One of al Qaeda's top operatives was captured trying to return to Iraq, the Pentagon announced Friday.
Abdul al-Hadi al-Iraqi, a former advisor to Osama bin Laden, was handed over to the Pentagon by the CIA, said Pentagon spokesperson Bryan Whitman.
But although the handover only took place this week, al-Iraqi was actually captured late last year in a largescale operation, a U.S. intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press.
However, Paul Gimigliano, another CIA spokesperson, declined to say where or when al-Iraqi was captured.
However, Gimigliano did describe the detainee as "a veteran jihadist'' and said his capture is "a significant victory in the fight against terror -- getting him off the street is good news."
According to the Pentagon, al-Iraqi once served in the Iraqi military, was a close associate of bin Laden and may have been trying to target westerners outside of Iraq.
The Pentagon took custody of al-Iraqi at Guantanamo Bay, AP reports.
Al-Iraqi was held in a secret prison abroad before being taken to Guantanamo -- similar to the handling of 14 other so-called high-value detainees.
The others were taken to Guantanamo last September and have since gone through military hearings to affirm their status as enemy combatants.
Al-Iraqi is believed to have been responsible for planning cross-border attacks from Pakistan on American troops in Afghanistan, Whitman said.
He also is believed to have met with al Qaeda operatives in Iran and to have led an effort to assassinate Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, though no dates were given.
In August 2005, al-Iraqi appeared in what was purported to be an al Qaeda-made video that showed militants in Afghanistan preparing an attack against U.S. troops.
In the video, hiding his face behind a scarf, al-Iraqi said the U.S. presence in Afghanistan and Iraq had created "two fronts" for the militants to fight on.
Al-Iraqi spent 15 years in Afghanistan, instructed at an al Qaeda training camp, and was a member of the Shura Council, al Qaeda's now defunct advisory body to bin Laden.
With files from The Associated Press
