THE shadowy militants who abducted Douglas Wood allowed a Turkish prisoner to walk free last year - after he agreed to convert to Islam. The Shura Council of the Mujahedeen has been linked to hardcore insurgents who sparked the battles of Fallujah, some of the bloodiest fighting in the Iraq war. Last September, Turkish hostage Aytulla Gezman was allowed to walk free after he appeared on video promising to spread the word of Islam. A masked man on the same video makes clear that the group's patience is limited and that future perceived traitors in Iraq would not be spared. "The Shura Council of the Mujahedeen decided to release the Turkish hostage after he has converted to Islam and has repented for working with the infidel American occupation forces," the insurgent said. Like the myriad other insurgent groups in Iraq, the Shura Council wages campaigns of violence then goes to ground. The group was formed in the last 1990s by Muslim cleric and father of five Sheik Abdullah al-Janabi, who once held the title Emir of Fallujah. | "I am the Emir of Fallujah! I have a sharp sword and no sense of humor." |
Saddam Hussein in 1998 suspended him from delivering his Friday sermons because they were critical of Saddam's regime. Al-Janabi resurfaced after the fall of Saddam and became a leading force in Fallujah. There were reported sightings of him spurring on frontline insurgents with his sermons during last year's siege of the city, but it is not known whether he survived the fighting.
Although the Shura Council has shown compassion in the past, terrorism experts fear they could be preparing to make an example of Mr Wood. "It could be an Islamist group or it could be it's a Sunni insurgent group. Normally the Sunni insurgents have something which identify them to a particular area," said Clive Williams, a terrorism expert at the Australian National University. "I would say it is more likely an Islamist group. Their agenda is simply to publicise their cause then execute the hostage in the way that gets them the best coverage, which is usually beheading on video." Mr Wood is the fourth Australian to be kidnapped in Iraq. Journalist John Martinkus was taken last October, while an Australian cleric and an unnamed security contractor was abducted a month earlier. All were released. |