Aide of al-Qaida leader in Iraq detained

A former driver and personal assistant of al-Qaida leader in Iraq have been captured in raids carried out in the capital, the U.S. military said in a statement on Wednesday.

The close aide of Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the al-Qaida leader in Iraq, was arrested along with 31 others on Sept. 28 in Baghdad, the statement said, adding the aide is believed to have been one of al-Masri's personal drivers.

The associate has been involved in the 2005 bombings of the Sheraton and the Al Hamra hotels in Baghdad that killed a total of 16 people and injured 65 others, the statement said.

Three days after the arrest, Iraqi authorities released a video of al-Masri, showing him demonstrating how to build a bomb in a tanker truck.

"I can say we are very close to Abu Ayyub al-Masri and we say to him your days are numbered," Iraqi National Security Advisor Muwaffaq al-Rubaie said.

Source: Xinhua