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US Disputes Report of al-Qaida Arrest

By PATRICK QUINN,
AP
Posted: 2008-05-09 08:20:47
Filed Under: Iraq News, World News
BAGHDAD (May 9) -- The U.S. military on Friday denied Iraqi government claims that the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq was captured and said a man with a similar name had been arrested in the northern city of Mosul.

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The Iraqi government on Thursday said its military had captured Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq. But a U.S. military spokesman on Friday said that was incorrect -- that a man with a name similar to al-Masri's had instead been arrested.

Iraqi authorities had announced Thursday that police commandos captured Abu Ayyub al-Masri in a raid in the northern city of Mosul.

"Neither coalition forces nor Iraqi security forces detained or killed Abu Ayyub al-Masri. This guy had a similar name," said Maj. Peggy Kageleiry, a U.S. military spokeswoman in northern Iraq. She said no additional details were being immediately provided.

Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari said the confusion arose because the commander of Iraqi forces in northern Ninevah province was convinced that he had arrested al-Masri — also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir.

"We called the commander of Ninevah operations 10 times and every time he insisted it was Abu Hamza al-Muhajir because when they caught him, they asked him whether his name was Abu Hamza al-Muhajir and he said yes," al-Askari told The Associated Press by phone.

He added that the commander repeatedly "insisted that it was him, how can we deny him then."

There had been false alarms in the past about al-Masri. At least twice — in 2006 and May 2007 — reports circulated that he was dead, but they were later proved wrong.

Al-Masri took over al-Qaida in Iraq after its leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed June 7, 2006 in a U.S. airstrike northeast of Baghdad.

U.S. officials said al-Masri — whose name means "The Egyptian" in Arabic — joined al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan in the late 1990s and trained as a car bombing expert before traveling to Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. The U.S. military has $5 million bounty for al-Masri.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military on Friday said U.S. soldiers killed six Shiite extremists, who attacked U.S. forces with shoulder fired rockets and small arms, in several clashes in Baghdad's Shiite militia stronghold of Sadr City on Thursday.

Government envoys set strict demands for Shiite militias to end their battles against U.S.-led forces in Baghdad in meetings Thursday, but it was unlikely that militiamen would abide by the conditions.

Thousands of civilians already have fled Sadr City — home to nearly 40 percent of Baghdad's population — and aid groups say some areas are desperately short of food and medicine after seven weeks of street battles.

So far, the clashes are mostly confined to the southern part of the district where U.S. and Iraqi forces are building a barrier — reaching up to 12-feet high — to isolate it and disrupt supply and escape routes for militants.

"We really hope to block the north and the south," said Lt. Col. Tim Albers, an intelligence officer with the Multinational Force in Baghdad and the U.S. Army 4th Infantry Division, on Thursday.

The goal of the barrier is to put the "Green Zone," site of the Iraqi government and U.S. embassy, out of range for militia rockets and mortars.

"Within the next two weeks we should be done with the barrier part of the plan," Col. Allen Batschelet, the chief of staff for forces in Baghdad, said Thursday.

The military has said more than 700 rockets and mortars have been fired in recent weeks, but that number has since dropped to just a handful a day.

Except for Sadr City, the rest of Baghdad has been quiet. Since June 2007, there has been a 44 percent decrease in overall attacks by month in the rest of the capital and a 97 percent decrease in sectarian murders. The military did not supply exact numbers.

Associated Press reporters Bushra Juhi and Qassim Abdul-Zahra contributed to this report from Baghdad.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2008-05-08 17:26:28
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1543 comments

celeb43 09:10:22 PM May 12 2008

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LOOK FOLKS, TAKE EVERYTHING ABOUT IRAN THAT IS SAID BY THE IDIOT, ISRAEL LOBBBY IN THE WHITE HOUSE WITH A BIG GRAIN OPF SALT..... THOSE BUSHIES WANT TO KICK DIRT IN THE FACE OF IRAN... WILL SAY ANYTHING TO MAKE IRAN PLAY THE ROLE THAT THEY WANT THE IRANIANS TO BE..... TERROTIST, ANTI ISRAELIS.... THIS WEEKEND, US MILITARY AHOLE GENERAL SHOWED TO THE PRESS 45 GRANADES, ROCKETS AND ALL THAT ***** THEY SAID CAME FROM IRANN. LABELS THEY SAID, SAID MADE IN IRAN.. BUT THE SMART NON AHOLES GUNS SPECIALISTS CHECKED IT OUT AND FOUND IT WAS A B I G LIE ... STUFF DID NOT COME FROM IRAN WHICH IS WHAT THEY WQANT AMERICANS TO THINK ... IRAN GUNS KILL AMERICANS IN IRAQ... NICE WAY TO SUCK UP TO THE **** COUNTRY ISRAEL AND GET AMERICANS TO BACK IRAN ATTACKS BY BUSHIES... REMEMBER LAYUP, LIES TO IRAQ ATTACKS.

