Two key terror network members captured in Iraq
Suicide bombing of fuel truck in Baghdad killed 9
Saturday, December 25, 2004 Posted: 10:23 AM EST (1523 GMT)
(CNN) -- Two men the U.S. says are key figures in Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terrorist network are in U.S. custody following a sweep of Ramadi, Iraq, U.S. military sources revealed in a statement Saturday.
Soldiers of the Marine Expeditionary Force captured Saleh Arugayan Kahlil (Mahalawi), also known as Abu Ubaydah, on December 8 and caught Bassim Mohammad Hazeem, also known as Abu Khattab, on December 12, the release states.
According to the statement, the two men were cell leaders of the "Harun terrorist network," anl al-Zarqawi-affiliated group operating in Ramadi and western al Anbar province.
"This group is responsible for intimidating, attacking and murdering innocent Iraqi civilians, Iraqi police and security forces and business and political leaders throughout the Anbar province," it read.
The U.S. military blames the Harun terrorist network for kidnapping and killing 11 Iraqi National Guardsmen during the last several months and carrying out several lethal bombing attacks.
The terrorist cell also is believed to have smuggled foreign terrorists into Iraq, in an effort "to destabilize the region and prevent economic growth in Iraq," according to the statement.
The soldiers who captured the men were attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Marine Division of the I Marine Expeditionary Force.
Rumsfeld surprise
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has returned from a surprise visit to Iraq where he visited troops on Friday in Tikrit, Mosul, Falluja and Baghdad.
On the day of his visit, a suicide bomber driving a fuel truck exploded the vehicle in the affluent al-Mansour neighborhood , a police official said.
Rumsfeld was in Baghdad for part of his one-day Iraq trip but was believed to have left the country before the explosion.
Rumsfeld did not go to the al-Mansour district, which has been the site of previous attacks and abductions of Americans and other foreigners.
The blast killed at least nine people, wounded 20 others and set six buildings on fire, according to hospital officials.
Fifteen people, including women and children, were in critical condition, and many had suffered severe burns, Yarmouk Hospital officials said. Two Sudanese guards sustained wounds in the attack.
After the blast, police said they were on the lookout for a possible second fuel truck and a BMW that may have been associated with the attack.
The target of the bombing was not clear. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
The blast occurred close to the Sudanese, Libyan and Jordanian embassies. The area also is home to many prominent Iraqi politicians, including dissident Ahmed Chalabi, a candidate in the January 30 presidential election, and Adnan Pachachi, a leading Sunni politician.