How Many Top Lieutenants Does Zarqawi Have?

from Various Sources

01 October 2005

Does Zarqawi have an infinite supply of lieutenants/ deputies/ aides/ associates/ second-in-commands /etc? Or, do we just arbitrarily declare that every 100th insurgent we capture or kill is "a top aide" to Zarqawi?

Below is an almost comprehensive list (I'm sure I missed a few) of Zarqawi's "top lieutenants" we've captured, killed, or acknowledged over the last two and a half years. I count 33.

Abu Azzam (9/27/05)

"The No. 2 official in the al-Qaida in Iraq organization."
"The top deputy to Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi."

Mohammed Salah Sutton, aka Abu Zubair (8/14/05)

"A lieutenant of al-Qaida terror boss Abu Musab al Zarqawi."

Abu Abd al-Aziz (7/13/05)

"Zarqawi's 'main leader in Baghdad'"

Khalid Suleiman Darwish, aka Abu Alghadiya (6/26/05)

A Syrian dentist[…]was described by Arab media as the 'number two' in Iraq's al Qaeda network and tipped to succeed its leader Abu Musab Al Zarqawi."

Mohammed Khalaf Shakar, aka Abu Talha (6/17/05)

"A top lieutenant of terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi."

Mullah Mahdi, aka Abu Abdul Rahman (6/4/05)

"Suspected deputy of terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi"

Abu Karrar (5/27/05)

"The Washington Post quoted a Zarqawi lieutenant by the nom-de-guerre of Abu Karrar as saying the Jordanian militant was shot and wounded in fighting with US forces near the western city of Ramadi."

Mullah Kamel al-Assawadi (5/25/05)

"Described as one of al-Zarqawi's top lieutenants."

Agha Umar (5/25/05)

"A top aide to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi"

Amar Adnan Muhammad Hamzah al-Zubaydi, aka Abu al-Abbas (5/9/05)

"A high-ranking aide to terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi."

Ghassan Muhammed Amin Husayn al-Rawi (4/26/05)

"A key associate of Iraq's most wanted militant, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi."

Hamza Ali Ahmed al-Wdimizyar, aka Abu Majid (beginning of April-05)

"Zarqawi associate"

Salman Aref Abulkadir Khwamurad al-Zardowe, aka Abu Sharif (beginning of April-05)

"Zarqawi associate"

Taifor Abulsattar Malallah (3/8/05)

"One of the 'princes' of Musab al-Zarqawi's terrorist group."

Talib Mikhlif Arsan Walman al-Dulaymi, aka Abu Qutaybah (2/25/05)

"Iraqi forces have captured a man described as a trusted aide to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi."

Mohammed Najm Ibrahim, aka Mohammed Najm (2/25/05)

"Zarqawi lieutenant"

Adel Mujtaba, aka Abu Rim (2/20/05)

"A propaganda chief of al-Qaeda's frontman in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi"

Anat Mohammed Hamat al-Kays, aka Abu Alid (1/28/05)

"High-level Zarqawi lieutenant"

Sami Mohammed Ali Said Jaaf, aka Abu Omar Kurdi (1/25/05)

"A senior aide to Abu Musab al Zarqawi"

"The 'most lethal' top lieutenant of Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq."

Ismael Jeddan (1/23/05)

"The raids also netted a man identified as Ismael Jeddan, an alleged associate of al-Zarqawi."

Ali Hamad Ardani Yasin Isawi (1/20/05)

"top lieutenant"

Inad Mohammed Qais (1/20/05)

"The deputy prime minister for national security affairs, Barham Salih, later told a news conference that authorities have arrested a third Zarqawi lieutenant."

Salah Salman Idaaj Matar Luhaybi, aka Abu Sayf (12/31/04)

"Zarqawi's chief of operations in Baghdad"

Fadil Hussain Ahmed al-Kurdi, aka Abu Ubaydah al-Kurdi, aka Ridha (12/30/04)

"A senior member of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's network."

