Saudi Jihadists in Iraq
May 9, 2005 --
Researcher Estimates Over 2500 Saudis Left for Jihad in Iraq Since 2003
Al Hayat newspaper looks at what it says has become "a phenomenon" in Saudi Arabia: young Saudi men leaving for jihad in Iraq. A Saudi researcher interviewed by the paper estimated that around 2500 Saudis left to fight in Iraq in 2003 and 2004. He says around 500 were killed and 100 arrested. The researcher, who preferred to withhold his name, said the return of "Iraq's Saudis" as they are being called, would constitute an even greater danger for the Kingdom, than the one caused by the return of the "Afghan Saudis" because of the type of operations they carry out in Iraq under the leadership of Abu Musaab al Zarqawi. He described al Zarqawi's group as being much more radical in thought than the group that followed Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. (Al Hayat)
Security Sources: The U.S. Confused "Abu Anas" with "Abu Faraj" al Libi
U.S. authorities confused "Abu Faraj al Libi", the al Qaeda suspect arrested last week in Pakistan, with "Abu Anas al Libi," another al Qaeda suspect who was closer to the network's leadership, European security sources told Asharq al Awsat. A French counter-terrorism expert said Abu Faraj al Libi is a senior leader in the second rank of al Qaeda, but is not the chief of its operations as Pakistani authorities claimed last week. This view is supported by fundamentalist residing in London and interviewed by Asharq al Awsat, including a Libyan Islamist who knew Abu Faraj closely. British experts said Abu Faraj could not have ranked third in al Qaeda network and he did not succeed Khaled Sheikh Mohammed. Abu Anas al Libi on the other hand is considered a more senior leader and is on the U.S. list of 22 most wanted. In March 2002, there were reports about Abu Anas al Libi being arrested in Sudan. (Asharq al Awsat)
Note: U.S. intelligence officials tell ABCNEWS that the above report is not credible. Abu Faraj al Libbi was considered a mid level operative until last summer when, following the arrest of Pakistani operative Mohammad Noor Khan, subsequent analysis of his laptop computers revealed al Libbi to have assumed a prominant operational role in al Qaeda. Abu Faraj al Libbi was considered to have replaced captured operative Khalid Sheikh Mohammed as its new chief of operations.
Pakistani Taliban Among Musharraf Plotters: Officials
Pakistani Taliban veterans, once held in a notorious Afghan jail where hundreds of their comrades died, were part of a foiled plot to assassinate President Pervez Musharraf, intelligence officials said yesterday. (The Peninsula)
Pakistan Tightens Embassy Security After Terror Arrests
Authorities have tightened security at foreign missions across Pakistan, officials said yesterday, following the arrest of at least eight terror suspects, including a senior al Qaeda figure wanted for two assassination bids against President Pervez Musharraf. (AP)
Kuwait Jails 20 Over Iraq Recruiting
A Kuwaiti court yesterday sentenced a group of 20 suspected militants to three-year jail terms on charges of recruiting anti-US fighters for Iraq. (AFP)
U.S. Senate Panel to Name Foreigners Who Got Illegal Contracts
The U.S. Senate subcommittee looking into irregularities in the UN run oil-for-food programme in Saddam Hussein's Iraq is ready to make public the names of foreigners they believe obtained illegal oil contracts, Time magazine reported on Sunday. (AFP)
UN Probe Chief Fights Congress Subpoena
The chief of the UN oil-for-food probe accused Congress of jeopardizing his work and asked a House committee to return secret documents, saying the lives of some witnesses could be at stake. But the Republican lawmaker who heads the committee promptly refused. (AP)
Five Soldiers Wounded in Yemen Grenade Attack
Five people were injured in the Yemeni capital Sanaa yesterday after a man lobbed a hand grenade into a military bus, eyewitnesses said. The attack occurred around midday in the Hail commercial district of the city. (Arab News)
Christian Neighborhood Again Targeted in Fifth Bomb Attack
20-kilogram bomb destroys church and radio station. (The Daily Star)
Suspect In Cairo Bombing Caught In Libya — Report
