The man believed to be the second in command of al-Qaida in Iraq has been captured. Hamed Farid al-Saeedi is believed to have masterminded countless attacks, including the bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samara earlier this year that launched a wave of sectarian violence that has Iraq on the verge of a full-scale civil war.
Iraqi officials say the arrest is a major blow to terrorists in the country.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.