Abdul Aziz Sa'dun Ahmed Hamduni, aka Abu Ahmed (12/22/04)

"Zarqawi-linked leader"

Hassan Ibrahim Farhan Zyda (12/14/04)

"An aide to Iraq's most-wanted man, Jordanian Islamist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi"

Abu Saeed (11/26/04)

"A lieutenant of Iraq's most feared terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi"

Nameless (10/23/04)

The US military has arrested a 'senior leader' in the network run by Jordanian mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi."

Omar Yusef Juma'a, aka Abu Anas al-Shami (9/25/04)

"A senior aide of the Jordanian al Qaeda mastermind, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi"

Umar Baziyani (6/4/04)

"A top aide of al-Qaeda suspect Abu Musab al-Zarqawi"
"His capture removes one of Zarqawi's most valuable officers from his network."

Abu Mohammed Hamza (2/24/04)

"A key lieutenant to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi."

Hassan Ghul (2/23/04)

"The letter was found on al-Zarqawi lieutenant Hassan Ghul, a Pakistani captured in Iraq."

The letter in reference was a "17-page letter to senior al Qaeda leaders written by terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who asked for help starting a Muslim civil war between Iraqi Sunnis and Shiites."

Nameless (4/30/03)

"An associate of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been captured in the Baghdad area."

From the looks of it, I think everyone in Iraq is about two-degrees from Zarqawi.

Note also that after many of these announcements, we were told that it would be a "fatal blow" to the Iraqi insurgency or that we were oh-so close to capturing Zarqawi himself.

Comment: The article above, as well as the next, show clearly the joke that constitutes US reporting from Iraq. It is propaganda, pure and simple, designed to hoodwink the US public into thinking that all is well, that the light is at the end of the tunnel, etc.

At some point, the best weapon is ridicule, which is what the next article does:

Make Your Own

Headline:

[top | important | most wanted | close | key] al-Zarqawi [aide | lieutenant | associate | "cell prince" | figure] [captured | arrested]

Dateline:

(some date) (some place in Iraq)

Body:

[Iraqi | US | US and Iraqi] forces have [nabbed | captured | arrested] [a | one | two] [senior | middle] [figure | operations chief | terrorist operative] of [Jordanian | al-Qaeda-linked | Iraq's most wanted] terrorist Abu Musab Zarqawi.

(arabic name), also know as (other arabic name), was [detained | picked up] on (some date) during an [Iraqi police | US military | US and Iraqi] [raid | road block | operation] in (some place in Iraq).

[spokesman | US General | Iraqi minister] said ["major catch" | "significant impact" | "big step forward"].

Some examples:

May 23, 2006

Arrested Al Qaeda Leader Was Top Zarqawi Aide

Jordan identified the arrested Al Qaeda in Iraq official on Tuesday as a top lieutenant of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was lured to the kingdom to be arrested there.

June 16, 2005

U.S. Says It Has Captured Al Qaeda Leader for Mosul Area

American and Iraqi military forces have captured Al Qaeda's top leader in the Mosul area of Northern Iraq, the United States military announced today, a man who associates said always wore a suicide vest and vowed that he would never be taken alive.

The military described the captured insurgent, Muhammad Khalaf Shakar, also known as Abu Talha, as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's most trusted operations agent in Iraq.

[…]

"He was known as the 'emir of Mosul,' " Lt. Gen. James T. Conway said of Mr. Shakar during a Pentagon briefing today. "He is a key lieutenant in Al Qaeda – that has been established. .."

[…]

The general said he believed the capture could reduce the rate of insurgent attacks in Northern Iraq. "In terms of impact, we think it will be significant," he said. "He has been in charge of the operation up there for a long time. Mosul, as you know, has become more and more a focal point for insurgent activities. So we have to think that the No. 2 won't be as capable as he."

June 5, 2005

Militant linked to Zarqawi arrested

Iraqi forces have arrested a senior militant leader who is linked to Jordanian mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and believed responsible for overseeing an array of deadly attacks in Iraq.