Libyan authorities have arrested and handed over to Egypt the brother of the bomber who wounded seven people when he blew himself up with a nail bomb in Cairo about a week ago, an Egyptian newspaper reported. (Reuters)
Egypt Frees 135 Brotherhood Members
Egypt has released 135 members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood detained in a crackdown after nationwide demonstrations, but more than 1,500 are still being held, security sources said yesterday. Police released 135 members of the group in El-Minya, about 220 km south of Cairo, the sources said. (Reuters)
After 6 Weeks, FBI Releases Teens
No charges filed against N.Y. girls. (New Orleans Channel)
Cuban Exile Could Test the U.S. Definition of Terrorist
Luis Posada Carriles, who is a symbol for the armed anti-Castro movement, is seeking political asylum in the U.S. (NY Times)
U.S. Claims 75 Rebels Killed In Zarqawi Hunt
US forces said they killed 75 Iraqi and foreign rebels over a 24-hour period in a sweep of a desert area close to the Syrian border, a base for Iraq's most wanted man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. (AFP)
67 Iraqis Die in Suicide Bombings
Suicide bombers killed at least 67 people in escalating violence in Iraq yesterday. Separately, at least a dozen bodies were found buried at a garbage dump on the outskirts of Baghdad, some of them blindfolded and shot in the head. (Arab News)
Iraq Says Captures Key Aide To Zarqawi
Iraq said on Sunday that security forces had captured Amar al-Zubaydi, a key aide to the al Qaeda leader in Iraq, Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. (Reuters)
54 Arrested In Iraqi Raid Near Syrian Border
US-led forces have killed six and arrested 54 suspected insurgents in a series of raids targeting Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's network near Al Qaim, close to the Syrian border, a military statement said. (AFP)
U.S. Officers In Iraq Put Priority on Extremists
Strategy shifts to combating foreign fighters and Iraqi jihadists, not former "regime elements." (Washington Post)
A New Political Setback for Iraq's Cabinet
The parliament approved appointments for six new cabinet spots, but a Sunni chosen as human rights minister declined the post. (NY Times)
New Iraqi Government Members (BBC)
Al Zarqawi's Group Threatens Attacks in the U.S.
Al Hayat newspaper reports that Abu Musaab al Zarqawi's group has been distributing flyers in Baghdad threatening to carry out attacks inside the United States. (Al Hayat)
Zarqawi Group Denies Threat To White House, Vatican
The group of Al Qaeda's frontman in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has denied that one of its top figures threatened to attack the White House and the Vatican, according to a message posted yesterday on the Internet. (The Peninsula)
Iraq Ministers Facing Uphill Task
After more than three months of tortuous wrangling, the Iraqis at last have their first democratically-elected coalition government of modern times. (BBC)
A Singularly Ironic Epitaph for the Whole Iraq Project
Two years after "Mission Accomplished", whatever moral stature the United States could claim at the end of its invasion of Iraq has long ago been squandered in the torture and abuse and deaths at Abu Ghraib. That the symbol of Saddam Hussein's brutality should have been turned by his own enemies into the symbol of their own brutality is a singularly ironic epitaph for the whole Iraq adventure. We have all been contaminated by the cruelty of the interrogators and the guards and prison commanders. (Arab News)
Where Democracy and Civil War Meet in Iraq
A new government fails to woo the Sunnis as the insurgents turn up the heat. (Time)
Iraqi Leaders Must Show Unity To Defeat The Death Cult
What does an Iraqi mother tell her children about their home and countrymen? What future do the gunmen and bombers who are killing and maiming their countrymen want for Iraq? (The Daily Star)
Inside an Insurgent Camp
With a huge upswing in violence in Iraq, a look at the anti-American training camps (Time)
Follow the Leader?
I have been following the US invasion of Iraq for some time — ever since the Americans began their campaign to convince the world of the necessity for such an action until now. (Arab News)
Related Stories
ABC News Live