Iraq Islamist Group Says Tried to Kill Chalabi

DUBAI (Reuters) - An Iraqi Islamist group has said it tried to assassinate Iraqi politician Ahmed Chalabi this week and that four men died in the attack, Al Jazeera television said on Saturday.

The channel said it received a videotape from a group calling itself the Islamic Army of Iraq (news - web sites) in which one of the four men, who later died of his wounds, talks to camera.

A group with the same name has said in an internet statement that it was holding two French journalists kidnapped on Aug. 20.

Chalabi, now a vocal critic of U.S. policy in Iraq after years as a Pentagon favorite, was on the road to Baghdad when his convoy was ambushed on Wednesday. He was returning from a visit to Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most respected Shi'ite Muslim leader, when the vehicles came under attack. Chalabi escaped unharmed but two of his guards were killed, two wounded and two went missing.

"The hostage said in the tape that three of his companions died in the attacks and he talked about Chalabi's relationship with the U.S. Congress and Iran," Al Jazeera said.

"The so-called Islamic Group said that the hostage who appeared in the tape later died from wounds," it said." The man, who was not named, appeared to be Iraqi.

Iraq group holds Iranian consul in Karbala: TV - The Islamic Army in Iraq, in a statement read by the Dubai-based channel, said Faridoon Jahani was "detained for stirring sectarian strife and for activities outside his diplomatic duties".
The group warned Iran against its "blatant interference in Iraqi internal affairs"

This is a sunni group which has also demanded Iran release alleged prisoners from the Iran-Iraq War. It makes sense that they would try to kill Chalabi, a shiite.

Filipino taken hostage in Iraq: Al-Jazeera - 7/07/04 - The kidnapped Filipino, employed by a Saudi company working with US troops based in Iraq, was kidnapped by an armed group calling itself the "Khaled Ibn al-Walid Brigade" linked to the "Islamic Army in Iraq," Al-Jazeera said.

Filipino Hostage Begs for Troop Withdrawl - Dela Cruz was alone on the video Saturday wearing a bright orange jumpsuit like that worn by American hostage Nicholas Berg and South Korean hostage Kim Sun-il when they were beheaded by Iraqi militants.

Behind him was a black banner that read: "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his only prophet," and identified the group that captured him as "The Islamic Army of Iraq - Khalid bin al-Waleed Brigade."

AP - The group's namesake, Khaled bin al-Waleed, is one of the commanders of the army of Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad gave bin al-Waleed the title "Sword of Islam."

Thanks for the additional info. What I was initially wondering was if this group was aligned with Chalabi's opponents in the US, e.g., Robert Baer. I'm trying to find now if he used to run any Sunni groups that might have joined this new Islamic Army in Iraq group. I haven't found much, but I do notice he's been saying things like this:

Broadcast: 29/07/2003: Former CIA agent warns of escalating warfare in Iraq

TONY JONES: Let me take you back a few steps, because I know you worked secretly for many years to bring about the downfall of the regime of Saddam Hussein.

Why weren't you happy then, when Washington decided to go ahead and commit to actually doing this?

ROBERT BAER: Well, because my opinion had always been it's better to let the Iraqis do it so it doesn't look like imperialism.

That's what it looks like to a lot of Iraqis now.

If we found a General who could replace Saddam Hussein -- someone we could live with that'd adhere to some rule of law, I think we'd be a lot better off today.

TONY JONES: Wouldn't that pose the same sort of dangers, though?

For example, if Ahmed Chalabi had been chosen, there'd be plenty of questions over whether he was the right man to be leading the country and, sooner or later, people would be asking, possibly, the same questions about him as they are asking about other Iraqi leaders?

ROBERT BAER: Chalabi was never a candidate to head Iraq.

He never had any legitimacy.

He still doesn't have any legitimacy.

He's a fine person, but he has no following in Iraq.

I'm talking about a Sunni Arab Muslim with following in the military, the police, who wouldn't be exactly clean, but it would be a lot easier transition than we're seeing today.

And somebody with some popularity.

TONY JONES: Wouldn't that pose serious moral problems, though?

Anyone who worked at a senior level in the Iraqi military was bound to have had, you've said, not clean hands -- I would say, possibly, this could be someone who was a war criminal?

ROBERT BAER: That's a possibility.

It's an enormous compromise, but if you look, the Americans will not stand for losing five or six people a day.

100 a week, they will withdraw and Iraq will become chaotic as this Government has admitted.

You know, the United States is in a bind.

Things are not going well there.

The deaths of Uday and Qusay were supposed to fix this.

I don't think it will.

I think the death of Saddam will not fix this.

Because the fact is that we have disenfranchised the Sunni Arab community and they're very unhappy and they're going to fight.

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