Posted on 07/07/2004 12:52:37 PM PDT by TexKat
CAIRO, Egypt - The kidnappers of U.S. businessman Nicholas Berg refused a ransom and beheaded him to avenge what American-led forces had done to Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a recording purportedly issued by militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
The 60-minute recording, which was posted on Islamic Web sites Tuesday, said unidentified people had tried to persuade the kidnappers to spare Berg's life.
"They were ready to give us whatever sums of money we asked ... to save this infidel's life," said the voice, purportedly that of al-Zarqawi, "But despite our desperate need of money to fund our jihad, we preferred to take revenge for our sisters and our nation."
The voice could not be immediately verified as that of al-Zarqawi, but it sounded like him. The Jordanian militant, whose real name is Ahmad Fadhil Nazzal al-Khalayleh, is the most wanted insurgent in Iraq. Allegedly linked to the al-Qaida terror group, he is also wanted by the Jordanian and American authorities. The United States has offered $25 million for information leading to his capture.
His Tawhid and Jihad group claimed responsibility for the beheading of Berg and South Korean translator Kim Sun-il. It was also believed to be behind a series of attacks on police and security forces in Iraq that killed 100 people in the days leading up to the coalition forces' handover of power to an Iraqi interim government last month.
The voice in the recording attacked Islamic clerics, in particular the senior Iraqi Sunni cleric Hareth al-Dhari, for criticizing Berg's killing rather than supporting Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Palestinian territories and Indonesia.
"Haven't you heard them (the clerics) condemning the beheading of the American Berg?" the voice asked. "They condemned (the killing) because they were afraid of fighting the (American) infidels."
Muslim religious leaders condemned Berg's execution as un-Islamic. His decapitated body was found May 8 near a highway overpass in Baghdad. He was last seen on April 10 when he left his Baghdad hotel.
His killers released a videotape bearing the title "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi shown slaughtering an American," which showed the actual killing.
U.S. intelligence officials have determined "with high probability" that it was al-Zarqawi himself who beheaded Berg based on an analysis of the voice heard on the video, a CIA official has said on condition of anonymity.
Al-Dhari, who heads the Islamic Clerics Committee, the highest Sunni organization in Iraq, has been involved in efforts to secure the release of foreign hostages in Iraq.
The recording's release followed a series of U.S. airstrikes on suspected al-Zarqawi safe houses in the city of Fallujah, west of Baghdad.
An armed vigilante group, calling itself "Salvation Movement," threatened on Tuesday to kill al-Zarqawi for insurgency attacks that have killed Iraqis, making the first internal threat against the Jordanian militant.
Summary: Refusing ransom, then killing a defenseless kidnapped "infidel" makes one a big hero in the islamic world.
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