Evan Kohlmann e-mailed and wants every one to know that al Qaeda in Iraq has claimed the kidnapping of the Egyptian ambassador Ihab Sherif. Evan's post is here. You will recall that I had speculated that Ihab Sherif's kidnapping was probably done by ex-Baathist elements, but my speculation has now proven wrong. This increases the likelihood that the attack on diplomats from Pakistan and Bahrain this morning were also linked to al Qaeda.

This is bad news for Sherif. Egypt is not on friendly terms with al Qaeda. Egypt is not even on friendly terms with Islamist political movements in general. In fact, it was the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt's decision to renounce violence that split al Qaeda off from the main Salafist movement. Unfortunately, Ihab Sherif is as good as dead.

Posted by: Rusty at 01:30 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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