Allawi: Leading Al-Qaeda Activists Arrested In Iraq
Turkish Press ^ | 7/15/2004 | AFP
CAIRO, July 15 (AFP) - Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said his security forces have arrested several leading figures in Al-Qaeda who had access to a budget of over a billion dollars to wage attacks in the violence-wracked country.
"During the last two or three days we have arrested top figures including the driver of the organisation`s Iraqi chief Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi," Allawi said in an interview with the Arabic newspaper Al Hayat published Thursday.
He also said the Iraqis had arrested a Tunisian and a Moroccan who were planning attacks against US forces in the country.
Allawi said the Al-Qaeda men "have started to cooperate completely and efficiently with the investigators and legal authorities."
The Jordanian-born Zarqawi is accused of being the terror network`s top man in Iraq and the Americans have put a 25 million dollar bounty on his head.
"Enormous sums -- more than a billion dollars -- are at the disposal of a number of people. Some of this money is used to finance crimes against the Iraqi people, like that committed today," said Allawi.
The prime minister was referring to a car bomb attack on Wednesday which killed 10 people and wounded about 40 in Baghdad. In a similar attack on a police station in the Iraqi town of Haditha on Thursday, another 10 people were killed and 27 people were wounded.
US President George W. Bush also blamed Zarqawi for Wednesday`s attack, although he acknowledged he had nothing to back up the charge.
"The car bomb today in Baghdad, I suspect Zarqawi ordered it. I don`t know but that`s the nature of Zarqawi," Bush told supporters during a campaigning stop for the November elections.
In his interview, Allawi referred to "the presence in Syria, Jordan, Greece and Lebanon of key people from the former regime" of Saddam Hussein, adding that this did not mean the Syrian or Jordanian governments know about their activities.
Allawi deplored the fact that the militants "continue to exercise (in Syria) a destructive role in Iraq" and indicated that "international arrest warrants will be issued against them" soon.
The Iraqi prime minister said "Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt are cooperating" and helping the authorities in Iraq to combat terrorists.
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Turkish Press ^ | 7/15/2004 | AFP
CAIRO, July 15 (AFP) - Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said his security forces have arrested several leading figures in Al-Qaeda who had access to a budget of over a billion dollars to wage attacks in the violence-wracked country.
"During the last two or three days we have arrested top figures including the driver of the organisation`s Iraqi chief Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi," Allawi said in an interview with the Arabic newspaper Al Hayat published Thursday.
He also said the Iraqis had arrested a Tunisian and a Moroccan who were planning attacks against US forces in the country.
Allawi said the Al-Qaeda men "have started to cooperate completely and efficiently with the investigators and legal authorities."
The Jordanian-born Zarqawi is accused of being the terror network`s top man in Iraq and the Americans have put a 25 million dollar bounty on his head.
"Enormous sums -- more than a billion dollars -- are at the disposal of a number of people. Some of this money is used to finance crimes against the Iraqi people, like that committed today," said Allawi.
The prime minister was referring to a car bomb attack on Wednesday which killed 10 people and wounded about 40 in Baghdad. In a similar attack on a police station in the Iraqi town of Haditha on Thursday, another 10 people were killed and 27 people were wounded.
US President George W. Bush also blamed Zarqawi for Wednesday`s attack, although he acknowledged he had nothing to back up the charge.
"The car bomb today in Baghdad, I suspect Zarqawi ordered it. I don`t know but that`s the nature of Zarqawi," Bush told supporters during a campaigning stop for the November elections.
In his interview, Allawi referred to "the presence in Syria, Jordan, Greece and Lebanon of key people from the former regime" of Saddam Hussein, adding that this did not mean the Syrian or Jordanian governments know about their activities.
Allawi deplored the fact that the militants "continue to exercise (in Syria) a destructive role in Iraq" and indicated that "international arrest warrants will be issued against them" soon.
The Iraqi prime minister said "Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt are cooperating" and helping the authorities in Iraq to combat terrorists.
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