World | al-Qaeda in Iraq Iraqi Army Nabs Key Militant Leader Soldiers in Mosul arrest chief of Al-Qaeda in Iraq By John Johnson Posted May 8, 2008 4:55 PM CDT Copied In this June 15 2006 file photo, a U.S. soldier at a press conference in Baghdad, Iraq stands by a photograph of Aub Ayyub al-Masri. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim, File) The Iraqi army has arrested the leader of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda in Iraq, the AP reports today. Defense officials said they took Abu Ayyub al-Masri into custody in Mosul. He has led the group—which last month called for stepped-up attacks against US forces—since 2006. Masri helped set up the first al-Qaeda cell in Baghdad after the US invasion in 2003. Read These Next Doctor left her Alaskan cruise and never returned. Trump "never heard" that "shylocks" is offensive. At least 13 people are dead in Texas flooding. He was caught working for 4 startups at once. Report an error