Iraqi army forces nab Qaeda-linked group financier in Ninewa

NINEWA / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi army forces on Wednesday arrested the financier for an al-Qaeda-linked group in Ninewa, a security source said. “A force from the Army 2nd Division captured the financier for Monotheism and Jihad group in Zahailiya village of Qayara district, south Mosul,” a source from Ninewa Operations Command told IraqiNews.com. “The financier, identified with alias Hajji Raad, was a financier for the group in south Mosul regions particularly in districts of al-Sharqat and al-Qayara and their outlying areas,” the source noted. The source did not elaborate further details about the operation, but he said it was based on intelligence tip-offs. Mosul, the provincial capital of Ninewa, 400 km north of Baghdad, is viewed by U.S. and Iraqi authorities as one of the last remaining al-Qaeda strongholds in Iraq. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered a two-phase military crackdown in the northern city in May. Ninewa officials said the gains from these operations, however, have disintegrated as militant groups re-entered the city there due to an insufficient number of Iraqi troops to maintain security following operations in May. AM (S)/SR 1