BAGHDAD - Iraq has said that security forces have captured a key aide to the al Qaeda leader in Iraq, Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
A government statement said Amar al-Zubaydi, also known as Abu Abbas, was captured three days ago in Baghdad.
It said he helped plan an attackon Abu Ghraib prison in April in which up to 60 insurgents attacked a US base with suicide car bombs and rocket-propelled grenades, wounding at least 20 US troops and 12 detainees.
Zubaydi was also involved in a string of car bombings in Baghdad in April, the statement said.
