Ansar al-Sunna leader, armed cell captured in Baghdad

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The leader of Ansar al-Sunna armed group and an armed cell, involved in the attack on the Egyptian embassy, were arrested in Baghdad, the interior ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. “The Criminal Investigation Department arrested the leader of Ansar al-Sunna armed group, Abu Abdullah al-Shafia, and two of his brothers, after receiving intelligence information from the Kurdistan’s security authorities on his presence in Baghdad,” said the statement received by IraqiNews.com news agency. “The operation was launched with the assistance of U.S. troops,” it added. Jaish Ansar al-Sunna, or Army of the Followers of the Sunna is a militant group based in northern and central Iraq, and includes both Kurdish and Sunni Arab as well as foreign fighters. “The department arrested a terrorist, involved in the attack on the Egyptian embassy, along with eight gunmen,” the ministry said. “Three of the detainees confessed to bombing residential buildings in Baghdad and to taking part in the attacks on embassies, including the Egyptian embassy,” it noted. SH (P) 5