US soldiers arrest suspect in murder of Egyptian envoy

THE US military yesterday announced the capture of a key suspect in the murder of Egyptian envoy Ihab al-Sherif.

Khamis Farhan Khalaf Abd al-Fahdawi, known as Abu Seba, was arrested following operations in the Ramadi area west of Baghdad, the US military said.

“Seba served as a senior lieutenant of al-Qaida in Iraq, and is suspected in attacks against diplomats of Bahrain, Pakistan and the recent murder of Egyptian envoy, Ihab Salah al Din Ahmad al Sherif,” the US statement said.

Al-Qaida ordered the attacks against Arab diplomats in an effort to reduce support for the government of Iraq, according to a military spokesman. Elsewhere, two suicide bombers struck near the Green Zone in central Baghdad, but a third was wounded and captured by US and Iraqi security forces. At least nine people were wounded in the blasts. The co-ordinated attacks by a suicide car bomber and another man wearing a vest with explosives occurred one day after a horrific blast at a poor east Baghdad neighbourhood that killed 18 children and teenagers who had swarmed around a US Humvee to get sweets and toys. Up to 27 people died in the Wednesday blast, including one US soldier.

In a rare statement against violence, al-Qaida in Iraq purportedly issued a statement yesterday denying it was behind the attack. The authenticity of the statement on an Islamic website couldn’t be verified.

Twelve of the dead were 13 years or younger and six were between 14 and 17, police said. Among the wounded was a four-day-old baby girl cut by flying glass.