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Abu Maysarah al Iraqi

Abu Maysarah al Iraqi

al-Qaeda in Iraq

Iraq-Jordan

Iraqi

At Large

Mouthpiece

20050825

Iraq-Jordan

Jordanian government asks Iraq to hand over suspects

2005-08-25

Al Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility for the Katyusha attack last Friday, that narrowly missed a US warship in the Red Sea port of Aqaba, as the hunt for those responsible for the attacks in the port city of Aqaba continued on Tuesday with the Jordanian government asking Iraq to hand over suspects linked to attack who had sought refuge in its territories. Sources in Amman indicated officials contacted their counterparts in Baghdad as well as the U.S military in Iraq and informed them that three men had returned to Iraq and provided them with their names and description. The group headed by Jordanian Abu Musab Al Zarqawi claimed responsibility for the failed attacks on Tuesday. The internet statement, which could not be authenticated, was signed Abu Maysarah al Iraqi the group’s spokesman. It justified delaying its claim until five days after the attack "so that the brothers could finish retreating." «God has enabled your brothers in the military wing of the al-Qaeda in Iraq to plan for the Aqaba invasion a while ago,” the statement said."After finishing the preparations and deciding on the targets, your brothers launched the rockets.” Tuesday night Interior Minister Awni Yirfas said: "The investigation shows a link to al-Zarqawi.” Last week, a group calling itself the Martyr Abdallah Azzam Brigade of the al Qaeda organization in the Levant and Egypt claimed responsibility for firing the Katyusha rockets, two of which fell in the port of Aqaba narrowly missing the US military ship, USS Ashland and causing limited material damage. A third hit the Israeli city of Eilat. A Jordanian solider was killed and another injured in the attack. The authorities in Amman hopes Iraq will capture the perpetrators and return them to Jordan where they will face trial. This comes as the main suspect in the bombings, Syrian national, Mohammed Hassan Abdallah al Sihly, caught in Amman, provided his interrogators with information on the three other men who took part in the attack, believed to be. It was reported two of the wanted men are al Sihly’s sons. Jordan has also exchanged information with the intelligence services in Syria to and discussed recently uncovered plans to undermine the stability in Jordan. Al Sihly revealed during questioning his links to extremist groups inside Syrian some who were planning to attack the Jordanian intelligence building in Damascus. Across the Jordanian capital on Tuesday, police officers were deployed at roadblocks to check the identity of drivers coming in and out of the city. The ongoing investigation by the Jordanian security services have so far revealed the attackers prepared eight rockets for launch in a shop they had rented a few days earlier in an industrial zone in the port. Four of these successfully exploded, one towards the airport in Eilat, which is adjacent to Jordanian territory by the Red Sea, and three other hit the Military Hospital , dock no.7, and dock no.3 on the Jordanian side. According to the findings, the suspects had timed the rockets to go off eight hours after they were installed to allow them to escape the city. But the rockets went off prematurely 57 minutes later. This technical glitch has assisted the authorities in their search for clues. One man was arrested in the Al Shalala neighborhood, a poor and overcrowded part of the city. The authorities pointed out that the investigation would have progressed at a much slower pace had the rockets not misfired.

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Iraq-Jordan

Iraq's al Qaeda denies arrests linked to group

2005-06-17

Iraq's al Qaeda wing denied on Friday that several people arrested in Spain and Iraq this week were its members, according to an Internet statement. U.S. forces said on Thursday they had detained a senior associate of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, while Spain announced on Wednesday the arrest of 11 suspected Zarqawi followers. "We've become used to the lies of the crusaders and their followers. Every now and then they hold a Muslim and say they have captured an aide to Sheikh Zarqawi," the statement said. "Spain claimed it has arrested a group of Zarqawi aides. Each Muslim, now is suspected of belonging to al Qaeda," said the statement signed by the group's spokesman Abu Maysarah al-Iraqi. "In Mosul, the enemies of God claimed to have arrested a senior official and aide to Zarqawi...We tell you that your brothers are well...and continuing their jihad," it added. OK, we got the right guy then. The statement could not be immediately authenticated. U.S. forces said they had captured Mohammed Khalif Shaiker, also known as Abu Talha or the emir of Mosul, on Tuesday in Iraq's third largest city. Zarqawi's group has claimed responsibility for some of the deadliest bombings in Iraq. In December last year, U.S. forces in Mosul announced the capture of one of Shaiker's deputies, Abdul Aziz Sadun Ahmed Hamduni, also known as Abu Ahmed, and the next day seized another deputy.

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Iraq-Jordan

Wounded Zarqawi to send message to bin Laden

2005-05-31

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qa'eda in Iraq, was wounded recently but is now back in command and will send a message to Osama bin Laden soon, an internet statement has said. The statement, which has not yet been authenticated said that Zarqawi "will be sending his new message to sheikh of the mujahideen, the prince of al-Qa'eda Organisation, Osama bin Laden." The statement was attributed to Abu Maysarah al-Iraqi, the group's spokesman and followed earlier internet postings saying that Zarqawi was in good health after being wounded in Iraq. The American military said recently they thought Zarqawi had been wounded after forces closed in on him.

