(Christian Science Monitor) Faye Bowers and Peter Grier - Shadi Abdallah, a Jordanian currently serving a four-year prison term in Germany, once had to choose between serving as Osama bin Laden's bodyguard or joining Abu Musab al Zarqawi's al-Tawhid organization. Abdallah's interrogations depict a world riven by internal rivalries, with different groups fighting over men and money. Says Bruce Hoffman, a terror expert at RAND Corp. in Washington, "It confirms that Zarqawi was running a parallel organization - not completely divorced from al-Qaeda, but separate. And that [Zarqawi] competes with Osama bin Laden and sees himself as somewhat of an emulator, or even a successor in the Muslim world." Al-Tawhid is based on the same religious tenets as al-Qaeda, but Zarqawi's raison d'etre is to overthrow the royal family of Jordan. Abdallah named cell leaders in Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Nuremberg, and Wiesbaden, as well as heads of cells for Britain, Denmark, and the Czech Republic. German authorities acknowledge that Abdallah will require witness protection for the rest of his life.
2004-05-10 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive