US detains high-ranking member of al-Qaida in Iraq

The American military today detained a high-ranking member of al Qaida in Iraq in the restive town of Ramadi, the US Marines said.

Amir Khalaf Fanus, also known in the Ramadi area as “the Butcher,” was wanted for criminal activities including murder and kidnapping, Captain Jeffrey Pool said in a statement from the town, located 70 miles west of Baghdad.