Al-Zarqawi Captured (moved from ATSNN)

Could Al-Tawhid Waal-Jihad, who is called Al-Zarqawi, be the new leader and be taking
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's place?


Al-Zarqawi reportedly arrested in Iraq

Updated: 2005-01-04 14:37


Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi, whom the US occupation authorities declared to be the "target number one" in Iraq, has been arrested in the city of Baakuba, the Emirate newspaper al-Bayane reported on Tuesday referring to Kurdish sources.

Al-Zarqawi, leader of the terrorist group Al-Tawhid Wa'al-Jihad, was recently appointed the director of the Al-Qaeda organization in Iraq.

The newspaper's correspondent in Baghdad points out that a report on the seizure of the terrorist, on whom the US put a multimillion dollar bounty on, was also reported by Iraqi Kurdistan radio, which at one time had been the first to announce the arrest of Saddam Hussein.


Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was captured in Iraq, said Tuesday's Al Bayan, a daily newspaper of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

There have been no official reports about the arrest of the terrorist. Al-Zarqawi, 38, a Jordanian, whose real name is Ahmad al-Khalayleh, aims to turn Iraq into a "new Afghanistan".

According to Arab press data, Al-Tawhid Wa'al-Jihad group has divided Iraq into several emirates. The group's independent subdivisions at a strength of 50 to 500 militants operate in the cities of Al-Falluja, Al-Qaim, Diala, and Samarra.

The personnel of the group is on the whole 1,500-strong and includes Iraqis and citizens of Arab and Islamic countries. There are demolition experts and missilemen among them.

The group has depots of weapons and explosives in various parts of the country. It intends to frustrate the upcoming parliamentary elections that are scheduled for the end of this month. Al-Tawhid Wa'al-Jihad threatens to do away with Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and members of the interim government.

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BAGHDAD, Iraq (Jan. 20) - A speaker believed to be al-Qaida's leader in Iraq said in an audiotape found on the Internet Thursday that one of his top lieutenants was killed in last year's U.S.-led assault on the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah.


AP
Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi


The speaker, claiming to be Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, said top aide Omar Hadid was killed during fighting in November when U.S. and Iraqi forces recaptured the city.






Was is Ahmad al-Khalayleh who made the tape and is now the leader of Al-Tawhid?