A Defence Ministry spokesman says Mullah Mahdi, sometimes known as Abu Abdul Rahman, was detained after a raid backed by US troops in the northern city of Mosul on Friday.

May 25, 2005

Top aide to al-Zarqawi arrested north of Baghdad

"The Iraqi security forces backed by US troops captured on Monday Agha Umar, a top aide for Zarqawi, in Baquba, some 60 km northeast of Baghdad," the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

May 25, 2005

US: al-Zarqawi aides arrested

Described as "one of the most wanted people" in northern Iraq, Mullah Kamel al-Assawadi was arrested after he allegedly tried to pass an Iraqi checkpoint, a US military statement said on Wednesday.

[…]

The Iraqi Defence Ministry also announced the arrest in Baquba on Tuesday of al-Zarqawi's secretary for Diyala province, Agha Omar, without providing further details. [see above]

May 9, 2005

Gains seen after new arrest of al-Zarqawi aide

Both men arrested are said to be close aides to al-Zarqawi, whose group is thought to be responsible for most of the suicide bombings and kidnappings in Iraq.

Amar Adnan Muhammad Hamzah al-Zubaydi was arrested in a Baghdad raid on May 5, the military said, while Ghassan Amin was captured in western Iraq in late April along with two associates.

April 19, 2005

Iraqi Security Forces Capture Two Zarqawi Associates

Iraq Security Forces are detaining two men suspected of working for al-Qaeda-linked terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Iraqi government said in a statement e- mailed from the capital, Baghdad.

Hamza Ali Ahmed al-Widmizyar, known as Abu Majid, and Salman Aref Abdulkadir Khwamurad al-Zardowe, also called Abu Sharif, were arrested at the beginning of April during a raid on the city of Ramadi, the government, said without explaining why the information was only released today.

March 12, 2005

Female Al Qaeda member arrested

US troops have detained a female Al Qaeda member headed by Iraq’s most wanted man, Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, US military officials said on Friday.

She is “someone who was picked up” within the last 30 days “and is part of the Zarqawi network. She is at Camp Cropper,” Major General William Brandenburg, the head of US military detention operations in Iraq, said, adding that she was one of three females in custody.

March 9, 2005

A Zarqawi cell "prince", six others captured in Baquba

Iraqi security forces arrested a leader of one of Musaab Al-Zarqawi's terrorist cells in Baquba, northeast of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad on Wednesday.

An Iraqi police source told reporters that soldiers of the Iraqi Army captured Taifor Abdulsattar Malallah one of the "princes" of Musaeb Al-Zaraqi's terrorist group in Baquba.

March 1, 2005

Major Arrests Show a Shift in Iraq

The Iraqi government has arrested several key figures in the insurgency in the past two weeks, mainly aides to Zarqawi. One of the highest-profile captures was of Talib Mikhlif Arsan Walman al-Dulaimi, also known as Abu Qutaybah, who arranged safe houses and meetings for Zarqawi and was arrested Feb. 20 along with another man who occasionally served as Zarqawi's driver. Iraqi officials say Abu Qutaybah's contacts in the Anbar province of western Iraq, which has been an insurgency hotbed, make him a major catch.

February 26, 2005

Top al-Zarqawi aide captured

Iraqi forces have arrested a top lieutenant of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, another indication that they are close to capturing Iraq's most wanted man, security officials said Friday.

The aide, Taleb Mikhlef al-Dulaimi, was "responsible for determining who, when and how terrorist leaders would meet with al-Zarqawi," the Iraqi government said in a statement. Al-Dulaimi was captured in a Feb. 20 raid in the town of Anah, about 150 miles west of Baghdad.

January 28, 2005

Three Top Zarqawi Lieutenants Arrested

Iraq's interim government today announced the capture of three men it described as top lieutenants of Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab Zarqawi,..

