Terror Group Has Taken 10 Hostages from American-Turkish Company in Iraq
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1219952/posts
Mastermind Behind Kidnap Gang 'Close to Bin Laden'
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3514461
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been named as the link between Iraq and al Qaida and is accused of orchestrating a spate of suicide bombings and attacks in the Middle East country.
The US is offering a 25 million (£13.9m) reward for his capture. The militant is said by US Secretary of State Colin Powell to be one of Osama bin Laden’s closest associates.
Members of al-Zarqawi’s group have kidnapped Briton Kenneth Bigley and two Americans in Iraq and are threatening to kill them if their demands are not met.
Al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian of Palestinian descent, is suspected of masterminding bombing raids on Shiites in Kerbala and Baghdad in a bid to cause civil unrest.
And he was reportedly involved in the beheading of American contractor Nick Berg in May. It was claimed the 37-year-old even carried out the fatal blow.
It is also alleged he claimed responsibility for suicide boat attacks that killed three Americans and disabled Iraq’s biggest oil terminal for more than 24 hours in April.
Little is known about his personal background but he is believed to be of Bedouin stock, and his tribe, the Beni Hassan, straddles many borders in the modern Middle East.
Al-Zarqawi is said to have fled a life of poverty to fight in the Afghan war against Soviet occupation.
The Jordanian returned to his home country but spent seven years in prison accused of conspiring to overthrow the monarchy and establish an Islamic caliphate.
On his release it is thought he spent time in Europe and may have returned to his Afghan base where he specialised in manufacturing poisons and taught “students” how to make the lethal chemicals.
In 2001 he suffered a leg injury in a US missile attack against his base. The leg was later amputated.
He first came to public prominence when Mr Powell highlighted American’s concerns about him during the run-up to the war in Iraq in 2003.
The Secretary of State told the United Nations that the terrorist network in Iraq was centred on al-Zarqawi. He claimed the militant was operating in parts of Iraq free from the power of Saddam Hussein but controlled by an Islamic group called Ansar al-Islam (Supporters of Islam).
Al-Zarqawi is also wanted by Jordanian authorities. A military court sentenced him to death in his absence for leading a conspiracy to kill US aid worker Laurence Foley, 60, who was gunned down outside his Amman home in 2002.
It is also thought al-Zarqawi has been involved in operations in Europe.
Moroccan authorities believe he may have helped guide the Madrid train bombings which killed 202 people earlier this year, and he has also been linked to similar attacks in Casablanca and Istanbul.
In recent months attacks have continued in the Middle East, and a group linked to al-Zarqawi is suspected of being behind violent outbreaks in June that killed more than 100 people in five Iraqi cities.
THANK YOU NW for the pings and Godzilla for the summaries.
As for hostage taking...seems to be a trend among terrorists.
Something needs to be done NOW to end this trend.