Abu Usama al-Tunisi - A Reverse Mark Twain Moment? - Updated
Posted by StormWarning on 29 Sep 2007 at 11:57 am | Tagged as: Current Affairs, International Issues, Iraq, Jihad, Opinions
The Internet is all aflutter with “news” of Abu Usama al-Tunisi’s death (Tunisi is/was the likely successor of Abu Ayyub al-Masri). Despite the announcement made by Chief of Staff of Multinational Corps-Iraq, BG Joseph Anderson, some experts like Evan Kohlmann have questions that lie in the fact that this is the second time that al-Tunisi’s death has been announced.
Kohlmann’s article on the Counterterrorism Blog, “A Tale of Two Tunisis? Questions About the Latest Al-Qaida Casualty in Iraq,” as well as his continuing work on Globalterroralert.com make his insights worthy of consideration (actually, that’s an understatement). Kohlmann notes is his CTB post that “this is not the first time that Abu Usama al-Tunisi has been reported killed. Over a year ago (in May 2006), Al-Qaida supporters posted online announcements declaring the “martyrdom” of Abu Usama al-Tunisi. The news of al-Tunisi’s death was distributed on, among other places, the highly credible Al-Hesbah Islamic Network–which has been directly endorsed in past propaganda films produced by Al-Qaida in Iraq.”
“The martyrdom of Abu Usama al-Tunisi, the commander of [Al-Qaida’s] Aeisha Brigade… He caused much desperation and anxiety among the Americans and he spread frustration among their soldiers. The Americans knew Abu Usama al-Tunisi very well, because he was one of the commanders who led the Battle of Abu Anas al-Shami during which he served as the military commander responsible for one of the four frontlines of the mission… Abu Usama first entered Iraq two years ago. He used to always smile when talking to his brothers and had a profound faith in Allah. Abu Usama was killed in the area of Al-Yusifiya during an air strike that also killed four other brothers.”
The question may not be whether al-Tunisi is dead, but whether he met his virgins over a year ago. Kohlmann questions the discrepancy of today’s announcement by General Anderson and the May 2006 announcement of Al-Hesbah Islamic Network:
Is it possible that there are two separate Abu Usama al-Tunisis serving as commanders for Al-Qaida in Iraq? (unlikely). Given that it is unlikely that there are twin terrorists, the endless possibilities include:
- that Al-Qaida supporters were engaged in a deliberate misinformation campaign on their own password-protected chat forums
- or the U.S. military has potentially been the victim of questionable intelligence.
One of the characteristics of al Qaeda is that they will be prompt and accurate in announcing the martyrdom of its commanders. I’ll go with Kohlmann’s views.
UPDATE: This morning (Oct. 2, 2007) there are reports that al Qaeda in Iraq is calling al-Tunisi a martyr.
The statement, which could not be independently verified, did not say when or how al-Tunisi died. The U.S. Central Command reported last week that a U.S. airstrike south of Baghdad killed al-Tunisi and two other terror suspects.
This is also discussed at Think Progress, and Wake Up America.
Abu Ayyub al Masri, Abu Usama al Tunisi, Al Hesbah Islamic Network, al Qaeda in Iraq, Evan Kohlmann
Good piece, thanks for the link and nice new dogs.
I like the colors, easy on the eyes and easy to read.
My thoughts are that Al-Qaeda was pronouncing him dead so that Abu Usama al-Tunisi could escape the attention of the American hunters that were after him. Articles announcing his death talk about him having been at the location of his demise for weeks, maybe months. Sounds like he was laying low. Hiding from assassins is exhausting work.