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Iraqis detain al-Qaeda 'oil minister'
 Iraqi security forces say they have captured 11 members of the country's al-Qaeda network, including the group's self-styled "oil minister". Ali Mahmoud Mohammed and 10 other suspected insurgents were detained on Saturday in a village in Iraq's volatile Diyala province, reports say. He is suspected of planning attacks on oil tanker trucks. al-Qaeda in Iraq used the self-proclaimed ministerial titles to refer to key members of their organisation. Iraq's interior ministry described Ali Mahmoud Mohammed as the organisation's "oil minister". The latest raids come just a week after al-Qaeda in Iraq's self-styled "irrigation minister" and "finance minister" were arrested in another operation on 21 February. The head of al-Qaeda in Iraq is said to be known as the group's "war minister". Much of al-Qaeda's support comes from the area around Diyala and in the province of Nineveh. Although its capacity for staging attacks has been reduced, it is still viewed as a major threat in Diyala and around the northern city of Mosul. Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC 2009-03-01 |
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