U.S. says top al-Qaida in Iraq figure captured
Al-Mashhadani was reportedly an intermediary between bin Laden, others
Updated: 1 hour, 20 minutes ago
BAGHDAD - The U.S. command said Wednesday the highest-ranking Iraqi in the leadership of al-Qaida in Iraq has been arrested, adding that information from him indicates the group’s foreign-based leadership wields considerable influence over the Iraqi chapter.
Khaled Abdul-Fattah Dawoud Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, also known as Abu Shahid, was captured in Mosul on July 4, said Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner, a military spokesman.
“Al-Mashhadani is believed to be the most senior Iraqi in the al-Qaida in Iraq network,” Bergner said. He said al-Mashhadani was a close associate of Abu Ayub al-Masri, the Egyptian-born head of al-Qaida in Iraq.
Bergner said al-Mashhadani served as an intermediary between al-Masri and Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri.
“In fact, communication between the senior al-Qaida leadership and al-Masri frequently went through al-Mashhadani,” Bergner said. He added: “There is a clear connection between al-Qaida in Iraq and al-Qaida senior leadership outside Iraq.”
The degree of control and supervision between bin Laden’s inner circle and the Iraq branch has been the subject of debate, with some private analysts believing the foreign-based leadership plays a minor role in day to day operations.
Some have suggested that linking al-Qaida in Iraq to bin Laden is simply an attempt to justify the Iraq war as an extension of the global conflict that began with the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
But the U.S. military has insisted that there are links between the local al-Qaida group and the bin Laden clique and has released captured letters from time to time, suggesting the foreign-based leaders provide at least broad direction.
‘A virtual organization in cyberspace’
Pointing to the foreign influence in al-Qaida also undermines support for the organization among nationalistically minded Iraqis, including some in insurgent groups that have broken with al-Qaida.
Bergner said that al-Mashhadani and al-Masri “co-founded a virtual organization in cyberspace called the Islamic State of Iraq in 2006.”
“The Islamic State of Iraq is the latest efforts by al-Qaida to market itself and its goal of imposing a Taliban-like state on the Iraqi people,” Bergner said.
In Web postings, the Islamic State of Iraq has identified its leader as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, with al-Masri as minister of war. There are no known photos of al-Baghdadi.
Bergner said al-Mashhadani had told interrogators that al-Baghdadi is a “fictional role” created by al-Masri and that an actor is used for audio recordings of speeches posted on the Web.
“In his words, the Islamic State of Iraq is a front organization that masks the foreign influence and leadership within al-Qaida in Iraq in an attempt to put an Iraqi face on the leadership of al-Qaida in Iraq,” Bergner said.
‘They continue to flow foreign fighters’
For several months some Arabic language Web sites had identified al-Baghdadi as “Khaled al-Mashhadani” or “Abu Zayd al-Mashhadani.”
Bergner said al-Mashhadani had told interrogators that al-Qaida leaders outside the country “continue to provide directions, they continue to provide a focus for operations, they continue to flow foreign fighters into Iraq.”
He said al-Mashhadani was a leader of the militant Ansar al-Sunnah group before joining al-Qaida in Iraq 2½ years ago. Al-Mashhadani served as the al-Qaida media chief for Baghdad and then was appointed the media chief for the whole country.
Al-Qaida in Iraq was proclaimed in 2004 by Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who led a group called Tawhid and Jihad, responsible for the beheading of several foreign hostages, whose final moments were captured on videotapes provided to Arab television stations.
Al-Zarqawi posted Web statements declaring his allegiance to bin Laden and began using the name of al-Qaida in Iraq. Al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Diyala province in June 2006 and was replaced by al-Masri.
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