Karachi, 13 June (AKI) - (Syed Saleem Shahzad) - The new leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq has a name, Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, but not an identity. Depending on the expert consulted he could be a Libyan, a Saudi or a Yemeni. But there is one certainty - he was chosen far from the battle grounds of Iraq, in the rugged borderlands between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Adnkronos International (AKI) has learnt from jihadi sources in Taliban-controlled South Waziristan that in choosing a replacement for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaeda leaders followed two priorities - regaining control of the wider Iraqi resistance and seeking revenge against Jordan for his death. | AKI being a lefty Italian news agency, they seem to have pretty good sources in the jihad community. |
Well-placed sources in South Waziristan maintained that al-Qaeda had taken a tactical decision in recent times to cope with a loss in operational capacity, caused by various arrests of high level members and a reduction in its financial flow. After a long debate it was decided to suspend routine activities for a period and that all members would converge into the mainstream mujahadeen groups - be they in Iraq or in Afghanistan. | When in doubt, reorganize the deck chairs |
However shortly after Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi's death, these sources told AKI, the al-Qaeda leadership outlined two priorities. One was the swift installation of a new al-Qaeda chief in Iraq, the other was a mission to target Jordan whom they hold responsible for killing al-Zarqawi. Jordanian intelligence was believed to have played a key role in identifying the hideout of the militant leader who was killed along with six others by a US bombing raid last Wednesday. | I'm surprised Dire Revenge wasn't #1 |
A key figure in this process, this correspondent has learnt, has been played by Abdul Hadi al-Iraqi based in South Waziristan who is the main link between Iraqi resistance and Al-Qaeda leadership holed up in the mountainous border terrain. Al-Iraqi, in his mid forties, was born in Iraq and served in Iraq's Army, before traveling to Afghanistan to fight the Soviet invasion. In a 2005 article, American magazine Newsweek claimed that al-Iraqi had negotiated the reconcilation between Osama bin Laden and al-Zarqawi.
There were unconfirmed reports that Abdul Hadi Al-Iraqi was missing in the US air raid in Pakistan's remote Bajaur agency which was targeting a meeting of al-Qaeda heads after an intelligence tipoff. However the sources in South Waziristan insisted that he is alive and kicking.
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