Qaeda leader, 3 aides netted in Diala

DIALA / IraqiNews.com: Four al-Qaeda members, including an amir (leader), were arrested on Sunday during a security operation in northern Baaquba city, a police source said. “Today, emergency forces in al-Salam district raided an al-Qaeda stronghold, during which Alaa al-Thalj, a group leader nicknamed ‘The leader of al-Salam’ and three of his assistants were captured,” the source told IraqiNews.com. Diala province, a mix of Sunnis and Shiites, extends to the northeast of Baghdad as far as the Iranian border. Its capital is Baaquba, 57 km northeast of Baghdad. It covers an area of 17,685 square kilometers (6,828 sq mi). A large portion of the province is drained by the Diala River, a major tributary of the Tigris. Because of its proximity to two major sources of water, Diala’s main industry is agriculture, primarily dates grown in large Date Palm groves. It is also recognized as the orange capital of the Middle East. In January 2008 Operation Phantom Phoenix was launched in an attempt to eradicate the remnants of al-Qaeda network following the Diala province campaign between 2006 and 2007. SS (S) 1