Al-Qaida in Iraq leaders exit country
Washington Post — The leader of the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaida in Iraq and several of his top lieutenants have left Iraq for Afghanistan, according to its leaders and Iraqi intelligence officials, a possible further sign of what Iraqi and U.S. officials call growing disarray and weakness in the organization.
U.S. officials say there are indications al-Qaida is diverting new recruits from
More..going to Iraq, where its fighters have suffered dramatic setbacks, to Afghanistan and Pakistan, where they appear to be making gains.
"We do believe al-Qaida is doing some measure of reassessment regarding the continued viability of its fight in Iraq and whether Iraq should remain the focus of its efforts," said Brig. Gen. Brian Keller, the senior intelligence officer for Gen. David Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, in an e-mail.
Some al-Qaida in Iraq members blamed the group's troubles on failed leadership by its head since 2006, an Egyptian who has used the pseudonyms Abu Hamza al-Muhajer and Abu Ayyub al-Masri.
Some fighters said they have become so frustrated by Masri that they recently split off to form their own Sunni insurgent group.
Abdullah al-Ansari, an al-Qaida in Iraq leader in Fallujah, told a Washington Post special correspondent that Masri had traveled to Afghanistan through Iran and designated Abu Khalil al-Souri, the pseudonym of another top leader of the group who came to Iraq in 2003, to run the organization in his absence.
"It's not known yet whether he would come back or not," he said, referring to Masri.
Col. Hatim Abdullah, an Iraqi intelligence official in the Anbar province capital of Ramadi, said Masri and two foreign fighters were believed to have crossed into Iran on June 12. He said the information was based in part on interrogations of al-Qaida in Iraq members.
Makki Fawaz al-Milehmi, a senior leader of the group north of Fallujah, said in an interview with the Post special correspondent that Masri has left Iraq twice before and was going to meet with "some of our brothers" in Afghanistan.
Masri "did not escape or turn his back to us or abandon al-Qaida in Iraq," said Ali al-Qaisi, 32, the commander of a recruitment unit who lost a leg during a battle with U.S. troops.
"We have been informed he left Iraq to Afghanistan for several things such as reviewing the situation of al-Qaida in Iraq with bin Laden."
A recent communique to al-Qaida in Iraq leaders suggests that a fighter known as Abdul Khalil al-Souri has taken on an increased leadership role.
Souri, largely unknown outside of al-Qaida in Iraq, is part of a group of 33 fighters, known as "the first line," who came to the country in 2003 with Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, the founder of al-Qaida in Iraq, according to Milehmi, the leader north of Fallujah.
Abu Taha al-Lihebi, an al-Qaida in Iraq leader in eastern Anbar province who recently split from the group, said one of Masri's key errors was fiercely attacking the Awakening movement, former Sunni insurgents who are now paid by the U.S. military, instead of trying to win back their support.
Indiscriminate attacks on civilians also caused the group to lose the support of local Sunni residents, Lihebi said.
"Al-Qaida losing the Sunni population is like a human being losing the ability to drink water," he said
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Added: Jul 31 2008 In: middle_east
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