UPDATE: Al-Qaida Admits "Martyrdom" of Abu Usama al-Tunisi in Iraq
By Evan Kohlmann
I've received many inquiries about my blog post from last Friday titled "A Tale of Two Tunisis? Questions About the Latest Al-Qaida Casualty in Iraq." In the post, I discussed last week's reported killing of Al-Qaida field commander Abu Usama al-Tunisi by the U.S. military--and the odd discrepancy that al-Tunisi had already been unofficially reported killed over a year previous. Reflecting on the reasons for the apparent discrepancy, I suggested that, alternatively, "it would seem that either Al-Qaida supporters were engaged in a deliberate misinformation campaign on their own password-protected chat forums, or else the U.S. military has potentially been the victim of questionable intelligence."
This morning, Al-Qaida's "Islamic State of Iraq" has finally provided meaningful clarification about Abu Usama al-Tunisi, citing his role as commander of Al-Qaida's "Aeisha Brigade" (specializing in anti-aircraft operations) and officially acknowledging that he was indeed killed last week as correctly reported by the U.S. military. While the Pentagon is certainly not immune from making mistakes, this confirmation directly from Al-Qaida's "Islamic State of Iraq" should justifiably serve to quiet any remaining skeptics concerning the death of Abu Usama al-Tunisi. As I stated in my initial post from last Friday, "Al-Qaida has prided itself in the past on providing accurate and timely information concerning the 'martyrdom' of its military commanders." This latest message would fit exactly into that established pattern. Though it is still not entirely clear why Al-Qaida supporters would have begun celebrating the passing of Abu Usama a year early--the potential of a deliberate disinformation effort seems increasingly likely, especially given the substantial level of detail provided about al-Tunisi. Abu Usama's unusual notoriety should perhaps serve as a general indicator of how important he was to Al-Qaida--and as a timely reminder that foreign fighters continue to play a remarkably dominant role in Al-Qaida's ongoing operations in Iraq.
See also:
- CTBLOG: "A Tale of Two Tunisis? Questions about the Latest Al-Qaida Casualty in Iraq."
- Globalterroralert.com: "Martyrdom of Abu Usama al-Tunisi" (July 2006)
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