Suspected AQI bomber of Shiite shrine arrested

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Border guards on Friday arrested an ” amir ,” leader, of Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) network who is suspected of involvement in the 2006 deadly bombings of a Shiite shrine in Samarra, a senior security official said. “The forces arrested Abdulsamad Kareem Mahdi al-Bazi, alias Abdulsamad al-Hiti, an amir of the AQI,” Brig. Nouri al-Issawi, the chief of the al-Waleed border center, told IraqiNews.com news agency. “Hiti is wanted on charges of involvement in several armed operations, including the bombing of the two al-Askari imams in Samarra,” Salah al-Din province, he added. Issawi added that Hiti was arrested while entering Iraq via a border outlet with Syria based on intelligence tip-offs, noting Hiti was sent to the authorities in Baghdad. Al-Askari Mosque, which contains the toms of Imams Ali al-Hadi and Hassan al-Askari, both are highly revered by Shiite Muslims, is a Shiite Muslim holy site located in the Iraqi city of Samarra, 125 km from Baghdad. It is one of the most important Shiite mosques in the world, built in 944. Its dome was destroyed in a bombing by Sunni extremists in February 2006 and its two remaining minarets were destroyed in another bombing in June 2007, causing widespread anger amongst Shiite Muslims. The remaining clock tower was also destroyed in July 2007. AmR (S) 1