giuliann2 09:54:58 AM May 12 2008

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check out this link!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/09/AR2008050902334.html?nav=rss_email/components

giuliann2 09:54:17 AM May 12 2008

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welll.. i am speechless....
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/09/AR2008050902334.html?nav=rss_email/components

kingnus 07:49:39 AM May 12 2008

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There seems to be people in this country that would gladly see american troops die defending Israel to save Israeli troops from having to fight.

giuliann2 07:45:10 PM May 10 2008

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nanvancamp 06:57:37 PM May 10 2008

Report This! WHAT GD "IRAQI GOVERNMENT? IT DOESN'T EXIST....IT'S JUST A BUNCH OF INEFFECTUAL MORONS WHO DON'T HAVE THE INTELLIGENCE TO TAKE CONTROL. MEANWHILE, OUR LOVED ONES ARE BEING KILLED AND MAIMED DAILY FOR THESE SAVAGES...........OUR TAX DOLLARS ARE BEING SPENT TO AID THESE "BACKWARD PEOPLES" WHILE OUR OWN AMERICAN CITIZENS ARE LOSING THEIR JOBS, HOMES AND LIVELIHOODS....THE AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS IS BECOMING THE WORKING POOR...OOOPPPSSS, WHAT WORK??
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
dont balme the Iraqi.. they didnt ask for 'OUR HelP">>>

nanvancamp 06:57:37 PM May 10 2008

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WHAT GD "IRAQI GOVERNMENT? IT DOESN'T EXIST....IT'S JUST A BUNCH OF INEFFECTUAL MORONS WHO DON'T HAVE THE INTELLIGENCE TO TAKE CONTROL. MEANWHILE, OUR LOVED ONES ARE BEING KILLED AND MAIMED DAILY FOR THESE SAVAGES...........OUR TAX DOLLARS ARE BEING SPENT TO AID THESE "BACKWARD PEOPLES" WHILE OUR OWN AMERICAN CITIZENS ARE LOSING THEIR JOBS, HOMES AND LIVELIHOODS....THE AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS IS BECOMING THE WORKING POOR...OOOPPPSSS, WHAT WORK??

giuliann2 06:23:58 PM May 10 2008

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dondon747 06:01:25 PM May 10 2008

Report This! Islamic terrorist today are called Al-Qadia. In every country from the Phillipines to NewYork. Ultimately, it is not about Jews in Israel, or Orthodox Serbs in Kosovo, or Hindus in Kashmir, Buddhists in Thailand, or Maronite Catholics in Lebanon, Taoists in China, or Christians in Sudan and Nigeria, but all of us. It not about the terror atacks in Russia, India, Spain,New York, England, Kenya, but about Jihad. This is the war on terror. Our war on terror is not about us, it about the terrorist and there cause. They say it is about Islam. They call it Jihad
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
partially i agree..

all religions have they extreems.. Jihad is one of them..
te question is: HOW you fight terrorists???
surely not by attacking a country who was SECULAR.. and its leader hated extreemists..aka Al Queda.. or the iranian MULLAHS... or the super secretive Saudi royals...(sunni)..
what if... wedo not attack other

dondon747 06:01:25 PM May 10 2008

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Islamic terrorist today are called Al-Qadia. In every country from the Phillipines to NewYork. Ultimately, it is not about Jews in Israel, or Orthodox Serbs in Kosovo, or Hindus in Kashmir, Buddhists in Thailand, or Maronite Catholics in Lebanon, Taoists in China, or Christians in Sudan and Nigeria, but all of us. It not about the terror atacks in Russia, India, Spain,New York, England, Kenya, but about Jihad. This is the war on terror. Our war on terror is not about us, it about the terrorist and there cause. They say it is about Islam. They call it Jihad

deathcom10 04:02:16 PM May 10 2008

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radcomlink , If you think Israels security should come before America ! May be you should move there !

deathcom10 03:50:56 PM May 10 2008

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radcomlink , when America puts its own security before any country , Even Israel its treason ! Israel needs to fight its own wars ! I am an a American Vet who supports America and would gladly lay my life down for America !

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