[…]

According to Qasim Dawood, the Iraqi government's minister of state for national security, Zarqawi's chief of operations in Baghdad was captured Dec. 31 and another top lieutenant was caught west of the capital on Jan. 20. There was no immediate explanation for the delay in announcing the captures.

A government statement said the Baghdad operations chief, identified as Salah Salman Idaaj Matar Luhaybi, alias Abu Sayf, had met Zarqawi four times in December. The other top aide, Ali Hamad Ardani Yasin Isawi, had 40 meetings with Zarqawi in the past three months, the statement said.

The deputy prime minister for national security affairs, Barham Salih, later told a news conference that authorities have arrested a third Zarqawi lieutenant, Inad Mohammed Qais, Reuters news agency reported. Qais was said to be an al Qaeda member serving as a military adviser. It was not immediately clear when or how he was seized.

January 24, 2005

Zarqawi's 'Most Lethal' Lt. Nabbed

Iraqi security forces have arrested the "most lethal" top lieutenant of al Qaeda's leader in Iraq – a man allegedly behind 75 percent of the car bombings in Baghdad since the U.S.-led invasion, the prime minister's office said Monday.

Sami Mohammed Ali Said al-Jaaf, also known as Abu Omar al-Kurdi, was arrested during a Jan. 15 raid in Baghdad, a government statement said Monday. Two other militants linked to Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terror group also have been arrested, authorities announced Monday.

January 8, 2005

Zarqawi-linked leader arrested

U.S. occupation forces announced the arrest of a key leader in al-Zarqawi’s network in Iraq.

The military said in a statement on Saturday that Abdul Aziz Sa'dun Ahmed Hamduni, also known as Abu Ahmed, was arrested on December 22.

The statement also said that Abu Ahmed was coordinating attacks in the northern city of Mosul, adding that he served as the deputy of the top leader in the city, identified as Abu Talha.

December 15, 2004

Iraq says aide to Zarqawi killed, two arrested

An aide to Iraq's most-wanted man, Jordanian Islamist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been killed in Iraq and two others captured, Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said Tuesday.

"I have been told that an individual by the name of Hassan Ibrahim Farhan Zyda from Zarqawi's group has been killed and that two of his deputies have been arrested," Allawi told the interim national assembly.

December 12, 2004

US Marines Arrest 2 Zarqawi-linked Insurgent Leaders

The men were arrested on December 8 and 12 during raids in the city of Ramadi, which is part of the restive al-Anbar province. The military did not announce the arrests until Saturday.

The Marines say Saleh Arugayan Khalil and Bassim Mohammed Hazem were cell leaders for a local Zarqawi-affiliated terrorist group called the "Harun terrorist network" that operates in and around Ramadi.

November 25, 2004

Iraq says top Zarqawi aide arrested in Mosul

One of the leaders of the top US foe in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was arrested in the northern city of Mosul, national security adviser Qassem Daoud said Thursday. "We arrested a few days ago Abu Said, one of the leaders of the Zarqawi network in the city of Mosul," Daoud told reporters.

He did not elaborate on the identity of the rebel leader and his rank in Zarqawi's Al-Qaeda linked organisation, but said information which led to the arrest came partly from local residents.

October 23, 2004

Senior Terrorist Arrested in Iraq

The U.S. military has arrested a "senior leader" in the network run by Jordanian terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (search), along with five others during overnight raids in the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah (search), officials said Saturday.

July 7, 2004

Zarqawi's brother-in-law arrested in Jordan: family

Jordanian authorities have arrested a brother-in-law of suspected Al Qaeda operative Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, following his appearance in a documentary on Al Jazeera television, according to family sources.

Saleh al-Hani, 38, was arrested at his home in Zarqa, north-east of Amman, by plainclothes policemen who gave no explanation for his arrest, the sources told AFP.

April 30, 2003

Associate of Al Qaeda-Linked Fugitive Caught in Baghdad

An associate of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been captured in the Baghdad area, a defense official confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday.

The name of the associate was not released but he was described as a midlevel terrorist operative.