Zarqawi Aides Captured

According to this report from ABC News Online, Talib Mikhlif Arsan Walman al-Dulaymi, also known as Abu Qutaybah and a key lieutenant of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was captured on February 20 in Anah, a town northwest of Baghdad about 60 kilometers from the Syrian border. Abu Qutaybah functioned as a bag man and courier for Zarqawi while also arranging safe houses and transportation.

In more news from The Jawa Report, Mohamed Najam Ibrahim, a leader in Zarqawi's network who has been blamed for a number of beheadings, was captured in the city of Baqouba. Ibrahim and his unnamed brother are being interrogated by Iraqi authorities.

Frankly, I haven't been keeping the statistics, but it sure seems that many of Zarqawi's 'top aides' and 'key lieutenants' have been reported killed or captured over the past year. I tend to be skeptical about the classification of these people as 'top aides and key lieutenants' since organizations usually crumble without leadership. It seems more likely that at least some of the 'top aides and key lieutenants' are just gophers with little or no organizational authority.

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