Iraq touts capture of senior official for militant group, it says oversaw UN HQ bombing
By APSaturday, January 16, 2010
Iraqi military says it captures militant leader
BAGHDAD — Iraqi authorities say they have captured a senior leader of a militant group linked to al-Qaida in Iraq.
The arrest comes as Iraq’s government looks to bolster its security credentials ahead of parliamentary elections in March.
Iraqi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi announced the capture of Ali al-Azzawi in a televised press conference Saturday.
He identified al-Azzawi as a high-level commander in the Islamic State of Iraq who supervised numerous attacks, including the 2003 bombing of the United Nations’ headquarters in Iraq.
Footage showed a man who identified himself as al-Azzawi saying he was a member of the insurgent organization.
Such announcements of arrests have sometimes in the past proved premature.
