The Iraqi government is claiming to have captured aides to Jordanian-born terrorist Abu Mussab Al-Zarqawi.
The government said in a statement that Talib Mikhlif Arsan Walman Al-Dulaymi, also known as Abu Qutaybah, was captured during a Feb. 20 raid in Anah, about 260 km northwest of the capital.
“Abu Qutaybah was responsible for determining who, when and how terrorist network leaders would meet with Zarqawi,” the government said.
He “filled the role of key lieutenant for the Zarqawi network, arranging safe houses and transportation as well as passing packages and funds to Zarqawi,” the government said. “His extensive contacts and operational ability throughout western Iraq made him a critical figure in the Zarqawi network.”
Also captured was a man identified as Ahmad Khalid Marad Ismail Al-Rawi, who also helped arrange meetings for Zarqawi and who “occasionally acted as his driver.”
Both names are Iraqi and belong to well-known Sunni tribes in and around the town of Ramadi, a hotbed of the insurgency in Anbar province west of Baghdad.
DR
