BAGHDAD (AP) — The most feared militant group in Iraq, led by terror mastermind Abu Musab Zarqawi, declared its allegiance to Osama bin Laden yesterday, saying it had agreed with al Qaeda over strategy and the need for unity against “the enemies of Islam.”
The declaration, which began with a Koranic verse encouraging Muslim unity, said Zarqawi considered bin Laden “the best leader for Islam’s armies against all infidels and apostates.”
It said the two had been in communication eight months ago and that “viewpoints were exchanged” before the dialogue was interrupted.
“God soon blessed us with a resumption in communication, and the dignified brothers in al Qaeda understood the strategy of Tawhid and Jihad,” the statement said.
The statement affirmed the “allegiance of Tawhid and Jihad’s leadership and soldiers to the chief of all fighters, Osama bin Laden.” It said the announcement had been timed for the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, when “Muslims need more than ever to stick together in the face of the religion’s enemies.”
The Jordanian-born Zarqawi is suspected in about a dozen high-profile attacks in Iraq, including a bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad last year, and the beheading of numerous foreign hostages.
U.S. and Iraqi officials think Zarqawi’s movement is centered in the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah. However, Tawhid and Jihad banners have been seen recently in Samarra, Ramadi and even on the streets of Baghdad.
The announcement was made as Zarqawi was indicted in his native Jordan with 12 other Muslim suspects on charges of plotting a chemical attack that could have killed thousands of people.
Zarqawi and three of the suspects will be tried in absentia on charges including conspiring to commit terrorism, possessing and manufacturing explosives and affiliation with a banned group, according to the 24-page indictment.
The indictment said Zarqawi sent more than $118,000 to buy two vehicles that would be driven into Jordan’s General Intelligence Department by suicide bombers armed with explosives and chemicals.
The indictment said the defendants had collected geographical data indicating that thousands of people would be killed in the chemical blast.
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