Al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, says his group has formed a new armed wing to fight the Shi'a militia Badr Brigade, according to an audio tape attributed to him and posted on the Internet on Tuesday.
"We in al-Qaeda Organisation for Holy War in Iraq announce the formation of a military brigade named Omar Brigade, to cut off the symbols and factions of the treacherous Badr Brigade," said the voice on the tape, which sounded similar to previous recordings attributed to Zarqawi.
Hadi al-Amery, the leader of Badr Brigade, a powerful Shi'a militia which fought Saddam Hussein from exile in Iran, has denied running hit squads against Sunnis and said peaceful politics was the only way forward for his group.
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Although the group now calls itself the Badr Organisation and says it is a political movement, many Iraqis believe it is still a fighting force.
Iraq's al-Qaeda wing has claimed some of the deadliest attacks against United States forces, the Iraqi government and forces and Shi'a Muslims.
Zarqawi, who in his last audio tape in May denied to Osama bin Laden being seriously injured, lambasted the Iraqi army as apostates and vowed to continue attacking them. - Reuters
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This article was originally published on page 4 of Cape Argus on July 06, 2005
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