Al-Zarqawi Captured - Report
Politics | July 29, 2004, Thursday
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the "wild card" in US pack of wanted men, has reportedly been arrested in Western Iraq. Photo by AFP
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, head of the group suspected of beheading two Bulgarian hostages, has reportedly been arrested in Western Iraq.
Al-Zarqawi has been arrested by Iraqi police and US military close to the border with Syria, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported, citing information posted on the Internet.
Zarqawi was dressed in a white T-shirt and blue jeans. Reports claim that he didn't oppose the arrest.
A blood sample has been sent to Baghdad for DNA tests.
A group linked to Zarqawi is suspected of carrying out a wave of attacks in late June that killed more than 100 people and injured hundreds more in attacks in five Iraqi cities.
Zarqawi is also said to have been involved in the beheading of an American contractor, Nick Berg, shown on a video released on 11 May.
In 2003, he was named as the brains behind a series of lethal bombings - from Casablanca in Morocco to Istanbul in Turkey.
The US is now offering a USD 25 M reward for the capture of Zarqawi, the "wild card" in its pack of wanted men.
The remains of one of the Bulgarian hostages, Georgi Lazov, killed by the Zarqawi's terrorists have been transported back home early on Thursday.
The 30-year old Bulgarian truck driver Lazov and his colleague Ivaylo Kepov, 32, were abducted June 29 near the northern city of Mosul. A group affiliated with al-Zarqawi said it kidnapped the Bulgarians and demanded Iraqi detainees be released in exchange for their lives. The group later sent a tape to Al-Jazeera television that showed Lazov being killed. His death was officially confirmed July 22.
Kepov's fate is still not clear though Bulgarian media cited an Iraqi official who said that the Bulgarian is dead and his body has been found. Bulgaria's authorities have not been able to confirm Kepov's death.
MORE about al-Zarqawi READ in For the Record SectionAl-Zarqawi has been arrested by Iraqi police and US military close to the border with Syria, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported, citing information posted on the Internet.
Zarqawi was dressed in a white T-shirt and blue jeans. Reports claim that he didn't oppose the arrest.
A blood sample has been sent to Baghdad for DNA tests.
A group linked to Zarqawi is suspected of carrying out a wave of attacks in late June that killed more than 100 people and injured hundreds more in attacks in five Iraqi cities.
Zarqawi is also said to have been involved in the beheading of an American contractor, Nick Berg, shown on a video released on 11 May.
In 2003, he was named as the brains behind a series of lethal bombings - from Casablanca in Morocco to Istanbul in Turkey.
The US is now offering a USD 25 M reward for the capture of Zarqawi, the "wild card" in its pack of wanted men.
The remains of one of the Bulgarian hostages, Georgi Lazov, killed by the Zarqawi's terrorists have been transported back home early on Thursday.
The 30-year old Bulgarian truck driver Lazov and his colleague Ivaylo Kepov, 32, were abducted June 29 near the northern city of Mosul. A group affiliated with al-Zarqawi said it kidnapped the Bulgarians and demanded Iraqi detainees be released in exchange for their lives. The group later sent a tape to Al-Jazeera television that showed Lazov being killed. His death was officially confirmed July 22.
Kepov's fate is still not clear though Bulgarian media cited an Iraqi official who said that the Bulgarian is dead and his body has been found. Bulgaria's authorities have not been able to confirm Kepov's death.
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