Monday, May 09, 2011

First Al Iraq al Qaeda First Affiliate to Acknowledge Zawahiri as Head of Al Qaeda

Iraq's Qaeda Pledges Allegiance to Zawahiri and Vows Revenge


In a statement posted on an Islamist website forum on Monday, the caliph of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISC), Abu Baker al-Baghdadi al-Husseini al-Qurashi, mourned bin Laden's death.
"I tell our brothers in al Qaeda organisation and on the top of them Sheikh Mujahid Ayman al-Zawahiri ... be merry, you have faithful men in the Islamic State of Iraq who are following the right path and will not quit or be forced out," he said in the statement.

Of course, they can still pull off a bombing or two, but they can't do anything like they did in 2005-6.

This seems to be the first acknowledgement of Zawahiri as the leader of Al Qaeda though AQ itself remains quiet on the subject, making announcements as the "leadership" without official or specific names.

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