Al-Qaida in Iraq Leader 'arrested'
Abu Ayyub al-Masri captured by Iraqi troops in northern city of Mosul, Iraqi defence ministry says
The leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, has been arrested in the northern city of Mosul, the Iraqi defence ministry said today.
A spokesman said the arrest of al-Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, was confirmed to him by the Iraqi commander of the province.
The Associated Press news agency reported the spokesman, Mohammed al-Askari, as saying: "The commander of Ninevah military operations informed me that Iraqi troops captured Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq."
According to unconfirmed reports he was caught in the Tayran area in central Mosul, 225 miles north-west of Baghdad. Mosul is currently a major battleground for US forces and al-Qaida.
Al-Masri took over al-Qaida in Iraq after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed on June 7 2006 in a US air strike north-east of Baghdad.
US officials said al-Masri joined an extremist group led by al-Qaida's second in command in 1982. He joined al-Qaida training camps in Afghanistan in 1999 and trained as a car bombing expert before traveling to Iraq after the US-led invasion in 2003.
A spokesman said the arrest of al-Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, was confirmed to him by the Iraqi commander of the province.
The Associated Press news agency reported the spokesman, Mohammed al-Askari, as saying: "The commander of Ninevah military operations informed me that Iraqi troops captured Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq."
According to unconfirmed reports he was caught in the Tayran area in central Mosul, 225 miles north-west of Baghdad. Mosul is currently a major battleground for US forces and al-Qaida.
Al-Masri took over al-Qaida in Iraq after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed on June 7 2006 in a US air strike north-east of Baghdad.
US officials said al-Masri joined an extremist group led by al-Qaida's second in command in 1982. He joined al-Qaida training camps in Afghanistan in 1999 and trained as a car bombing expert before traveling to Iraq after the US-led invasion in 2003.
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