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CAIRO, Egypt - The new leader of al-Qaida in Iraq killed two U.S. soldiers whom the group abducted last week, an insurgent umbrella group said in a Web statement posted Tuesday. The statement, which could not be authenticated, said the two soldiers were "slaughtered," suggesting they had been beheaded by Abu Hamza al-Muhajer. The Arabic word used in the statement, "nahr," is used for the slaughtering of sheep by cutting the throat and has been used in past statements to refer to beheadings. The claim of responsibility was posted on an Islamic militant Web site where insurgent groups regularly post...

London, Asharq Al-Awsat- Al Qaeda in Iraq’s new leader is more violent than his predecessor, warned an Egyptian Islamist on Monday. Following the death of Abu Musab al Zarqawi and five others after two 500-pound bombs were dropped in a US air raid on a safe house near the restive northern Iraqi city of Baquba on Wednesday, al Qaeda in the Land of Two Rivers appointed Abu Hamza al Muhajir (the immigrant) as its new leader. An Islamist leader told Asharq al Awsat on Monday, on condition of anonymity, that Abu Hamza is renowned for his knowledge of Shariaa and...

CAIRO, Egypt - The new leader of al-Qaida in Iraq vowed to defeat "crusaders and Shiites" in Iraq, and he said "holy warriors" there were stronger than ever, according to a Web statement posted Tuesday — the first from the new terrorist leader. The statement appeared one day after the group announced that a man identified by the nom de guerre Abu Hamza al-Muhajer would succeed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as its leader. The Jordanian-born militant died June 7 in a U.S. airstrike on a safehouse in Baqouba, north of Baghdad. "It's no secret the ferociousness of the battle that is...

MIDI - I'LL BE WATCHING YOU Hey, al-Muhajer...we will make it clear We got the last guy...you are next to die We are watching you You think you're alone...above you's a drone It will be your turn...in hell you will burn We are watching you Places you go...we are soon to know Stay off of your new cell phone Or lookout down below Get on your prayer rug...give your goats a hug We got the last guy...you are next to die We are watching you Every day you will wonder where we are 500-pounders may not be very far...

Updated: 14:59, Monday June 12, 2006 Al Qaeda has named a successor to Iraqi terror leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi, who was killed in an American air strike last week.A militant called Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Muhajer has been named on a website used by the Islamist terrorists.More follows...

CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida in Iraq said in a Web statement posted Monday that a militant named Abu Hamza al-Muhajer was the group's new leader. Al-Muhajer succeeds Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed Wednesday by a U.S. airstrike on his hideout northeast of Baghdad, Iraq. The successor's name — a pseudonym, as most militants are known by — was not immediately known and did not appear to be on any U.S. lists of terrorists with rewards on their heads. The name al-Muhajer, Arabic for "immigrant," suggested he was not Iraqi. Al-Muhajer is a common alias among Islamic militants, referring to...