Posted on 06/15/2006 9:34:44 AM PDT by Oshkalaboomboom
American military officials believe they have identified the man who has been chosen as Al Qaeda's new leader in Iraq — an explosives expert named Abu Ayyub al-Masri.
In a televised briefing today in Baghdad, Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, a spokesman for American forces in Iraq, displayed a photograph of a man he identified as Mr. Masri as "probably" being the man who was named as the successor to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian terrorist who was killed in an American bombing last week.
General Caldwell said that Mr. Masri was responsible for helping foreign fighters move from Syria into Baghdad, and that he had operated in the southern part of the capital. A number of documents have been found, General Caldwell said, that show evidence of his high level involvement in the group.
After the killing of Mr. Zarqawi, General Caldwell pointed to Mr. Masri as a likely successor. But on Monday, an Islamic militant Web site said that Mr. Zarqawi's replacement was "Abu Hamza al-Muhajir," a name that was something of a mystery because it did not appear on any of the charts of wanted leaders of Al Qaeda previously issued by the American command. Senior Iraqi officials also said they were unfamiliar with it.
The name is believed to be a pseudonym for a foreign fighter because the word "muhajir" usually refers to an Islamic militant who has traveled beyond his own country to fight. Al-Masri means "the Egyptian."
Today, standing next to the picture that showed a dark-haired man with a wispy moustache and wearing a white headdress that he identified as Mr. Masri, General Caldwell said: "We think they are one and the same at this point." It was not clear how old the photograph was.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Depends on if it is truly still in Iraq (or very likely could be in Syria).
LOL
What was that "Click Click?"
I'm sure the CIA is trying to the WGS 84 coordinates of his hideouts as we post on this thread.
Candygram for Abu Ayyub al-Masri!
Candygram for Abu Ayyub al-Masri!
I'm sure the CIA is trying to find the WGS 84 coordinates of his hideouts as we post on this thread.
I thought Al-Masri was killed with Zarqawi.
Hopefully the next time he is mentioned the headline will be "U.S. Identifies The Body of the Successor to Zarqawi".
But of course.
"May the Good Lord take a likin' to 'em, and blow 'em up REAL GOOD!"
- John Candy during the SCTV Years, hosting "Celebrity Blowup"
Step 1: Successor identified
Step 2: Successor's location identified with X on map
Step 3: Take 500 pound bomb and drop at location marked X
Step 4: New successor bubbles up to the top
Step 5: Next bomb please.
Step 1: Successor identified
Step 2: Successor's location identified with X on map
Step 3: Take 500 pound bomb and drop at location marked X
Step 4: New successor bubbles up to the top
Step 5: Next bomb please.
I think al Qaeda doesn't really know who its new leader is. After all, who decides? And what if some of the other contenders and their followers disagree with the choice? The REAL riot would be if WE are the ones appointing this guy the new head, and the confused rank-and-file buys it simply because it's the clearest of the many conflicting messages they're receiving on the subject. Our military and CIA are pretty good at psy-ops -- I wouldn't put this past them. He's already well-known, so he's a plausible choice. What if we chose him because he's the only serious contender that we know we can locate and take out quickly?
Oddly, DebkaFile doesn't seemed to have weighed in on this announcement yet.
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