The Associated Press is reporting this morning that Coalition Forces in Iraq captured an Al Qaeda leader in Iraq responsible for hundreds of deaths:
BAGHDAD, Iraq – U.S.-led forces captured a senior al-Qaida leader who was responsible for hundreds of civilian deaths and housed foreign fighters who carried out suicide bombings, the U.S. military said Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the U.S.-led coalition handed over security responsibilities in Iraq’s Najaf province to Iraqi forces on Wednesday, a key step in troubled efforts to get the fragile government to stand on its own.
The leader, who was not identified, was arrested in a raid in Mosul on Dec. 14, the military said in a statement.
“The terrorist leader was attempting to flee from the location when Coalition Forces chased him across a street and detained him,” the statement said.
It said the suspect served as al-Qaida’s military chief in Mosul in 2005, and then took up the same job in western Baghdad.