Al-Qaeda executes Iraqi colonel

2005-03-27 10:17

Dubai - Loyalists of al-Qaeda's Iraq frontman, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, posted a video on their website on Sunday showing the execution of a man who said he was an Iraqi colonel.

The man, who identified himself as Colonel Ryad Kateh Olyway, was shown being shot in the head blindfold by a masked man after "confessing" that he had "collaborated" with US forces in Iraq.

"The religious court of the Organisation of al-Qaeda of Jihad in the Land of Two Rivers has decided to implement God's order on this infidel ... to serve as a lesson to others," said the gunman before shooting his captive.

The shooter was flanked by two masked men armed with assault rifles who posed in front of a banner carrying the organisation's name.

The captive was earlier shown sitting on a chair, with his hands tied behind his back, saying: "I worked at the interior ministry to collaborate with the American forces.

"I gave the names and addresses of my fellow officers in the former army" of Saddam Hussein's regime, said Olyway.

"I saw terrible things at the ministry of interior, many Iraqi female prisoners subjected to various kinds of torture, humiliation and harm to their honour," he said.

"I also spied on other ministries for the interior ministry."

Olyway added: "There is a lot of confessionalism at the interior ministry where there is a large presence of Kurdish elements as well as members of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (a Shiite religious party)."

Islamic militant groups, including al-Qaeda, have sought to exploit the disenchantment of Iraq's ousted Sunni Arab elite by targeting both the long oppressed Shiite Arab majority and the Kurds.

"I am very sorry for what I did, and I urge my fellow officers at the interior ministry to know the right path ... as the hands of the heroic Iraqi fighters will undoubtedly reach them," Olyway added.

The video showed close-up shots of what it said was his interior ministry badge which mentioned his position as "liaison officer."

Zarqawi's group has claimed responsibility for scores of deadly attacks in Iraq since the April 2003 fall of Saddam's Sunni Arab-dominated regime.

In December, al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden named the Jordanian-born Zarqawi "emir" of his followers in Iraq. The United States has placed $25m bounties on both men.

- AFP