Iraqi forces have captured slain al-Qaeda chief Abu Musa al-Zarqawi’s personal cameraman, defence ministry spokesperson Major General Ibrahim Shaker said on Tuesday.
”We arrested him in Baquba four days ago. We found important documents and videos with him,” the spokesperson said, confirming the arrest of Khalid al-Hayani, an Iraqi militant.
Al-Zarqawi — a Jordanian who as head of al-Qaeda in Iraq had a $25-million bounty on his head — was killed in a United States air strike on June 7 near the restive city of Baquba, north of Baghdad.
His death was a setback for the Sunni insurgency but his Iraqi followers have regrouped under a home-grown leader and continue to carry out deadly attacks against American forces and Iraq’s US-backed government.
Al-Qaeda bombers have also targeted civilians in a successful attempt to spark a sectarian conflict between Sunni and Shi’ite factions, which has come close to pushing the country into all-out civil war.
Shaker said that al-Hayani’s role in the violence was being investigated. — Sapa-AFP