He was supposed to have been a professional. He should have known better, but in the end he could not resist. Using a satellite phone, the senior al-Qa'ida operative excitedly called two associates and congratulated them on their cold-blooded assassination of an American diplomat.

The call cost the man his liberty. It may yet cost him his life but, more importantly, it could have provided America with the "smoking gun" evidence it has long sought and which apparently links the Iraqi regime to an active al-Qa'ida cell committing terror killings and planning others across Europe and the Middle East. One thing is certain: it has left Iraq needing to do a lot of explaining.

The name of the man who made the telephone call as he drove through the rugged landscapes of northern Iraq towards the borders with Syria and Turkey has not been revealed. But his alleged position in the al-Qa'ida network was made clear. Information gathered by the intelligence services of the US, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Pakistan shows he is the deputy of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, head of an Iraqi-based al-Qa'ida cell.

Though he would not have known it at the time, the deputy's congratulatory telephone call to two men accused of murdering the US diplomat Laurence Foley last October - killed in the garden of his Amman home by a volley of eight shots - was an error of incalculable proportions. The call was intercepted by Western intelligence services, possibly America's National Security Agency (NSA) or Britain's electronic eavesdropping service at GCHQ, Cheltenham, and allowed coalition operatives to trace the man from Syria, then to Turkey.
...
The interrogation of Zarqawi's deputy also revealed other information, details that America has decided not to reveal formally and which underscore the problems the Bush administration faces in conducting its planned military assault against Iraq.

American officials say Zarqawi's deputy also revealed that his superior had been regularly assisted and funded by a member of the Qatari royal family, Abdul Karim al-Thani, who provided passports and $1m (£600,000) in cash.
...
Although Western operatives have failed to capture Zarqawi, his identification by General Powell may have sealed his fate, because Baghdad has insisted it has no links with al-Qa'ida. One official said: "A half hour after Powell mentioned his name, I'll wager he disappeared or was killed."

» Intercepted call linked Saddam to al-Qa'ida terror cell