Abu Ayyub al-Masri

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Abu Hamza al-Muhajir
Born	Exact date unknown, believed to be around 1967 Possibly born in Egypt

Abu Ayyub al-Masri (Arabic: أبو أيّوب المصري ‎) and Abu Hamza al-Muhajir ( أبو حمزة المهاجر ) are two pseudonyms of the same person according to an FBI wanted poster.^[1][2] In a Reuters article it was alleged that a posting on an unnamed Islamist website that Abu Hamza al-Muhajir was announced to be the new leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq on June 12, 2006.^[3][4] His real name is not known, at least publicly. Al-Masri means the Egyptian, and al-Muhajir means the migrant.

Al-Masri is also a member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. He was a senior aide to former leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike on June 7, 2006. On that day, US Pentagon sources identified him as among the prime candidates to assume direction of the Iraqi insurgency.^[5] He is described by the United States military as a native Egyptian who is about 39 years of age.^[6] He joined the Muslim Brotherhood,^[7] and in 1982 he joined Egyptian Islamic Jihad, which later became part of al-Qaeda. He went to Afghanistan in 1999, where he became an explosives expert. In 2004 he was put in charge of al-Qaeda’s overseas networks, and in 2006 he reportedly succeeded al-Zarqawi as the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Contents 1 True identity a mystery 2 Biography 3 Future leadership 4 His alias 5 See also 6 References

[edit] True identity a mystery

The Mujahideen Shura Council, which claims to speak for al-Qaeda in Iraq and other groups in Iraq, named Abu Hamza al-Muhajir (“almost certainly a pseudonym”^[8]) as its new emir in June 2006. However, National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley said, “It’s not clear at this point who is in (control). We’ve seen a number of different reports… In our view it’s not yet settled.”

United States Army Major General William Caldwell, spokesman for the coalition military forces in Iraq, said another possible candidate for al-Qaeda leadership in Iraq is Iraqi Abdullah al-Rashid al-Baghdadi, another Mujahedin Shura Council leader.^[9] Yasser al-Sirri, an Egyptian in charge of the Islamic Observation Center in London, thinks Baghdadi is more likely to be the new leader, and that he is “95 percent sure that this al-Masri doesn’t exist.” He speculated that al-Qaeda may want the public to believe that their new leader in Iraq is an Egyptian and not Iraqi “because they work under the Islamic banner…and they seek international jihad.”^[10]

Caldwell also said Masri and Muhajir “were probably one and the same,” a statement greeted with derision on al-Qaeda-friendly internet message boards.^[11] Egyptian lawyer Montasser el-Zayat, who was in jail with Ayman al-Zawahiri from 1981-1984, said, “His codename [al-Masri] doesn’t ring a bell for me; he’s not one of the wanted Jihadis in Egypt.”^[10] Also, according to the Associated Press, the style of clothing and facial hair of the person identified as Masri in the photo released by the United States Defense Intelligence Agency were more consistent with someone from the Gulf States than someone from Egypt.^[10]

Terror consultant Evan Kohlmann said he has never heard of Muhajir. “This individual has never before been featured in any piece of al-Qaeda propaganda, be it video, audio or text communiqué,” he said. “To my knowledge, he has never been cited publicly by the U.S. military or the Multinational Forces in Iraq as a major figure in al-Zarqawi’s network.”^[12]

According to Jordanian and American officials, al-Masri "is also known -- and equally unknown -- by the name Yusif al-Dardiri".^[13][1]

Further adding to the confusion, a Cairo lawyer has stated that the Egyptian man identified in the photograph by the US as the new al-Qaeda leader in Iraq has been in jail in Egypt for seven years.^[14]

Terror consultant Evan Kohlmann said he has never heard of Muhajir. “This individual has never before been featured in any piece of al-Qaeda propaganda, be it video, audio or text communiqué,” he said. “To my knowledge, he has never been cited publicly by the U.S. military or the Multinational Forces in Iraq as a major figure in al-Zarqawi’s network.”^[15]

[edit] Biography

According to General Caldwell, Masri joined Ayman al-Zawahiri’s Egyptian Islamic Jihad in 1982, where he was Zawahiri’s protégé. He remained a member after that organization was merged into Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda. He went to bin Laden’s Farouk (or al-Farouq) camp in Afghanistan in 1999, where he worked with explosives, especially truck bombs and roadside bombs like those currently used in Iraq. After the American invasion of Afghanistan, he went to Iraq, where he took charge of al-Qaeda’s operations in the southern part of the country.^[16][17] The United States military said that Masri “helped draw other insurgent groups into al-Qaeda’s fold.”^[18] DefenseLINK News reported that Masri "helped establish the Baghdad cell of al-Qaeda in early 2003". Soon after, he "worked the ‘rat line’ down the Euphrates River Valley supplying suicide bombers via Syria.”^[19][20] Alexis Debat, a leading authority on Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, said Masri was in charge of al-Qaeda’s overseas networks beginning in 2004.^[21] Masri organized fund-raising and recruitment efforts in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East to aid in al-Qaeda’s activities in Iraq. One envoy he sent for those purposes was Yasser al-Misri, arrested in Algeria in July 2005.

