September 27, 2004

Daniel Pearl Beheading Suspect Killed

Amjad Hussain Farooqi, a man under indictment for beheading Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002, has been killed by Pakistani "paramilitary police." Farooqi was also suspected of being involved in two assasination attempts against Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Daniel Pearl (graphic images, warning)was the first Western beheading victim by terrorists, and was killed long before the US invasion of Iraq.

A moment of editorializing: good riddance. Amjad Hussain Farooqi can rot in hell.

Also on the scene: James Joyner.

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September 25, 2004

Arab Reaction to Beheadings: 93% Support Murder of Infidels

Does this shock you? You will find the info buried in this article. Polls indicate that majorities in many Muslim nations support suicide bombings that target Americans and other Westerners. And these are all polls in so-called 'moderate' states.

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Good Will Hunting II: Zarqawi Season

Rumors about this group have been circulating for some time. Just three days ago, the military was close enough to nailing Zarqawi that they took out his top aide. Missed him by that much (Maxwell Smart voice)!! NY Post:

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military has created a special commando task force to destroy the vicious terror network controlled by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi — and twice has come very close to killing him, Pentagon officials said yesterday.

Others Blogging: Paul at Wizbang, Gordito the Cranky Neocon more...

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Website Claims British Hostage Ken Bigley Executed

UPDATE 10/08: Abu Dhabi Television reports that British hostage Kenneth Bigley has been 'executed' by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Tawid and Jihad terrorist organization. Story still developing. Information, news, links to video, pics, and images of Kenneth Bigley beheading / execution video will be posted here. UPDATES HERE.

An Islamic message board has posted a statement claiming that Abu Musab al Zarqawi's al-Tawhid Wal Jihad terrorist organization has executed British hostage Ken Bigley. A U. K. foreign ministry spokesman denied the claim's authenticity earlier today. The message was not posted by a known member of Zarqawi's group and was on a different message board than the one usually used by the group to make major announcements. Further, Zarqawi's website has not been updated since it posted a video of Ken Bigley pleading for his life. A long with the video, the website posted propaganda messages aimed at turning the British public against Tony Blair's Labour government. The website blaimed Blair for Bigley's predicament and threatened to behead Mr. Bigley if the U.K. did not meet the terrorist organization's demands. Because this propaganda strategy seems to be working, some analysts have suggested that Bigley will be kept alive past the deadline set.

UPDATES MAY FOLLOW.

Hat Tip: B52GUNR

Also Blogging: Interested Participant, Command Post, M. H. King,

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September 24, 2004

Canadian Hostage Released on Promise of Firm Pulling Out of Iraq

Update: Eating Crow. Never run with a story by al Jazeera and then claim 'conflicting reports'. It's like a paper in 1939 saying there were 'conflicting reports' coming out of Poland as to whether the Poles were invading Germany or vice-versa--based on reports coming straight out of Goebelle's office! Sorry about that. The real story seems to be that Fairuz Yamulky convinced her guard to let her go in exchange for her trying to help him get a Visa to Canada. Thank God you made it out ok!! The points below, though, on why she might not have been killed stand.

Al Jazeera reports that a terrorist organization calling itself Asad Allah Brigade will release Canadian citizen Fairuz Yamulky, a woman they have held for the past 16 days. The Canadian firm she works for has caved to the terrorist's demands and are pulling out of Iraq. A conflicting reports say that she was not released, but rather escaped. Thank God she got out alive!!

Four things: a) she's Canadian, and the terrorists have a track record of letting those from appeaser nations go. b) She's a Muslim by birth, Kurdish. Some of the terrorist organizations have a problem with killing fellow Muslims. c) She's a woman. Some of the terrorist organization have a problem with killing women--they do not have a problem with raping and beating them. d) This organization was demanding money. This might have been a simple case of extortion, tied to an ideology that justifies it.

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Six More Egyptian Victims for the Religion of Peace

Reuters:

Gunmen seized two Egyptians from their Baghdad office, the third in a new series of audacious operations to kidnap foreigners in the Iraqi capital this month.

