CIA nabs AQ biggie

Hope he enjoys his stay at Guantanamo!

The CIA captured a suspected senior al Qaeda operative who U.S. officials accuse of commanding the group's paramilitary operations in Afghanistan and launching attacks on U.S. forces from Pakistan, the Pentagon said on Friday.

The CIA transferred Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, also accused of assassination plots against Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and United Nations officials, into Pentagon custody this week. He is being held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay.

Update: Abd al-hadi al-Iraqi is believed to be the mastermind of 7/7 and was a former major in the army of Saddam Hussein. (Nope, no connection between Al qaeda and Iraq. Nope.) He was trying to return to his country "to manage to manage al-Qaeda's affairs and possibly focus on operations outside Iraq against Western targets... "

Security sources said they assessed Abd al-Hadi as a key operational commander, high up the chain in the al-Qaeda structure who was behind many key plots in the UK. He had a close link with another arrested al-Qaeda figure and, the sources said, would have 'a wealth of information'. He is thought to have been in contact with Osama bin Laden before his capture and might be able to provide information about his leader’s whereabouts."

File this under Bwa-ha-ha. Cutback on Gitmo Visits concern lawyers.