Top al Qaeda Operative Captured
The Pentagon announced today the capture of Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, described as "one of al-Qaida's most senior and most experienced operatives." Where and when al-Hadi was captured has not been disclosed; he is a native of Iraq who served in Saddam's military before going to Afghanistan to join bin Laden. Al-Hadi was apparently trying to return to Iraq from an undisclosed country when he was apprehended. The Wikipedia entry on al-Hadi includes this "wanted poster" put out by the U.S. government:
Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi is one of Usama bin Laden’s top global deputies, personally chosen by bin Laden to monitor al Qaeda operations in Iraq. Al-Hadi was the former Internal Operations Chief for al Qaeda. He has been associated with numerous attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan and has been known to facilitate communication between al Qaeda in Iraq and al Qaeda. Al-Hadi rose to the rank of Major in Saddam Hussein’s army before moving to Afghanistan to fight against the Soviet Union. He has a reputation for being a skilled, intelligent, and experienced commander and is an extremely well-respected al Qaeda leader. He has commanded numerous terrorist training camps in Afghanistan. Al-Hadi is reportedly still in contact with Usama bin Laden.
Good news.
UPDATE: Tom Joscelyn writes, "Amazing how many former members of Saddam's regime became al Qaeda bigwigs." He suggests some questions we should be asking al-Hadi.
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