Text 29270, 125 rader
Skriven 2007-07-18 14:59:00 av Jeff Binkley (1:226/600)
Ärende: Iraq
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The libs will claim that this is a conspiracy.......  Remember that we are not
battling any Al Qaeda in Iraq.  Harry and Nancy say so...

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http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8QF329O0&show_article=1&catnum=2

US: Top al-Qaida in Iraq Figure Captured

Jul 18 11:24 AM US/Eastern
By BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD (AP) - The highest-ranking Iraqi leader of al-Qaida in Iraq has been
arrested and told interrogators that Osama bin Laden's inner circle wields
considerable influence over the Iraqi group, the U.S. command said Wednesday.
Khaled Abdul-Fattah Dawoud Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, who was captured in Mosul on
July 4, carried messages from bin Laden, and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri, to
the Egyptian-born head of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Ayub al-Masri, said Brig. Gen.
Kevin Bergner, a military spokesman.

"Communication between the senior al-Qaida leadership and al-Masri frequently
went through al-Mashhadani," Bergner said. "There is a clear connection between
al-Qaida in Iraq and al-Qaida senior leadership outside Iraq."

The relationship between the two groups has been the subject of debate, with
some private analysts believing the foreign-based leadership plays a minor role
in day-to-day operations.

Some have suggested that linking al-Qaida in Iraq to bin Laden is simply an
attempt to justify the Iraq war as an extension of the global conflict that
began with the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

But the U.S. military has insisted that there are links between the local
al-Qaida group and the bin Laden clique and has released captured letters from
time to time, suggesting the foreign-based leaders provide at least broad
direction.

Bergner said al-Mashhadani had told interrogators that al-Qaida leaders outside
the country "continue to provide directions, they continue to provide a focus
for operations, they continue to flow foreign fighters into Iraq."

Pointing to the foreign influence in al-Qaida undermines support for the
organization among nationalistically minded Iraqis, including some in insurgent
groups that have broken with al-Qaida.

In the latest violence, a series of roadside bombs exploded early Wednesday in
separate areas of east Baghdad, killing 11 people and wounding more than a
dozen, police said. The U.S. military reported three more American soldiers had
died in action in the Iraqi capital.

Bergner said that al-Mashhadani and al-Masri had used an Iraqi actor to put a
local stamp on their foreign-run organization, by co-founding "a virtual
organization in cyberspace called the Islamic State of Iraq in 2006."

In Web postings, the Islamic State of Iraq has identified its leader as Abu
Omar al-Baghdadi, a name indicating Iraqi origin, with the Egyptian al-Masri as
minister of war. There are no known photos of al- Baghdadi.

Bergner said al-Mashhadani had told interrogators that al-Baghdadi is a
"fictional role" created by al-Masri and that an actor with an Iraqi accent is
used for audio recordings of speeches posted on the Web.

"In his words, the Islamic State of Iraq is a front organization that masks the
foreign influence and leadership within al-Qaida in Iraq in an attempt to put
an Iraqi face on the leadership of al-Qaida in Iraq," Bergner said.

He said al-Mashhadani was a leader of the militant Ansar al-Sunnah group before
joining al-Qaida in Iraq 2 1/2 years ago. Al-Mashhadani served as the al-Qaida
media chief for Baghdad and then was appointed the media chief for the whole
country.

Al-Qaida in Iraq was proclaimed in 2004 by Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,
who led a group called Tawhid and Jihad, responsible for the beheading of
several foreign hostages, whose final moments were captured on videotapes
provided to Arab television stations.

Al-Zarqawi posted Web statements declaring his allegiance to bin Laden and
began using the name of al-Qaida in Iraq. Al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S.
airstrike in Diyala province in June 2006 and was replaced by al-Masri.

The first of Wednesday's roadside blasts occurred about 7:30 a.m. near the
Dhubat neighborhood, killing four civilians and wounding seven others, police
said.

Two more blasts occurred two minutes apart in another area of eastern Baghdad,
killing seven people and wounding seven, police said. The dead included two
traffic policemen and five civilians, police said.

The policemen spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized
to release the information.

The three American soldiers were killed Tuesday in separate bombings in the
capital, the U.S. command said.

Two were killed in west Baghdad and another died in an east Baghdad bombing,
the military said. Four other Americans were wounded in the east Baghdad blast,
the command said. Two insurgents responsible for the attack were identified,
engaged and killed, the statement added.

Those latest deaths occurred as the U.S. Senate was in an all-night session as
Democrats sought to dramatize opposition to the Iraq war. Democratic leaders
conceded they were unlikely to gain the votes needed to advance troop
withdrawal legislation blocked by Republicans.

Meanwhile, dozens of Baghdad residents joined a protest Wednesday in Firdous
Square in central Baghdad to demand the government improve security and public
services.

The demonstrators held Iraqi flags and banners, urging authorities to "stop
mocking us" and to make its only goal "the protection of Iraqis."

"Our demands are not big ones. We need security, electricity and water," said
Sheik Nihad al-Sharqawi. "The government has to ensure happiness and prosperity
to every Iraqi citizen. Otherwise, it should step down."

The U.S. military has stepped up the pace of operations in recent weeks, hoping
to drive Sunni and Shiite extremists from sanctuaries in and around Baghdad as
they scramble to train enough Iraqi security forces to prevent the gunmen from
regrouping.

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