Baghdad, Iraq – Al-Qaeda’s wing in Iraq claimed Thursday it had killed Egypt’s top envoy who was abducted by gunmen last weekend and warned it would go after “as many ambassadors as we can” to punish countries that support Iraq’s U.S.-backed leadership.
Iraq’s chief government spokesman said the killing and Thursday’s bombings in London show that terrorism “is not only targeting Iraqis but everyone.”
The country’s president, meanwhile, called for a “war of annihilation” against foreign Islamic extremists as at least eight people were killed in violence Thursday.
The announcement from Iraq’s most feared terror group appeared on an al-Qaeda-linked website and featured a brief video showing the blindfolded diplomat, Ihab al-Sherif, wearing a polo shirt. The video did not show his death, but the statement promised more details later.
“We announce in the name of al-Qaeda in Iraq that the verdict of God against the ambassador of the infidels, the ambassador of Egypt, has been carried out. Thank God,” a written statement said, adding “Iraq is no longer safe for the infidels.”
The claim could not be independently confirmed. But if true, the killing would mark a dramatic escalation in a campaign to discourage Arab and Muslim governments from sending ambassadors and strengthening ties with Iraq, as Washington wants. Egypt recently announced it would designate an ambassador here – the first Arab government to do so.
In Cairo, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak denounced the killing of al-Sherif and insisted his country will continue to support Iraq.
“This terrorist act will not deter Egypt from its firm position in support of Iraq and its people,” he said. Al-Sherif “lost his life at the hands of terrorism that trades in Islam but knows no nation and no religion.”
Mubarak’s statement did not indicate if the government had independent confirmation of al-Sherif’s death.
Al-Sherif, 51, was seized Saturday in a west Baghdad neighborhood. Three days later, gunmen fired on senior envoys from Pakistan and Bahrain in apparent kidnap attempts. In its statement, al-Qaeda said it did not announce al-Sherif’s kidnapping until after the subsequent attacks “to be able to capture as many ambassadors as we can.”
In Najaf, President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, called for a “war of annihilation” against al-Qaeda and other groups that include foreign Islamic extremists.
“There is no room for negotiation with them,” Talabani said.
Six civilians were killed and 24 wounded in mortar attacks against police stations in Mosul on Thursday, the U.S. military said, while gunmen killed two Shiite Muslim clerics in Baghdad, police said.
