Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the terrorist leader allegedly claiming responsibility for the graphic beheading of a US civilian in Iraq, is adopting an increasingly public and influential role in the decentralized world of Islamic militants, US officials and terrorism experts say.
On Tuesday, an Islamic Web site released a video titled "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Shown Slaughtering an American," which chronicles the beheading of Nicholas Berg. In the most gruesome moments, five men disguised by head scarves and ski masks shout "Allahu Akbar!" -- or "God is great."
As recently as March, US officials said al-Zarqawi's modus operandi was not to make taped public pronouncements nor to claim credit for attacks.
PHOTO: REUTERS
But that changed five weeks ago when he released what is believed to be his first audiotape -- a 33-minute recording in which he called on Sunni Muslims in Iraq to "burn the earth under the occupiers' feet."
Then, he claimed responsibility for the attacks on the UN headquarters in Baghdad and an Italian police station in Nasiriyah, among others.
At least two other tapes involving al-Zarqawi, including the beheading, have followed.
It was unclear whether al-Zarqawi, thought to be an ally of Osama bin Laden, though running his own "Zarqawi network," was shown in Tuesday's video, or whether he was simply claiming responsibility for ordering the execution.
The authenticity of the tape, found on a Web site known for carrying militant Islamic messages, also could not be verified Tuesday.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a US intelligence official said authorities were still reviewing the tape to glean information.
For some time, the intelligence community has been paying attention to al-Zarqawi, also known as Ahmed al-Khalayleh. The Jordanian has been described as an al-Qaeda associate, a senior operations planner and, in Iraq, a leader of a network targeting Americans.
A specialist in poisons, he spent time in Afghanistan's camps alongside al-Qaeda fighters and other militant Muslims. And, over the years, al-Zarqawi also is thought to have developed ties to terrorist groups ranging from Iraq's Ansar al-Islam to Egyptian Islamic Jihad.
Senior US officials view him as evidence of an evolution under way, as the al-Qaeda organization and its affiliates -- under siege by the US -- devolve into a more diffuse, less centrally organized network of militants who follow al-Qaeda ideology.
At a recent congressional hearing, the US State Department's counterterrorism director, Cofer Black, named the Zarqawi network on a short list of threats to the US and its allies as this decentralization takes place.
"Literally scores of such groups are present around the world today," Black said.
Black said jihadists view Iraq as a "new training ground to build their extremist credentials and hone the skills of the terrorist."
Another US official, also speaking Tuesday on the condition of anonymity, said al-Zarqawi had increased the size of his network and his capabilities in Iraq, giving him increasing opportunities to carry out his operations.
Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert at the Rand Corp. think tank, said he believed al-Zarqawi was after power.
"He is not competing with al-Qaeda, but he's emulating it," he said.
Last month, al-Zarqawi was sentenced to death in absentia in Jordan for masterminding the 2002 murder of Laurence Foley, a diplomat and administrator of US aid programs in Jordan.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in