|
|
|
|
|
U.S. paints al-Zarqawi successor as outsider to Iraq Borzou Daragahi, Tribune Newspapers | June 16 2006 BAGHDAD -- The U.S. military released new information Thursday about the Egyptian militant it believes has taken the place of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as the head of Al Qaeda in Iraq. At a news briefing in the Iraqi capital, the military showed reporters a previously classified picture of the Egyptian-born bomb expert who goes by the names Abu Ayyub al-Masri or Sheik Abu Hamza al-Muhajer. "It's important for the people of Iraq to know who this is," said Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, spokesman for U.S.-led forces in Iraq. Caldwell said U.S. officials debated for days about whether releasing the photo and a biography would bolster his media profile. "Our intention is not to glorify him," he said. The U.S. instead hopes to focus attention on the foreign element of Iraq's insurgency, a small but effective force within a broader opposition led by Sunni Arabs. Al-Masri and al-Muhajer mean "Egyptian" and "immigrant" in Arabic. "He has absolutely no ties to this country," Caldwell said. Al-Masri began his journey in Islamist circles in 1982 as a disciple of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian physician who is a deputy to Osama bin Laden, said Caldwell, citing information held by the Defense Intelligence Agency. He went to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan in 1999, where he trained at bin Laden's Farouk camp and met al-Zarqawi. After the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, he made his way to Iraq, where he became al-Zarqawi's trusted deputy. Al-Masri helped draw other insurgent groups into Al Qaeda's fold and worked with al-Zarqawi's deputies in Fallujah, directing suicide bombers and car bombs to other parts of the country, the military said. After U.S. Marines overran Fallujah in November 2004, al-Masri became Al Qaeda emir, or prince, of southern Iraq. U.S. military officials Thursday also provided details of the June 7 bombing of al-Zarqawi's safe house. According to the military, two men in a motor vehicle--possibly informants--departed the house just minutes before U.S. forces verified there were no friendly forces in the area and ordered the air strike. Caldwell said al-Zarqawi, who lived for nearly an hour after the bombing, spit up a pint and a half of blood while being treated, a sign that he had suffered massive internal trauma. Caldwell said the bombing badly damaged al-Zarqawi's network, throwing its leadership into disarray and forcing them to abandon trusted safe houses. Since al-Zarqawi's death, U.S. and Iraqi forces have conducted 452 raids and killed 104 insurgents, he said. But he added that al-Zarqawi's organization was expected to "reset" under new leadership. "They've been very resilient," he said. National security adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie, a Shiite, released a purported Al Qaeda memo that said insurgents were having trouble holding their own against Iraqi forces and aimed to spark a war between Iran and the United States as a way to distract Americans. "We think that the best suggestions in order to get out of this crisis is to entangle the American forces into another war against another country ... and inflame the situation between America and Iran," said a translation of the document. Caldwell said the document, discovered at an al-Zarqawi safe house, appeared authentic. But it differed markedly from previous Al Qaeda documents or public communications and appeared to reflect the allegations often made by Shiite government officials. Calm prevailed through much of Baghdad on Thursday, which is under a new security plan, but at least 18 Iraqis were killed elsewhere Thursday, and seven bodies were discovered. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's office Thursday accepted the resignation of an aide who had told a reporter that al-Maliki was considering a limited amnesty that would probably include guerrillas who had attacked U.S. troops, according to The Washington Post. The aide, Adnan Ali al-Kadhimi, stood by his account, reported by the Post. Al-Kadhimi said al-Maliki himself had indicated the same position less directly in public. "The prime minister himself has said that he is ready to give amnesty to the so-called resistance, provided they have not been involved in killing Iraqis," al-Kadhimi said Thursday. Al-Maliki's office issued a statement Thursday saying: "Mr. Adnan Kadhimi doesn't represent the Iraqi government in this issue and Mr. Kadhimi is not an adviser or spokesman for the prime minister." Al-Kadhimi said he had submitted his resignation earlier in the week. He was informed Thursday that it had been accepted, he said. ---------------------------------------------------
Prison Planet.tv: The Premier Multimedia Subscription Package: Download and Share the Truth! Please help our fight against the New World Order by giving a donation. As bandwidth costs increase, the only way we can stay online and expand is with your support. Please consider giving a monthly or one-off donation for whatever you can afford. You can pay securely by either credit card or Paypal. Click here to donate. |
