Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Al-Qaida in Iraq's No. 2 was arrested in June, U.S. military spokesman says

BAGHDAD, Iraq The arrest of al-Qaida in Iraq's second in command took place in June, and not a few days ago as the Iraqi government had initially announced, the U.S. military spokesman in Iraq said Wednesday.

Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell said Hamed Jumaa Farid al-Saeedi, also known as Abu Humam or Abu Rana, was captured on June 19. He also said other suspects had been arrested and were in custody, but that their names had not yet been made public.

"As with most terrorists that are picked up, they are not initially announced as being captured because of the intelligence value that is normally gained from somebody not knowing that they are in fact in Iraqi government control," Caldwell said.

"There are other people in captivity right now who are not announced," the spokesman added.

Read the rest at the International Herald Tribune