Qaeda leader, brother nabbed near Baaquba

DIALA / IraqiNews.com: An al-Qaeda-in-Iraq leader was arrested along with his brother during a raid in the northeast of Baaquba city, the local police chief said on Saturday. “Today, police forces conducted a security operation targeting al-Qaeda members in Jalawlaa, Khanaqin district (155 km northeast of Baaquba), during which an al-Qaeda amir, Yasser Ahmed Hussein, and his brother, Iyad Ahmed Hussein, were arrested,” Staff. Brig. Abdelhussein al-Shamri told IraqiNews.com. Three caches of arms and ammunition were found during the operation, Shamri said, providing no further details. Diala province, a mix of Sunnis and Shiites, extends to the northeast of Baghdad as far as the Iranian border. Its capital is Baaquba, 57 km northeast of Baghdad. It covers an area of 17,685 square kilometers (6,828 sq mi). A large portion of the province is drained by the Diala River, a major tributary of the Tigris. Because of its proximity to two major sources of water, Diala’s main industry is agriculture, primarily dates grown in large Date Palm groves. It is also recognized as the orange capital of the Middle East. In January 2008 Operation Phantom Phoenix was launched in an attempt to eradicate the remnants of al-Qaeda network following the Diala province campaign between 2006 and 2007. SS (S) 1