Iraqi military officials have said on Sunday that there are intelligence reports stating that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the militant leader behind some of the bloodiest attacks in Iraq, is in Diyala province near Baghdad.
It is not the first time that Iraqi officials have said that they have closed in on the elusive Zarqawi, leader of the Al-Qaeda in Iraq. He is the most wanted man in Iraq, with a $25 million bounty on his head.
At one point of time, he was rumoured to be suffering from serious wounds in a hospital in the western town of Ramadi.
On another occasion, Iraqi officials said the police had captured Zarqawi, but then released him after three or four hours because they had failed to recognise him.
Army posts have been notified of Zarqawi's presence in Diyala, northeast of Baghdad, where there has been a surge in violence in the past few months. His exact location in the province is not known, an official said. |