Former Algerian fighter in Iraq : “I entered Iraq to fight against the Marines but Al-Qaeda wanted to make of me suicide bomber”
الشروق أونلاين
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2099
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Most Algerian fighters decided to get back home and leave Iraq after two Algerian diplomats had been killed
“I went to Iraq and left behind me, my children… Like many other Arab fighters I went to liberate Iraq … But I decided to return after the fight turned to kill hundreds of Iraqis against some US marines ''''… the man with (B.M) initials told Echorouk his Iraqi tale.
” The Assassination Laarousi and Belkadi were the cause of my return to Algeria”
” We used fake identity cards and nicknames to circulate in Iraq”
“It was 1.00 pm when we decided to head for M.B’s home in the suburbs of Sour El Ghozlane town in the province of Bouira . Snow cut roads and isolated villages in the area the same day. It was difficult for us to open the file of M.B’s three years experience in the most dangerous place on earth, Iraq . ‘’I left Algeria when late President Saddam Hussein was abducted.”
He was wearing the traditional brown « Kachabia » Like many others in these very wintered-cold areas of the country… We sat with him then spoke in silence: « at the age of 40, I was counted as the oldest amongst Algerian fighters in Iraq . I had visited many years along Baghdad and Damascus ahead of my final departure and knew so many Iraqi people who were my friends.
” We used fake identity cards and nicknames to circulate in Iraq”
“It was 1.00 pm when we decided to head for M.B’s home in the suburbs of Sour El Ghozlane town in the province of Bouira . Snow cut roads and isolated villages in the area the same day. It was difficult for us to open the file of M.B’s three years experience in the most dangerous place on earth, Iraq . ‘’I left Algeria when late President Saddam Hussein was abducted.”
He was wearing the traditional brown « Kachabia » Like many others in these very wintered-cold areas of the country… We sat with him then spoke in silence: « at the age of 40, I was counted as the oldest amongst Algerian fighters in Iraq . I had visited many years along Baghdad and Damascus ahead of my final departure and knew so many Iraqi people who were my friends.
“Those Iraqi friends encouraged me to enter Iraq and have the pleasure of confronting US marines,” before he added « I had actually decided to leave Algerian and join the war in Iraq twenty days after Saddam Hussein was arrested .» « I left my wife and my four children to my father who took care of them. » « I told them that I was going to Syria on a mission and promised to come back… But my aim was Jihad…
He later said « In Syria , I was given a fake identity card and a nickname… then entered Iraq … But ahead of I entered Syrian territories normally, and I stayed there for more than 15 days. I met in Syria some members of the Iraqi resistance who were all highly educated and knew the mysteries of entering into Iraq . There, I had to forget about my real identity and become ‘’Abu Hamza Al Djazairi. »
He later said « In Syria , I was given a fake identity card and a nickname… then entered Iraq … But ahead of I entered Syrian territories normally, and I stayed there for more than 15 days. I met in Syria some members of the Iraqi resistance who were all highly educated and knew the mysteries of entering into Iraq . There, I had to forget about my real identity and become ‘’Abu Hamza Al Djazairi. »
They all used to ask me to which political tendency I belonged and I used to answer each and every time by « I am a Mujaheed » they used to ask me if I was Sunni or Shiite and then I discovered that in Iraq this was important… I found all the Iraqi people revolted against the US occupation… Baghdad had changed and all Saddam’s statues and pictures disappeared… the sound of bombs were heard every second. I moved with ”Abu Yasser Abdelraouf,” a member of the Iraqi resistance group that operated in the group of Iraqi-Syrian intelligence along the border between the two countries.
“We crossed more than 600 kilometres before we reached Iraq . Even smuggling roads had changed. I remember that the region was well known for belonging to smuggling groups before i twas controlled by tribes of the region…When I reached Iraq , I a modest house in which there was a TV set and a refrigerator. There was a tunnel under the ground and there also I met Hisham, Mohammed, Khaled …they ask about Algeria , and whether I was fighting in the mountains in the 1990s.”
“I was asked so many other questions, and after Hisham stongly hugged me and said in with a strong Egyptian accent ”You are one of us…” Hisham then pulled the carpet under me and I discovered that I was sitting on a tunnel. I found seven other people, ammunition and food stuff. They were three Syrians and four Iraqis. I was introduced as Abu Hamza Al Djazairi…”
Assigned to monitor the move of US patrols with an arm
The group asked me: ”What can you do? ” They ask this question, and I told them I wanted fight… friend Hisham smiled and said « you’re in Iraq, then you’re a Mujaheed. » time passed by, I learned a lot, imposed myself and got the best weapons I wanted. I was entrusted with the task of monitoring US patrols movements in the region of Baquba before I moved to Fallujah… I decided to search for Algerian fighters who came to Iraq for many reasons but one common cause was Jihad…
M.B then told Echorouk for the first time ‘’in July 2005, many Algerians decided to get back home adding that « After more than a yea and a half, I knew more than 20 Algerian fighters; mostly young people who got into Iraq either from Syria or Saudi Arabia, most of them belonged to the salafite Jihadist group… » «…One of them was operating with “Al Qaeda”, his name was « Abu Jasir .B » along with two Algerians from Oued Souf in southern Algeria . Another guy called ”Abu Muhammad Al Yemeni …” Tried to persuade me to join the “Al-Qaeda” and I rejected the idea, particularly after two Algerian diplomats named Belkadi and Laaroussi were killed by the group. Most Algerian fighters decided to get back home and leave Iraq after the incident. Tracts were distributed among Algerians to call them to get back to Algeria . Because we all remembered what similar groups did in Algeria.”
Assigned to monitor the move of US patrols with an arm
The group asked me: ”What can you do? ” They ask this question, and I told them I wanted fight… friend Hisham smiled and said « you’re in Iraq, then you’re a Mujaheed. » time passed by, I learned a lot, imposed myself and got the best weapons I wanted. I was entrusted with the task of monitoring US patrols movements in the region of Baquba before I moved to Fallujah… I decided to search for Algerian fighters who came to Iraq for many reasons but one common cause was Jihad…
M.B then told Echorouk for the first time ‘’in July 2005, many Algerians decided to get back home adding that « After more than a yea and a half, I knew more than 20 Algerian fighters; mostly young people who got into Iraq either from Syria or Saudi Arabia, most of them belonged to the salafite Jihadist group… » «…One of them was operating with “Al Qaeda”, his name was « Abu Jasir .B » along with two Algerians from Oued Souf in southern Algeria . Another guy called ”Abu Muhammad Al Yemeni …” Tried to persuade me to join the “Al-Qaeda” and I rejected the idea, particularly after two Algerian diplomats named Belkadi and Laaroussi were killed by the group. Most Algerian fighters decided to get back home and leave Iraq after the incident. Tracts were distributed among Algerians to call them to get back to Algeria . Because we all remembered what similar groups did in Algeria.”
