Aussie E
06-24-2004, 07:25 PM
from www.theaustralian.news.com.au
Al-Zarqawi no terrorist: wife
June 25, 2004
THE wife of Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi, the militant suspected of masterminding the wave of terror attacks rocking Iraq, said in an interview published today that her husband could not be responsible for the deaths of women and children.
The terrorist's wife, Umm Mohammed, said in an interview with Jordan's second-largest newspaper, ad-Dustour, that: "I haven't seen my husband since 1999, when he left for Afghanistan."
But Umm Mohammed, one of two wives al-Zarqawi is said to have, said: "There's no way that my husband could be a terrorist. He is friendly and a good man."
"He would not recommend the killings of children, women and elderly people as they're trying to portray him."
Ad-Dustour said al-Zarqawi's four children - two boys and two girls aged between five and 12 - shared the three-room "modest" home in Hay al-Kasart district, a poor neighbourhood in Zarqa, 27 kilometres north-east of the Jordanian capital, Amman.
Asked how she survived financially, the veiled woman said: "I have Allah."
Repeated attempts by The Associated Press to interview the al-Zarqawis in recent weeks, including today, have been turned down.
Al-Zarqawi, 38, spent most of the last decade in jail after being convicted of illegal possession of firearms, Jordanian security officials said. In 1999, he left to Afghanistan after he was released from jail under a general amnesty by Jordan's King Abdullah II.
His stint in jail followed four years of seclusion at home, where he hosted Muslim clergymen who taught him the Quran, Islam's holy book, his late mother, Umm Sayel, told The Associated Press in an interview last year. Umm Sayel died of cancer earlier this year.
Neighbours recall little about al-Zarqawi, but say that in his teens, he drank alcohol and frequented bars.
Al-Zarqawi, whose al-Qaeda-linked terrorist network claimed responsibility for today's bloody rash of bombings and attacks across Iraq that left about 100 people dead and 320 wounded, dropped out of school in the 11th grade.
He later worked briefly for Zarqa municipality as a technician before he became an observant Muslim, Umm Mohammed said.
Al-Zarqawi, who took the name after the city he lived in, hails from the prominent Bani Hassan Bedouin Jordanian tribe. A distant uncle who died recently was a member of Jordan's Senate, whose members are hand picked by the king. As a gesture, King Abdullah visited the family home to pay condolences.
However, al-Zarqawi's late father came from the poor branch of the tribe, the security officials said. In a visit to the family home last February, an AP reporter saw no furniture, except a couple of mattresses on the floor of what Umm Sayel then described as her "living room".
Umm Mohammed said her family has no television because her husband used to say it "corrupts generations".
Al-Zarqawi, whose real name is Ahmad Fadhil Nazzal al-Khalayleh, is on the US most wanted list. US authorities have offered $US10 million ($14.58 million) reward for information leading to his capture, saying he was trying to set up a network of foreign fighters in Iraq on behalf of al-Qaeda.
He was blamed for several deadly attacks targeting US-led coalition forces in Iraq. Statements attributed to him have claimed responsibility for beheading hostages in Iraq. One recent statement included a threat to kill Iraq's interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi.
Intelligence officials told the AP in Jordan that al-Zarqawi is believed to have at least 2,000 militants working for him in Iraq.
In Jordan, a military court convicted him in absentia in a terrorism conspiracy targeting Americans and Israelis in Jordan that began with the assassination of US aid worker Laurence Foley in October 2002. In April, the court sentenced al-Zarqawi to death in absentia.
Al-Zarqawi is also accused of masterminding a foiled terror attack that targeted the intelligence department, the prime minister's office and the US Embassy in Amman. Authorities uncovered the plot in April and arrested six militants who said in televised confessions that they had plotted chemical attacks in Jordan under direct instructions from al-Zarqawi.
Ad-Dustour also quoted al-Zarqawi's five-year-old son, Musab, as saying he misses his father. "I want my father back. I want to see him. I love my dad."
Al-Zarqawi also has another wife who followed him to Afghanistan and the family has not heard from her for at least four years.
