Posted on Fri, May. 09, 2008

Key Iraqi insurgent reportedly arrested

ABU AYYUB AL-MASRI LEADER OF AL-QAIDA

By Patrick Quinn

ASSOCIATED PRESS

BAGHDAD --

The leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was arrested in the northern city of Mosul, the Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman said Thursday.

Mohammed al-Askari said the arrest of al-Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, was confirmed to him by the Iraqi commander of the province. There was no immediate confirmation or comment from U.S. forces on the arrest.

It was also not clear when the arrest was made.

If confirmed, the arrest would be a major blow to al-Qaida in Iraq, which has been on the run for the past year after a shift in alliances by Sunni tribesmen in western Anbar province, and elsewhere, and an influx of thousands of U.S. troops.

The U.S. military considers the organization its No. 1 enemy in Iraq.

The U.S. military in Baghdad said it was checking on the report's accuracy.

Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said that Mosul police "arrested one of al-Qaida's leaders" who "admitted that he is Abu Hamza Al-Muhajir."

News of the arrest was also reported by Iraqi state television and Arab satellite TV stations.

The state channel, Iraqiya, said that Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani would reward Mosul police for the capture.

Khalaf, the Interior Ministry spokesman, told the station by phone that a source close to the al-Qaida leader informed Mosul police that al-Masri would be at a house in the city's Wadi Hajar area at midnight Wednesday.