Iraq al Qaeda sets up insurgent umbrella body - Web
DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda in Iraq and some other militant groups have set up an umbrella body to coordinate their fight against U.S.-led forces and the Iraqi government, according to a Web statement posted on Sunday.
The Mujahideen Council aims to confront the "crusaders and their rejectionist (Shi'ite) and secularist followers who have seized Baghdad", said the statement attributed to al Qaeda, the Army of the Victorious Sect and four less known Sunni Muslim groups.
The council, which does not include leading groups such as the Army of Ansar al-Sunna and the Islamic Army in Iraq, said it "welcomes anyone desiring (Islam's) victory to join".
The statement's authenticity could not be verified. It was posted on a Web site often used by insurgents, which subsequently carried messages from the council claiming responsibility for attacks in recent days.
"The council also calls on Muslims in Iraq and across the world to join the jihad in Iraq to fight for the victory of religion and to defend the oppressed," it said.
Al Qaeda in Iraq, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi -- Washington's most wanted man in the country, is one of the main insurgent groups fighting U.S.-led forces and the U.S.-backed Iraqi government, which is dominated by Kurds and Shi'ite Muslim Arabs.
Copyright © 2008 Reuters
News Poll
- Court ruling takes bite out of local council summonses
- Girl and stepmum held over bid to kill first wife
- New evidence on MCA snoop squad case arrives at doorstep
- Chin Peng apologises for death of innocents
- Biggest karaoke session a blast
- Teoh’s body exhumed for second autopsy today
- Victim’s dad nabs kidnapper
- Puad faces flak over ‘use Bahasa only’ remark
- Foreigner falls to her death from condominium
- Big impact in ‘small’ man’s win
- Court ruling takes bite out of local council summonses
- Johor set to be a medical hub
- Joy for 2,500 housebuyers as SPNB takes over project
- Indonesia seizes ammonium nitrate shipment from Malaysia
- Hackers leak e-mails, stoke climate debate
- Latest news from AP Wire
- Coal mine blast kills 42 in China, 66 trapped
- Mumbai still vulnerable one year after attack
- Jackson moonwalk glove sells for $350K in NYC
- Novelist and his stripes
RSS
