CNN: Iraq mistakenly freed terror leader (AP) Updated: 2005-12-16 11:12
Iraqi security forces caught terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi but released
him because they didn't realize who he was, the deputy interior minister said
Thursday, according to CNN.
The deputy interior minister, Hussein Kamal, said the Jordanian-born leader
of al-Qaida in Iraq was in custody sometime last year, but he wouldn't provide
further details, CNN reported.
A poster distributed by the US army in
February 2004 shows Al-Qaeda militant Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi.[AFP/file] | The report could not be confirmed, but a U.S. official said in Washington
that American intelligence believed it was plausible. The official spoke on
condition of anonymity in compliance with office policy.
There have been several reports of missed opportunities to capture
al-Zarqawi, including an April 28 raid by U.S. forces acting on a tip from local
informants that militants reportedly including the terror leader were hiding in
a hospital in Ramadi.
Al-Qaida in Iraq and Iraqi officials also denied reports last month that
al-Zarqawi was among those killed in a raid and gunfight in the northern city of
Mosul.
Al-Zarqawi, who has claimed responsibility for several attacks in Iraq along
with the kidnappings and beheadings of foreigners, has a $25 million bounty on
his head.
He also drew criticism in his home country of Jordan after his insurgent
group claimed responsibility for the deadly Nov. 9 attacks on hotels in Amman.
Jordan sentenced al-Zarqawi to death in absentia for planning a terror plot
that led to the 2002 killing of U.S. aid worker Laurence Foley. He has claimed
responsibility for several other plots in Jordan, including a foiled April 2004
chemical attack.
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