Report: Al-Qaeda Big Arrested

The top deputy of al-Qaeda's No. 2 man, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, has been arrested, according to "Islamist sources in London" cited by the Middle Eastern Media Research Institute on Thursday.

"Abdallah Muhammed Rajab Abd al-Rahman, aka Ahmad Hassan Abu Al-Khir, who is in charge of al Qaeda finances and the right hand man of Ayman Al Zawahiri, has been arrested," MEMRI said.

"Abu Al-Khir was previously sentenced to death in absentia in Egypt," the news service said, based on translations of a report earlier this week in the London-based newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat.

In an audiotape released two weeks ago, Al Zawahiri warned of new al-Qaeda attacks against the U.S. and boasted: "The American collapse has started to become a reality ... in Afghanistan. The forces of Islam and Jihad are starting to chase the crusaders and the hypocrites of Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, and the Arab peninsula."

Editor's note:
The Iraqi "Deck of Death" playing cards – Get yours today!

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
Al-Qaeda
War on Terrorism