Bin Laden’s ruthless rival spreads tentacles of jihad across region
TIMES UK
By Richard Beeston, Catherine Philp and Michael Theodoulou
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has his sights on battlegrounds beyond Iraq as he strives to lead al-Qaeda
THE world’s most feared terrorist mastermind, who has been responsible for a two-year campaign of violence in Iraq, is planning to turn his sights on moderate regimes in the Middle East, Europe and Africa, where he intends to spread his ruthless brand of jihad.
An investigation by The Times into Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, the head of al-Qaeda in Iraq, has revealed that the former petty criminal from Jordan has built up a formidable terrorist network that stretches from Britain to Afghanistan and covers many countries in between.
Once regarded as a brutal but relatively minor figure in the al-Qaeda hierarchy, al-Zarqawi has outstripped his mentor, Osama bin Laden, who has not been heard of for a year.
Al-Zarqawi commands more people, has access to greater funds and enjoys growing support among young Muslims drawn to his slick internet websites, which give lurid details of his latest attacks on “infidels”.
A recent study about Iraq’s insurgency by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington estimated that 3,000 foreign fighters had gone to Iraq to join the insurgency.
Now, battle-hardened, they form the vanguard of a “foreign legion” ready to take the jihad to their homelands in what US intelligence officials refer to as “bleed-out”.
The National Counterterrorism Centre in America believes that al-Zarqawi’s network extends to 40 countries and that he has developed links with 24 militant groups worldwide.
Already notorious in Iraq for committing the worst outrages of the insurgency, including personally beheading several foreign hostages and killing thousands of Shia Muslim civilians, al-Zarqawi carried out his first big operation abroad last week.
Iraqi suicide bombers attacked three hotels in Amman, the Jordanian capital, killing mainly Jordanian civilians, many of whom were attending a wedding reception. Hala al-Faroukah, the mother of the bride, died of her wounds while in a coma yesterday. Her death brought to 62 the number of people killed in the attacks on November 9.
“This is Zarqawi marking out his new territory,” an Arab intelligence source said. “I believe there’s a leadership struggle under way in al-Qaeda and he wants to establish himself as the new supremo.”
The evidence suggests that the 38-year-old, who grew up in the depressed Jordanian town of Zarqa, may already be well on his way to achieving his goal.
This year the Americans released a letter that they had intercepted from Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda’s No 2, to al-Zarqawi on their common goal of establishing an Islamic caliphate in the Arab world.
In the 6,000-word missive, al-Zawahiri told al-Zarqawi that after US forces were driven from Iraq the jihad must be waged against “secular countries neighbouring Iraq”. The attacks in Jordan suggest that such a phase may already be under way, as foreign fighters begin to return to their home countries.
The two most recent al- Qaeda commanders in Saudi Arabia, who were killed by security forces, had both seen action in Iraq alongside al-Zarqawi. Militants were also intercepted in Kuwait in June trying to smuggle explosives into the emirate from Iraq and two gun battles in Syria in the past six months involved militants with links to Iraq.
“This phenomenon hasn’t really started happening yet, but it’s something that everyone is expecting,” said a British counter-terrorism official in the Gulf. “If it gets to the point where it’s more difficult to fight in Iraq than to fight somewhere else, they’ll fight somewhere else.”
Afghanistan, where al-Zarqawi once ran a training camp near the city of Herat, is another target. Intelligence officials in Kabul believe that al-Zarqawi has already dispatched two lieutenants from Iraq to the south of Afghanistan, where thousands of British troops will be deployed next year.
The mission is to lead insurgent operations over the winter and keep up the pressure on coalition forces at a time when harsh weather traditionally brings a lull in fighting. The two men have been identified as Abu Amro Abdul Haqim, an Egyptian, and Said al-Faqih, a Syrian, according to officials.
There are also signs that al-Zarqawi wants to mobilise cells in Europe. Last month four of his followers were convicted in a court in Düsseldorf of plotting to attack Jewish targets in Germany.
Ottmar Breidling, the presiding judge, said: “Abu Musab al-Zarqawi should also have been sitting on the defendants’ bench.”
Britain, too, may be a target. Scotland Yard is investigating alleged links between three men charged with terrorism offences in London this month and an “online recruiter” for al-Zarqawi who has been picked up in the Balkans.
According to the police, the arrested men were carrying DVDs with instructions on how to make a suicide bomb belt. Officers say that they found surveillance photographs of US landmarks, including the White House.
Detectives have gone to Sarajevo to talk to security chiefs about their arrest of Mishad Becktasivic, a Bosnian-born extremist alleged to have been in Iraq with al-Zarqawi and to have run one of his websites.
Becktasivic has a Swedish passport and was travelling with a Turkish man. Police say that they found explosives, bomb-making materials and a suicide vest in their apartment in the Bosnian capital and believe that the plan was to attack a Western embassy.
European intelligence services are also concerned about the impact of al-Zarqawi’s growing reputation among young Muslims, who are flocking to his cause.
“He functions as a role model. There are groups that believe it is a great honour to be able to carry out attacks in his name,” August Hanning, the head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service, said.
US forces in Iraq have stepped up their hunt for al-Zarqawi, who has a $25 million (£14.5m) bounty on his head.
Two US commando teams are pursuing him in the restive Anbar province, where he is thought to be hiding.
They have had some success in killing several of his subordinates and twice came close to capturing al-Zarqawi himself this year.
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