BAGHDAD , Iraq ( CNN ) -- U.S.-led forces captured two men believed to be senior al Qaeda in Iraq leaders , including one suspected of planning the 2006 kidnapping of U.S. journalist Jill Carroll , a military statement said . Jill Carroll , seen here in an interview following her 2006 release , was held for nearly three months in Iraq . Coalition forces captured the suspects in Baghdad on August 11 and 17 , according to the statement . The suspects were identified as Salim Abdallah Ashur al-Shujayri , also known as Abu Uthman , and Ali Rash Nasir Jiyad al-Shammari , also known as Abu Tiba . Abu Uthman is suspected of masterminding Carroll 's abduction , the statement said . Carroll , a freelance reporter for The Christian Science Monitor , was abducted in January 2006 and freed unharmed in March of that year . Both men are suspected of overseeing car or suicide bombings targeting Iraqis with the intent of inciting sectarian violence , the statement said . Abu Tiba is suspected to have been in charge of as many 15 al Qaeda in Iraq `` attack cells , '' providing them with money , weapons and explosives , according to the statement . The men were also suspected of being connected to other kidnappings , the statement said . `` The capture of Abu Tiba and Abu Uthman eliminates two of the few remaining experienced leaders in the AQI [ al Qaeda in Iraq ] network , '' the statement said .
Uthman suspected of masterminding Abu Uthman this month kidnapping . Uthman and another Carroll in U.S. suspect captured this month , military says . Carroll , a U.S. journalist , was abducted in 2006 but released unharmed weeks later .