In a separate attack that could be related, four Egyptians working for the same company as those seized in Baghdad were abducted in an area west of the capital, an Egyptian diplomat in Baghdad said Friday.

Also blogging: Chad

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September 23, 2004

Terrorists threaten Denmark, beg for Kenneth Bigley's murder even if demands are met

The terrorists who claimed responsibility for the beheading deaths of Simona Pari and Simona Torretta also threatened Denmark with similar incidents. In a message which called aid workers Simona Pari and Simona Torretta "criminal Italian agents of the Italian intelligence services" (see this updated post) the Ansar al-Zawahiri terrorist organization made threats against Danish interests in Iraq and abroad. The same message begs Abu Musab al Zarqawi's al-Tawhid Wal Jihad terrorist organization to execute British hostage Kenneth Bigley "even if all the crusader nations around the world submit to their demands."

While some media outlets continue to call terrorists operating in Iraq a "resistance movement" that is simply "opposed to the US occupation", the terrorists themselves explicitly lay out their world-wide goals and raging anti-Semitism in the message. The message also illustrates the extent to which the media fuels the flames of jihadi terrorism by sensationalizing stories such as the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. References to the global jihad they are engaged in are highlighted in the following translation via Evan F. Kohlman:

“In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful…”“In response to the savage and bloody massacres that Italian forces have carried out against the Iraqi nation in the city of Al-Nasiriya; In response to the Zionist crusader forces in Iraq who have raped Muslims, mocked them, and danced around them in Iraqi prisons; In response to the support of the Italian government for the Zionist forces who kill the Muslims in Palestine; In response to the support of the Italian and Zionist governments for the Russian forces who hold Muslims hostage in Chechen prisons; In response to the insult from the Italians who made Islam sound cold and provocative when they suggested that Western civilization developed from that of Islam; In response to the politics of provocation, arrogance, conceit, and the way that the Italians have mocked the mujahideen threats to them on the Internet; In response to the refusal of the Italian government to accede to our demands: releasing the Muslim prisoners in Iraq, specifying a timetable to withdraw from Iraq, assisting in the release of Muslim prisoners in Chechen prisons, and assisting in the release of all Arab detainees held in the prisons of the Zionist allies, at the behest of the Zionists in their war on Islam:”

“Two criminal Italian agents of the Italian intelligence services—Simona Pari and Simona Toretta—have been beheaded without pity or mercy. Allah willing, we will soon publish a videotape of the beheading of the Italian hostages…”

“…Also, the Ansar al-Zawahiri Organization pledges a direct military response to the assassination of the courageous Jordanian mujahid Abu Anas al-Shami in less than 24 hours. We swear by the mighty Allah, we swear by the mighty Allah, we swear by the mighty Allah, that the assassination of Abu Anas al-Shami will not fade without a requisite punishment. And the military response will target the Zionist crusader forces in less than 24 hours.”

“Additionally, we threaten the government of Denmark with the commencement of military strikes with utmost fatal ferocity if it does not declare a timetable for its withdrawal from Iraq. The government of Denmark should benefit from the Italian lesson, and the Russian lesson, and the British lesson, and the American lesson, because we will not show mercy to any Danish citizen who falls into our hands unless the Danish nation submit to our demands.”

“And we appeal to the Tawheed wal-Jihad Movement not to spare the British hostage, and not to show him any mercy or pity, even if all the crusader nations around the world submit to their demands.”

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Allawi sees hope in Iraq

Some thoughts from Iraqi Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi to the US Congress today. In it, he reminds us that just because the media did not broadcast the attrocities committed under the Hussein regime, they were real nonetheless. Fox News via Jane:

It's a tough struggle with setbacks, but we are succeeding.

I have seen some of the images that are being shown here on television. They are disturbing. They focus on the tragedies, such as the brutal and barbaric murder of two American hostages this week.

My thoughts and prayers go out to their families and to all those who lost loved ones.

More below.

more...

