US forces capture alleged planner of US journalist's abduction
BAGHDAD (AFP) — The US military said on Sunday it has captured an Al-Qaeda militant who allegedly planned the abduction of American journalist Jill Carroll in January 2006.
Salim Abdallah Ashur al-Shujayri, also known as Abu Uthman, was captured during an operation on August 11, the military said in a statement.
Abu Uthman is reportedly the leader of Al-Qaeda in Baghdad's eastern Rusafa region.
"He is believed to be the planner behind the kidnapping of American journalist Jill Carroll," the military said, adding that Uthman at that time was working with another extremist group.
Carroll was kidnapped in Baghdad on January 7, 2006, during a freelance reporting assignment for the Christian Science Monitor.
She was released after nearly three months in captivity.
The military said Abu Uthman's associates have allegedly been involved in several other kidnappings, including of a group of Christian peacemakers and of Margaret Hassan, a British born social activist who was married to an Iraqi.
Hassan, the director of Care International in Iraq, was kidnapped in October 2004 and was later murdered.
Abu Uthman is suspected of overseeing car bombings and suicide attacks and is reported to be close to senior Al-Qaeda leaders, including the group's chief in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the military said.
He had also allegedly participated in both battles in the former Sunni insurgent bastion of Fallujah in April and November 2004, when other "terrorists began calling him Abu Nimr, meaning the Tiger," it said.
The military said its troops also captured another alleged Al-Qaeda militant, Ali Rash Nasir Jiyad al-Shammari, also known as Abu Tiba.
He was was captured on August 17.
"Abu Tiba is assessed to be the Al-Qaeda senior adviser in Baghdad, providing guidance and targetting assistance to subordinates throughout the city, including Abu Uthman," the military said.
"Abu Tiba is suspected of terrorist activity since 2005. He was previously reported to be the AQI (Al-Qaeda in Iraq) emir of the Karkh district of Baghdad and managed the AQI presence in the capital during its most active operational period in early 2007."
The military said the capability of Al-Qaeda's bombing network in Baghdad has been degraded, but the group is still able to conduct sporadic attacks.
"The capture of Abu Tiba and Abu Uthman eliminates two of the few remaining experienced leaders in the AQI network," said Rear Admiral Patrick Driscoll, spokesman for the military.
The two militants were captured in Baghdad.
