Zarqawi Claims Attack on U.S. Warships in Jordanian Port of Aqaba

By Evan Kohlmann

[*UPDATED*] Al-Qaida's Committee in Mesopotamia--led by wanted Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi--has issued two new statements claiming responsibility for a failed August 19 Katyusha rocket attack on two U.S. warships docked in the Jordanian port of Aqaba.   According to the first communiqu�, "the attack was led and monitored by the commanders of Al-Qaida's Jihad Committee in Mesopotamia" (presumably including Zarqawi) and "the reason for the delay in claiming responsibility was due to the need to give sufficient time for our brothers to escape."   A second statement posted later confirmed that "the brothers who executed the Aqaba and Eilat attacks have returned safely to Mesopotamia."

Click to view English translation of communiqu� #1 c/o Globalterroralert.com
Click to view English translation of communique #2 c/o Globalterroralert.com

See also: "Tawheed wal-Jihad" Claims Recent Sinai Bombings

This is the first authentic or credible claim of responsibility that has been issued for last Friday's would-be rocket attack on the U.S.S. Ashland and U.S.S. Kearsarge in the harbor of Aqaba.  The two documents were issued by the same online authority responsible for distributing qualified, authentic videos and statements detailing Zarqawi's operations in Iraq's Sunni Triangle.  They were both also signed by Abu Maysarah al-Iraqi, the head of Zarqawi's Media Wing in Iraq. 

Thus, assuming that the statements are indeed accurate, the Aqaba operation represents compelling proof of a new phase of military operations for Zarqawi that has been hinted at all summer long.  In a posting on the Counterterrorism Blog from early this May, I cautioned:

"...While Iraq's porous borders may have allowed the entry of thousands of foreign militants, the American military must ensure that these would-be terrorists face a much more arduous journey if they try to escape.  The successful exfiltration of even just a few hundred of Zarqawi's operatives from Iraq to a neighboring country like Jordan, Kuwait, or Saudi Arabia could result in a major wave of terrorism that would dwarf any comparisons to the 2003 Istanbul bombings or even 3/11 in Madrid."

Aqaba seems to be merely the opening blow in a new campaign by Zarqawi to expand his war against America and its apostate enemies--unifying together regional Al-Qaida affiliates in Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt into a single, amorphous terrorist network with a menacing transnational reach.  Until the U.S. military is able to fully secure insurgent-dominated northwestern Iraqi cities such as Haditha and Al-Qaim, Zarqawi's footsoldiers will continue to possess an open highway through Syria back to the heart of the Middle East.

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