WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Ramadi citizens captured and turned in a man believed to be one of the top operatives in Iraq for Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the U.S. military said.
The man, Amir Khalaf Fanus, was turned over to U.S. and Iraq forces on Dec. 9 in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province and the scene of intense fighting. It is the single most dangerous city for U.S. forces in Iraq, according to military officials.
Fanus is number three on the 2nd Brigade Combat Team's most wanted list. According to the military, he is the highest ranking "al-Qaida in Iraq" member turned over to U.S. forces by local citizens so far.
U.S. military officials say Fanus' capture is "another indication that the local citizens tire of the terrorists presence within their community."
There are increasing signs of fighting in Ramadi between Iraqi citizens and Zarqawi's fighters. The identity of the Iraqis is unclear; they are likely Sunni insurgents who sometimes fight alongside Zarqawi's men when they are facinig U.S. forces but battle with them at other times. During the six months Fallujah was in insurgent hands in 2004, there was a great deal of violence between the foreign jihadists and the Sunni insurgents, according to U.S. military officials who watched the battles via surveillance cameras mounted on drones.
