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| Iraq |
| Top al-Qaeda leader arrested in northern Iraq |
| 2009-10-16 |
| [Iran Press TV Latest] Iraqi security forces have reportedly arrested a senior military commander with links to the terrorist al-Qaeda network in Iraq's northern Nineveh province. "Special forces arrested Moussa Zalou at a hospital in central Mosul on Wednesday," a security source told Voices of Iraq news agency. The Iraqi official, who was speaking on the condition of anonymity, added that the al-Qaeda chief was undergoing surgery in a Mosul hospital and was transferred to the Tal Afar public hospital under tight security. In late March 2007, massive truck bombings in Shia areas of Tal Afar killed 152 and wounded twice as many, making it the single deadliest bombing since the US-led occupation began in 2003. Moussa Zalou is thought to have masterminded the bloody terrorist bombing. One suicide bomber lured victims to buy wheat loaded on his truck, and then detonated it. A second truck bomb exploded in a used car lot. After the bombings, gunmen roamed the town's Sunni neighborhoods for two hours shooting at Sunni residents and homes. At least 70 people were handcuffed and shot in the head. Al-Qaeda operatives in Iraq are said to have formed an alliance with the remnants of the Baath Party, founded by the former dictator Saddam Hussein -- a move American and Iraqi officials describe as a marriage of convenience. Al-Qaeda in Iraq is believed to supply the suicide bombers, while the Baathist extremists provide the logistics and planning. |
| Posted by:Fred |