July 19: Man said to be the link between Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda in Iraq is reported to be in US custody providing hints at the influence al Qaeda exercises over al-Qaeda in Iraq. He is said to be the highest-ranking Iraqi in al-Qaeda in Iraq leadership and main communication chord between bin laden and al-Qaeda head in Iraq, Ayman al-Zawahri.
Brigadier Gen. Kevin J. Bergner said that arrest of Khalid al- Mashhadani on July 4, yields evidence of the relationship between bin Laden’s al-Qaeda and the group in Iraq of the same name allegedly part of the Islamic state of Iraq.
He further revealed that they have the information of the flow of direction, policy instruction, prioritization, and other guidance from senior leadership of al-Qaeda to the al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Official also denied any link of revelation of the arrest of a major al-Qaeda leader to the increasing opposition by Americans of American troops’ stay in Iraq. Though analysts say that this link between broad-based al-Qaeda and the group in Iraq is being stressed by Bush to provide justification for Iraq conflict.
Some see this focus on Iraq for the last four years as a threat to US security as it diverted the attention from Osama bin laden and gave him time to grow. Some analysts rule out any security threat to US forces from al-Qaeda in Iraq as is posed by US administration. While a pentagon analyst has quoted a US military experts brief saying that al-Qaeda is responsible only for 15% attacks.
Bergner also disclosed that Omar al-baghdadi, leader of the Islamic state is actually fictional character created to draw the support if Iraqis for the organisation and this has been accepted by al- Mashhadi that al-baghdadi was a myth concocted by former leader of Iraq al-Qaeda Abu Ayyub al-Masri who died in US air strikes.
According to the military official Islamic state created the character to market itself in Iraq as most of leadership is of foreign origin and recently suffered a decline in support.
This figure al-Baghdadi the supposed leader of an al-Qaeda affiliated group in Iraq still remains a mystery. As earlier he has been declared killed and now declared as fictional character as defense ministry spokesperson Mohammed Askari denied al-baghdadi’s non-existence saying that he is real and they have his photograph.
Mystery still prevails over the existence of al-Baghdadi in view of different claims by US military officials and Iraq defence ministry. But the whole episode of arrest of al- Mashhadi is being considered an effort to appease the agitating Americans over Iraq conflict.
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