An Iraqi government official says al-Qaida in Iraq's second in command has been captured.

NPR: Zarqawi Lieutenant Arrested in Iraq

U.S. military sources confirmed to NPR the capture of al-Saeedi and his status as the deputy commander of al-Qaida in Iraq.

NPR: Zarqawi Lieutenant Arrested in Iraq

The U.S. military says that al-Qaida in Iraq has been responsible for the vast majority of spectacular attacks on civilians in Iraq.

NPR: Zarqawi Hideout Yields 'Trove' of Materials

Sadr's supposed arch-foe, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, who leads al-Qaida in Iraq and whose operational commanders are in Iran, responded to his death by calling for attacks against Israel.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Mugniyeh's true legacy

At the same time, you know, the U.S. has been capitalizing on the, basically, a fall out between Sunni Arab - Shiites and Sunni insurgent groups with the group al-Qaida in Iraq.

NPR: The Week in Iraq

American officials in Iraq fear that if Hashim is hanged it could alienate some key Sunni tribes and former insurgents who only recently joined the Americans in battling al-Qaida in Iraq, a group comprised mainly of Iraqi Sunnis.

NPR: Iraq Set to Hang Three from Saddam Era

Obama has maintained consistently that the Bush administration's single-minded focus on the war in Iraq was a diversion that allowed al-Qaida and the Taliban to regroup in Pakistan.

NPR: Obama, McCain Face Off Over Spending And War

From the beginning of his presidency, Obama's centerpiece of his national security strategy has been a desire to move beyond the wars he inherited in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as in the shadowy spaces occupied by al-Qaida and its offshoots now creeping up in North Africa and elsewhere.

NPR: Obama Refocuses Terror Threat To Pre-9/11 Level

The US wisely capitalized on tribal leaders' disaffection with al-Qaida barbarism and worked with them to launch an offensive against al-Qaida forces and to bring the Sunni tribes into the political processes in Iraq.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Where America and Iraq converge