Masri was “engaged” in the 2004 battle of Fallujah, Iraq,^[22] and is suspected of involvement in the 2004, 2005 and 2006 Sinai bombings in Egypt.^[23]

[edit] Future leadership

After Zarqawi’s death, someone using the name Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, a suspected alias of Masri, wrote via the internet that attacks against “crusaders and Shiites” would continue.^[24] His statement also said, “Don’t be overcome with joy about killing our sheik Abu Musab (al-Zarqawi), God bless his soul, because he has left lions behind him.”^[10]

But Debat said that Masri’s relationship with Zawahiri could mean that al-Qaeda in Iraq will come under more centralized control than it was under Zarqawi.^[25] Zarqawi, a Sunni Muslim, often attacked the Shiite Muslim population of Iraq, possibly against his leaders’ wishes. Masri has become a primary target of the American military in Iraq. General Caldwell said, “Al-Masri’s intimate knowledge of al-Qaeda in Iraq and his close relationship with [Zarqawi’s] operations will undoubtedly help facilitate and enable them to regain some momentum if in fact he is the one that assumes the leadership role.”^[26] And on another occasion he said, “There is no question that if we can take him down that will just disrupt the organization to the point to where it would be ineffective for a long period of time.”^[27] One anti-Masri tactic Caldwell mentioned was portraying Masri as foreigner who has no significant ties to the Iraqi people.^[28]

According to the Associated Press, the Bush administration posted a $200,000 bounty on Masri even before Zarqawi’s death.^[10] Now, the reward is up to $5 million.^[29]

[edit] His alias

Abu Hamza al-Muhajir has been the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq since 12 June 2006. He replaced Abu Musab al-Zarqawi after Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. air strike on 7 June, 2006.^[30]

Not much is known about him. 'Muhajir' is thought to be a pseudonym.^[31] Al-Qaeda experts were surprised when it was announced he succeeded Zarqawi.^[30] Some analysts identify Muhajir as an Egyptian militant Abu Ayyub al-Masri, who trained in Afghanistan, formed al Qaeda's first cell in Baghdad, and is sought by the U.S. military as a Zarqawi aide.^[32]. As of 15 June 2006, the U.S. military has confirmed this identification.^[33]There has been some debate as to the accuracy of the U.S. military's claim. On July 6, 2006 an Egyptian newspaper indicated that Mamduh Ismail, an Egyptian lawyer, reported that Sharif Hazaa, or Abu Ayyub al-Masri, has been in a Cairo prison for the past seven years.^[34] According to American and Jordanian officials, however, al-Masri is not Sharif Hazaa, but instead an individual by the name of Yusuf al-Dardiri. [2][3]

Like Zarqawi, Muhajir is vehemently anti-Shi'ite, and intends to continue the campaign his predecessor started.^[32].

A claim posted on an Islamic website said that Abu Hamza al-Muhajir personally killed two U.S. Army soldiers who disappeared after an ambush in Iraq on June 16, 2006, as a means of "making his presence felt." Their bodies were later found mutilated and booby-trapped in Yusufiya, Iraq on June 19, 2006. However Rita Katz, the head of SITE institute, said she believed that message was a fake. [4][5] [6]

On September 20, 2006, Abu Hamza al-Muhajir claimed responsibility for personally killing Turkish hostage Murat Yuce in a video that was first released in August of 2004. Murat Yuce was killed with three gunshot wounds to the head in a video released on the internet. He was kidnapped in late July of 2004 along with a co-worker named Aytullah Gezmen. Aytullah Gezmen was released in September of 2004 after "repenting" working for the Americans. [7] [8]

Muhajir means "immigrant", "emigrant" or "exile" in ******Arabic, and is often used to refer to the group of the Prophet Muhammad and his followers who fled to Medina (the Hijra). This may indicate that he is not from Iraq,^[35] but rather imply a person who was an "exile" in his own land, as per the original meaning of muhajir. In recent weeks Zarqawi's group has tried to establish a more "local" profile in an attempt to appeal to potential Iraqi recruits, and the name "Muhajir" may alternatively indicate an Iraqi Sunni Muslim who opposed Saddam Hussein. It is known that several radical Sunnis native to Iraq - among them several individuals who were close to Zarqawi and initially believed likely candidated for successorship - were influenced by the former leader's 1990s campaign of reislamization which was initially hailed by Islamist circles (the prime motivation for the secular regime was to make itself more appealing to religiously motivated Iraqis and other Arabs) but dismissed as a sham later.^[36]

[edit] See also

• Takfiri

[edit] References