Jordan Times
Monday, November 21, 2005
Jordanian family of Zarqawi severs ties with terror leader
AMMAN (AP) — Family members of Jordanian-born Al
Qaida in Iraq chief Abu Mussab Zarqawi have renounced the terror leader, telling
His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday that they would “sever links with him until
doomsday.”
Zarqawi, whose real name is Ahmad Fadheel Nazzal Al Khalayleh, claimed
responsibility for the Nov. 9 deadly attacks on three Amman hotels, which killed
60 people.
In half-page advertisements in Jordan's three main newspapers, 57 members of the
Khalayleh family, including Zarqawi's brother and cousin, also reiterated their
strong allegiance to the King.
Zarqawi had threatened to kill the King in an audiotape Friday.
“As we pledge to maintain homage to your Throne and to our precious Jordan... we
denounce in the clearest terms all the terrorist actions claimed by the
so-called Ahmad Fadheel Nazzal Al Khalayleh, who calls himself Abu Mussab
Zarqawi,” the family members said.
“We announce, and all the people are our witnesses, that we — the sons of the
Khalayleh tribe — are innocent of him and all that emanates from him, whether
action, assertion or decision.”
The statement is a serious blow to Zarqawi, who will no longer enjoy the
protection of his tribe.
The statement said anyone who carried out such violence in the Kingdom does not
enjoy its protection.
“A Jordanian doesn't stab himself with his own spear,” they wrote. “We sever
links with him until doomsday.”
Sunday's message was similar to one sent by some members of Zarqawi's clan to
the King last year. That message, which contained fewer signatories, also
severed links with the terror leader for claiming a failed terror plot in April
2004 that targeted the Amman headquarters of the General Intelligence
Department, the prime minister's office and the US embassy.
Khalayleh is a branch of Bani Hassan, one of the area's largest and most
prominent bedouin tribes, which along with several other tribes form the bedrock
of support for the Royal family's Hashemite dynasty.
Relatives hold senior posts in the army and other government departments.
Zarqawi has often boasted of his family's influence when he was jailed in his
native Jordan, said Yousef Rababaa, an ex-convict who shared Zarqawi's
cell-block for four years until both were freed under a Royal Amnesty in 1999.
The terror leader took his name from the city of Zarqa, 27 kilometres northeast
of Amman.
“If my son was a terrorist, I wouldn't hesitate to kill him,” said Musa Al
Khalayleh, who said he spoke on behalf of the tribe. “This is the slogan raised
by the tribe as of this moment.”
Zarqawi has claimed responsibility for several terror attacks in Jordan,
including last year's failed terror conspiracy to cause a chemical explosion
that government officials said would have killed thousands of people.
Zarqawi was sentenced to death in absentia here for planning another conspiracy
that led to the 2002 killing of US aid worker Laurence Foley.
The US government has offered a bounty of US$25 million for information leading
to his capture.