Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said Iraqi authorities had arrested some elements of the leadership of the militant organization al Qaeda, according to comments published in the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat Thursday. Iraqi police netted more than 500 criminals in raids in Baghdad this week including suspected drug dealers and weapons traders. Allawi told al-Hayat of those arrested by Iraqi police: “Some of them are elements from the leadership of the al Qaeda organization.” He did not name any of them. He also said the detainees had begun to cooperate effectively and fully with the investigative authorities and that people loyal to ousted President Saddam Hussein outside the country were sending money to fund their criminal acts in Iraq. “We are discovering that there is a sort of increasing cooperation between parts of the Saddam regime and elements of al Qaeda, for example Zarqawi,” he added, referring to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the wanted Jordanian-born militant and suspected al Qaeda ally. Full Story
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