al-Zarqawi captured?????

[Ben E Lou]

No American news sources are reporting it yet, but they are in other places. The Pentagon has no comment up to now. This is from China:

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi reportedly arrested in Iraq
(itar-tass.com)
Updated: 2005-01-04 14:37



Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi, whom the US occupation authorities declared to be the "target number one" in Iraq, has been arrested in the city of Baakuba, the Emirate newspaper al-Bayane reported on Tuesday referring to Kurdish sources.

Al-Zarqawi, leader of the terrorist group Al-Tawhid Wa'al-Jihad, was recently appointed the director of the Al-Qaeda organisation in Iraq.

The newspaper's correspondent in Baghdad points out that a report on the seizure of the terrorist, on whom the US put a bounty of US$10 million, was also reported by Iraqi Kurdistan radio, which at one time had been the first to announce the arrest of Saddam Hussein.

There have been no official reports about the arrest of the terrorist. Al-Zarqawi, 38, a Jordanian, whose real name is Ahmad al-Khalayleh, aims to turn Iraq into a "new Afghanistan".

According to Arab press data, Al-Tawhid Wa'al-Jihad group has divided Iraq into several emirates. The group's independent subdivisions at a strength of 50 to 500 militants operate in the cities of Al-Falluja, Al-Qaim, Diala, and Samarra.

The personnel of the group is on the whole 1,500-strong and includes Iraqis and citizens of Arab and Islamic countries. There are demolition experts and missilemen among them.

The group has depots of weapons and explosives in various parts of the country. It intends to frustrate the upcoming parliamentary elections that are scheduled for the end of this month. Al-Tawhid Wa'al-Jihad threatens to do away with Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and members of the interim government.

This could be *huge*.

[spleen1015]

I thought they killed this guy months ago.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

I thought they killed this guy months ago.

Didn't Osama "endorse" him a few weeks ago?

[Ben E Lou]

Dola...

Actually not even that long ago. Video aired last week...

Purported bin Laden tape endorses al-Zarqawi

Speaker also calls for boycott of Iraq's elections

Monday, December 27, 2004 Posted: 2247 GMT (0647 HKT)

	A speaker who appears to be Osama bin Laden is shown in a video broadcast earlier this year on Al-Jazeera.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CNN) -- A speaker purported to be al Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden endorsed the terror campaign of insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and urged Iraqis to boycott next month's elections, in an audio tape broadcast Monday on the Arabic-language Al-Jazeera television network.

When it broadcast the tape, Al-Jazeera said the voice was bin Laden's. A CIA analysis finished Monday found that the tape appears to be authentic, a U.S. official told CNN.

If the voice is bin Laden's, the tape would mark the first time the al Qaeda leader has mentioned al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian terrorist whose group had been responsible for numerous car bombings, kidnappings and beheadings in Iraq.

Al-Zarqawi recently renamed his group from Unification and Jihad to al Qaeda in Iraq. The United States has placed a $25 million bounty on both bin Laden and al-Zarqawi.

Terrorism experts have been waiting for a sign that bin Laden wants al-Zarqawi to act on his behalf. The tape, if real, is apparent proof the two are connected.

"This confirms that Zarqawi and bin Laden have indeed been in touch with each other, that Zarqawi is now acting on behalf of bin Laden," said al Qaeda expert and CNN consultant Paul Eedle.

"It gives Zarqawi access to al Qaeda's world-wide resources in terms of money and people. But on the ground in Iraq, it doesn't change the reality immediately." (Full story)

On the tape, the speaker said, "We were very pleased by their daring operations against the Americans and Allawi's infidel government.

"We, in al Qaeda organization, welcome him joining forces with us, a great welcome and this will be a great step towards unifying the mujahedeens' efforts in establishing the nation of justice and destroying the nation of evil.

"We ask God to accept this unity and bless it and for all to know, the dear mujahed brother Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is the prince of al Qaeda in Iraq, so we ask all our organization brethren to listen to him and obey him in his good deeds."

He goes on to say that Iraqis who participate in January's elections "knowing what these elections are for and they agreed, they become infidels denouncing our great God."

The U.S. intelligence official would not speculate on what effect the call to boycott the elections would have.

"I would imagine if one is going to vote, one is going to vote, regardless," the official said.

At the U.S. State Department, deputy spokesman Adam Ereli was dismissive of the tape, regardless of its authenticity.

"Whether or not it's bin Laden," he said, "it's a message from terrorists and obviously we don't think those messages hold much sway for us and that they should be seen for what they are, which is attempts by murderers to propagate their evil trade."

[flere-imsaho]

I would be very, very happy if they caught this guy.

[sachmo71]

No confirmation yet, SD, but it would be nice to hear if they did get him.

Great moral booster, but probably not much of a blow to the insurgency.

[Ben E Lou]

Pentagon now denying it, according to Atlanta radio...

[Mustang]

If only he would have fixed the tail light on his Pinto... He would have never been pulled over for a routine traffic stop.

[Peregrine]

Will be great if this turns out to be true, but there are so many rumors about this kind of thing floating around...

[moriarty]

They won't announce it until they torture him for a few days for information.

All within the human rights/Geneva convention guidelines of course.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by moriarty

They won't announce it until they torture him for a few days for information.

All within the human rights/Geneva convention guidelines of course.

That's what I'm hoping for. Ironically, you're correct. Torturing this guy would be well within Geneva Convention guidelines, since they don't apply to him.

[Francis_Cole]

which at one time had been the first to announce the arrest of Saddam Hussein

Surly you are the first to announce something or not, you can't be the first to announce the arrest but then afterwards you arn't the first anymore?

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Francis_Cole

which at one time had been the first to announce the arrest of Saddam Hussein

Surly you are the first to announce something or not, you can't be the first to announce the arrest but then afterwards you arn't the first anymore?

What that doesn't say is they first announced his arrest about a year before he was actually arrested...making them the first, of course.

[sachmo71]

Sorry, just wanted to join the smiley club.

[BigJohn&TheLions]

The guy looks like a computer programmer who might be the inspiration for this thread: http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/for...ad.php?t=34081

But then again, he might enjoy the torture/fun that he is receiving. Oops... I forgot. We don't have him. Right!

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by BigJohn&TheLions

The guy looks like a computer programmer who might be the inspiration for this thread: http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/for...ad.php?t=34081

But then again, he might enjoy the torture/fun that he is receiving. Oops... I forgot. We don't have him. Right!

Nah.. he wasn't a computer programmer, he was a math teacher. They tracked him relentlessly, him communicating with his Islamic militant group, Al-Gebra.

[BigJohn&TheLions]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Nah.. he wasn't a computer programmer, he was a math teacher. They tracked him relentlessly, him communicating with his Islamic militant group, Al-Gebra.

That needs a rim-shot!

[SirFozzie]

I thought about doing one, but was just afraid of having it fritzed it into, well, I'm sure you know.