Hitler no anti-semit: Eva Bruan
Al-Zarqawi no terrorist: wife
June 25, 2004
THE wife of Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi, the militant suspected of masterminding the wave of terror attacks rocking Iraq, said in an interview published today that her husband could not be responsible for the deaths of women and children.
The terrorist's wife, Umm Mohammed, said in an interview with Jordan's second-largest newspaper, ad-Dustour, that: "I haven't seen my husband since 1999, when he left for Afghanistan."
But Umm Mohammed, one of two wives al-Zarqawi is said to have, said: "There's no way that my husband could be a terrorist. He is friendly and a good man."
"He would not recommend the killings of children, women and elderly people as they're trying to portray him."
Ad-Dustour said al-Zarqawi's four children - two boys and two girls aged between five and 12 - shared the three-room "modest" home in Hay al-Kasart district, a poor neighbourhood in Zarqa, 27 kilometres north-east of the Jordanian capital, Amman.
Asked how she survived financially, the veiled woman said: "I have Allah."
Repeated attempts by The Associated Press to interview the al-Zarqawis in recent weeks, including today, have been turned down.
Al-Zarqawi, 38, spent most of the last decade in jail after being convicted of illegal possession of firearms, Jordanian security officials said. In 1999, he left to Afghanistan after he was released from jail under a general amnesty by Jordan's King Abdullah II.
His stint in jail followed four years of seclusion at home, where he hosted Muslim clergymen who taught him the Quran, Islam's holy book, his late mother, Umm Sayel, told The Associated Press in an interview last year. Umm Sayel died of cancer earlier this year.
Neighbours recall little about al-Zarqawi, but say that in his teens, he drank alcohol and frequented bars.
Al-Zarqawi, whose al-Qaeda-linked terrorist network claimed responsibility for today's bloody rash of bombings and attacks across Iraq that left about 100 people dead and 320 wounded, dropped out of school in the 11th grade.
He later worked briefly for Zarqa municipality as a technician before he became an observant Muslim, Umm Mohammed said.
Al-Zarqawi, who took the name after the city he lived in, hails from the prominent Bani Hassan Bedouin Jordanian tribe. A distant uncle who died recently was a member of Jordan's Senate, whose members are hand picked by the king. As a gesture, King Abdullah visited the family home to pay condolences.
However, al-Zarqawi's late father came from the poor branch of the tribe, the security officials said. In a visit to the family home last February, an AP reporter saw no furniture, except a couple of mattresses on the floor of what Umm Sayel then described as her "living room".
Umm Mohammed said her family has no television because her husband used to say it "corrupts generations".
Al-Zarqawi, whose real name is Ahmad Fadhil Nazzal al-Khalayleh, is on the US most wanted list. US authorities have offered $US10 million ($14.58 million) reward for information leading to his capture, saying he was trying to set up a network of foreign fighters in Iraq on behalf of al-Qaeda.
He was blamed for several deadly attacks targeting US-led coalition forces in Iraq. Statements attributed to him have claimed responsibility for beheading hostages in Iraq. One recent statement included a threat to kill Iraq's interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi.
Intelligence officials told the AP in Jordan that al-Zarqawi is believed to have at least 2,000 militants working for him in Iraq.
In Jordan, a military court convicted him in absentia in a terrorism conspiracy targeting Americans and Israelis in Jordan that began with the assassination of US aid worker Laurence Foley in October 2002. In April, the court sentenced al-Zarqawi to death in absentia.
Al-Zarqawi is also accused of masterminding a foiled terror attack that targeted the intelligence department, the prime minister's office and the US Embassy in Amman. Authorities uncovered the plot in April and arrested six militants who said in televised confessions that they had plotted chemical attacks in Jordan under direct instructions from al-Zarqawi.
Ad-Dustour also quoted al-Zarqawi's five-year-old son, Musab, as saying he misses his father. "I want my father back. I want to see him. I love my dad."
Al-Zarqawi also has another wife who followed him to Afghanistan and the family has not heard from her for at least four years.
Hitler no anti-semit: Eva Bruan