Most wanted man 'on the run'
2005-04-26 12:28
Washington - United States forces recently came close to capturing Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq and they have found his laptop computer and seized some of his money, ABC television reported on Monday.
The most wanted man in Iraq eluded capture on February 20 as he headed to a meeting in the western city of Ramadi, ABC News quoted a senior US military official as saying. Zarqawi's driver and a bodyguard were detained in the operation.
The United States set up Task Force 626 last year to track Zarqawi, who has been accused of masterminding scores of attacks in Iraq. The United States has offered a $25m reward for Zarqawi's detention, putting him on a par with al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Following a tip off from inside the Zarqawi network about the meeting, members of the task force had troops in place and checkpoints around Ramadi, as well as Predator drones in the air monitoring the region, the report said.
The senior military official said that just before the meeting, troops pulled a car over as it approached a checkpoint and at the same time a pickup truck about a 1km behind then quickly turned in the opposite direction.
The United States believed the militant leader was in the truck. "Zarqawi always has someone check the waters," the official was quoted as saying.
US teams began a chase, but when the truck was pulled over Zarqawi was not inside. The senior military official said they had since learned that Zarqawi jumped out when the vehicle passed beneath a bridge and hid there before running to a safe house in Ramadi.
The official said Zarqawi's computer and $104 000 were found inside.
He described the find as "a seminal event." The computer had "a very big hard drive," the official said, and recent pictures of Zarqawi. The driver and a bodyguard were detained.
ABC said Lieutenant General John Vines, the US commander responsible for daily military operations in Iraq, would not provide detail of the escape in a recent interview, but that he did say the Zarqawi network has been damaged.
"We believe he is resilient," Vines said. "He is incredibly evil and we can't forget that. So he is dangerous still, but he is on the run."
The official said the owner of the safe house where Zarqawi ran had also been arrested.
- AFP