DEBKAfile Exclusive: US forensic experts should know by Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 22, the identities of the eight high-ranking al Qaeda leaders who blew themselves up in Mosul to escape US capture

November 20, 2005, 8:28 PM (GMT+02:00)

The results of DNA tests are expected by then.

A White House official said he did not believe that Abu Musab al Zarqawi, a sample of whose DNA is in American possession, was among them.

Sunday, Nov. 20, US forces laid the al Qaeda hideout in northern Iraq to siege. The scorched bodies of seven men and a woman were found later. Four Iraqi security officers were killed and 10 injured in the operation. Eleven US troops were wounded.

Also on Sunday, DEBKAfile’s military sources reported US and Iraqi forces raided al Qaeda sanctuaries in Baghdad and captured several suspects. They followed an intelligence tip which confirmed DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s disclosure (Issue 227 Oct. 28) of the arrival of Zarqawi and his top team to Baghdad on Oct. 15.