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.
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.
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