On October
13, 2004 Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi demanded that the city of
Fallujah turn over Abu Musab al-Zarqawi or be attacked. At the time, it was
widely held that the leader of Tawhid wal Jihad was within Fallujah and was
using it as his command center. That is still
believed today. Tawhid was definitely within the city, but was Zarqawi?
According to several leaders within the organization he was not.
According to two leaders of Tawhid
wal Jihad, and a religious leader from Fallujah, Zarqawi was outside the city
during the entire Second Battle of Fallujah. First was Abu Anas al-Shami a
member of Tawhid wal Jihad’s central command and a leader within Fallujah. (1) Shami
wrote that Zarqawi wanted to be in the city to fight the Americans, but his
followers told him not to. Next was Abu Azzam al-Iraqi who was Tawhid wal
Jihad’s emir for Fallujah. He sent daily reports on the progress of the battle
through a courier who travelled by river to where Zarqawi was. Then there was
Abdallah al-Janabi one of the main religious leaders in Fallujah who helped run
the city. He repeatedly said that Zarqawi was not there. While Janabi might
have been trying to save his home from attack, that was not the case for Shami
and Iraqi. There was no reason for two Tawhid wal Jihad leaders to claim their
leader was not in the city in their personal correspondence and diaries. It
would appear that while Tawhid wal Jihad definitely took part in the Second
Battle of Fallujah, Zarqawi could have very well been an observer from the
outside.
SOURCES
Phillips, James, “The Battle for Fallujah is Crucial for
Iraq’s Future,” Heritage Foundation, 10/15/04
Tonnessen, Truls Hallberg, “The Islamic Emirate of
Fallujah,” International Studies Association’s (ISA) Conference ‘Global
Governance: Political Authority in Transition,’” 3/16-19/11
Warren, James, “The Vicious Battle to Capture Fallujah in
2004 Was a Close Fought Nightmare,” Daily Beast, 7/16/16
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