BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The most wanted man in Iraq,
Islamic militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, is most likely in Baghdad after
losing his sanctuary in the western city of Falluja, but he is having a tougher
time planning and launching attacks, a top U.S. general says.
"He can operate pretty safely, we think," said Lt. Gen.
Lance Smith, deputy chief of U.S. forces in the Middle East.
"In some areas of Baghdad, there are those that would
hide him and those that would passively allow him to operate. You can find him
someplace else tomorrow."
The United States has offered a $25 million reward for
al-Zarqawi's death or capture, accusing him of leading a terrorist network
inside Iraq.
Al-Zarqawi leads the al Qaeda-allied Base of Jihad,
which has claimed responsibility for attacks on U.S. troops and Iraqi security
forces and the beheading of international hostages.
U.S. soldiers and Marines, aided by about 2,000 troops
from Iraq's fledgling army, recaptured Falluja in November after insurgents had
effectively controlled the city for months.
Smith said that the loss of Falluja has made it more
difficult for al-Zarqawi to communicate with his lieutenants but that "he has
not been emasculated."
"He no doubt maintains communications with key elements
of his leadership and is able to continue some level of command and control over
the disparate operations," Smith told reporters at the Pentagon on
Wednesday.
"It is just far more difficult to do now because they
can't do it, generally speaking, via electronic means. They do it by meeting in
cars and driving around and giving guidance and doing all that
stuff."
Drive-by shooting in Baghdad