Abu Musab al-Zarqawi reportedly arrested in Iraq

ITAR-TASS ^ | 01/04/05

[TexKat]

DUBAI, January 4 (Itar-Tass) - Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi, whom the US occupation authorities declared to be the "target number one" in Iraq, has been arrested in the city of Baakuba, the Emirate newspaper al-Bayane reported on Tuesday referring to Kurdish sources. Al-Zarqawi, leader of the terrorist group Al-Tawhid Wa'al-Jihad, was recently appointed the director of the Al-Qaeda organisation in Iraq.

The newspaper's correspondent in Baghdad points out that a report on the seizure of the terrorist, on whom the US put a bounty of 10 million dollars, was also reported by Iraqi Kurdistan radio, which at one time had been the first to announce the arrest of Saddam Hussein.

There have been no official reports about the arrest of the terrorist. Al-Zarqawi, 38, a Jordanian, whose real name is Ahmad al-Khalayleh, aims to turn Iraq into a "new Afghanistan". According to Arab press data, Al-Tawhid Wa'al-Jihad group has divided Iraq into several emirates. The group's independent subdivisions at a strength of 50 to 500 militants operate in the cities of Al-Falluja, Al-Qaim, Diala, and Samarra.

The personnel of the group is on the whole 1,500-strong and includes Iraqis and citizens of Arab and Islamic countries. There are demolition experts and missilemen among them.

The group has depots of weapons and explosives in various parts of the country. It intends to frustrate the upcoming parliamentary elections that are scheduled for the end of this month. Al-Tawhid Wa'al-Jihad threatens to do away with Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and members of the interim government.

[Blowtorch]

I think we have this bad guy and are in the process of torturing him and I will blow your socks off here-I think we have had Osama for a very long time.

If you're right and we do have Osama, then the following questions come to mind:

1. Why is he still releasing audio tapes? Would we use him in this way if he was our prisoner?

2. If we do have him, John Kerry must not know about it, because in the debates he used an uncaptured Osama to show the incompetence of our president. That tells me that only a handful of our highest know that we have him and they can keep a secret pretty well.

3. Democrats claimed that the capture of Osama would be the "October Suprise" that would put Bush over the top. With the election being as close and important as it was, why wouldn't Bush assure his own victory by releasing that information? It seems to me that assuring another Bush term would be worth more in the war on terror than keeping a lid on Osama's capture.

[1smallVoice]

Bush is not your typical politician. Albright knows and said as much, John Kerry did not ever have a chance. The CIA is releasing the tapes to find the hidden cells.

Look what happened after Osama released his last tape, we captured Zakowi.

[Blowtorch]

Good thread and recipe for later viewing. I am also going to check out that body butter stuff for my spouse Howlin was howlin about.

[nopardons]

I think that the person was either lied to,or a bit comfused.

[valleygal]

I know you probably know this already but I did finally hear from my friend in Baghdad and she said it was definitely an untrue rumor. Darn.

[chemicalman]

...and again...

[TexKat]

Thanks chemicalman. This scum is either in somebodies custody or he is somewhere on the Afgan Pakistan border sniffing OBL'S waste bag, the scum.

[TexKat]

And Here

http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=6517