The Islamic Army in Iraq has been implicated in several other kidnappings and claimed responsibility for the killing of Enzo Baldoni, an Italian journalist, after Italy rejected a demand to withdraw its 3,000 soldiers from Iraq.
The al-Mansurah cell of the Islamic Army in Iraq abducted the Frenchmen in Latifiyah, just outside the town of Mahmudiyah, where they were kept for the first few days.
They were then handed to a sister cell, known as the al-Karar battalion, at another town in the so-called Sunni triangle west of Baghdad. The Islamic Army in Iraq broke away from the Army of Ansar al-Sunnah, which last week killed 12 Nepalese hostages.
Abu Mohammad al-Ablaj
aka Mulla Saif-al-Din
aka Abu Bakr. This guy has taken credit for several bombings, such as the Riyardh, Istanbul, etc.Is It Possible That This is where some ofthe HMX and RDX Went
Monday s breakthrough was evidence of such determination.
The Interior Ministry said plans for major terror attacks on key installations in the Kingdom were foiled with the arrest of the 16 Al-Qaeda operatives.
Over 20 metric tons of chemical substances used for manufacturing explosives, some in bags hidden in underground stores, were seized.
Large numbers of boxes containing ammunition and various types of shells, in addition to 72 kilograms (158 pounds) of highly explosive RDX, were found.
Also seized were: five RPG anti-tank and anti-personnel launchers and 18 rockets, 524 detonators, 981 meters (2,940 feet) of match cord, several automatic rifles, ammunition, Bullet-proof vests, binoculars, communication devices, monitoring cameras, computers, fake passports and identity cards, motorbikes and vehicles readied for use in terrorist attacks, the Interior Ministry said.
The weapons have been smuggled into the Kingdom, possibly from Iraq or Yemen, Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz said, denying that the suspects had stolen weapons and vehicles from military stores.
The arms were seized from farms and public rest houses around the country, indicating a link between all the militants. Definitely there is a connection among all of them.