Zarqawi Aide Held, Iraq Says

The Iraqi government said Friday that its soldiers had captured a key aide to Jordanian militant Abu Musab Zarqawi, the leader of an insurgent network suspected of killing more than 500 people in a wave of car bombings, assassinations and beheadings.

The capture is the latest made in a string of raids conducted in Baghdad, Mosul and western Iraq that have reportedly netted top Zarqawi lieutenants and soldiers. Iraqi and U.S. military authorities say they have caught or killed more than half a dozen of his operatives since January, including the network’s top bomb maker and its website designer.

In a statement Friday, the government said Iraqi forces had captured Talib Mikhlif Arsan Walman Dulaymi, responsible for “arranging safe houses and transportation as well as passing packages and funds to Zarqawi.”

The suspect, who also goes by the name Abu Qutaybah, was seized in a Feb. 20 raid in Anah, a town about 175 miles northwest of Baghdad, in the western province of Al Anbar, the government said. The province is dominated by Sunni Muslims, who have driven the insurgency since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

“Abu Qutaybah was responsible for determining who, when and how terrorist network leaders would meet with Zarqawi,” the government said. “His extensive contacts and operational ability throughout western Iraq made him a critical figure in the Zarqawi network.”

Zarqawi tops the U.S. military’s list of the most wanted men in Iraq, and a $25-million bounty is on his head. The Jordanian militant has pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and is suspected of controlling the network of insurgents once based in Fallouja, in the Sunni heartland. Those who survived the U.S.-led assault on that city in November are believed to have dispersed.

Although U.S. military leaders say Zarqawi is a primary force behind the insurgency, some Iraqis believe he is fictitious, created to justify unpopular military actions.

During the last week, Marine units have conducted raids and security crackdowns in Ramadi, west of Fallouja, and in towns and villages dotting the Euphrates River. Although Anah is on the river, approaching the Syrian border, officials would not comment on whether the raid was part of the Marine operation.

The Iraqi government said Abu Qutaybah was a known associate of other Zarqawi aides now in custody. Among the captives is Abu Ahmed, who is suspected of leading insurgents in the northern city of Mosul.

The government said its forces had netted a second suspected Zarqawi aide in the same operation. He was identified as Ahmad Khalid Marad Ismail Rawi, also known as Abu Uthman, and was said to occasionally serve as Zarqawi’s driver and help arrange meetings for him.

Both suspects were said to be Iraqis, with names connecting them to well-known Sunni tribes in and around Ramadi.

The announcement was the latest by U.S. and Iraqi forces who have reported the capture of key insurgents and even the near-capture of Zarqawi.

Authorities say they got a significant break in January, when Iraqi forces in Baghdad captured an expert bomb maker linked to some of Iraq’s most sensational and deadly attacks, including strikes on the United Nations and an Italian base.

The suspect, Sami Mohammed Ali Said Jaaf, also known as Abu Umar Kurdi, claimed to have helped build 75% of the car bombs detonated in Baghdad since the U.S.-led invasion. The Iraqi government has described him as “the most lethal” of Zarqawi’s lieutenants, and he has reportedly supplied crucial information.

Earlier this month, Iraqi forces conducting a raid in Baghdad reportedly killed Adel Mujtaba, Zarqawi’s propaganda chief. Mujtaba reportedly designed websites for Zarqawi’s insurgent groups.

Associated Press was used in compiling this report.