Key al-Qaeda figure killed

2007-11-13 14:01

Baghdad - A key figure in the al-Qaeda terrorist network was killed in a US strike on the city of Samarra in Iraq's northern Salahaddin province, a security source told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa on Tuesday.

"Talal al-Bazi, who is a former Iraqi police officer holding the post of minister in the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and known to security bodies as Abu-Tiba, was killed on Monday in a US helicopter strike," a source in the Tikrit police said.

The car in which al-Bazi was riding from the Banat al-Hasan to Mamlaha districts in Samarra was struck, according to the source.

Most al-Qaeda loyalists fled Banat al-Hasan to areas in east Samarra following a surge in strikes launched by both the Sunni Islamic Army of Iraq and Iraqi forces, the source explained.

The Muatasim region, which together with Ishaki constituted one of the key bases for al-Qaeda, was now under the control of Iraqi troops, the source said.

The Islamic Army of Iraq, which was once part of the Sunni insurgency against the US-led coalition army, is one of several factions now combating al-Qaeda.

Seven members of al-Qaeda have also been killed by the Islamic Army of Iraq, the source said.

Among the dead are key members, such as Hosam Bidiwi, an administrative leader, and Bakr Ahmad Rahil, who was in charge of prisons, according to the source.

The source said security forces were close to declaring the end of al-Qaeda in the province of Salahaddin as a result of strikes by US and Iraqi troops and the Islamic Army of Iraq.

Al-Qaeda fighters have been operating from bases in south-east and south-west Samara, 120km north of Baghdad. - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA