Monday, July 23, 2007
Insurgent group leader speaks out about group's operations
Insurgency
(Al Hayat) - Abu Muhammad al-Zubaydi, the head of the political bureau of the insurgent group known as the Al-Rashidin Army, told London-based "Al-Hayat" that his group has been active in Iraq since late March 2003, the daily reported on July 19.
Al-Zubaydi described his group's structure in detail, saying it has special wings for military training and weapons training, as well as a sophisticated intelligence network that gathers, analyzes, and verifies information. It also has a so-called surveillance unit, which monitors the movements of U.S. forces. "These are all linked to the general staff that plans and times the attacks," al-Zubaydi said.
He added that the group rejects the political process in Iraq, and refuses to be lured into disputes with other insurgent groups. Al-Zubaydi said his group does not subscribe to sectarian or takfiri ideology, which labels other Muslims as infidels, saying: "We are opposed to Al-Takfir. We do not practice it and we do not believe in it." The group also rejects the killing of civilians "under any pretext."
"Al-Hayat" reported that the insurgent group differs from other insurgent groups in its outlook for a future Iraqi government. Whereas other groups claim to support the establishment of an Islamic state in various forms, the Al-Rashidin Army believes Iraqis should agree together on what type of state will serve their religion, their country, and future generations.
Muhammad al-Zubaydi talked about the Al-Rashidin Army's media presence and the importance of the Internet to his group, "Al-Hayat" reported on July 19. Al-Zubaydi would not give specifics when asked about the average number of operations carried out by his group, except to say that "operations are carried out daily and some of these are filmed and posted on the army's Internet site."
He added, "the Al-Rashidin Army's Internet site attracts thousands of readers and this figure is constantly rising." He noted that several regional satellite channels have aired a recently produced video by the group that depicts attacks on U.S. forces, and said a new video is in production that will show "the qualitative operations that the army has carried out." He added that the Al-Rashidin Army began posting a monthly series on its activities at the start of 2007.
COMMENT: The Al-Rashidin Army sounds like more of a nationalist resistance group than an insurgent group. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Abu Muhammad al-Zubaydi, Al-Rashidin Army, insurgent group, internet
