Top al-Zarqawi aide, Sami Mohammed al-Jafi reported captured

Iraq claimed Monday it had arrested an aide to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi who was plotting election day attacks. Sami Mohammed al-Jafi, also known as Abu Omar al-Kurdi, is believed to be an associate of al-Zarqawi, the leader of the al-Qaeda-linked al-Tawhid group which is blamed for 32 of the bloodiest car bomb blasts since the US-led invasion of Iraq including the devastating 2003 bombing of the Baghdad UN headquarters which left 22 people dead, including the world body’s chief representative in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello.

Zarqawi’s propaganda mastermind, Hassan al-Dulaimi, who confessed Kurdi had been plotting attacks on polling centers to disrupt Sunday’s vote, had also been arrested, the Government added. A day earlier, in an audio tape message posted on an Islamist website, Zarqawi, the most wanted man in Iraq with a 25-million-dollar price on his head, declared all-out war on the elections he considers un-Islamic and singled out the country’s Shiite majority.

Zarqawi, network claimed responsibility for a suicide car bomb attack Monday on a checkpoint near Prime Minister Iyad Allawi’s party headquarters in Baghdad that left two dead and 10 wounded. According to the interim government, they had arrested Abu Omar al-Kurdi ub on Jan. 15 in a raid in Baghdad. But it was not mentioned that why it was not announced earlier about his arrest. It was heard from some govternemnt officials that this announcement was to boost the governemnt’s popularity for Sunday’s election and nothing else.

Prime Minister John Howard said, “I’m encouraged whenever the ring leaders of this grisly mob are brought to custody but there’s a long way to go”. He added “There is an epic fight going on between the enemies of progress and democracy and freedom and those who want that way of life and want to demonstrate to the world that democracy is something that can be embraced by Arab states as well as by other states. It is good news and more power to the arm of the prime minister of Iraq, Mr (Iyad) Allawi, more power to the arm of the Iraq security forces who are trying to protect people as they go about their democratic right.” Mr Howard said despite the violence the election should not be postponed.