Iraq's resistance has replaced Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as political head of the rebels, confining him to a military role, the son of Osama bin Laden's mentor said Sunday in Jordan. "The Iraqi resistance's high command asked Zarqawi to give up his political role and replaced him with an Iraqi, because of several mistakes he made," said Hudayf Azzam, who claims close contacts with the rebels.
"Zarqawi's role has been limited to military action," said Azzam, whose late father Abdullah Azzam was bin Laden's mentor. "Zarqawi bowed to the orders two weeks ago and was replaced by Iraqi national Abdullah bin Rashed al-Baghdadi," Azzam said.
Azzam, 35, whose father was known as the "prince of mujahideen," said he regularly receives "credible information on the resistance in Iraq." He said Zarqawi "made many political mistakes," including "the creation of an independent organization, Al-Qaeda in Iraq." "Zarqawi also took the liberty of speaking in the name of the Iraqi people and resistance, a role which belongs only to the Iraqis," Azzam said.
As a result "the resistance command inside and outside Iraq, including imams, criticized him and after long discussions demanded that he be confined to military action," Azzam said. "Zarqawi pledged not to carry out any more attacks against Iraq's neighbors after having been criticized for these operations which are considered a violation of sharia [Islamic law]," Azzam said. | I'm guessing that's in reference to the Jordanian boomings. |
Nevertheless, the Amman-based Azzam insisted that Zarqawi remains a strong force on the ground. "He is stronger than before on the battlefield and the resistance has profited from his military experience," he said. "Five organizations have rallied around Zarqawi: the Mujahideen Army, Ansar al-Islam [also known as Ansar al-Sunna], the Islamic Army for the Liberation of Iraq, Al-Tawid Wal Hujra and Revolution 20 Brigades," he said. The joint U.S.-Iraqi operation launched in mid-March around Samarra, north of Baghdad, aimed at "dismantling these five groups," Azzam said.
General John Abizaid, the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, said at the time that the offensive targeted Al-Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgent groups in Samarra. "Generally it's linked to the notion that in that vicinity where they're operating that there are some hard Al-Qaeda in Iraq nodes and some hard insurgent nodes that need to be dealt with," Abizaid said.
Azzam also expected "several mistakes made in the past, such as some hostage-taking, not to occur again." Asked about the wave of abductions in Iraq targeting journalists, Azzam said: "Not all journalists are innocent." "The resistance is against the occupiers. It is a natural and legitimate right," he said.
Azzam said that last week's liberation of U.S. hostage Jill Carroll, the Christian Science Monitor journalist who was held in Iraq for 12 weeks, allowed the release from jail of "wives and sisters of resistance brothers." "When the American Army cannot succeed in arresting resistance members, they arrest their wives or other members of their family," Azzam said. |