Al-Zarqawi 'freed by Iraqi forces' in identity blunder

Iraqi security forces reportedly caught terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, but released him because they did not realise who he was.

The country’s deputy interior minister, Hussein Kamal, said the Jordanian-born leader of al Qaida in Iraq was in custody some time last year, but would not provide further details, CNN reported.

The report could not be confirmed, but a US official said in Washington that American intelligence believed it was plausible.

There have been several reports of missed opportunities to capture al-Zarqawi, including an April 28 raid by US forces acting on a tip from local informants that militants, reportedly including the terror leader, were hiding in a hospital in Ramadi.

Al Qaida in Iraq and Iraqi officials also denied reports last month that al-Zarqawi was among those killed in a raid and gunfight in the northern city of Mosul.

Al-Zarqawi, who has claimed responsibility for several attacks in Iraq along with the kidnappings and beheadings of foreigners, has a £14m (€20.6m) bounty on his head.

He also drew criticism in his home country of Jordan after his militant group claimed responsibility for the deadly November 9 attacks on hotels in Amman.

Jordan sentenced al-Zarqawi to death in absentia for planning a terror plot that led to the 2002 killing of US aid worker Laurence Foley. He has claimed responsibility for several other plots in Jordan, including a foiled April 2004 chemical attack.