Al-Qaeda top militant leader detained in Iraq during the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Kadhim (A)

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Iraqi security forces have arrested a senior militant leader with alleged links to the al-Qaeda-inspired Islamic State of Iraq network in the western province of al-Anbar. The self-styled leader of the militant group, identified as Abul Qader Taha al-Fahdawi, was caught on Monday in al-Tash area of Ramadi, located some 110 kilometers (70 miles) west of the capital Baghdad, after police authorities received a tip off on his whereabouts, an Iraqi army source told the Aswat al-Iraq news agency on condition of anonymity. Fahdawi had disguised himself as an elderly man when he was arrested. He was wanted in connection with a series of deadly terror attacks against civilians and Iraqi government forces across the country. Al-Qaeda in Iraq is a shadowy group that was reportedly led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was reported killed in June 2006. According to US government and military officials, the group was then led by Ayyub al-Masri, who was killed along with Abu Omar al-Baghdadi -- another leader of the group -- in a joint Iraqi-US operation in Salahuddin province in April 2010. Al-Qaeda in Iraq has been blamed for some of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the country since the US-led invasion of the country began in 2003./129