Security forces in Iraq have captured Amar al- Zubaydi, a top aide to Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, according to a government statement issued Sunday. Al-Zubaydi, also known as Abu Abbas, was seized in Baghdad three days ago, Reuters quoted the Iraqi government as saying. Al-Zubaydi was a close associate of Iraq's al-Qaeda leader al- Zarqawi and is believed to have helped plan an attack on Abu Ghraib prison in April as well as a series of car bombings in Baghdad. Operations around the country over the weekend aimed at rounding up insurgents involved in al-Qaeda's Iraqi activities yielded 109 suspects, U.S.-led multinational forces said Sunday. Operations north of al-Qaim early Sunday netted 54 detainees and saw six suspects killed. Iraqi, Polish, Salvadorean and U.S. troops on Saturday detained 17 people in Babil Province, in central Iraq to Baghdad's south, in a "cordon and search" operation. A series of early morning raids in the capital Saturday by Iraqi and U.S. soldiers netted 38 persons. -- SP 2315 Local Time 2015 GMT
