Iraq al-Qaeda Leader Arrested, army says

BAGHDAD - The leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was arrested in the northern city of Mosul, the Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman said Thursday. Mohammed al-Askari said the arrest of al-Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, was confirmed to him by the Iraqi commander of the province. There was no immediate confirmation or comment from U.S. forces.

The Arabic television station al-Arabiya, quoting the Iraqi Defense Ministry, said the detained suspect was the al Qaeda in Iraq leader, an Egyptian called Abu Ayyab al-Masri, but also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir.

The U.S. military in Baghdad said it had no immediate information on the reports that Masri has been caught in the northern city of Mosul, which American generals say is al Qaeda's last remaining urban stronghold in Iraq.

Iraq's Defense Ministry spokesman Major-General Mohammed al-Askari told Reuters the head of the local province's security operations had told him that Masri had been detained.

"Now the American forces have taken him to identify him," Askari said.

A senior police source in Mosul said a top al Qaeda leader had been detained in the city. He declined to give further details.

Al Qaeda in Iraq was headed by the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi until he was killed in a U.S. air strike in June 2006.

His successor, Masri, was Zarqawi's close associate, and has a U.S. bounty of $5 million on his head.