Report: British blunder led to al-Qaeda's al-Zarqawi escape in 2005
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A British army helicopter came close to capturing senior al-Qaeda member and Jordanian national, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, in 2005 but had to turn back because it was running out of fuel, the UK newspaper Observer reported Sunday. The reports were based on secret documents released by WikiLeaks.
According to the documents, British intelligence in Basra received information that al-Zarqawi was traveling in his car from Amarah to Basra. For 15 minutes, the helicopter followed the vehicle, but fuel was low and the pilot was forced to turn back to base. No other aircraft was called, and the area was left unobserved for some 20 to 30 minutes. (News agencies)