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Afghan Elections, Hope for the Region

Fingers crossed, BBC Article via the Commissar:

On 9 October, for the first time ever, men and women over the age of 18 in Afghanistan will have the chance to choose a new president.

The incumbent, Hamid Karzai, is expected to win, but he faces 17 other candidates ensuring that this will be a tough and rigorous exercise in democracy.

In a neighbourhood where military dictators, autocrats and ruling mullahs are the norm, the elections in Afghanistan will be a watershed and both a signal of hope for its neighbours as well as a potential threat.

The Afghan election, even if 60% successful, will be a major blow to al-Qaeda and the Taleban who have pledged to disrupt it.

It will signal that the birth place of al-Qaeda, who just three years ago were virtually in charge of running Afghanistan, can no longer count on popular support.

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Beheading Videos Top Sellers in Baghdad

I posted on this a couple of weeks ago, seems like the word is getting out. On the one hand at least there's porn, not that I'm pro-porn, but it is a sign of secularization. On the other hand, porn and beheadings are not the most healthy combo. AP

Once such gory videos are posted on the Internet it does not take long for them to make their way to the packed stalls of central Baghdad's Bab al-Sharqi marketplace where consumer appetite is hungry for bloody spectacle. In the teeming open-air market, television sets rigged to sound systems broadcast the sounds and sights of tortured hostages, belly dancers and pornographic movie stars. Shoppers can ask stallholders to play DVDs that catch their attention.
Hat Tip: James Joyner

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Zarqawi Website Confirms Beheading Responsibility, Bigley still alive

The website used by Abu Musab al Zarqawi's al-Tawhid Wal Jihad terrorist organization has posted the videotaped beheading murder of American hostage Jack Hensley, confirming earlier reports that Zarqawi's group was responsible. The website also posted a video, released earlier at an Islamic discussion board, of Briton Kenneth Bigley pleading for his life. An obvious propaganda film aimed at bringing public pressure on the Blair government, Bigley is seen in the video pleading for the help of British citizens in securing his release.

The website also posted a message which tries to blame Blair's Labour government for Mr. Bigley's predicament. The site claimed the Bigley would be released if "tens" of female prisoners in Iraq are freed. The Coalition Authority claims only 2 women are being held, both of whom worked on Saddam Hussein's WMD program.

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NATO to Send More Help to Iraq

Today's good news watch, NATO sending 300 trainers to Iraq to help bolster the home grown security force. Objections in NATO? That was a rhetorical question. France of course, along with mini-me-France, eg-Belgium. Of course the Frogs and their Zeropa allies have openned up their hearts to the Iraqi people and dedicated exactly zero funds and no troops to help train the new Iraqi military. These same countries also insisted that they be eligible for US rebuilding contracts. More info here and here.

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September 22, 2004

Two Italian Women Hostages Murdered, UPDATED--make that 'beheaded'

UPDATE 9/23: The Italian government remains skeptical over the claims (story here). I am more confident of the claims. The original abduction was on Sept. 7th. Three days later, a message was left by a group called "Ansar al-Zawahiri", threatened to behead the hostages within 24 hrs and that their bodies would never be found. Today, Reuters reports that Ansar al-Zawahiri will soon release a video of Simona Pari and Simona Torretta being beheaded. I pray that I'm wrong, but suspect that I am not. The religion of irony has struck again.

A group calling itself the Jihad Organisation in Iraq have claimed to have murdered Simona Pari and Simona Torretta (pictured right, click to enlarge). The two Italian women were in Iraq as aid workers helping Iraqi children. They worked for A Bridge to Baghdad an organization that was in Iraq before the war, which attempted to end UN sanctions. May God speed you to his rest, and may his wrath rain down on those who murdered you. According to Reuters the group said:

We in the Jihad Organisation in Iraq announce that God's verdict has been passed on the two Italian prisoners by slaughtering, after the Italian government headed by the vile (Prime Minister Silvio) Berlusconi did not listen to our one condition to withdraw from Iraq," the statement said.

"We warn the Italian government that we will continue to strike, and to strike every foreigner living in Iraq," said the statement, dated September 22.

