Zarqawi Surrounded?
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James Joyner | Monday, March 28, 2005 |
The Jawa Report cites broadcast sources that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaeda’s Iraq operation, has been surrounded.
Iraqi Interior Minister Falah al-Nakib announced today that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaeda in Mesopotamia (Iraq), has been surrounded. The Sofia News Agency reports the Interior Minister as saying, “He is surrounded in a certain area, and we hope for the best. This operation is ongoing. We hope that the situation will be completely different in Iraq at the end of this year.” Al-Nakib said al-Zarqawi was moving in “more than one area,” but declined to provide more details, reports BNN.
The reports actually don’t look very promising, however, as judged by the fact they’re buried several paragraphs deep in the few online stories I can find, all of which appear based on an AP wire report.
Iraq’s interior minister warned citizens Monday not to hold protests, saying the gatherings were an invitation for a large-scale terrorist attack. His comments came a day after government bodyguards opened fire on a group of employees demanding higher wages, killing one person.
[...]
He added that Iraq’s most-wanted terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was “surrounded in more than one area, and we hope for the best. He’s moving between more than one area.” Iraqi and U.S. officials have arrested several people linked to al-Zarqawi’s al-Qaida in Iraq, but he has eluded detention. Al-Zarqawi’s organization has claimed responsibility for kidnappings and killings across Iraq. On Sunday, militants posted a video on the Internet showing the purported execution of a man identifying himself as Interior Ministry official Col. Ryadh Gatie Olyway.
It does not sound as if capture is imminent.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.
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