Al-Zarqawi has Fled Iraq - Report
An Islamic website statement claimed today that Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi, al Qaida in Iraq chief, has fled to an unidentified “neighbouring country” with two Arab doctors treating him for gunshot wounds to his lung.
There was no way to verify the authenticity of the claim. The site used to carry al Qaida postings, but has fallen out of use recently. Soon, the posting appeared on another militant site, where it quickly came under attack from other posters as untrue and unauthorised by al Qaida.
The statement from somebody identified only as al-Khalidi – the same name as a regular poster for the site in the past – said the information was based on accounts of “brothers close to the holy warriors in Iraq and who are in contact with them.” He did not elaborate.
Mideast security officials told The Associated Press in the Jordanian capital Amman they could not verify the authenticity of the posting or veracity of its contents.
On Tuesday, a web statement in the name of al-Zarqawi’s group, al Qaida in Iraq, said the terrorist mastermind has been wounded. But US officials cautioned they did not know if the posting was authentic, and privately said the information also may have been designed to purposefully mislead.
Today’s statement said al-Zarqawi “was secretly smuggled to a neighbouring country a few days ago in a complicated and organised operation.” It did not identify the country.
It said al-Zarqawi was in “stable condition now” after he incurred a “bullet wound which penetrated his right lung.”
Al-Zarqawi has claimed responsibility for attacks on Iraqi civilians and security forces and kidnappings and beheadings of foreigners, and has a £13.7 million bounty on his head.
Meanwhile it has been reported today that Iraqi security forces have killed a senior al-Zarqawi aide in northern Iraq, the government said.
Sabhan Ahmad Ramadan was killed as he was manning a checkpoint in the northern province of Nineveh, a government announcement said.
It added that Ramadan, also known as Agha Abu Saad, was a leading aide to Abu Talha – the head of operations in Mosul for al-Zarqawi and his al Qaida in Iraq terror group. No further details on the man or how he was killed were provided.
'Ramadan, also known as Agha Abu Saad' is also known as Rahman 'the noodle of death' has been killed by anti fast food fighters in northern Iraq.