Senior Al Qaeda In Iraq Leader Killed in Samarra, 20 Other Suspects Captured

Not a bad few days in northern Iraq at all! U.S. troops killed a senior al Qaeda in Iraq commander in Samarra and in the same operations, captured 20 other suspected al Qaeda in Iraq jihadists.
Here's part of the story from Multi-National Force:

Coalition forces killed a senior al-Qaeda in Iraq leader in Samarra and detained 20 additional suspected terrorists during operations around the country Monday and Tuesday.
East of Samarra, about 105 kilometers north of Baghdad, Coalition forces conducted an operation Tuesday targeting a senior al-Qaeda in Iraq leader in the area. When the force arrived, two men attempted to escape the target building. One complied with the interpreter’s instructions, but the other refused to surrender, and Coalition forces, perceiving hostile intent, engaged the terrorist, killing him. He was identified as the targeted AQI leader. Four suspected associates were detained in the operation.

At the same time, it is now breaking that U.S. Special Forces have captured an al Qaeda in Iraq leader way out west of Baghdad - this leader was apparently into the game of moving in a lot of money as well as munitions and explosives.

The leaders of al Qaeda in Iraq are falling like flies. A day does NOT go by now where we do not capture or kill at least two of them. And although it may not seem like much, this is hurting al Qaeda big time. Imagine the slime that the Special Forces nabbed in Rutbah - imagine you are the al Qaeda fighters waiting on a nice shipment of explosives and you wait and you wait and you wait.....Haha!

We've been on quite a roll lately and as for al Qaeda's mid level commanders...they are getting more scarce than bin Laden himself.

Senior Al-Qaeda leader in Samarra killed, 20 other suspects detained

BAGHDAD – Coalition forces killed a senior al-Qaeda in Iraq leader in Samarra and detained 20 additional suspected terrorists during operations around the country Monday and Tuesday.
East of Samarra, about 105 kilometers north of Baghdad, Coalition forces conducted an operation Tuesday targeting a senior al-Qaeda in Iraq leader in the area. When the force arrived, two men attempted to escape the target building. One complied with the interpreter’s instructions, but the other refused to surrender, and Coalition forces, perceiving hostile intent, engaged the terrorist, killing him. He was identified as the targeted AQI leader. Four suspected associates were detained in the operation.
Coalition forces conducted operations Monday and Tuesday targeting the foreign terrorist facilitation network. During operations near Baqouba, about 56 kilometers north of Baghdad, and in Tikrit, about 160 kilometers north of Baghdad, Coalition forces captured a wanted man and five additional suspected terrorists who allegedly operate in the Tigris River Valley.
Tuesday In Rabiyah, about 105 kilometers west of Mosul, Coalition forces used information from an operation April 3 to capture two wanted men and one additional suspect. The wanted men are believed to facilitate the movement of foreign terrorists as part of a smuggling operation in northwest Iraq.
In Mosul Tuesday, Coalition forces captured two wanted men during operations targeting AQI cell leaders. One wanted man allegedly planned bombing attacks against Coalition forces, while the other is believed to coordinate car bombings. Two additional suspected terrorists were detained in these operations.
Coalition forces targeted an AQI leader in Baghdad and detained three suspected terrorists Tuesday.
“We’re steadily working to dismantle al-Qaeda in Iraq, and our collective efforts with the Iraqi government will bring about the peace and security the Iraqi people deserve,” said Maj. John Hall, MNF-I spokesman.