Iraq Jihadist Group Names New Chief
Iraq-based jihadist group Ansar al-Islam has named a new chief, the SITE Intelligence Group on Thursday quoted a statement posted on Islamist Internet forums as saying.
The statement said Abu Hashim Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Ibrahim has been chosen to lead the group, but it did not mention its previous leader, Abu Abdullah Al Shafil.
Iraqi troops arrested Shafil in Baghdad in early May 2010, U.S. forces said at the time.
Shafil "is believed to have served the terrorist organization since its inception" and "held association with Osama Bin Laden," a statement by U.S. forces said.
The insurgent group named Ibrahim as its new chief on Wednesday, SITE said.
"Ansar al-Islam's Command pledged allegiance to Ibrahim and identified the group's new banner and the banners of its military and Sharia (Islamic law) departments," the U.S.-based monitoring group said.
Ansar al-Islam was created in 2001 by veterans of the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan and had its headquarters in Iraqi Kurdistan, near the border with Iran.
Shortly before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, U.S. special forces and fighters from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan fought Ansar al-Islam whose fighters fled their headquarters.
In September 2003, many Ansar al-Islam members formed the soon-to-be renowned militant group Ansar al-Sunna.
Source: Agence France Presse
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