US forces seize a top al Qaeda leader in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Dec 20: US forces have captured a senior al Qaeda in Iraq leader accused of killing hundreds of Iraqi civilians, including women and children, the US military said in a statement today.

The military said the ''terrorist leader'', whom they did not identify, was captured on December 14 in the northern city of Mosul in a raid which also netted five other suspects.

''The terrorist leader was captured when Coalition Forces raided a known terrorist meeting place. (He) was attempting to flee from the location when Coalition Forces chased him across a street and detained him,'' it said in a statement.

''He was personally responsible for hundreds of civilian deaths, including women and children. He housed foreign fighters to be used in suicide bombing attacks against the Coalition and the Iraqi people.'' The US military says it has killed or captured hundreds of al Qaeda members since killing al Qaeda in Iraq leader Musab al -Zarqawi in an airstrike in June.

The military statement said the al Qaeda suspect had been in charge of the Sunni Islamist group's military operations in Mosul and the Iraqi capital, during which time he had coordinated carbomb attacks and kidnappings for ransom.

REUTER