The
seizure
of
Abu
Umar
al-Kurdi,
alleged
to
be
a
senior
aide
to
Abu
Musab
Al-Zarqawi,
purported
leader
of
the
al-Qaida
Group
in
the
Land
of
Two
Rivers,
appeared
to
be
a
major
breakthrough
for
the
authorities
before
next
Sunday's
election.
Abu
Umar,
also
known
as
Sami
Muhammea
al-Jafi
and
accused
of
masterminding
some
of
the
worst
car
bombings
in
Iraq,
was
seized
in
a
raid
in
Baghdad
on
15
January,
the
government
said.
He
is
blamed
for
over
30
bombings,
including
the
attack
on
the
UN
headquarters
in
August
2003
which
killed
special
envoy
Sergio
Vieira
de
Mello
and
20
others,
and
a
blast
in
Najaf
the
same
month
which
killed
80,
including
a
leading
Shia
cleric.
 |
|
Both
officials
and
voters
fear a
massive
assault
on
election
day
|
"Kurdi
has
confessed
to
some
75%
of
the
car
bombs
that
were
used
for
attacks
in
Baghdad
since
March
2003
and
to
making
the
explosives
used
in
the
attack
on
the
Jordanian
embassy
in
August
2003,"
government
spokesman
Thair
al-Naqib
said.
Attacks
feared
The
government
said
Abu
Umar
had
received
instructions
from
al-Zarqawi
to
carry
out
a
series
of
bomb
attacks
on
election
day
-
precisely
the
sort
of
assault
the
government,
opposition
figures,
voters
and
international
observers
fear.
Iraq
's
electoral
commission
has
said
14
million
of
Iraq
's
27
million
people
could
go
the
polls
on
Sunday,
creating
what
the
UN
has
described
as
the
biggest
security
and
organisational
challenge
since
Saddam
Hussein's
fall.
The
announcement
of
Abu
Umar's
arrest
and
that
of
another
senior
anti-US
figure,
Nayif
Abbas
al-Zubaydi,
came
hours
after
a
car
bomb
struck
near
Allawi's
party
office
in
central
Baghdad
,
injuring
10
people.
Al-Zarqawi's
group
claimed
responsibility
for
the
attack
in
a
statement
published
on
the
internet.
The
statement
could
not
be
independently
verified.
