Here ya go...
Posted on 06/15/2006 6:51:02 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military said Thursday the man claiming to be the new al-Qaida in Iraq leader is Abu Ayyub al-Masri, an Egyptian with ties to Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri.
Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, said al-Masri apparently is the same person that al-Qaida in Iraq identified in a Web posting last week as its new leader — Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, a nom de guerre. Al-Muhajer claimed to have succeeded Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed in a June 7 U.S. airstrike, and vowed to avenge him in threatening Web statements in recent days.
The military showed a picture of al-Masri wearing a traditional white Arab headdress at a Baghdad news conference.
The Afghanistan-trained explosives expert is a key figure in the al-Qaida in Iraq network with responsibility for facilitating the movement of foreign fighters from Syria into Baghdad, Caldwell said.
He has been a terrorist since 1982, "beginning with his involvement in the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, which was led by al-Zawahri," Caldwell said.
The spokesman added that raids in April and May in southern Baghdad recovered material confirming his high-level involvement in the facilitation of foreign fighters.
"Al-Masri's intimate knowledge of al-Qaida in Iraq and his close relationship with (al-Zarqawi's) operations will undoubtedly help facilitate and enable them to regain some momentum if, in fact, he is the one that assumes the leadership role," Caldwell said.
He said, however, that al-Masri's ability to exert leadership over al-Qaida cells remained unclear and there were other "al-Qaida senior leadership members and Sunni terrorists" who might try to take over the operations.
Caldwell singled out Abu Abdul-Rahman al-Iraqi, who in the past had been identified as al-Qaida in Iraq's deputy leader in statements by the group, and Abdullah bin Rashid al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Mujahedeen Shura Council — five allied groups in the Sunni Arab-dominated insurgency.
Feh, kill em both!
The Middle East is full of nervous 'Abus', right now......
Are these terrorist barbarians all named Abu?
If anyone has a screen capture of the pic Fox News has been showing of Abu Ayyub and could post it, Thanks!
I haven't see a photo of him or of al-Mujahir on the wire or 'net yet.
Whos next in line Yabba Dabba Do?
Do we have his email address? I'd like to send him a note...
I think he lives in New Rock City
It's interesting that this news came out of Afghanistan. Either it betrays the position of the al-Qaeda leadership, or they were smart enough to release it from Afghanistan in order to fool us.
I predict he will have a short lifespan.
Let me guess...not blond, Nordic-looking, or clean-shaven...
Here's an 'Abu Kahbab' al-Masri and 'Abu Obaidah' al-Masri from January that got blow'd up in Pakistan in January.
Thursday January 19
Pakistan checking identities of Al-Qaeda trio - AFP
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060119/afp/060119062933int.html
I have GOT to improve my typing speed.
I wonder if OBL is trying to gain control of the AQ in Iraq. Hmmmmmm. The home office was kind of pissed at zarqawi's tactics. Maybe there will be a little power struggle between these two scumbags.
Screw it -- one cockroach is no different than the other. Kill em both.
Al-Qaida's holding Press conferences?
I get them mixed up all the time too.
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