- Title: FILE: US FORCES HAVE DETAINED MOHAMMED KHALIF SHAIKER
- Date: 16th June 2005
- Summary: (W5) STILL (FILE)(REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF MOHAMMED KHALIF SHAIKER 0.20 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 1st July 2005 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: UNKNOWN
- Reuters ID: LVAB7Q41IYPXOE753AN4UYNF9FNR
- Story Text: US foces have detained Mohammed Khalif Shaiker.
U.S. forces have detained a senior associate of
Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a U.S. general in
Iraq said on Thursday, calling the arrest a major blow to
the insurgency in the northern city of Mosul.
Mohammed Khalif Shaiker, also known as Abu Talha or the
emir of Mosul, was captured on Tuesday in a quiet
neighbourhood of Iraq's third largest city, the U.S.
military spokesman said. He said Shaiker had put up little
resistance, but gave few other details about the
circumstances of his arrest.
"This is a major defeat for the al Qaeda organisation
in Iraq," Brigadier General Donald Alston told a news
conference on Thursday, referring to the group led by
Zarqawi and allied to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.
"He gave up without a fight despite having been quoted
as saying he would never surrender."
Alston said tips from local people and months of
constant pressure had lead to Shaiker's capture.
U.S. and Iraqi security forces have announced the
arrest of several senior associates of Zarqawi in recent
weeks.
Zarqawi's group is one of the most feared militant
organisations in the country, claiming responsibility for
several of the deadliest bombings over the past 18 months.
In December last year, U.S. forces in Mosul announced
the capture of one of Shaiker's deputies, Abdul Aziz Sa'dun
Ahmed Hamduni, also known as Abu Ahmed, and the next day
seized another deputy, tightening the net on Shaiker.
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
