Alleged Statement Claims Al-Zarqawi Dead

[Khephra]

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A Jordanian extremist suspected of bloody suicide attacks in Iraq was killed some time ago in U.S. bombing and a letter outlining plans for fomenting sectarian war is a forgery, a statement allegedly from an insurgent group west of the capital said.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in the Sulaimaniyah mountains of northern Iraq "during the American bombing there," according to a statement circulated in Fallujah this week and signed by the "Leadership of the Allahu Akbar Mujahedeen."

There was no way to verify the authenticity of the statement, one of many leaflets put out by a variety of groups taking part in the anti-U.S. resistance.

The statement did not say when al-Zarqawi was supposedly killed, but U.S. jets bombed strongholds of the extremist Ansar al-Islam in the north last April as Saddam Hussein's regime was collapsing.

more..............

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-iraq-militant-statement,0,5313510.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines

[aquart]

1. Forgery? We do we know who does those?

[leftchick]

2. more disinformation perhaps?

It is getting so hard to keep up. I am thinking this came out to refute the MSNBC report from Tuesday night about not getting
al-Zarqawi when they could. Then again I never believed that "letter" thing either. It sure would be nice to have non-pravda news you could trust, cuz I'm getting dizzy!

[xchrom]

3. damn it

just when i thought it was all the fault of saddam it wasn't, just when i thought it was all the fault of bin laden it wasn't, just when i thought it was all the fault of al zarqawi... like i believe anything the media tells me right now.

[dArKeR]

4. Rebels: Top Iraq Terrorist Dead - CBS

 An extremist suspected of bloody suicide attacks in Iraq was killed some time ago, and a letter outlining plans for fomenting sectarian war is a forgery, a statement signed by a dozen alleged insurgent groups said.

In February, the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq made public an intercepted letter it said was written by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to al Qaeda leaders, detailing a strategy of spectacular attacks to derail the planned June 30 handover of power to the Iraqis.

U.S. officials say al-Zarqawi may have been involved in some of the series of suicide bombings this year in Iraq — including the massive mosque bombings on Tuesday that killed more than 100 Shiite Muslims.

But according to a statement circulated this week in Fallujah, a hotbed of anti-U.S. insurgency activity, al-Zarqawi was killed in northern Iraq "during the American bombing there."

The Fallujah statement called the al-Zarqawi letter "fabricated," saying it has been used by the U.S.-run coalition "to back up their theory of a civil war" in Iraq.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/02/24/iraq/main541815.shtml

[Jack Rabbit]

5. The plot thickens

On another thread, I have posted my skepticism of the junta's claims of al Qaida involvement in this atrocity. The idea that the evidence is forged, a la the Niger document, crossed my mind. Again, we should not accuse the Bushies of forging the evidence (they didn't forge the Niger document), but simply wonder if they really cared whether it was accurate or not as long as it fit their agenda.

Some in Iraq are pointing the finger at groups of Sunni extremists. This story lends some weight to that thesis.

[Merlin]

7. My suspicions from the beginning, as well.

The one thing we can be sure of from these claims is that the indigenous liberation forces do not want to be blamed for the bombing.

The bombing smacks very much of a LIHOP event, to me. Wish I could say I was absolutely certain our side is totally unrelated to those who did it.

[Khephra]

6. kick

[wjittermoss]

8. One thing, I always thought that "intercepted letter" was fake.

The fact that we publicized it went against all our previous policies about not giving the "terrorists" a forum for sending signals to each other. Then right after the letter was published by the US, there was that terrible bombing in Iraq. Just so convenient.

We truly do want a civil war in Iraq so that we have reason to just stay there and take over the country.