Iraqi police said they arrested a senior commander of an Al-Qaeda linked militant group near the northern oil centre of Kirkuk Thursday. Abdul Nasser Rahim al-Dulaimi, alias Abu Hanin, is suspected of masterminding attacks on US troops as well as kidnappings of foreigners for the militant group Ansar al-Sunna, police said.
He was detained 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Kirkuk and information about past operations and a large sum in US dollars were found in his possession, said Colonel Shakhwan Abdullah of Kirkuk police. He said the documents recovered included records of associates across the Sunni heartland of western and north-central Iraq.
The arrest followed the intense interrogation of three other Ansar militants detained on Wednesday, he added. |