The Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella insurgency group consisting of various jihadi factions including al-Qaeda in Iraq, issued a statement May 3 denying the killing of its "emir," Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, but confirming the death of its official spokesman, Abu Abdullah al-Jabouri AKA Muhareb al-Jabouri. US military officials announced the death of Muhareb Abdul Latif al-Jabouri in a raid in Western Baghdad; however, the Iraqi Interior Ministry alleged that Jabouri was also the identiy of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi. The Islamic State of Iraq insisted on the difference between the two individuals, and assures that the "Emir of the Believers" is alive. The statement says if he was killed, they would not hesitate to announce it as the "flag of our jihad can only rise by the blood of the leaders before the soldiers, and the tree of victory can only be watered by the blood of the martyrs."

Abu Abdullah al-Jabouri, "Emir of the Strangers Brigades," a group which joined with the Mujahideen Shura Council in its founding in January 2006, was selected as the official spokesman for the Islamic State of Iraq, having appeared in videos announcing its establishment and its cabinet of ministers. According to the message, he fought "falsehood" from the mid-1980s until this May 1 at midnight, when he and four other Mujahedeen were killed by aerial attack by coalition forces. The news of his death is touted as "joyful," and congratulations are delivered by the Islamic State to Muslims, Jabouri's relatives, and his Jabour tribe. (SITE Institute, May 3)

As we've said before, the terrorists love the GWOT.

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