Al-Qaida in Iraq reportedly names new leader

CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida in Iraq said in a Web statement posted Monday that a militant named Abu Hamza al-Muhajer was the group’s new leader.

Al-Muhajer succeeds Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed Wednesday by a U.S. airstrike on his hideout northeast of Baghdad, Iraq.

Senior U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism officials told NBC News that they are uncertain whether al-Mujahir, named as successor to al-Zarqawi by al-Qaida in Iraq, is a new player or just a new name for the man the U.S. thought would replace the terrorist chief, Abu Ayub al Masri.

Initially, the officials told NBC, the name al-Mujahir did not ring any bells in their organizations and suggested it could be a previously unknown nom de guerre for a previously known member of al-Qaida or someone who has risen rapidly in the organization in recent weeks, as a result of the coalition's success in taking down higher-ranking members.

Al-Muhajer — a pseudonym, as most militants are known by — is Arabic for “immigrant,” which suggested he was not Iraqi.

Experience and knowledge
Al-Muhajer is a common alias among Islamic militants, referring to the “muhajireen,” Islam’s early converts who fled persecution by idol worshippers in Mecca to join the Prophet Muhammad in Medina. Mecca and Medina are Islam’s holiest cities in western Saudi Arabia.

“Al-Qaida in Iraq’s council has agreed on Sheik Abu Hamza al-Muhajer to be the successor for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in the leadership of the organization,” said a statement signed by the group on an Islamic militant Web forum where it often posts messages.

It said al-Muhajer was “a beloved brother with jihadi (holy war) experience and a strong footing in knowledge.”

“We ask almighty God to strengthen him that he may accomplish what Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, God have mercy on his soul, began,” it said.

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