Posted on 06/15/2006 10:01:11 AM PDT by kellynla
BAGHDAD, Iraq — The U.S. military on Thursday identified Abu Ayyub al-Masri, an Egyptian operative with connections to an Usama bin Laden lieutenant, as the probable new leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq.
Maj. Gen. William Caldwell showed a photo of al-Masri at a Baghdad press conference, saying he is apparently the same person that Al Qaeda in Iraq identified in a Web posting last week as its new leader — Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, a nom de guerre.
Caldwell said al-Masri's ability to lead the organization remained unclear, but added that he professed the "same tactics of attacking and killing civilians" as his predecessor Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
The military spokesman said al-Masri was an Afghanistan-trained explosives expert who had mainly been responsible for facilitating the movement of foreign fighters from Syria into Baghdad.
"He operated primarily in the past out of southern Baghdad," Caldwell said. "Raids in April and May of this year into areas of southern Baghdad recovered some materials confirming his high level involvement and facilitation of foreign fighters to conduct attacks themselves."
CountryWatch: Iraq
He has been a terrorist since 1982, "beginning with his involvement in the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, which was led by al-Zawahiri," Caldwell said.
"Al-Masri's intimate knowledge of Al Qaeda in Iraq and his close relationship with [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 Qaeda cells remained unclear and there were other "Al Qaeda senior leadership members and Sunni terrorists" who might try to take over the operations.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
His name translates to "Our Next Bomb Crater."
ruh roh,,,,,,dead man walking......
Fast Facts on Abu Ayyub al-Masri:
Abu Ayyub al-Masri is an Egyptian with ties to Usama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri.
Abu Ayyub al-Masri is an Afghanistan-trained explosives expert.
Abu Ayyub al-Masri is a key figure in the Al Qaeda in Iraq network.
Abu Ayyub al-Masri was responsible for facilitating the movement of foreign fighters from Syria into Baghdad.
U.S. Military: Abu Ayyub al-Masri has been a terrorist since 1982.
Abu Ayyub al-Masri was involved with Egyptian Islamic Jihad, which was led by al-Zawahri.
Raids in April and May in southern Baghdad recovered material confirming al-Masri's high-level involvement in the facilitation of foreign fighters.
Al-Masri's ability to exert leadership over Al Qaeda cells remains unclear.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,199654,00.html
I vote him most likely to die of internal bleeding.
I wonder how much of this is true and how much of this is spin from the CIA? Some day, years from now, I hope some report that comes out about how the US manipulated this situation how it ultimately lead to some huge advantage.
Our armed forces are going to have a blast with this guy.
They're posting his picture so alqueda will have a nice "before" and "after"!!
Abu Ayyub al-Masri = "Our next bomb crater" I enjoy and share your sense of humor, Allegra.
LOL - I'm glad somebody does.
I'm glad we identified him.
I'll be more glad when we identify his body.
I vote him "most likely to enjoy a JDAM up his butt"
Interesting how another guy with ties to al-Zawahiri and Al Qaeda just happens to be in Iraq and just happens to be in line to succeed the dearly departed scumbag. But of course everyone knows that Iraq is merely a distraction from and not a central front in the War on Terror and Al Qaeda........
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