Iraqis Arrest 11 in Anti-Qaeda Leader's Killing

Detained include one of sheik's bodyguards
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 22, 2007 2:18 PM CDT
Iraqis Arrest 11 in Anti-Qaeda Leader's Killing
President Bush shakes hands with Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, right, leader of the Anbar Salvation Council, also known as the Anbar Awakening -- an alliance of clans backing the Iraqi government and U.S. forces -- during a meeting with tribal leaders at Al-Asad Air Base in Anbar province, Iraq, in this Sept....   (Associated Press)

Eleven suspects have been apprehended in the Sept. 13 murder of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, a Sunni tribal leader largely credited with quelling al-Qaeda violence in turbulent Anbar province, Reuters reports. A security guard "facilitated the entrance of the suicide bomber and we arrested a cell of 11 al-Qaeda members who planned the attack," said his successor, Ahmed Abu Risha.

All those detained were Iraqis from Abu Risha's hometown of Ramadi. The US military also said it had arrested Fallah al-Jumayli, another militant involved in al-Qaeda's plan to kill tribal leaders who have united against the terror group. It was unclear if he was among the 11 Iraqis detained. (More al-Qaeda in Iraq stories.)

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