BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Interior Ministry forces captured a top aide to al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi during a raid in western Iraq, state television reported Monday.
Iraqiya TV identified the captive as Abu al-Farouq, a Syrian. It said he was captured with five other alleged al-Qaida operatives in the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad. The raid was carried out by the ministry's counterinsurgency Wolf Brigade.
Forces of the Interior Ministry, under the control of the country's majority Shiite Muslims, are routinely accused by minority Sunnis of targeting civilians within their community.