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Egyptian to succeed Zarqawi?
08/06/2006 17:21 - (SA)
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| Abu al-Masri who is tipped to succeed slain Al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. |
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Baghdad - The United States military predicted on Thursday that an Egyptian-born lieutenant, known as Abu al-Masri, will succeed slain Al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Major-General William Caldwell of the US forces said the military has been aware of al-Masri's movements for some time and believe he first came to Iraq in 2002.
"He may have helped establish the first al-Qaeda cell in the Baghdad area," said Caldwell, adding that he has been involved in making roadside bombs and originally trained in Afghanistan.
While Caldwell described the death of Zarqawi as "serious blow" to Al-Qaeda, he was quick to emphasize that the organization would probably continue its activities in Iraq.
"We must be careful not to be overly optimistic, as one man's life does not signal an end to an insurgency," he said, adding that Zarqawi had "likely predicted his capture for some time," and made preparations for a successor.
Tacking Zarqawi since December 2004
He told reporters to expect new attacks by Zarqawi's lieutenants in the near future in order to show that they still had a viable organization.
Caldwell related a painstaking operation of tracking Zarqawi since December 2004 and particularly in the past six weeks, which involved tracking the movements of his associates to reach the leader himself.
"Now that we have got him, it allows us to go after the other targets we have been using to track his movements," the general said, adding that a "treasure trove" of intelligence documents related to the insurgency had been found in the house following the strike.
The same night as the attack, another 17 operations against Al-Qaeda militants were carried out in and around the Baghdad area, said Caldwell.
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