In an internet message posted on Monday, al-Qaeda in Iraq has appointed a militant named Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Muhajer to succeed Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed in a United States air strike last week.
”The shura [consultative] council and al-Qaeda in the Land of Two Rivers have both agreed to appoint Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Muhajer to succeed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in the leadership of the organisation,” said the statement on al-Hesba website, where al-Qaeda’s official statements usually appear.
Its authenticity could not be independently verified.
”Sheikh Abu Hamza is a pious brother with a jihadi track record and a solid scholarly background. We ask God to bless him and to help him finish what Sheikh Abu Musab has started,” the statement added.
His nationality was not given, but the word ”muhajer” means immigrant in Arabic.
Al-Zarqawi and five other militants were killed after two bombs were dropped in a US air raid on a safe house near the restive northern Iraqi city of Baquba on Wednesday.
The organisation issued a statement on Sunday vowing to avenge al-Zarqawi’s death with ”great operations to shake the enemy”.
The Consultative Council of the Mujahedin (holy fighters), which is an alliance of eight militant Sunni Arab groups formed last January and led by al-Qaeda in Iraq, also renewed its allegiance in that statement to al-Qaeda supremo Saudi-born fugitive Osama bin Laden. — Sapa-AFP