For over a year now, the U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq have claimed that the so-called leader of The Islamic State of Iraq which includes al Qaeda in Iraq was a fictitious character by the name of Abu Omar al Baghdadi and that the true leader of al Qaeda in Iraq in general was al Masri. Now, the chief of police in the Iraqi city of Haditha claims that after interrogating al Qaeda in Iraq prisoners, it has been revealed that in deed there is a leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and that man's identity is: Hamed Dawood al Zawy. Here's more from the article at CBS and who this al Zawy is:
Now, I'm going to stay on the sidelines on this one because for one thing, it seems pretty obscure that a police chief in a relatively small and quiet city of Haditha came up with this. The reason I am not coming out and calling this guy a liar is this from the article:
The other reason I have an inkling to believe this police chief is that totally conjuring up a leader does not jive with most of al Qaeda in general. They have always put a face on their leaders, they have trotted them out for the world to see. When the U.S. bombed al Zarqawi into oblivion, it didn't take two days for al Qaeda to announce his successor in al Masri. So why would al Qaeda dream up some sort of pivotal leader for the Islamic State of Iraq? My pessism has mostly been around the fact that somehow there was a leader overseeing al Qaeda and the other Sunni factions in the country - we have seen they do NOT get along.
It will be interesting to see how this news is handled by U.S. command in Iraq and whether this police chief's prediction of an arrest or killing comes true.
Col. Fareq al Je’eify said Abu Omar al Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, was a former Iraqi army officer and his real name was Hamed Dawood al Zawy. He also showed the station pictures of al Zawy, whose group, the Islamic State in Iraq, includes al Qaeda in Iraq. “There has been much talk about Abu Omar al Baghdadi; and following several intelligence inquiries, it transpired that Abu Omar al Baghdadi is Hamed Dawood Mohammed Khalil al Zawi. He was an officer in the security services and was dismissed from the army because of his extremism,” the Iraqi police chief told al Arabiya.
Now, I'm going to stay on the sidelines on this one because for one thing, it seems pretty obscure that a police chief in a relatively small and quiet city of Haditha came up with this. The reason I am not coming out and calling this guy a liar is this from the article:
Al Zawy currently moves between Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk and Iraqi police is pursuing him, according to al Je’eify, who added that they had several intelligence clues that could lead to the apprehension of al Zawy in the next few days.
The other reason I have an inkling to believe this police chief is that totally conjuring up a leader does not jive with most of al Qaeda in general. They have always put a face on their leaders, they have trotted them out for the world to see. When the U.S. bombed al Zarqawi into oblivion, it didn't take two days for al Qaeda to announce his successor in al Masri. So why would al Qaeda dream up some sort of pivotal leader for the Islamic State of Iraq? My pessism has mostly been around the fact that somehow there was a leader overseeing al Qaeda and the other Sunni factions in the country - we have seen they do NOT get along.
It will be interesting to see how this news is handled by U.S. command in Iraq and whether this police chief's prediction of an arrest or killing comes true.
Report: True Identity of ‘Islamic State of Iraq’ Leader Revealed, Photos Aired
The true identity of the leader of one of Iraq’s biggest insurgent groups has been revealed by the Iraqi police chief of the city of Haditha in an interview with Al Arabiya news station. Col. Fareq al Je’eify said Abu Omar al Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, was a former Iraqi army officer and his real name was Hamed Dawood al Zawy. He also showed the station pictures of al Zawy, whose group, the Islamic State in Iraq, includes al Qaeda in Iraq. “There has been much talk about Abu Omar al Baghdadi; and following several intelligence inquiries, it transpired that Abu Omar al Baghdadi is Hamed Dawood Mohammed Khalil al Zawi. He was an officer in the security services and was dismissed from the army because of his extremism,” the Iraqi police chief told al Arabiya.
The police chief explained that al Baghdadi’s true identity was discovered after interrogations with a number of al Qaeda leaders who were arrested in Haditha. He said the information was passed on to the U.S. army. Al Zawy currently moves between Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk and Iraqi police is pursuing him, according to al Je’eify, who added that they had several intelligence clues that could lead to the apprehension of al Zawy in the next few days. The Islamic State of Iraq was announced on 15 October 2006 by a group of Sunni insurgent groups led by the Mujahideen Shurah Council and al Qaeda in Iraq is part of it.
The leader of al Qaeda in Iraq is currently the War Minister. His predecessor, Abu Mus’ab al Zarqawi, had prepared the ground for the announcement of the Islamic State of Iraq in his solitary video release few months before his death in June 2006. Champions of the Islamic State of Iraq claim that they did not want to repeat the mistake of the Afghan war veterans who fought each other after the flight of the Soviet troops from Afghanistan. The Islamic State of Iraq operates mainly in the governorates Baghdad, al Anbar, Salahuddine and Diyala
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