Al-Qaeda In Iraq Leader Captured By Iraqi Forces
Ed Morrissey
Eight months ago, American forces killed the founder of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who had run the organization since the American invasion three years earlier. Tonight, the Iraqis have his replacement in custody (via Hot Air):
The leader of al-Qaida in Iraq was wounded and an aide was killed in a clash Thursday with Iraqi forces north of Baghdad, the Interior Ministry spokesman said.
The clash occurred near Balad, a major U.S. base about 50 miles north of the capital, Brig. Gen Abdul-Karim Khalaf said. ...
Abu Ayuuab al-Masri Still At Large. "No DNA Match" -- Intel Officer
By Richard Miniter, PJM Editor, Washington DC
Media reports that the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq was captured today are false, our sources in the intelligence community tell us. Don’t believe al Arabiya, Associated Press or Reuters, at least not yet.
The new head of Iraq’s Interior Ministry, which controls the nation’s intelligence and police forces, apparently “jumped the gun.” The government of Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki is under intense domestic and international pressure to deliver good news. The Shiite Interior Minister was feeling the heat and prematurely released information about a raid several miles north of Baghdad.
Shortly after sunset, Iraqi commandos surrounded a “safe house” believed to house Abu Ayuuab al-Masri, who heads al Qaeda in Iraq. He is Zarqawi’s successor and, many in the intelligence community believe, far more dangerous.
In an exchange of AK-47 fire, a number of insurgents were wounded and a man meeting the physical description of al-Masri was captured. He refused to give his name. When police tried to get his fingerprints, they discovered that all ten fingertips had been purposely singed. “He basically has no fingerprints,” a military intelligence official told me.
Based on his appearance alone, Iraqi officials at the scene became convinced that they had the al Qaeda leader. The officials at the Interior Ministry phoned Arab news outlets, which trumpeted the news. English-language wire services, such as Reuters, regularly monitor foreign broadcasts for news items. Within hours of the firefight at a desolate concrete house near Baghdad, the “news” had traveled the world. Meanwhile, the truth was trying to get its boots on. ...
