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Suspect in Italian journalist's kidnap held
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YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSBAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- An Iraqi considered the prime suspect in the 2005 kidnapping of Italian journalist Guiliana Sgrena and who also was sought for questioning in several assassination attempts has been captured, multinational military forces in Iraq said in a statement Thursday. Muhammed Hila Hammad Ubaydi, also known as Abu Ayman, was captured March 7, but the announcement of his capture was delayed until DNA testing could verify his identity, the military said. The Iraqi Central Investigating Court in Baghdad issued an arrest warrant for Ubaydi October 17, accusing him of committing terrorist acts. Ubaydi has strong ties to terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, considered the head of al Qaeda in Iraq, the military said. Authorities said the terror suspect had been the target of an intense manhunt by Iraqi and other intelligence agencies. He was picked up in the Mahmudiya neighborhood in southern Baghdad. Ubaydi was the former aide to the chief of staff of intelligence during the regime of Saddam Hussein, and led the secret Islamic Army in northern Babil Province, according to the statement. Sgrena was kidnapped in southern Baghdad on February 4, 2005, and was freed a month later after Italian agent Nicola Calipari negotiated her release. He was escorting her to the Baghdad airport when he was shot to death by U.S. troops at a checkpoint. The journalist was wounded in the shoulder. The United States said the shooting was an accident, and no disciplinary action was taken against the soldiers involved. The Italians disputed the conclusion surrounding the incident. Ubaydi also was a prime suspect in the kidnappings and killings of several hostages in Iraq and was believed to have committed some of the most lethal Abu Ayman also is the prime suspect in the kidnapping and killing of several hostages in Iraq and is believed to have committed IED attacks on military forces and citizens since the fall of the government. 
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