Al-Qaida confirms deaths of leaders
Source: Agencies |
April 26, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AN al-Qaida front group in Iraq has confirmed the killing of its two top leaders but vowed in a statement that its members would continue to fight.
"After a long journey filled with sacrifices and fighting falsehood and its representatives, two knights have dismounted to join the group of martyrs," the statement said. "We announce that the Muslim nation has lost two of the leaders of jihad."
The statement by the Islamic State of Iraq was posted on a militant Website yesterday.
It comes a week after Iraqi and United States security forces raided a safe house near Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, killing Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri.
The Islamic State of Iraq is an offshoot of al-Qaida in Iraq. Al-Baghdadi was its self-described leader and was so elusive that at times US officials questioned whether he was a real person or merely a composite of a terrorist to give an Iraqi face to an organization led primarily by foreigners.
Al-Masri, a weapons expert who trained in al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan in the 1990s, was the shadowy national leader of al-Qaida in Iraq.
Their deaths were triumphantly announced last Monday by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
But four days later, officials believe, al-Qaida struck back, bombing mosques, shops and the office of an influential Shiite cleric to kill 72 in Iraq's bloodiest day this year.
The new statement does not mention the Friday bombings, and no group has claimed responsibility for them yet.
"After a long journey filled with sacrifices and fighting falsehood and its representatives, two knights have dismounted to join the group of martyrs," the statement said. "We announce that the Muslim nation has lost two of the leaders of jihad."
The statement by the Islamic State of Iraq was posted on a militant Website yesterday.
It comes a week after Iraqi and United States security forces raided a safe house near Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, killing Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri.
The Islamic State of Iraq is an offshoot of al-Qaida in Iraq. Al-Baghdadi was its self-described leader and was so elusive that at times US officials questioned whether he was a real person or merely a composite of a terrorist to give an Iraqi face to an organization led primarily by foreigners.
Al-Masri, a weapons expert who trained in al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan in the 1990s, was the shadowy national leader of al-Qaida in Iraq.
Their deaths were triumphantly announced last Monday by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
But four days later, officials believe, al-Qaida struck back, bombing mosques, shops and the office of an influential Shiite cleric to kill 72 in Iraq's bloodiest day this year.
The new statement does not mention the Friday bombings, and no group has claimed responsibility for them yet.
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