[Al Arabiya Latest] The security services of Iraq's northern Kurdish area said Saturday they had arrested a key al-Qaeda figure allegedly behind a string of bomb attacks, in an operation backed by the U.S. military.An official statement named the suspect as Muthanna Hani Nassar and said he had been a high-ranking official in the Baath party of executed dictator Saddam Hussein.
The U.S. army said separately that he was wanted in connection with major bombings in northern Iraq.
Nassar, 36, from Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province and hotbed of the once fierce Sunni insurgency against U.S. forces, was arrested in Sulaimaniyah city last weekend under a warrant issued in his home city, Kurdish intelligence said.
"The arrested terrorist is wanted by the Iraqi security forces and U.S. forces in Ramadi," said a statement issued by the Sulaimaniyah Asaish Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team.
"He came to Sulaimaniyah on the pretext of work with a local company and he was intending to plan terrorist operations," it added, noting that documents found at the time of arrest "proved his involvement in terrorist attacks."
The security operation was conducted during the night November 8-9 and was backed by U.S. advisers.
"The arrested individual is suspected of being a former high ranking member of the Baath party and is allegedly a key figure in the al-Qaeda terrorist group," said a U.S. military statement.
"The suspect has been linked to major explosive attacks throughout northern Iraq and has been connected to financing terrorist cells."