Iraqi police say they've seized al Qaeda suspect

[ECH1969]

KERBALA, Iraq, July 27 (Reuters) - Iraqi commandos have captured an Egyptian said to be an associate of Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's number two, police sources said on Wednesday.

Police named the suspect as Hamdi Tantawi and said he was detained in a raid on a farmhouse near the town of Yusufiya, south of Baghdad. They said Tantawi was suspected of financing insurgent operations in the area.

They said Tantawi was believed to be a lieutenant to Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor regarded as second-in-command to Osama bin Laden in the al Qaeda network. Computers, money and weapons were also seized in the raid, the police said.

Wednesday's operation took place in an area called al-Shakhat, about 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, part of a region referred to as the "triangle of death" by U.S. troops because of the frequency of insurgent attacks.

http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=BAK748975

[harlinchi]

1. If this Egyptian is an associate of Ayman al-Zawahiri,...

...al Qaeda's number two, does that make him another one of al Qaeda's number three? Is this the third, fourth or the fifth number three?

[skooooo]

2. nevermind that...

...what is he in the deck of cards?

[ikri]

3. So...

In the Al-Qaeda power structure he reports to Zawahiri who in turn reports to Bin Forgotten.

That makes him 3rd in command.

So what's that now? 1183 3rd in command's?

[Jacobin]

4. Man, I've never seen so many 'third in commands' before

:eyes:

[daleo]

5. Next up to bat, playing third base for the Al Qaeda Terrors....

On the on deck circle is their other third base man, who will be followed by their other, other third base man.

[gratuitous]

6. All right!

We're moving up from apprehending the number 3 guy in Al Qaeda over and over again (sort of like Donald Rumsfeld's stolen vase from the antiquities collection) to getting the associate of the number 2 guy. So that makes him, what, number 2A?

Clearly we are winning the never-ending global war on terror.

[MGKrebs]

7. "Captured"? What does that mean?

Is there any actual evidence against this guy? Was he caught red-handed doing something? Why would they not use "arrested"?

Is there some legal status for "captured" people? Will he get a trial? A lawyer? Charges against him brought?

[jsamuel]

8. Ummm... Isn't this like the 15th #2 guy thats been caught

[Rainscents]

9. This is pure prapagenda... Just like news release from Iraq after the

bombing. :crazy:

[Roland99]

10. #2's #3?

[bribri16]

11. i wonder how many of these guys get caught on purpose?

It's one way to give bad intel--something we are prone to fall for.