad. On the day of his visit, a fuel truck exploded in a suicide bombing in the affluent al-Mansour neighborhood, a police official said. Rumsfeld was in Baghdad for part of his one-day Iraq trip but was believed to have left the country before the explosion. Rumsfeld did not go to the al-Mansour district, which has been the site of previous attacks and abductions of Americans and other foreigners. The blast killed at least nine people, wounded 20 others and set six buildings on fire, according to hospital officials. Fifteen people, including women and children, were in critical condition, and many had suffered severe burns, Yarmouk Hospital officials said. Two Sudanese guards sustained wounds in the attack. After the blast, police said they were on the lookout for a possible second fuel truck and a BMW that may have been associated with the attack. The target of the bombing was not clear. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. The blast occurred close to the Sudanese, Libyan and Jordanian embassies. The area also is home to many prominent Iraqi politicians, including dissident Ahmed Chalabi, a candidate in the January 30 presidential election, and Adnan Pachachi, a leading Sunni politician.
A car bomb, apparently targeted at a U.S. military convoy, exploded Saturday on a road north of Najaf, killing at least three civilians and wounded two others, according to Najaf Police Chief Ghalib Al-Jazairi. Witnesses told police the car was a white 1982 Toyota Landcruiser with two men inside, Al-Jazairi said. Kahraman Sadikoglu, kidnapped owner of a company contracted to remove sunken ships from an Iraqi port, appeared on a videotape aired Saturday by a Turkish television channel. Listeners can hear a voice ordering Sadikoglu to order his company out of the country. Abductors nabbed Sadikoglu last week, but it remains unknown who holds him captive.