Leader of al-Qaida in Iraq Arrested

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The leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was arrested Thursday in the northern city of Mosul, Iraqi defense officials An Interior Ministry spokesman said that Mosul police "arrested one of al-Qaida's leaders at midnight and during the primary investigations he admitted that he is Abu Hamza Al-Muhajir." If confirmed, the arrest would represent a major blow to al-Qaida in Iraq, which has been on the run for the past year following a shift in alliances by Sunni tribesmen in western Anbar province, and elsewhere, and an influx of thousands of U.S. troops.