Istanbul, Turkey ? Iraq’s interior minister said Monday that capturing insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was not important: Instead, the key to fighting his al-Qaida movement is to cut off the flow of his recruits.

Bayan Jabr told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview that al-Zarqawi was weaker after a recent crackdown in Baghdad by 40,000 Iraqi and U.S. troops. He said a new anti-insurgency operation would begin next week targeting areas surrounding the capital.

Jabr also demanded that Iraq’s neighbors – especially Syria and Jordan – take stronger measures to stem the flow of militants and money for the insurgency from their territory into Iraq. He said he had pictures and addresses of insurgents in Syria.

“It is not important to capture or not capture al-Zarqawi,” Jabr said. “The problem is not to let al-Zarqawi get more followers.”

The leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, al-Zarqawi has carried out some of the bloodiest attacks of the insurgency, including car bombings and the videotaped beheading of foreigners.

But Jabr said al-Zarqawi “is weak now” after coalition forces forced him from Baghdad. “He needs more followers. He needs more fighters,” he said.

Jabr spoke as the interior ministers of Iraq’s neighbors gathered in a former Ottoman palace for a meeting on Iraqi border security. He said he would call on Jordan and Syria to do more to help fight the insurgency.

Insurgent leaders are in Syria, “and I have addresses and I have some pictures – pictures of these terrorists,” Jabr said.

Asked whether Syria had increased measures to stop the militants from crossing into Iraq, Jabr replied: “I can say no.”

The Syrians “say ‘we are ready to cooperate,’ and I hope they cooperate. But only talking is not sufficient,” Jabr said. Yet when asked whether he expected Syria to cooperate, Jabr shook his head.

Syria expressed “deep regret” over Jabr’s comments, the state-run news agency SANA said, quoting an unidentified Foreign Ministry official. The official said Syria was eager to cooperate in fighting the insurgency and had already expanded border patrols and checkpoints to stop militants from entering Iraq.

Jabr said while Jordan was committed to cracking down on insurgents and their supporters, Iraqi expatriates in Jordan were still managing to support the militants financially, Jabr said – noting al-Zarqawi is Jordanian.

“Jordan doesn’t support the insurgency, but the people in Jordan do,” he said.

Saddam Hussein’s wife, Sajida, and his daughter Raghad live in Jordan and sent $100 million to support the militants, Jabr said.

Jabr said Iraq was building more border posts and beefing up its security forces to better patrol the frontier.

The Interior Ministry is also recruiting new police, and Jabr said he expected to double the 67,000-strong force by the beginning of next year.

After the new police are deployed, “then we can see if we can control (the insurgency) or not,” he said. “The terrorists will be finished, but it takes time.”