My previous post and background information is here. As I said in that post "Next thing you know they will be grabbing Mother Theresa's corpse and threatening to behead it."

UPDATE 9/23: Via Chad Evans I found the full message from the al-Jihad Organization in Iraq, as translated by Evan F. Kohlman reads:

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful:

Praise be to Allah, Lord of this world and the next, and may His peace be upon the leader of his mujahideen. We in the Jihad Organization in Iraq announce that AllahÂ’s verdict has been executed on the two Italian prisoners by slaughtering them, after the Italian government headed by the evil Berlusconi ignored our sole condition to withdraw from Iraq. We in the Jihad Organization warn the Italian government that we will continue to strike, and to strike every foreigner living in Iraq. We will not relent and we will not yield until we dig your graves in every inch of the land of Islam.

We will make Iraq a cemetery for you and all those who let themselves be seduced into committing aggression against the Muslims. Those who have done wrong will meet their fate.

UPDATE II 9/23: A second group has claimed responsibility for their deaths. Again, translation via Evan F. Kohlman:
“In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful…”“In response to the savage and bloody massacres that Italian forces have carried out against the Iraqi nation in the city of Al-Nasiriya; In response to the Zionist crusader forces in Iraq who have raped Muslims, mocked them, and danced around them in Iraqi prisons; In response to the support of the Italian government for the Zionist forces who kill the Muslims in Palestine; In response to the support of the Italian and Zionist governments for the Russian forces who hold Muslims hostage in Chechen prisons; In response to the insult from the Italians who made Islam sound cold and provocative when they suggested that Western civilization developed from that of Islam; In response to the politics of provocation, arrogance, conceit, and the way that the Italians have mocked the mujahideen threats to them on the Internet; In response to the refusal of the Italian government to accede to our demands: releasing the
Muslim prisoners in Iraq, specifying a timetable to withdraw from Iraq, assisting in the release of Muslim prisoners in Chechen prisons, and assisting in the release of all Arab detainees held in the prisons of the Zionist allies, at the behest of the Zionists in their war on Islam:”

“Two criminal Italian agents of the Italian intelligence services—Simona Pari and Simona Toretta—have been beheaded without pity or mercy. Allah willing, we will soon publish a videotape of the beheading of the Italian hostages…”

“…Also, the Ansar al-Zawahiri Organization pledges a direct military response to the assassination of the courageous Jordanian mujahid Abu Anas al-Shami in less than 24 hours. We swear by the mighty Allah, we swear by the mighty Allah, we swear by the mighty Allah, that the assassination of Abu Anas al-Shami will not fade without a requisite punishment. And the military response will target the Zionist crusader forces in less than 24 hours.”

“Additionally, we threaten the government of Denmark with the commencement of military strikes with utmost fatal ferocity if it does not declare a timetable for its withdrawal from Iraq. The government of Denmark should benefit from the Italian lesson, and the Russian lesson, and the British lesson, and the American lesson, because we will not show mercy to any Danish citizen who falls into our hands unless the Danish nation submit to our demands.” “And we appeal to the Tawheed wal-Jihad Movement not to spare the British hostage, and not to show him any mercy or pity, even if all the crusader nations around the world submit to their demands.”

Today has been a very bad day.
Hat tip: Jon

PS-If anyone has a tip, please e-mail me. Too many comments for me to properly read them all.

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American Hostage Jack Hensley Beheading Video Released

Scroll down past updates for original post on the Jack Hensley video for links to video, images from it, and news.

-----------------------------------------------
UPDATE 10/08: Kenneth Bigley executed in Iraq by Zarqawi terrorist organization. The story is developing, but sources in Fallujah claim Bigley beheaded. For the latest information, links to video, and images on the Kenneth Bigley murder please go to the MAIN PAGE or by CLICKING HERE for the 10/08 report.

For the latest information, links to video, and images on hostages in Iraq please check the main page by CLICKING HERE.

Here is a list of all the victims of Islamic Beheadings since late July this year.

