Al-Zarqawi was caught, let go

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Iraqi security forces caught terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi but released him because they didn’t realize who he was, the deputy interior minister said Thursday, according to CNN.

Hussein Kamal said the Jordanian-born leader of al-Qaida in Iraq was in custody sometime last year, but he wouldn’t provide further details, CNN reported.

The report could not be confirmed, but a U.S. official said in Washington that American intelligence believed it was plausible. Al-Zarqawi, who has claimed responsibility for several attacks in Iraq along with the kidnappings and beheadings of foreigners, has a $25 million bounty on his head.