(AFP/Washington Times)- Jordanian officials have stated that al Qaeda leader Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi ordered the slaying of Laurence Foley, a U.S. diplomat stationed in Amman. They also disclosed that al-Zarqawi's deputy, Ahmad Yussef, is presently in Syria. Last December, Jordan's Prime Minister Ali Abu Ragheb stated that al-Zarqawi was hiding in northern Iraq. After being hospitalized in Baghdad, he is believed to have sought refuge in a mountainous area along the Kurdish-Iranian border controlled by Ansar al-Islam, the al Qaeda offshoot that has fought against Jalal Talabani's anti-Saddam PUK forces. Saddam Hussein has reportedly backed Ansar al-Islam with arms and funding to fight the Kurdish militias. Iraq may have transferred chemical materials to Ansar al-Islam, including v-x nerve agent.
2003-02-05 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive