Saudi Suicide Bomber Claims Zarqawi was Captured, Then Released

Saudi Suicide Bomber Claims Zarqawi was Captured, Then Released
By Alisha Ryu
Baghdad
24 January 2005

A suicide bomber from Saudi Arabia, who survived a failed attempt to blow up the Jordanian mission Baghdad in December, alleges that Iraqi police may have captured, and then released, the most wanted terrorist in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, two months ago. Both U.S. and Iraqi officials could not confirm the claims made by the suicide bomber.

On a video disk provided by Iraq's interior ministry, the badly-burned man, identified as Ahmed Abdullah al-Shaiyah, tells Iraqi interrogators about his journey from Saudi Arabia to Baghdad between late October and December to volunteer for suicide missions.

He says he crossed into Iraq from Syria, where a smuggler met him at the border and eventually transported him to the town of Ramadi, in the restive Anbar province, to receive training from insurgents. Ramadi is close to Fallujah, which in late October and early November, was still a stronghold for the Jordanian-born terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and other militant Sunni Arab groups.

Mr. Shaiyah says he was in Ramadi during the November U.S.-led offensive in Fallujah. The ensuing two-week fire fight led to a decisive U.S. and Iraqi victory over the insurgents, but Zarqawi eluded capture.

More:
http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-01-24-voa25.cfm

...or am I becoming clairvoyant?