Report: Arab Fighters in Afghanistan Name New Egyptian Commander
By Evan Kohlmann
According to a July 26 report by an Afghan news network, Arab fighters in Afghanistan have chosen a new commander known as Abu Ikhlas al-Masri (from Egypt) to undertake administrative tasks in the Kunar Province in eastern Afghanistan. According to the media network, this information was relayed during a telephone interview with a purported spokesman of Arab fighters in Afghanistan, 36-year old Abu al-Tayyib al-Djazairi (from Algeria), who indicated that Abu Ikhlas was chosen as commander by the Shura Council of the Arab mujahideen based in Kunar Province and Nuristan. According to Abu al-Tayyib, Abu Ikhlas is married to a local woman from Nuristan and has five children. He is allegedly a well-known veteran of the Soviet-Afghan jihad and has fought as a guerilla in the regions of Kunar and Nuristan for almost twenty years.
Abu al-Tayyib also boasted that the downing of an American Chinook helicopter late last month killing all onboard has sharply increased morale among Arab fighters loyal to the Taliban. When asked about the location of Usama Bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Abu al-Tayyib responded, "Praise be to Allah, they are all alive and in good health, but I do not know the location where they are."
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