10/08 Kenneth Bigley Executed in Iraq Images and Video Here.
10/02 Iraqi Victim Barie Nafie Dawoud Ibrahim Beheading Video and Images Here
9/22 American Hostage Jack Hensley Beheading Video and Images Here
9/20 American Hostage Eugene Armstrong Beheaded on Video Here
9/13 Turkish Hostage Beheaded on Video Here
9/08 Three Muslim 'Informants' Beheaded by the Religion of Irony
8/31 12 Nepalese Hostages Killed, 1 Beheaded Here
8/26 Italian Hostage Enzo Baldoni Murdered Here
8/25 Alleged CIA Agent Beheaded in Video Here
8/13 Another Alleged CIA Agent Beheaded on Video Here
8/11 CIA Agent Executed: Another Beheading Video
8/09 Another Bulgarian Beheading Video
8/02 Turkish Hostage Murdered
7/28 Bulgarian Beheading Video
7/27 Kashmir Rebels Bomb Hospital, Behead Three
7/27 Paul Johnson Beheading Video and Images Here
---------------------------------------

A new video has been released by Abu Musab al Zarqawi's al-Tawhid Wal Jihad terrorist organization showing the gruesome beheading murder of American hostage Jack Hensley. A link to the video is below. The group claimed to have beheaded Mr. Hensley yesterday at an Islamic bulletin board. My previous post about this is here. Images from the video are in the extended entry below.

UPDATE: If you would like to help the Hensley family in their time of need please consider donating to the Jack Hensley Foundation.

more...

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Zarqawi Releases Video of Kenneth Bigley Begging for his Life

Kenneth Bigley hostage video and images are below.

UPDATE 10/08: Kenneth Bigley is confirmed dead in Iraq. Reuters claims sources in Fallujah have confirmed the Kenneth Bigley has been beheaded. The initial reports of Bigley's death, first reported here, turned out to be false. However, several independent sources now confirm his death. Updates, news, information, links to video, images, and pics can be found at the MAIN PAGE or by CLICKING HERE to 10/08 report.

UPDATE 9/25: Website Claims British Hostage Ken Bigley Executed, Doubts raised about website's credibility. Probably a hoax. Click link above for more iformation.

NEIN:

In an 11 minute and 5 second video just released, British hostage Ken Bigley begs for his life.

The video, released by Zarqawi's Tawhid wa Jihad group on the Ansar message board, shows a visibly nervous Bigley, clad in an orange jumpsuit, making an appeal to the British and American governments.

Below you will find links to the video and images of Ken Bigley's pleas. more...

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'Beat me once a week'

This London:

An Iranian woman, beaten every day by her husband, asked a court to tell him only to beat her once a week.

Maryam, the middle-age woman, said she did not want to divorce her husband because she loved him.

"Just tell him to beat me once a week ... Beating is part of his nature and he cannot stop it," Maryam told the court.

Hat tip: Bill Dauterieve (PS-I said....)

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More Iraq Invasion Benefits: Libyan Sanctions Lifted

The EU has just announced that it will follow the US lead in lifting sanctions against Libya. This Reuters article is informative, but in typical Reuters fashion it leaves out some important details. What details? Oh, the fact that Libya decided to get rid of it's WMD program--including it's nuclear agenda purchased from the pre-Afghanistan invasion Pakistan--after the Bush administration began to flex it's muscle in the Middle East. Have bad things happened because of the Iraq invasion? Absolutely. But it would be intellectually dishonest not to take the good with the bad. This is good news.

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British Hostage Kenneth Bigley Beheaded

UPDATE 10/08: Kenneth Bigley executed in Iraq by Zarqawi terrorist organization. The story is developing, but sources in Fallujah claim Bigley beheaded. For the latest information, links to video, and images on the Kenneth Bigley murder please go to the MAIN PAGE or by CLICKING HERE for the 10/08 report.

For the latest information, links to video, and images on hostages in Iraq please check the main page by CLICKING HERE.

Here is a list of all the victims of Islamic Beheadings since late July this year.

