Baghdad: The Iraqi officials on Sunday claimed to have arrested a top al-Qaeda leader in Iraq and seized a list of names and locations of other operatives, Iraqi media reported on Sunday.
According to media, the Iraqi counter-terrorism unit confirmed the arrest but did not mention the name of the culprit.
Iraq’s spokesman for a counter-terrorism unit, Samir al-Shuili said that members of the unit infiltrated the Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaeda umbrella group, and that operatives on the list were from other Arab countries and Iraq was seeking the help of those countries in arresting them.
Iraqi media has been reporting that the man in custody is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was named head of the Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella organisation of armed groups, two years ago after the killing of Abu Omar-al-Baghdadi in a US air strike in 2010.
“It’s not known whether Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the man who is said to have taken over the al-Qaeda organisation here is actually Iraqi, or, in fact, even exists or is a composite of several people,” said Arraf.
“He has kept a very low profile, except for the regular bombings that have taken place [for which] the Islamic State of Iraq has claimed responsibility.”
“He has not come out with a lot of statements or videos. He has been, even by al-Qaeda standards, quite a shadowy figure,” our correspondent said, adding that the reports of al-Baghdadi’s arrest are yet to be confirmed.
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