Difference between revisions of "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi"
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==al-Qaeda in Iraq== | ==al-Qaeda in Iraq== | ||
| − | By 2003, Zarqawi relocated his al Qaeda affiliate Group of Monotheism and Jihad to Iraq. It became an affiliate group to al-Qaeda and was commonly known in Western media sources as al Qaeda in Iraq. By 2004, Zarqawi had already claimed 25 attacks against US and its allied Iraqi forces. Zarqawi is personally responsible for the beheading and murder of American [[Nicholas Berg]].<ref>http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/zarqawi.htm</ref> His attacks eventually occurred daily until he was killed by a precision U.S. airstike in 2006. | + | By 2003, Zarqawi relocated his al Qaeda affiliate Group of Monotheism and Jihad to Iraq. It became an affiliate group to al-Qaeda and was commonly known in Western media sources as al Qaeda in Iraq. |
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| + | Zarqawi pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a statement posted to an Islamic forum website on 17 October 2004. The statement said: "Talks, during which views were exchanged between Sheikh Abu Mus'ab...and brothers from Al-Qaeda, have been going on for eight months." The statement said that talks were interrupted for a time but then resumed, adding, "Our respected brothers in Al-Qaeda understood the strategy of Jama'at Al-Tawhid wa Al-Jihad in the land of the two rivers [Iraq] and the [[caliphate]]s and their hearts opened to their approach.... We deliver to the nation the news that both Jama'at Al-Tawhid wa Al-Jihad's Amir [al-Zarqawi] and soldiers have pledged allegiance to the sheikh of the [[mujahedin]], Osama bin Laden, and that they will follow his orders in [[jihad]] for the sake of God so there will be no more tumult or oppression, and justice and faith in God will prevail." The statement called on the "youth of this nation" to join aZarqawi's followers under the banner of Al-Qaeda. | ||
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| + | By 2004, Zarqawi had already claimed 25 attacks against US and its allied Iraqi forces. Zarqawi is personally responsible for the beheading and murder of American [[Nicholas Berg]].<ref>http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/zarqawi.htm</ref> His attacks eventually occurred daily until he was killed by a precision U.S. airstike in 2006. | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 21:47, September 23, 2014
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (Arabic: أبو مصعب الزرقاوي; b. 1966, d. June 7, 2006) was the Jordanian-born Islamic insurgent head of al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (Group of Monotheism and Jihad,) which later became al-Qaeda in Iraq and ultimately the Islamic State. A notorious figure associated with Osama bin Laden, he was known for high-profile bombings such as those of the UN office in Bagdad and Shiite Mosques and for bloody assassinations, beheadings of foreign hostages, and mayhem that was intended to drive Iraq into civil war.
Afghanistan and Pakistan
Zarqawi first arrived in Afghanistan in 1989, after the Soviet withdrawl of forces. He worked as a correspondent for a radical Islamist journal. He anticipated taking part in the victorious fall of Kabul and erection of the first Sunni-Islamic state in modern times, however jihadists immediately began fighting among themselves. Kabul was not fall for another three years.
Meantime Zarqawi took residence in Pakistan and befriended many Jordanian jihadists, and began organizing to overthrow the Heshemite dynasty of Jordan.[1]
Return to Jordan
He spent seven years in prison in Jordan for conspiring to overthrow the monarchy and establish an Islamic caliphate.
In 2002, Zarqawi murdered American diplomat Lawrence Foley, an executive officer of USAid, the American development agency in Amman for which he was sentenced to death in absentia.
al-Qaeda in Iraq
By 2003, Zarqawi relocated his al Qaeda affiliate Group of Monotheism and Jihad to Iraq. It became an affiliate group to al-Qaeda and was commonly known in Western media sources as al Qaeda in Iraq.
Zarqawi pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a statement posted to an Islamic forum website on 17 October 2004. The statement said: "Talks, during which views were exchanged between Sheikh Abu Mus'ab...and brothers from Al-Qaeda, have been going on for eight months." The statement said that talks were interrupted for a time but then resumed, adding, "Our respected brothers in Al-Qaeda understood the strategy of Jama'at Al-Tawhid wa Al-Jihad in the land of the two rivers [Iraq] and the caliphates and their hearts opened to their approach.... We deliver to the nation the news that both Jama'at Al-Tawhid wa Al-Jihad's Amir [al-Zarqawi] and soldiers have pledged allegiance to the sheikh of the mujahedin, Osama bin Laden, and that they will follow his orders in jihad for the sake of God so there will be no more tumult or oppression, and justice and faith in God will prevail." The statement called on the "youth of this nation" to join aZarqawi's followers under the banner of Al-Qaeda.
By 2004, Zarqawi had already claimed 25 attacks against US and its allied Iraqi forces. Zarqawi is personally responsible for the beheading and murder of American Nicholas Berg.[2] His attacks eventually occurred daily until he was killed by a precision U.S. airstike in 2006.