10/08 Kenneth Bigley Executed in Iraq Images and Video Here.
10/02 Iraqi Victim Barie Nafie Dawoud Ibrahim Beheading Video and Images Here
9/22 American Hostage Jack Hensley Beheading Video and Images Here
9/20 American Hostage Eugene Armstrong Beheaded on Video Here
9/13 Turkish Hostage Beheaded on Video Here
9/08 Three Muslim 'Informants' Beheaded by the Religion of Irony
8/31 12 Nepalese Hostages Killed, 1 Beheaded Here
8/26 Italian Hostage Enzo Baldoni Murdered Here
8/25 Alleged CIA Agent Beheaded in Video Here
8/13 Another Alleged CIA Agent Beheaded on Video Here
8/11 CIA Agent Executed: Another Beheading Video
8/09 Another Bulgarian Beheading Video
8/02 Turkish Hostage Murdered
7/28 Bulgarian Beheading Video
7/27 Kashmir Rebels Bomb Hospital, Behead Three
7/27 Paul Johnson Beheading Video and Images Here
-----------------
Begin original post:

UPDATE 3:38 EDT: A new video of Kenneth Bigley has been posted. In the video he pleads for his life. Links to video and images from it posted here.

No, not yet. The deadline looms. I weep for his family, but he is already dead. I will update this post as soon as it's official. Until then I will be in class.

UPDATE 1:14 EDT: The Scotsman reports that a message from Zarqawi said:

“The British prisoner will meet the same fate if the British government does not carry out what it should do for his release,” it said, adding that President George Bush would die in “rage” and Prime Minister Tony Blair would “cry blood.”

UPDATE 9/23: That. Yeah, exactly what he says.

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Female Prisoners NOT Being Released

Some earlier reports said we were giving in to the demand by Abu Musab al Zarqawi's al-Tawhid Wal Jihad terrorist organization that "all female prisoners in Iraq be freed" or Briton Kenneth Bigley would be executed. The latest news is that these reports were false. I repeat, we are not caving to terrorist demands. Reuters:

Two Iraqi female prisoners being held by U.S. authorities in Iraq will not be released imminently, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad said on Wednesday.
"The two women are in legal and physical custody of the multinational forces in Iraq and neither will be released imminently," a spokesman for the U.S. embassy said.

Senior officials in the Iraqi Justice Ministry said earlier on Wednesday that at least one of the two, microbiologist Rihab Taha, could be freed as early as Wednesday following a review of her detention status.

If she had been freed, it might have opened the way for the release of British hostage Kenneth Bigley, seized by Islamic militants who have said they will execute him if female prisoners are not released from Iraqi prisons.

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Spiritual Leader of Zarqawi Terrorist Group Killed

I think Flea would say something like, "This is the time at mypetjawa when we dance." Whooo-hooo!! AP:

Jordan (AP) The spiritual leader of a militant group that claimed to have beheaded two American hostages in Iraq has been killed in a U.S. airstrike, and his Jordanian family is preparing a wake, a newspaper and Islamic clerics said Wednesday.

Sheik Abu Anas al-Shami, 35, was killed when a missile hit the car he was traveling in on Friday in the west Baghdad suburb of Abu-Ghraib, said the clerics, who have close ties to the family. They spoke on condition of anonymity.

Al-Shami was a close aide to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of the militant group Tawhid and Jihad. The al-Qaida-linked group is blamed for some of the biggest attacks in Iraq, including the bombing of the U.N. headquarters last year, and the beheadings of foreign hostages including two Americans this week.

Al-Zarqawi is believed to have personally decapitated the American hostage Eugene Armstrong on Monday.

Al-Shami, a Jordanian of Palestinian descent who was also known as Omar Yousef Jumah, was believed to be the voice on several audio tapes that Tawhid and Jihad released via the Internet. In one such tape in August, a speaker identified as al-Shami said the militants planned to kill Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, soldiers and police officers.

''We will not allow you to destroy our hopes in this blessed holy war, and we will not let you steal our bright tomorrow, which is now appearing on the horizon,'' the speaker said on the tape.

Hat tip: Robert Spencer

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