Top Zarqawi aide wounded in Fallujah assault: rebels

Top Zarqawi aide wounded in Fallujah assault: rebels AFP: 11/20/2004 BAGHDAD, Nov 20, (AFP) - Omar Hadeed, senior aide of Iraq's most wanted man Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was wounded in the US-spearheaded assault on Fallujah but was able to return to action, a rebel leader told an AFP correspondent.

"If you heard that Omar Hadeed was killed, that is false. He was wounded in the arm during the fighting in Jolan (neighbourhood) and then he returned to his place in the battle," said Abu Mohammed, a member of the Mujahedeen Advisory Council which ran Fallujah before last week's offensive.

"(Hadeed) was always in Fallujah," Mohammed said, adding that his current location was unknown.

Mohammed spoke with the AFP correspondent on November 13. The correspondent had spent the duration of the fighting with the insurgents and was able to escape the city Thursday, arriving in Baghdad the following day.

Another AFP correspondent, Faris Dlimi, was able to leave Fallujah on November 13, five days after US and Iraqi government forces launched their blistering offensive to retake the city from the Sunni Arab insurgents.

US and Iraqi officials say some 1,200 rebels were killed during the fighting that levelled much of the city.

The London-based daily Asharq Al-Awsat, quoting "informed sources" in Iraq, said Hadeed was a former member of ousted president Saddam Hussein's special guard before joining Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network and training in Afghanistan.

He returned to Iraq after US-led forces ousted Afghanistan's hardline Taliban regime in late 2001, the newspaper said, and was one of the rebels' chief leaders in Fallujah.

"He carried out the battle of Fallujah," the newspaper said, adding that members of Hadeed's family had been killed in a US raid on their house, conducted two hours after Hadeed had visited.

US and Iraqi officials say Zarqawi had also been in Fallujah but has since fled.

He has been accused of ordering some of Iraq's deadliest attacks, including bombings and the killing of foreign hostages.

It would be good to know more about this Hadeed.

Perhaps he had a personal reason for switching from Saddam to the fundamentalists. For example, some American terrorists got skills in the Army (Mac Veigh) and then used these skills as terorists. We wouldn't blame the Army for the Oklahoma bombing.

It is also possible that he was infiltrating these fundamentalists as part of his job with this Iraqi military unit. They are working together now, so I think this is very likely.

The bureau chief of Al Jazeera may be related to this Hadeed. Probably Saddam financed Al Jazeera a lot and his minions are still doing it. They are the terrorists' mouthpiece. The names are spelled a bit differently. Omar Hadeed is called Umar Hadid here.

Here is an article from Al Jazeera:

Aljazeera journalist denies terror 'slur'

Saturday 20 November 2004, 21:12 Makka Time, 18:12 GMT

Umar Hadid denied the newspaper's accusations

Aljazeera's bureau chief in Baghdad, Hamid Hadid, has rejected a report in a pan-Arab daily that said he is related to an alleged al-Zarqawi associate who is supposed to have led the battle in Falluja against US forces.

The newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat, which is published from London, ran a story on 19 November saying Umar Hadid, whom it identified as an associate of the Jordanian-born fugitive Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, is a brother of Hamid Hadid.

On Saturday Hamid Hadid firmly denied the connection and his brother Umar told Aljazeera that the accusations were wrong.

"I am Umar Ahmad Muhammad Hadid al-Jumaili, a brother of Hamid Ahmad Muhammad Hadid al-Jumaili, director of the Aljazeera office in Baghdad", he said.

"The Saudi newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat (Middle East) published an article saying I am an assistant to Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi. I am 24-years old now but the article says I was in Afghanistan and went to Pakistan 10 years ago. How come I did that and I was so young?

"That is not correct and void."

Aljazeera response

Aljazeera said it regretted the fact that Al-Sharq al-Awsat published a story breaching the fundamentals of recognised professional norms that require the verification of a claim, and thereby possibly jeopardising the safety and security of a fellow journalist.

Aljazeera questioned the motive
behind the report's publication

Aljazeera has also questioned the motive behind the running of the story, and said it reserved the right to pursue the issue through legal channels.

An AFP report quoted Al-Sharq al-Awsat as describing Umar Hadid as a former bodyguard of Saddam Hussein and top aide to al-Zarqawi.

Quoting Iraqi intelligence sources, the report said Umar Hadid "led the [Falluja] battle and is the main aide of … al-Zarqawi".

The Saudi-sponsored daily said he was a bodyguard of the deposed Iraqi president some 10 years ago before travelling to Pakistan and "joining al-Qaida and training in an al-Qaida camp in Afghanistan".

Hadid returned to Iraq shortly before the US-led war on Iraq in March last year, the newspaper added.

Nothing to see here. There is no connections between the $oddomites and al Qaeda. For proof just ask the NY Slimes.

"The London-based daily Asharq Al-Awsat, quoting "informed sources" in Iraq, said Hadeed was a former member of ousted president Saddam Hussein's special guard before joining Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network and training in Afghanistan.

"He returned to Iraq after US-led forces ousted Afghanistan's hardline Taliban regime in late 2001, the newspaper said, and was one of the rebels' chief leaders in Fallujah.

"He carried out the battle of Fallujah," the newspaper said, adding that members of Hadeed's family had been killed in a US raid on their house, conducted two hours after Hadeed had visited."

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