An aide to al-Qaida branch in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul has been detained on Saturday, the Iraqi government said Sunday.

Mutlaq Muhmoud Mutlaq Abdullah was a key facilitator and financier for Abu Talha group in Mosul, which was linked to al- Qaida branch in Iraq led by the Jordanian-born Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, the government said in a statement.

"(Abdullah) arranges meetings between Abu Talha and some terrorists and is familiar with plans and crimes committed in Mosul, such as murders, rapes and kidnappings," said the statement.

The detention of Abdulla, also known as Abu Raed, came one day after Iraqi police announced the capture of another prominent aide to al-Qaida in Mosul, Mahdi Moussa al-Jabouri, also known as Mullah Mahdi, the purported head of the Mosul cell of the Islamic extremist group of Ansar al-Sunnah Army.

Ansar al-Sunnah is linked to the Zarqawi-led group in Iraq and has claimed responsibility for many bombings, kidnappings and beheadings.

Source: Xinhua