Mastermind behind 2003 UN bombings in Iraq arrested

By Mohammed al-Qaisi in Baghdad
For Al-Shorfa.com
2010-01-18

[THOMAS COEX/AFP/Getty Images] Ministry of Defence spokesperson Mohammed al-Askari said the terrorist behind the 2003 bombing of the UN office in Iraq has been arrested.

The arrest of the al-Qaeda leader believed to be behind the 2003 bombings of the United Nations office in Baghdad represents a victory for Iraq and the world, Iraqi officials said on Saturday (January 16th).

"The arrest of [Ali Hussain al-Azzawi], who is the mastermind behind the assassination of the UN representative and his aides, is a victory for all world countries and not just Iraq," Iraqi Ministry of Defense spokesperson Mohammed al-Askari told Mawtani.com

"We can say that a major and distinguished intelligence effort was made by Iraqi forces to arrest the planner of that crime. He is currently in prison and will be brought to justice to receive his just punishment," al-Askari added.

Al-Askari said al-Azzawi was "one of the top five figures in the al-Qaeda terrorist organisation. With his arrest, one of the most prominent pillars of that organisation has collapsed."

Baghdad Operations Command announced the arrest of al-Azzawi – called "wali wulat (governor of governors) of the Islamic State of Iraq" – at a press conference on Saturday at the government headquarters in the Green Zone.

The command's spokesperson, Gen. Qassim Atta, said Iraqi security agencies arrested al-Azzawi last July in a raid in the New Baghdad area, east of the capital.

"However, the announcement of his arrest was delayed because of the lengthy investigations that were conducted with him in order to discover the armed cells that are operating under his command," he said.

Atta added that investigations with al-Azzawi, nicknamed Abu Emad, showed that he was the mastermind behind the detonation of the car bomb that targeted the UN offices in Baghdad in August 2003, which killed UN special representative in Iraq Sergio De Mello, and killed and wounded dozens of UN employees, civilians, and relief workers.

"Al-Azzawi was working as a pilot in the Iraqi Airways in the past. In the months that followed his arrest, the security agencies were able to dismantle a large number of the armed groups that were linked to him. In addition, a large number of members of those networks were arrested," Atta said.

Al-Azzawi is also accused of many other terrorist attacks, including suicide bombings that targeted day labourers in Baghdad in 2007 and 2008, as well as a car bomb attack in al-Karrada in central Baghdad.

"Al-Azzawi is also responsible for linking al-Qaeda's networks in different Iraqi cities to the organisation in Europe for the purpose of recruiting suicide bombers and receiving financial support," Atta added.

Many Iraqi citizens expressed their joy after receiving the news of the arrest of the top al-Qaeda leader and his aides.

"We forgot about the UN offices bombing because since then al-Qaeda has carried out hundreds of malicious bombings that targeted innocent Iraqis. However, it seems that our security forces have not forgotten and they exacted our revenge," said Janeed Abbas, a teacher residing in Baghdad.

"This is a major event; the arrest of a rat in that terrorist organisation. We ought to celebrate," Abbas added. Mahmoud Abd Salem, a resident of Fallujah, said, "I was astonished when I heard the news on TV. This is great news and will deal a deadly blow to that organisation. There are not many of them left, and we shall tread on them with our shoes soon."

In a related development, the Iraqi forces in western Iraq announced another security success Saturday evening.

Anbar provincial police announced that its members managed to thwart two suicide attacks with the arrest of two individuals -- one wearing a vest of explosives and the other driving a car bomb -- just minutes before they could blow themselves up in central Kabeesa in the westernmost part of Iraq. They were targeting a joint Iraqi security centre manned by army and police personnel.

"The police received tip-offs from citizens about a suicide bomber driving a small Kia van and another bomber wearing a vest of explosives, who was supposed to blow himself up directly after the first blast, when security men and medics assemble, so that he may kill and wound the biggest possible number of victims and cause real carnage in the city," said Maj. Raheem Zebn al-Dulaimi, spokesperson for Anbar police.

Al-Dulaimi said police forces in Kabeesa drew up the plan to thwart the two attacks without US assistance.

Police evacuated the checkpoint close to the targeted position, al-Dulaimi said, "in order to deceive them into believing that it was easy to access. After that, we laid an ambush for the two suicide bombers from two different directions, which enabled us to attack them with a large force and to arrest them before they could press the detonation button."

However, al-Dulaimi did not release information on the identities of the two arrested terrorists, saying, "It is confidential and is related to the course of investigation with the terrorists."

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