Baghdad
A U.S. missile strike killed al Qaida’s second in command in Iraq, military officials said this week. Abu Ahmed Tabouki, a Saudi, was a top aide to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who is believed to be al Qaida’s point man in Iraq. U.S. military officials said the death of Tabouki was a serious blow to al Qaida, but they cautioned that they were growing more alarmed about Iraq’s homegrown terrorists. “The primary problem that we’re dealing with is former regime elements of the ex–Baath Party,” said Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command. Last week, a general in the Iraqi National Guard, Talib Lahibi, was arrested for having “associations with known terrorists” and “alleged ties to insurgents.” The U.S. had been considering appointing Lahibi commander of a province near Baghdad.
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