American soldiers in Baghdad have captured a member of the leadership of a second large car bomb network, officials said Tuesday.
Soldiers of the Schweinfurt, Germany-based Company A, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment arrested a man identified as Haydar Rashid Nasir al-Shammari al-Jafar on March 21 in the Adhamiyah district of Baghdad.
Jafar is alleged to be the second in command of a car-bomb network in the district responsible for killing some 900 Iraqis and wounding nearly 2,000 others since November.
As part of the “surge,” U.S. military officials have placed an increased emphasis on stopping car bomb attacks. The large-scale attacks are among the most visible and devastating of the insurgent attacks in Iraq.
According to Multi-National Division-Baghdad officials, Jafar was captured after the U.S. soldiers received “actionable intelligence prompting them to stop a passing vehicle.”
Inside were Jafar and two lieutenants identified as Ahamed Nassan Niami and Hamid Selman Alawi, officials said.
“By capturing leaders of this cell, coalition forces are able to further disrupt the network’s ability to conduct reconnaissance, film and conduct attacks in eastern Baghdad,” a military statement read.
After the men were captured, troops found a prepared car bomb in the area. The bomb was destroyed in a controlled detonation.
A day earlier, the same troops had arrested leaders of the Rusafa car bomb network, allegedly responsible for bombings that killed 265 Iraqis and wounded 650 other people since early February.
