THE monster who beheaded British hostage Ken Bigley is making an audacious bid to take over from Osama Bin Laden. Power-crazed Abu Musab al- Zarqawi brags he is the world's new terror godfather. He claims al-Qaeda chief Bin Laden is "in hiding" and even that he is "frightened" of Allied forces. A British defence source told The Sun: "Zarqawi now boasts he's in charge — he's the new Bin Laden. "He is making it clear that Bin Laden has taken flight and he is the only one with the guts to take on the West. "He wants to take over the whole of al-Qaeda. There is now an even more pressing need to get him."
Intelligence bosses have briefed Cabinet ministers and Armed Forces chiefs about the development. Now SAS and US Delta Force troops have been ordered to find Zarqawi before his takeover bid succeeds. They fear he is about to step up his campaign of violence in Iraq. Troops will use the cover of a massive US assault on Fallujah in an attempt to grab him. A spearhead group of Britain's Black Watch battle group left Basra for the Sunni triangle yesterday. Zarqawi, head of the Tawhid and Jihad terror cell, has a £14million bounty on his head from the US. He beheaded Liverpool engineer Mr Bigley, 62, earlier this month and has executed several other hostages. He has also masterminded suicide bombings and is leading rebel forces against US troops.
According to the US State Department: "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has had a long-standing connection to senior al-Qaeda leadership. "He appears to be highly regarded among al-Qaeda and is also a close associate of Osama Bin Laden." Sick Zarqawi was born in Jordan and has long been seen as the link between Iraq and al-Qaeda. His suicide bombings campaign has included attacks on Shi'ites. Now he is spreading the message that HE is in charge after dismissing Bin Laden — the world's most wanted terrorist. The 37-year-old says Bin Laden is "hiding out in the mountains". Zarqawi is a Bedouin Arab and his tribe — the Beni Hassan — straddles many borders in the modern Middle East. His wife and four children still live in the village of Zarqa, a poor and crime-ridden industrial town north west of Amman, Jordan. Zarqawi was jailed for sex crimes as a 17-year-old before fleeing to fight in the Afghan war against Soviet occupiers.
| If Zarqawi did release a statement saying this, it kind of fits with my thinking that he wants the gold turban for himself and damm the saudis. Also opens a way to get a Bin Laden loyalist to rat him out. "Psst, hey guys! He's dissing da boss!" |
| Jailed for sex crimes? How much do you want to bet the crimes involved sadism? |
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