BBC reports:
The Iraqi authorities have announced the arrest of a man they say is the second-in-command of al-Qaeda in Iraq.Iraq's national security adviser, Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, told a news conference the man, Hamad Jama al-Saedi, was detained a few days ago.
Mr Rubaie said the man was behind the bombing of a Shia shrine in Samarra in February that drew revenge attacks.
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Even better:Mr Saedi has been closely interrogated over the last few days and as a result, 11 second level leaders and nine other members of al-Qaeda in Iraq have been arrested or killed.But then there's this, the Telegraph reports:
The most influential moderate Shia leader in Iraq has abandoned attempts to restrain his followers, admitting that there is nothing he can do to prevent the country sliding towards civil war.
Aides say Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is angry and disappointed that Shias are ignoring his calls for calm and are switching their allegiance in their thousands to more militant groups which promise protection from Sunni violence and revenge for attacks.
I will not be a political leader any more," he told aides. "I am only happy to receive questions about religious matters."
It is a devastating blow to the remaining hopes for a peaceful solution in Iraq and spells trouble for British forces, who are based in and around the Shia stronghold of Basra.
The cleric is regarded as the most important Shia religious leader in Iraq and has been a moderating influence since the invasion of 2003. He ended the fighting in Najaf between Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi army and American forces in 2004 and was instrumental in persuading the Shia factions to fight the 2005 elections under the single banner of the United Alliance.
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This is not good..., this is not good..., not good!!!
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