Posted by NEWS on 25/10/2004, 20:14:26 The change came just days after Zarqawi's group, previously known as al-Tawhid wal Jihad (Unity and Holy War) pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda, according to another Internet statement. In the latest statements which could not be verified, the group said it was now called "The al-Qaeda Group of Jihad in the Country of Two Rivers (Iraq)" and claimed a series of strikes against US forces during the first days of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month. Zarqawi, who like bin Laden has a 25-million-dollar US bounty on his head, has claimed responsibility for a string of deadly attacks in Iraq, including kidnapping and beheading of hostages. In an internet statement last Sunday, Unity and Holy War declared loyalty to al-Qaeda, in the first public acknowledgement of ties with the group behind the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001. Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has ordered residents of the rebel-held town of Fallujah in western Iraq to surrender Zarqawi and his supporters or face invasion by US-led forces. US troops said Saturday they caught a top aide to Zarqawi in Fallujah, while the interim government said it had reopened dialogue with leaders in the restive city as the spectre of a major assault loomed.
Zarqawi's group changes name after al-Qaeda pledge
A "wanted" poster depicting Iraq's most wanted man, Jordanian Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, in different guises, hangs on a wall in the Iraqi town of Yussifiyah 20km south of Baghdad. AFP
DUBAI (AFP) - The militant group led by Iraq's most wanted man Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi has changed its name, linking itself to the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden, according to statements published on an Islamist website.
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