US: Senior Al-Qaida in Iraq Militant Killed
By VOA News
15 October 2008
The U.S. military in Baghdad says a man killed by coalition forces earlier this month has been identified as the second in command of al-Qaida in Iraq.
The military said Wednesday that Abu Qaswarah, also know as Abu Sara, led AQI in northern Iraq until he was killed during an operation in Mosul October 5.
Officials say the Moroccan-born militant had "historic ties" to the group's founder, the late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. They said he trained with al-Qaida in Afghanistan and directed the movement of "foreign terrorists" into northern Iraq.
The U.S. military said Abu Qaswarah's death will cause a "major disruption" to the AQI network.
Also Wednesday, police and hospital sources say Iraqi security forces have discovered the bodies of 22 men in a mass grave near the holy Shi'ite city of Karbala in southern Iraq.
Security officials say the bodies are believed to be those of Shi'ite shepherds kidnapped and killed in 2007. Sunni AQI militants have been known to carry out such attacks.
Separately, a spokesman for Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says Iraqi political leaders are reviewing a new draft of a security agreement with the United States.
The spokesman says the draft will be seen by members of the Political Council for National Security before reaching parliament.
The U.S. and Iraq have been working on an agreement that would keep U.S. forces in Iraq after the U.N. mandate for the multi-national force expires on December 31. But negotiators have been divided over the issue of granting U.S. personnel immunity for crimes committed in Iraq.
U.S.-led coalition and Iraqi forces have managed to bring the levels of violence down throughout much of Iraq, but some northern regions remain volatile.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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