Al Muhajir Zarqawi’s Successor

DUBAI: Al Qaeda in Iraq named a successor following the killing of the group’s leader Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, according to an Internet statement on Monday.

“The Shura Council of Al Qaeda in Iraq unanimously agreed on Sheikh Abu Hamza Al Muhajir, to be a successor to Sheikh Abu Musab Al Zarqawi,” said a statement signed by Al Qaeda and posted on a website frequently used by Islamist militants.

“Sheikh Abu Hamza Al Muhajir is a good brother, has a history in jihad and is knowledgeable. We ask God that he continue what Sheikh Abu Musab began,” it said.

Muhajir, little known in the West, was not among the names that Al Qaeda experts had expected as Zarqawi’s likely successor.

Zarqawi was killed in an air strike north of Baquba on June 8. He was said to have been in meeting with associates at the time. The Jordanian-born Sunni Arab militant was blamed for some of Iraq’s bloodiest attacks since US forces invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein. Iraqi leaders said that Zarqawi’s death was a major blow to Al Qaeda in Iraq but no one expects violence to end anytime soon. Al Qaeda in Iraq on Sunday vowed to carry out large-scale attacks to “shake the enemy” after Zarqawi’s death. Agencies.

Link:

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C06%5C13%5Cstory_13-6-2006_pg7_3