Wow, the man the MSM labeled as the "supreme" leader of the insurgency was recently fighting with his fellow insurgents? No way! How could that be possible? Fallujah, a town infamous for it's insurgent activity was the sight of a recent gunbattle between Zarqawi's men and local insurgents.
Juan Cole summarizes the article from Al-Hayat:
Al-Hayat reports today [Ar.] that groups in Fallujah have launched attacks on Zarqawi followers there after the latter attacked the al-Husain Mosque in the Askari quarter two days ago, destroying the tomb of the founder of the mosque within it. (Salafis influenced by Saudi Wahhabism despise attendance at saints tombs, insisting on a Protestant-like elimination of all intermediaries between human beings and God. Many Islamists in Fallujah are actually Sufis, who value saints in the way rural Catholics do.) An attempt by the radical Salafis to destroy the mosque (on the grounds that it had been tainted with polytheism) was stopped by the "1920 Revolution Brigades," a local ex-Baathist group. There was a running gun battle between the two.
Zarqawi's group had also tried two days ago to attack a Fallujah police station, but they were repulsed by local tribal youth. The battle left two cars burned and 4 dead from the tribe of Al-Bu `Isa.
And this wasn't the first time that they were fighting. According to the La Times insurgents have engaged in "mafia" battles with Zarqawi's forces in the Al-Anbar province.
In one of the earliest reported clashes, insurgents in Qaim, on the Syrian border, fought with Zarqawi's followers during the summer and eventually drove them out of the city, Iraqi officials said.
Three times in the last month, insurgent groups have battled each other in the streets of Ramadi, U.S. intelligence officers reported.
"It's much like Mafia dons battling it out over turf," one officer said, with "pinpoint assassinations and gang-on-gang warfare."
Karim Hussein, headmaster of a primary school in Ramadi, said one reason for the clashes is that people object to religious orders that radical insurgents have distributed on leaflets throughout the city, instructing women to cover their faces.
Another source of friction is Al Qaeda's opposition to the new U.S.-backed police force, to which tribal leaders agreed to recruit their insurgent followers as a way of calming the city and eventually enabling U.S. forces to leave.
The conflict escalated after a suicide bomb attack Jan. 5 in Ramadi amid a crowd of men lining up to join the new force, killing about 70 people. Zarqawi, one resident said, suddenly became the city's "No. 1 enemy."
Tribal leaders and local insurgents have since vowed to drive Zarqawi's militants out of Al Anbar. Three Ramadi-based Islamist guerrilla factions once financed by Zarqawi have broken with him, making it harder for his forces to operate in the city.
Zarqawi was never the supreme commander of the insurgency. Zarqawi's group reached its heyday in 2004 and has been on the outs ever since. Many insurgents have grown sick and tired of Zarqawi's Wahhabbi policies that he has imposed on Iraqi cities like Sammara. ABC News reported in January that Zarqawi was trying to take a less visible role in the insurgency just to avoid getting his ass kicked even more.
In a clear attempt to regain the lost support, al Qaeda in Iraq posted a statement on the Internet announcing the formation of what it had called the "Mujaheddin Consultative Council," uniting the group with five other insurgent groups believed to be relatively small in size. The leadership of the council was given to an Iraqi -- a move clearly designed to deflect attention from al Zarqawi, who is Jordanian. Since then, al Qaeda in Iraq has claimed responsibility for attacks through the new council. Over the weekend, another group, called the Army of Ahl al Sunna Wal Jama'a, joined the council, according to an Internet statement.
Two insurgent groups believed to be the biggest in Iraq have declined to join the council however. The Islamic Army in Iraq and the Army of Ansar al Sunna are still operating independently. The Islamic Army in Iraq has long had its differences with al Zarqawi. They oppose suicide attacks and the targeting of civilians. Four Iraqi insurgents who claimed to be part of the Islamic Army in Iraq told The New York Times about a battle between the two groups in October. U.S. and Iraqi intelligence officials also confirmed to the paper that there were clashes between al Qaeda in Iraq and Iraqi insurgent groups like the Islamic Army in Ramadi, Husayba, Yusifiya, Dhuluiya and Karmah.
The other group, the Army of Ansar al Sunna, has cooperated with al Qaeda in Iraq in the past. It's still unclear why the group did not agree to be part of the new council, but it could represent yet another effort to marginalize al Qaeda in Iraq.
To say that he was the leader of the insurgency is extremely misleading and totally inaccurate. But I wouldn't expect anything else from the MSM who seem eager to exaggerate this in order to help Bush's poll numbers. Looks like another corner turned. Any more corners and we'll be running around in circles!