DUBAI (Reuters) - A purported statement from the group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, an Islamic militant with suspected ties to al Qaeda, disowned a threat against Japan that was posted in Zarqawi's name on a Web site earlier Tuesday.
"To correct the mistake, we want to clarify to Muslims and the Mujahideen that the statement attributed to the group has caused us surprise and astonishment," the statement signed by Zarqawi's al Tawhid and Jihad group said on another Islamist Web site.
The earlier statement in the name of Zarqawi's group had demanded that Japan pull its troops out of Iraq or face attacks.
In the new statement, the group urged followers to be "careful, credible and avoid lies" in their attribution.
Interesting...Don't they want Japan to pull out of Iraq? Perhaps they don't have to resources to attack Japan or need to stay focused on the Western world. I wonder if some sort of deal was struck back when the three Japanese hostages were released. They were anti-war types & I suspected there was some shady business on their part, but didn't think the Japanese government had anything to do with it.