The commander of U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf region yesterday blamed Abu Musab Zarqawi, a Jordanian with ties to al Qaeda, for the suicide attacks Tuesday that blasted crowds of Shiite Muslim worshipers at two shrines in Iraq. Army Gen. John Abizaid, who heads the U.S. Central Command, said terrorist plans for “even greater carnage” were thwarted as a result of raids Monday by U.S. Special Operations forces against “Zarqawi network operatives.” The operatives, Abizaid said, had been plotting to set off car bombs in Baghdad and Karbala. He also said that before Tuesday’s attacks, U.S. authorities had obtained other intelligence warnings of terrorist strikes and had passed the information to Iraqi security forces. But the information, some of which pointed to possible assaults against prominent Shiites, lacked specifics about when, where or how the attacks would occur, Abizaid added. Full Story
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