Iraq Terror Leader is Arrested

THE highest-ranking Iraqi in the leadership of al-Qaeda in Iraq has been arrested, the US command said yesterday.

Officials said information from him indicated the group’s foreign- based leadership wielded considerable influence over the Iraqi chapter.

Khaled Abdul-Fattah Dawoud Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, also known as Abu Shahid, was captured in Mosul on July 4.

A military spokesman said: “Al-Mashhadani is believed to be the most senior Iraqi in the al Qaeda in Iraq network.”

He said al-Mashhadani was a close associate of Abu Ayub al- Masri, the Egyptian-born head of al-Qaeda in Iraq.

In his statement, Bergner said al-Mashhadani had frequently served as an intermediary between al-Masri and Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda No 2 Ayman al-Zawahri.

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