LYON, France – INTERPOL has issued an international wanted persons notice for Ahmad Fadil Nazal Al-Khalayleh (alias Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi), one of the world’s most notorious terrorist suspects, wanted by police in several countries for a series of attacks on behalf of Al Qaeda.

The Red Notice was issued at the request of Algeria, through the INTERPOL National Central Bureau, which is seeking Al-Zarqawi’s arrest in connection with the kidnapping and murder of two Algerian diplomats in Iraq in July 2005. Al-Zarqawi is also wanted by authorities in Germany, in Iraq in connection with a series of terrorist offences, and in Jordan where he has claimed responsibility for attacks and bombings, including the triple bombs in Amman in November that killed more than 50 people.

INTERPOL Red Notices are distributed to all of INTERPOL’s 184 member countries using the organization’s global police communications system. They serve to communicate to the world’s police that a suspect is wanted by a member country and request that the suspect be placed under provisional arrest pending extradition.

Earlier in December, INTERPOL published the first INTERPOL-United Nations Security Council Special Notices for four individuals, including Al-Zarqawi, who are the targets of UN sanctions against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Those notices are aimed at helping a United Nations Security Council committee to carry out its mandate regarding the freezing of assets, travel bans and arms embargos aimed at groups and individuals associated with Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

'We congratulate Algeria for being the first country to take the important step of requesting an INTERPOL Red Notice against Al-Zarqawi,' said INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble. 'This will decrease the likelihood that such a notorious suspect will be able to evade detection.'

Mr. Noble noted that despite the fact that Al-Zarqawi was wanted for arrest by several countries, no other country had taken the important step of authorizing INTERPOL to issue a Red Notice and to have it placed on INTERPOL's public website for police and general public to see the various identities used by the suspect.

'It is time for all countries to discharge their international duty of due care to one another's citizens by providing police with every possible tool to detain and arrest dangerous terrorists and by providing citizens with information to help them alert police as to the whereabouts of such individuals,' Mr. Noble said.

An abridged version of the Al-Zarqawi Red Notice is available on INTERPOL’s public website www.INTERPOL.int. The detailed version, including additional photographs of the suspect and his fingerprints, is available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic on the restricted access police website and via INTERPOL’s I-24/7 global police communication system.