[ 09 December 2012 02:29 ]
Baku-APA. Iraq's acting interior minister has denied that the top leader of the al-Qaeda-inspired Islamic State of Iraq network has been arrested, noting that the detained man is a much lower-level operative of the terrorist organization, APA reports quoting Press TV.
In an exclusive interview with al-Jazeera news network on Saturday, Adnan al-Assadi said the suspect was believed to be a section commander in charge of an area, stretching from the northern outskirts of the capital Baghdad to the town of Taji, situated 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of Baghdad.
"Anyone from al-Qaeda is important … but he is not a very senior al-Qaeda leader," he said.
Assadi also said that al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq were directing operations in Syria, and that a US refusal to sell his country advanced surveillance equipment was hampering efforts to fight the organization.
He added that while Iraqi forces have considerably weakened the Islamic State of Iraq network, it was still believed to maintain up to 2,000 or 3,000 members in Iraq, and its leaders were directing al-Qaeda operations across the border in Syria.
"The Islamic State of Iraq - the link to al-Qaeda - has responsibility for Syria. They send fighters from Iraq to Syria, the leadership of al-Qaeda in Iraq controls Syria and they go back and forth between the two countries,” Assadi said.
The acting Iraqi interior minister further noted that al-Qaeda's hideouts in al-Anbar, Nineveh, and Salahuddin provinces were in areas too large and remote for Iraqi forces to patrol effectively.
"If you have two million soldiers you couldn't cover it. It needs to be covered with satellite and aerial surveillance which we do not have now," Assadi said.
He also said Iraqi counter-terrorism efforts have suffered from the loss of US aerial surveillance in and around the capital, where al-Qaeda is also believed to be regrouping.
"We have tried to persuade US forces to leave their air space surveillance in Baghdad and surrounding areas but they refused. We have tried to acquire this system from them through any means and at any price and still American forces refused…because they say it is advanced technology,” Assadi said.
Iraq’s counter-terrorism forces announced on December 3 that they had arrested the head of al-Qaeda in Iraq in a raid in northern Baghdad. They also alleged that the man in custody was Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was named head of the Islamic State of Iraq two years ago.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq is a shadowy group that was once allegedly led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Zarqawi was reportedly killed in June 2006.
According to US government and military officials, the group was then led by Ayyub al-Masri, who was killed along with Abu Omar al-Baghdadi -- another leader of the group -- in a joint Iraqi-US operation in Salahuddin province in April 2010.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq has been blamed for some of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the country since the US-led invasion in March 2003.
- 25/05/2013 Syrian opposition seeks goodwill gestures from Assad ahead of Geneva meeting
- 25/05/2013 China, Switzerland sign MOU on concluding FTA talks
- 25/05/2013 12 Chechen fighters killed in central Syria: activists
- 25/05/2013 Death toll reaches 23 in clashes in Lebanon's Tripoli
- 25/05/2013 China shuts down over 3,700 firework plants
- 24/05/2013 3 al-Qaida members, 2 soldiers dead in Yemen clash
- 24/05/2013 Iran presidential candidate vows to resist West
- 24/05/2013 Syria opposition refuses to attend peace talks if Assad participates
- 24/05/2013 Iran arrests Rafsanjani supporters
- 24/05/2013 2 lashed in public in Iran - PHOTO
- 24/05/2013 7.4- magnitude quake strikes off Tonga
- 24/05/2013 Turkey to build wall on border with Syria
- 24/05/2013 Turkish woman beaten by Greek police in custody
- 24/05/2013 N.Korea ‘Willing’ to Resume Denuclearization Talks - Agency
- 23/05/2013 Gunmen kill 7 Iraqi soldiers in central Iraq
- 23/05/2013 Lebanese PM warns of "state collapse"
- 23/05/2013 Saudi Arabia reports 17th death of novel coronavirus
- 23/05/2013 Pakistani cricket star politician leaves hospital
- 23/05/2013 Afghanistan: Suicide bomb kills anti-Taliban elder
- 23/05/2013 North Korean leader sends special envoy to China
- 23/05/2013 Iran's nuke power plant to be launched "shortly": Russia's atomic agency
- 22/05/2013 Feature: Palestinians flock to Gaza after Rafah crossing point reopens
- 22/05/2013 Bahrain claims Iranian drone found
- 22/05/2013 Iran's Ahmadinejad denounces election decision
- 22/05/2013 Israeli air force chief warns of Syrian attacks
- 22/05/2013 Syrian opposition urges rebels to join key battle
- 22/05/2013 DPRK accuses U.S. of slandering its socialist system
- 22/05/2013 5 killed, 20 injured in E. Afghan suicide bombing
- 22/05/2013 Iraqi premier orders army shake-up after attacks
- 22/05/2013 Armenian priest detained in Iran
- 22/05/2013 Iran qualifies 8 candidates for presidential election
- 22/05/2013 Syrian prime minister says victory against terrorists is nearing
- 22/05/2013 Syrian foes move towards talks but fighting rages
- 22/05/2013 Syrian PM confident of army's victory
- 22/05/2013 13 arrested in Beijing for rumormongering, disrupting public disorder
- 22/05/2013 42 die in another day of carnage in Iraq
- 22/05/2013 Car bomb, other attacks kill 20 in Iraq
- 21/05/2013 Iranian Guardian Council rejects Rafsanjani’s candidacy in presidential elections
- 21/05/2013 Intelligence Ministry: Iran disbands two terrorist groups
- 21/05/2013 Number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon reaches 474,000: UN
Partial lunar eclipse occurs today
Meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents expected till end of year
Azerbaijani President submits representation to parliament on reappointment of Farhad Abdullayev as chairman of Constitutional Court
Presidential Administration official reveals spheres where Azerbaijani Government is exposed to pressure
Ali Hasanov: “Time works in favor of Azerbaijan in Nagorno Karabakh conflict”
Forex