Qaeda Figure Zarqawi Says He's in Iraq for 'Holy War'

Reuters ^ | 5/26/04

[TexKat]

DUBAI (Reuters) - A statement purportedly from al Qaeda-linked militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi says he is in Iraq, waging "holy war" against U.S.-led occupation forces to establish a Muslim state.

"I am in Iraq now waging holy war with my brothers to establish a nation for Islam and a state for the Koran," said the Arabic-language statement claiming to be from Zarqawi and recently posted on Islamic Web sites.

Zarqawi and his group, Jama'at al-Tawhid and Jihad, have claimed a series of suicide bombs and attacks in Iraq on U.S. troops and on Iraqi officials in recent months.

Washington accuses Zarqawi of being the leading operative of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network in Iraq. It says Zarqawi, who has a U.S. bounty of $10 million on his head, beheaded American Nicholas Berg in Iraq this month.

The Jordanian-born Islamic militant said he had earlier been in Afghanistan which he described as "the land of hopes where we are establishing the faith of God."

An earlier statement said to be from Zarqawi, which was included in a video of Berg's beheading, called on Muslims to take up the sword of Islam in Iraq against America.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

May he get his 74 virgins very soon.

Allah Akbar!

[TexKat]

A poster distributed by the US army in February 2004 shows the image of Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian said to be leading an Al-Qaeda affiliated group operating in Iraq.(AFP/US ARMY-HO)

Washington may offer 25 million dollars for Zarqawi's capture: report

Tue May 25, 8:27 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The State Department could more than double the reward offered for the capture of al-Qaeda linked operative Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, ABC television reported.

That would equal the reward offered for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and dramatically increase the current offer of 10 million dollars.

The United States blames Zarqawi, a Jordanian national, for a long list of suicide attacks in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein, including the August 2003 Baghdad bombing that demolished the UN headquarters in Iraq and killed 23 UN staffers.

And a Central Intelligence Agency official said there was a "high probability" that Zarqawi was the person shown in a video posted on the Internet beheading US businessman Nicholas Berg.

A senior State Department official confirmed late Tuesday that the issue has been discussed.

"There is some discussion about increasing the reward, but at this point there is no recommendation or any decision," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

According to ABC, a secretive group known as Task Force 121, charged with finding bin Laden, is now hunting for Zarqawi as well.

Zarqawi cells are operating in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Turkey, Kuwait, Pakistan and Afghanistan, intelligence officials told ABC.

[TexKat]

May he get his 74 virgins very soon.

Not too soon E. Pluribus Unum. This is one I would like to see and would agree on about 6 months of slow torture.

[ladtx]

Zarqawi Says He's in Iraq for 'Holy War'

We'll try to accomodate him if we can get the libs off our backs..

[CHICAGOFARMER]

10,000,000 dollar reward.

It is amazing how many people don't get it who are putting out these rewards.

It should read

25,000 oz of gold or 1600 lbs of gold, or what ever.

or 50,000 camels

or 100 mercedes, or 200 lexus

two oil wells.

would you want 10,000,000 dinars? most people Iraq do not have a clue what 10,000,000 dollars is worth.

[stremba]

But...But...But...There's absolutely no links between Al Quaeda and Iraq. </sarcasm>

[tkathy]

If these fools would quit killing and slaughtering, they could live in peace. They just don't get it.

[VisualizeSmallerGovernment]

According to ABC, a secretive group known as Task Force 121, charged with finding bin Laden, is now hunting for Zarqawi as well.

But Shhh. Don't tell him. It's supposed to be a secret.

[537cant be wrong]

74 virgins?
the mayrter(sp?) pay must be going up, we aint killin them fast enough.

and shouldnt that be PORK akbar?

[MHGinTN]

Satan's servants, in service to the blood lust of Islamic Jihad. What a peaceful religion, don'tcha know!