Iraq Qaeda posts new video of slain Egypt envoy
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iraq’s al Qaeda wing posted on Saturday a
new Internet video of an Egyptian envoy to Iraq it claimed to
have killed earlier this month after several reports emerged he
may still be alive.
The brief footage showed Ihab el-Sherif describing a peace
deal between Egypt and Israel, but as in a previous video
posted by the group earlier this month, it did not show his
actual killing. Sherif’s body has not been found.
After al Qaeda announced it had killed him, the Egyptian
Foreign Ministry confirmed the news and ministry sources said
it had established his death through multiple sources.
But Wednesday, Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit said in
published remarks there was a slim chance Sherif was not dead.
“The peace deal between Egypt and Israel divides Sinai into
four parts … In one part Israelis and foreign nationals
residing in Israel can enter there without any visa,” a calm
looking Sherif said. He was not wearing a blindfold as he had
in the previous video.
No militants could be seen in the footage which was posted
on a Web site used by Iraqi insurgent groups.
Al Qaeda Organization for Holy War in Iraq had posted on
the same Web site earlier this month a video showing Sherif
speaking but not his actual killing.
Naguib Sawiris, chairman of Orascom Telecom, which owns a
mobile phone network in Iraq, also said in published remarks on
Wednesday he had information Sherif was still alive.
In its earlier statement, the group, led by Jordanian
militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, said it killed Sherif because
“he gave information that showed the infidelity of his regime
and allegiance to the Jews and Christians.”
Egypt, a key U.S. ally, was the first Arab country to sign
a peace treaty with Israel.
The group claimed Saturday to have kidnapped the chief of
the Algerian mission in Baghdad.
Gunmen have recently targeted diplomats in what seems as an
attempt to deny the U.S.-backed Shi’ite-led government in
Baghdad the legitimacy it craves through improved ties.