U.S. Forces Detain Zarqawi-Linked Militant in Iraq
Reuters
Dec 29, 2004 — BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces have captured a man described
as a senior commander of a militant group linked to al Qaeda ally Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi, the Iraqi government said on Wednesday.
It said in a statement the 33-year-old Iraqi, whom it named only as Abu Marwan,
was a leader of the hitherto unknown Abu Talha group, affiliated to the
Jordanian militant whom Osama bin Laden this week endorsed as his lieutenant in
Iraq.
Zarqawi's Al Qaeda Organization in Iraq has claimed responsibility for some of
bloodiest suicide bombings and beheadings of foreign hostages in Iraq this
year.
A separate but possibly allied group, Ansar al-Sunna, said it was behind last
week's suicide bombing of a U.S. mess tent in Mosul, which killed 18 Americans
and three Iraqis.
The government statement did not say whether Abu Marwan was connected to that
suicide bombing.
"Abu Marwan was responsible for conducting and commanding terrorist operations
in Mosul, purchasing weapons for Talha's terrorist group, and coordinating the
training of terrorist cells within the Abu Talha terrorist group," it said.
It said Abu Marwan had been detained six days ago after a tip-off from local
residents.
U.S. forces launched an offensive on the western city of Falluja last month,
with the aim of crushing foreign fighters loyal to Zarqawi, whom it said were
leading a Sunni insurgency from there.
But U.S. and Iraqi officials have since acknowledged that Islamic militants
slipped out of Falluja ahead of the assault and headed for other Sunni cities,
notably Mosul which has witnessed a growing slide toward chaos in recent
months.
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