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Iraq-Jordan

No firm word on al-Zarqawi deputy

2005-05-27

Conflicting statements about the leadership of al-Qaeda in Iraq have appeared on the internet following reports that its chief, Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was wounded. A statement in the name of al-Qaeda Organisation for Holy War in Iraq was posted on Thursday on a website, saying the group had appointed a deputy to fill in for al-Zarqawi, but a later statement purportedly from a group spokesman swiftly denied it. London-based Islamist activist Yasser al-Serri, who monitors websites used by such groups, said statements from spokesman Abu Maysarah al-Iraqi were more credible and the earlier posting was questionable even though it bore al-Qaeda's signature. The earlier posting had said that leaders of al-Qaeda in Iraq had met and named Sheikh Abu Hafs al-Qarni as deputy leader "until the return of our Sheikh (Zarqawi) safely". But the later statement from Abu Maysarah, who often posts al-Qaeda's internet utterances, said: "We deny what was issued about the appointment of the so-called Abu Hafs or any other name." The statement attributed to Abu Maysarah said the group had announced the wounding of al-Zarqawi on Tuesday to show its credibility and ease fears that he had died. Iraq's interior minister said on Thursday he had received information five days ago that al-Zarqawi had been wounded, but would not say where it came from. "Yes, it is true," Bayan Jabor said when asked about the internet posting to that effect. "It is my job to know," he said. Wafiq al-Samarrai, a security adviser to Iraq's president, told Aljazeera: "It is more likely that al-Zarqawi has been wounded during the vast military operations launched in western Iraq, Baghdad and Salah al-Din province. "There have been two possibilities: The first one is that the news was leaked by al-Zarqawi and his organisation to show him as a 'superman' and this is less probable. The second possibility is that he has been wounded." He said: "The wounding of al-Zarqawi gives the impression that terrorists are in a state of retreat." "Many of al-Zarqawi's aides have been arrested and they will shortly appear on TV screens," al-Samarrai said. When asked about reports that al-Zarqawi was moved to a neighbouring country accompanied by two physicians, al-Samarrai said: "We are not concerned with wherever he goes as he is now considered out of the battle."

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Iraq-Jordan

Militant Islamic Web site reports Zarqawi evacuated from Iraq

2005-05-25

BAGHDAD, Iraq (UPI) -- A militant Islamic Web site reported Wednesday Iraq al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was evacuated from Iraq after being injured. Zarqawi`s group, al-Qaida Organization in Mesopotamia, said in a statement carried on the site Zarqawi was moved secretly to a neighboring country with the help of doctors from the Arab Peninsula and the Sudan. "Arab Peninsula", I'm guessing that would be Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, UEA and maybe Jordan. Plus, there's nothing like Sudanese medical care to bring a smile to my face. The group did not identify the country to which Zarqawi was evacuated but said he is in a stable condition after a bullet pierced the right side of his chest causing breathing problems. Sucking Chest Wound, one of the all time favorites. Next to the fabled sucking head wound, of course... The group said in a message on the Web site Tuesday Zarqawi had been wounded. It asked for "prayers for our leader," and expressed pride at what they described as his heroic wounds. It did not say how or when the Jordanian-born Zarqawi was hurt. Additional: An Islamic website statement claimed today that Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi, al Qaida in Iraq chief, has fled to an unidentified "neighbouring country" with two Arab doctors treating him for gunshot wounds to his lung. Same source, more details. There was no way to verify the authenticity of the claim. The site used to carry al Qaida postings, but has fallen out of use recently. Soon, the posting appeared on another militant site, where it quickly came under attack from other posters as untrue and unauthorised by al Qaida. The statement from somebody identified only as al-Khalidi — the same name as a regular poster for the site in the past — said the information was based on accounts of "brothers close to the holy warriors in Iraq and who are in contact with them." He did not elaborate. Mideast security officials told The Associated Press in the Jordanian capital Amman they could not verify the authenticity of the posting or veracity of its contents. On Tuesday, a web statement in the name of al-Zarqawi's group, al Qaida in Iraq, said the terrorist mastermind has been wounded. But US officials cautioned they did not know if the posting was authentic, and privately said the information also may have been designed to purposefully mislead. Today's statement said al-Zarqawi "was secretly smuggled to a neighbouring country a few days ago in a complicated and organised operation." It did not identify the country. For which said un-named country thanks them. It said al-Zarqawi was in "stable condition now" after he incurred a "bullet wound which penetrated his right lung." Meanwhile it has been reported today that Iraqi security forces have killed a senior al-Zarqawi aide in northern Iraq, the government said. Sabhan Ahmad Ramadan was killed as he was manning a checkpoint in the northern province of Nineveh, a government announcement said. It added that Ramadan, also known as Agha Abu Saad, was a leading aide to Abu Talha — the head of operations in Mosul for al-Zarqawi and his al Qaida in Iraq terror group. No further details on the man or how he was killed were provided. MORE: One of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's lieutenants has claimed the al-Qaeda leader in Iraq was shot "between the shoulder and chest" in fighting over the weekend west of Ramadi. Sounds like it clipped the top of the lung The claim from Abu Karar, who was identified as a lieutenant for Zarqawi in Ramadi, came after a leader of his organisation, Abu Maysarah al-Iraqi, posted notification of the terrorist's alleged injury on a website. The web posting could not be independently confirmed. However, following the web announcement, several members of Zarqawi's group, including Karar, said they had heard he had been shot. Karar said the al-Qaeda group had been caught in an ambush by Iraqi forces and US marines. A top Zarqawi aide and several Arab fighters had also been killed, he said. Karar said Zarqawi was in a stable condition and in a safe place being treated by doctors. Of course, they could be saying he's out of the country to try to throw off pursuit. Lieutenant-Colonel Steven Boylan, spokesman for the US military in Baghdad, said of the website announcement of Zarqawi's wounding, "We don't know whether it's fact or fiction. He continues to be our number one target." The Army Of Steve has spoken! Samarrae, the security adviser to the Iraqi President, Jalal Talabani, also played down the report. He told Al-Jazeera television: "Three days ago, one of the most important aides to Zarqawi was arrested and maybe he gave important information about Zarqawi and his whereabouts." He added: "In all cases, there are many probabilities. Maybe he is not wounded and he posted this statement on the internet to say he is wounded and then post another statement to say that he is treated and fine and he is like superman."

