Iraqi Shrine Bombing Suspect Arrested
Shaveta Bansal - All Headline News Staff Writer Baghdad, Iraq (AHN) - Iraqi officials on Wednesday said they have arrested a key al-Qaeda in Iraq suspect wanted in the bombing of the Shiite Golden Dome shrine last February in Samarra. National Security adviser, Mouwafak al-Rubaie, said a Tunisian identified as Yousri Fakher, was one of the seven men wanted in the attack. Al-Rubaie said Yousri Fakher Mohammed Ali alias Abu Qudama was seriously wounded in a clash with security forces north of Baghdad few days ago. He had admitted his involvement in the attack. Fifteen other foreign fighters were killed in the confrontation, he said. At a new conference in Baghdad, Al-Rubaie said the mastermind behind the operation, Haitham Sabah Shaker Mohammed al-Badri, was still at large. The bombing in Samarra had led to a sharp rise in sectarian killing and revenge attacks on Sunni and Shiite mosques. Al-Rubaie said besides Abu Qudama and al-Badri there were five more attackers in the gang including two Iraqis and four Saudis. He didn't mention whether the other members have been captured or not. The national security chief said the gang planted bombs in the 1,200-year-old Askariyah mosque that obliterated its glistening golden dome, an addition completed in 1905. He said Abu Qudama, the captured Tunisian, was also involved in the killing the of Al-Arabiya TV correspondent Atwar Bahjat, who was shot dead along with two |
