Baghdad, 6 April (AKI) - The key suspect in the kidnapping of Italian journalist Guiliana Sgrena has been captured, the U.S. military said on Thursday. Mohammed Hila Hammad al-Ubaydi, a former senior intelligence official under Saddam Hussein with close ties to the al-Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was arrested on 7 March, the statement said. Sgrena was freed last year but an Italian intelligence officer escorting her to freedom was shot and killed by U.S. forces at a checkpoint near Baghdad airport. Al-Ubaydi was sought for questioning in several assassination attempts the statement added..The military said Ubaydi was the former aide to the intelligence chief of staff under Saddam Hussein, and now heads a group it identified as the Secret Islamic Army in northern Babel province. Ubaydi, also known as Abu Ayman, was captured a month ago, but the news had not been announced until DNA testing could verify his identity, the military said.
| Plus it gave us time to suck out his brains |
Italian freelance journalist Giuliana Sgrena was kidnapped in Baghdad on February 4, 2005, and was freed a month later after her release was negotiated by Italian agent Nicola Calipari. He was escorting her to the Baghdad airport when he was shot to death by U.S. troops at a checkpoint. Sgrena was wounded in the shoulder. The US dismissed the shooting was an accident, and no disciplinary action was taken against the soldiers involved. However, the Italians disputed the conclusion.