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Iraq-Jordan

Zarquawi Hurt(?)

2005-05-24

IRAQ'S MOST WANTED 'HURT' Iraq's most wanted man, insurgent leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi, has been wounded, according to an al Qaeda website. Al Zarqawi is suspected of being behind the beheading of British hostage Ken Bigley and the death of aid worker Margaret Hassan. "O nation of Islam... Pray for the healing of our Sheikh Abu Musab al-Zarqawi from an injury he suffered in the path of God," said a statement from the al Qaeda Organisation for Holy War in Iraq. They wouldn't comment on it if it wasn't serious. One thing they are reliable about is lamenting the fallen "warriors". Pray for sepsis... The statement, posted by the group's media coordinator, Abu Maysarah al Iraqi, did not say how or when al Zarqawi was injured. Al Iraqi is known to be the group's media coordinator, but there was no way to confirm if he had posted the statement himself. Al Zarqawi has claimed responsibility for scores of attacks against Iraqi civilians and security forces, as well as kidnappings. There is a $25m bounty on his head. "Let the near and far know that the injury of our leader is an honour, and a cause to close in on the enemies of God, and a reason to increase the attacks against them," the statement said. "Win one for the Zaripper!" In Baghdad, Lieutenant Colonel Steve Boylan, spokesman for US forces in Iraq, said: "We have no information on whether he's wounded or what the state of his health is." He also said that such reports had been heard frequently before and were almost impossible to verify. "This could be another one of their ploys, you never know," he added. The Pentagon in Washington said it had no basis to confirm or deny the story. Get in There!

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Iraq-Jordan

Zarqawi sez al-Qaeda victory in Fallujah is on the horizon

2004-11-12

'course, a lot depends on your definition of "victory"... An audiotape purportedly made by al-Qaeda-linked terror suspect Abu Musab al-Zarqawi encouraged his fighters in Fallujah and said victory was near. The tape surfaced Friday on an Internet site known as a clearinghouse for militant Muslim comment. "As for you heroes of Islam in Fallujah, praise for your Jihad, praise for your nation, praise for your religion. (Have) one hour's patience, and then you will see the results," the speaker said after identifying himself as al-Zarqawi. "Rejoice my nation. There is no doubt that God's victory is on the horizon," the speaker said, adding a challenge to "the Americans to show the truth of what goes on on the battleground." The voice sounded like that on earlier tapes attributed to al-Zarqawi. The statement was peppered with verses from the Quran and poetry, typical of recordings linked to al-Zarqawi. The statement appeared as American and Iraqi soldiers pushed deeper into the southern reaches of Fallujah, cornering militants being backed into smaller pockets of the city, on the fourth day of an offensive launched in part to clear out militants linked to the Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi. The link to the five-minute tape was posted by an individual who signed himself Abu Maysarah al-Iraqi, known as the media coordinator of al-Zarqawi's group, al-Qaeda of Jihad in Iraq. In an unusual written introduction, al-Iraqi said the recording was "short and hasty" because of the "grave" circumstances. A longer statement would follow in which al-Qaeda strategy would be outlined, al-Iraqi said. Also Friday, another well-known Iraqi militant group, Ansar al-Sunnah Army, claimed in a statement on its Web site to have joined forces with al-Zarqawi's group and the Islamic Army in Iraq, which claimed responsibility for kidnapping two French journalists who remain missing. Ansar al-Sunnah Army claimed to have carried out a "joint operation" with the two groups in Youssifiyah, 12 miles south of Baghdad.

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