Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Al-Zarqawi's Jordan family renounces him
seattlepi.nwsource.com ^ | November 20, 2005 | JAMAL HALABY

Posted on 11/20/2005 7:49:23 AM PST by Mo1

AMMAN, Jordan -- Family members of Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi renounced the terrorist leader Sunday after his al-Qaida in Iraq group claimed responsibility for the Nov. 9 suicide attacks on three Amman hotels that killed 59 people.

The family of al-Zarqawi, whose real name is Ahmed Fadheel Nazzal al-Khalayleh, reiterated their strong allegiance to Jordan's King Abdullah II in half-page advertisements in the kingdom's three main newspapers. Al-Zarqawi threatened to kill the king in an audiotape released Friday.

"A Jordanian doesn't stab himself with his own spear," said the statement by 57 members of the al-Khalayleh family, including al-Zarqawi's brother and cousin. "We sever links with him until doomsday."

The statement is a serious blow to al-Zarqawi, who no longer will enjoy the protection of his tribe and whose family members may seek to kill him.

"As we pledge to maintain homage to your throne and to our precious Jordan ... we denounce in the clearest terms all the terrorist actions claimed by the so-called Ahmed Fadheel Nazzal al-Khalayleh, who calls himself Abu Musab al-Zarqawi," the family members said.

"We announce, and all the people are our witnesses, that we - the sons of the al-Khalayleh tribe - are innocent of him and all that emanates from him, whether action, assertion or decision."

The statement said anyone who carried out such violence in the kingdom does not enjoy its protection.

The al-Khalayleh tribe is a branch of the Bani Hassan, one of the area's largest and most prominent Bedouin tribes, which help form the bedrock of support for the royal family's Hashemite dynasty.

Relatives hold senior posts in the army and other government departments.

Al-Zarqawi often boasted of his family's influence when he was jailed in his native Jordan, said Yousef al-Rababaah, an ex-convict who shared al-Zarqawi's cellblock for four years until both were freed under a royal amnesty in 1999.

"Prison wardens and other prisoners feared him because of his family connections and influence," he told The Associated Press recently.

The family statement follows a rally Friday by dozens of angry al-Khalayleh tribe members, who also denounced al-Zarqawi.

The terrorist leader took his name from the city of Zarqa, 17 miles northeast of Amman.

"If my son was a terrorist, I wouldn't hesitate to kill him," family member Mousa al-Khalayleh said during Friday's rally, claiming he spoke on behalf of the tribe. "This is the slogan raised by the tribe as of this moment."

Sunday's message was similar to one sent last year by some members of al-Zarqawi's clan to Abdullah. That message, which contained fewer signatories, severed links with the terrorist for claiming a failed plot in April 2004 that targeted the Amman headquarters of Jordan's intelligence agency, the prime minister's office and the U.S. Embassy.

Officials have said thousands of people would have been killed had the attacks been carried out.

Al-Zarqawi has claimed responsibility for several terrorist attacks in Jordan and was sentenced to death in absentia for planning a conspiracy that led to the 2002 killing of U.S. aid worker Laurence Foley.

He also leads a campaign of bombings and kidnappings in Iraq, and the United States has offered $25 million for information leading to his capture.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: jordan; wot; zarqawi
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-53 last
To: Mo1

Just maybe he stepped over the line with Jordan attack and threat to the King and somebody there gave him up.. and now the reports from Mosul may be proof of that. We can hope.


41 posted on 11/20/2005 2:12:07 PM PST by SeaBiscuit (God Bless all who defend America and Friends, the rest can go to hell.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mo1

Guess he won't be getting together with the family for Thanksgiving.


42 posted on 11/20/2005 2:39:18 PM PST by My2Cents (Dead people voting is the closest the Democrats come to believing in eternal life.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: billorites
Gonna be an awkward scene at the Zarqawi Turkey Day dinner table.
---
They'll probably make him eat his dinner in the basement.
And no piece of pumpkin pie for him.
43 posted on 11/20/2005 3:25:40 PM PST by Cheburashka
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: layman
"A Jordanian doesn't stab himself with his own spear"

Tell that to our Dems- "An American doesn't stab himself with his own spear".

Would they the point? Not holding my breath...

44 posted on 11/20/2005 3:42:57 PM PST by the anti-liberal (Hey, Al Qaeda: Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: the anti-liberal
"A Jordanian doesn't stab himself with his own spear"

You'll go blind!


45 posted on 11/20/2005 5:01:19 PM PST by billorites (freepo ergo sum)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 44 | View Replies]

To: Mo1

But do we really believe them or are they just trying(in public) to save their own butts from an enraged Jordanian public?


46 posted on 11/20/2005 5:05:31 PM PST by freeangel ( (free speech is only good until someone else doesn't like what you say))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: billorites

Tax & Regulate Cannabis, you'll go blind... If I knew who she was I'd have a fuller appreciation for your joke. Sorry- so who is she?


47 posted on 11/20/2005 5:12:12 PM PST by the anti-liberal (Hey, Al Qaeda: Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 45 | View Replies]

To: the anti-liberal
Well, that's Jocelyn Elders. She was Surgeon General of the United States early in the Clinton administration.

She was a vocal advocate of self-determination.

48 posted on 11/20/2005 6:45:04 PM PST by billorites (freepo ergo sum)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 47 | View Replies]

To: WhistlingPastTheGraveyard
Public enemy #1 (?) of his own "tribe." How about the FBI finally adds him to FBI Most Wanted Terrorists for all the many many Americans he's murdered, including

U.S. Ambassador Laurence Foley

and civilian Jack Hensley

?

49 posted on 11/20/2005 7:19:47 PM PST by cgk (Cheney: Senators Reid, Kerry & Rockefeller were unable to attend due to a prior lack of commitment.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: the anti-liberal

You can't see the tip of the spear when it has already made it's exit wound.


50 posted on 11/21/2005 8:01:26 AM PST by When do we get liberated? ((God save us from the whining, useless, irrelevent left...))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 44 | View Replies]

To: When do we get liberated?

Actually I have found that when I need to find someone that absconded with a car of mine, the best phone # to have is the mother. I don't care how old you are or how independent you are. If anyone can find you, it is your mother. King Abdullah apparently has Al-Zarquari's mom's phone # on speed dial.


51 posted on 11/21/2005 8:05:16 AM PST by When do we get liberated? ((God save us from the whining, useless, irrelevent left...))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

this does appear to be the oldest such topic. Here's a newer one, which may be an update.

US doubts al-Zarqawi died in gunfight
Australian Associated Press ^ | November 21, 2005
Posted on 11/20/2005 4:38:59 PM PST by West Coast Conservative
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1525818/posts


52 posted on 11/29/2005 1:36:32 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Down with Dhimmicrats! I last updated my FR profile on Wednesday, November 2, 2005.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Whoops. Still relevant, but I zigged when I should have zagged.


53 posted on 11/29/2005 1:37:26 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Down with Dhimmicrats! I last updated my FR profile on Wednesday, November 2, 2005.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 52 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-53 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson