A suspected al-Qaeda-linked insurgent leader accused of financing attacks and recruiting fighters was captured in southern Iraq, Iraqi police said today.
General Mohammed al-Moussawi
Issa Abdul-Razzaq Ahmed, who was detained during a raid on a house in central Basra yesterday, has been travelling to neighbouring countries to collect funds for militant operations in Iraq, police said.
The 22-year-old Sunni was on the Interior Ministry's most-wanted list and is accused of being a major figure in recruiting fighters. Police also found lists with the names of other wanted militants, maps and propaganda CDs.
"Working under the guise of a businessman, he has been shuttling between Syria and the United Arab Emirates to collect funds for the terrorists in Iraq," Police commander General Mohammed al-Moussawi said.
Basra, Iraq's second-largest city 340 miles southeast of Baghdad, and the region around it are predominantly Shia and have seen little of the sectarian violence that has ransacked the capital, although rival Shia militant factions often clash, and Sunni insurgents maintain a presence.
AP