Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

Washington

says that

an Egyptian is topping the leadership hierarchy of al-Qā‘ida in Iraq while Egypt’s

interior

ministry leaked information denying any knowledge about the man.

The controversy about Abu Ayoub

al-

Misrī draws attention to the flagrant confusion surrounding information available from Egyptian and US

security agencies about the identity of the man claimed to be the successor of Jordan-born Abu

Mus‘ab

al-Zarqāwī, who was assassinated by US forces in mid-June in an intelligence

operation in which the

Jordanian authorities took part.

It also indicates that Egyptians’ role in the

al-

Qā‘ida network in Iraq and Afghanistan is growing steadily. This could have a bad impact

as far

as the escalation of al-Qā‘ida’s operations in Egypt are concerned.

It is

widely

believed in US circles that al-Misrī teamed up with al-Zarqāwī for a little in

Afghanistan

within what was known as the Arab Afghans and later moved to Iraq upon an agreement with al-

Zarqāwī

and instructions from Ayman al-Zawāhrī, al-Qā‘ida’s second-in-

command.