Zarqawi's Minions in Gaza?
Debka, a site which relies heavily on contacts within the Israeli intelligence and military communities, is reporting that Zarqawi has set up a cell in Gaza. The Foreign Broadcast Information Service carried a version of this report and describes Debka as a "popular independent, sensationalist, electronic newsletter with penchant for conspiracy theories in its reporting on international terrorism, security affairs, and espionage." Thus, I would take this report with a large grain of salt. However, I have found some Debka's reporting to be ahead of the curve, so this report is worth considering.
The account begins:
Since early December, a branch of Abu Musab al Zarqawi’s al Qaeda in Iraq has been running a forward base in Gaza City preparatory to in-depth attacks in Israel, according to DEBKAfile’s exclusive counter-terror sources. It joins the Al Qaeda-Palestine cell established some weeks ago in the Gaza Strip.
A high-ranking Israeli army officer confided to us: “For years, we fought al Qaeda in unpublicized encounters in remote places far from our borders. Now we have to admit they are here, on our very threshold.” The officer went on to warn: “The conjunction of al Qaeda and Palestinian terrorist structures confronts Israel with a grave strategic threat.”
The report further notes:
Intelligence chiefs informed the prime minister that the new cell linked up with the local branch of the Palestinian terror umbrella, the Popular Resistance Committees, which is headed by Shekh Khalil Kuka. The PRC welcomed the newcomer by making its publicity outlets available. Since Monday, Dec. 5, PRC Internet websites have been posting daily bulletins on Zarqawi’s attacks on US and Iraqi targets which often run to 20-30 communiques a day.
These bulletins are now released simultaneously in Baghdad, Gaza, Rafah and Khan Younes. In Gaza, they appear alongside a PRC statement declaring: “The Palestinian and Zarqawi’s struggles are one and the same.”
I am looking to get my hands on copies of the PRC statements. If true, this is an interesting example of how the terror network operates. A convergance of interests, including common enemies, allows these various terrorist entities to work together.
The whole report is worth reading.
The account begins:
Since early December, a branch of Abu Musab al Zarqawi’s al Qaeda in Iraq has been running a forward base in Gaza City preparatory to in-depth attacks in Israel, according to DEBKAfile’s exclusive counter-terror sources. It joins the Al Qaeda-Palestine cell established some weeks ago in the Gaza Strip.
A high-ranking Israeli army officer confided to us: “For years, we fought al Qaeda in unpublicized encounters in remote places far from our borders. Now we have to admit they are here, on our very threshold.” The officer went on to warn: “The conjunction of al Qaeda and Palestinian terrorist structures confronts Israel with a grave strategic threat.”
The report further notes:
Intelligence chiefs informed the prime minister that the new cell linked up with the local branch of the Palestinian terror umbrella, the Popular Resistance Committees, which is headed by Shekh Khalil Kuka. The PRC welcomed the newcomer by making its publicity outlets available. Since Monday, Dec. 5, PRC Internet websites have been posting daily bulletins on Zarqawi’s attacks on US and Iraqi targets which often run to 20-30 communiques a day.
These bulletins are now released simultaneously in Baghdad, Gaza, Rafah and Khan Younes. In Gaza, they appear alongside a PRC statement declaring: “The Palestinian and Zarqawi’s struggles are one and the same.”
I am looking to get my hands on copies of the PRC statements. If true, this is an interesting example of how the terror network operates. A convergance of interests, including common enemies, allows these various terrorist entities to work together.
The whole report is worth reading.
posted by Thomas Joscelyn at 8:52 PM
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