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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Statement Claims Al-Zarqawi Dead |
| 2004-03-04 |
| A Jordanian extremist suspected of bloody suicide attacks in Iraq was killed some time ago in U.S. bombing and a letter outlining plans for fomenting sectarian war is a forgery, a statement allegedly from an insurgent group west of the capital said. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in the Sulaimaniyah mountains of northern Iraq "during the American bombing there," according to a statement circulated in Fallujah this week and signed by the "Leadership of the Allahu Akbar Mujahedeen." "He couldn’t have done it, he’s dead. Honest!" There was no way to verify the authenticity of the statement, one of many leaflets put out by a variety of groups taking part in the anti-U.S. resistance. Sounds like he’s feeling a lot of heat The statement did not say when al-Zarqawi was supposedly killed, but U.S. jets bombed strongholds of the extremist Ansar al-Islam in the north last April as Saddam Hussein’s regime was collapsing. It said al-Zarqawi was unable to escape the bombing because of his artificial leg. I knew he had been wounded in the leg and had to recover in a Iraqi hospital, didn’t know he had lost it. The statement said the "fabricated al-Zarqawi memo" has been used by the U.S.-run coalition "to back up their theory of a civil war" in Iraq. The more they deny it, the more it must be true "The truth is, al-Qaida is not present in Iraq," the Mujahedeen statement said. Though many Arabs entered the country to fight U.S. troops, only a small number remain, the group said. Killed that many of them, did we? |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #7 "Prothesis, don't fail me now!" -- last words of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2004-3-5 2:12:05 AM |
| #6 Interesting take, LH. Did anybody check to see if it was Zarqawi who beat up the guy with his leg the other day?? |
| Posted by: B 2004-3-4 3:54:39 PM |
| #5 How has Zarqawi blown up his friends? Certainly the Iraqi Shia are not friends of Zarqawi, and never have been. Perhaps you mean hes lost friends among the Iranian rulers? We've debated the possible motives of the Iranian rulers, even before this incident. My take is that the Iranian rulers are ruthless SOB's, and are deathly afraid of a working democracy in Iraq, ESPECIALLY one dominated by Shiites with a strong position for the Shiite clergy like Sistani, and they'll cooperate with AQ and Zarqawi to stop that, even at the cost of IRAQI shia blood. In considerable quantities, apparently. One hopes that we are quietly doing psyops in Iran to help the local population make the connection between the actions of their hardline rulers and the bloodshed among their fellow shias in Iraq. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2004-3-4 1:58:23 PM |
| #4 Zarqawi just lost lots of places to hide out, and friends to hide him. More people will come forward to rat on him after his last show. You do not blow up your friends and get away with it. In a terrible way, this last deed may be the incident that starts the tide moving big against the terrorists. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-3-4 11:23:20 AM |
| #3 More likely it's the dead bodies from Tuesday that's turning up the heat. He's pissed everyone off with that little stunt. Big mistake on Zarqawi's part for messing with a religious holiday. |
| Posted by: Charles 2004-3-4 10:48:05 AM |
| #2 maybe that $10 million reward is turning up the heat? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-3-4 10:38:53 AM |
| #1 More info showing he's not dead: A senior U.S. official said the claim al-Zarqawi is dead was false and that the United States had information showing the Jordanian militant was alive well after the bombing campaign. In al-Zarqawi's hometown in Jordan, an associate of his family told The Associated Press that according to the family, al-Zarqawi had been in contact with his mother until four months ago, when the communication ended after police came to question the mother. In a telephone call Thursday to the family home, a woman answered and said, "He's not in contact with us. We don't know anything about him. Don't call again." She then hung up. Before the Iraq conflict began last March, Secretary of State Colin Powell said al-Zarqawi received hospital treatment in Baghdad after fleeing Afghanistan. U.S. intelligence sources said he apparently was fitted with an artificial leg. He was believed to have taken refuge in northern Iraq before the U.S.-led invasion, and then possibly moved on to Iran. It was widely believed that he then was still coordinating closely with Ansar al-Islam in Kurdish areas. The owner of a car repair shop in Zarqa said he was told by al-Zarqawi's nephew that al-Zarqawi had been in contact with his mother, Umm Sayel. In their last communication four months ago, al-Zarqawi called his mother at a Jordanian hospital where she was undergoing surgery, the garage owner told AP on condition of anonymity. The phone was tapped and police soon arrive to question Umm Sayel, and since then al-Zarqawi has not restored contact, the man said he was told by the nephew. He would not give the nephew's name or disclose his whereabouts. The AP repeatedly has tried to speak with al-Zarqawi's family. Someone is trying to throw us off the track by saying he's dead. He must be feeeling us breathing down his neck. Excellent! |
| Posted by: Steve 2004-3-4 10:26:16 AM |