In recent months, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has emerged as the driving force behind the world’s most feared terrorist organization, Al Qaeda. As Bin Laden’s apparent successor, al-Zarqawi has been labelled ‘public enemy number one’ by the US government and the price on his head has risen to almost 25 million dollars. Until now, little has been known about al-Zarqawi. Born in Jordan in 1968, he spent the 1980s in war-torn Afghanistan, followed by five years in prison before joining Al Qaeda in 1999. Having quickly gained the confidence of his superiors, al-Zarqawi ran Al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan, where he taught recruits to use chemical and biological weapons. From 2001 onwards, he controlled several regional terrorist groups across Europe, which have been linked to attacks in the UK, France, Russia and the notorious train bombing in Madrid. His armed group, Tawhid and Jihad, is currently terrorizing Iraq, beheading hostages and carrying out deadly attacks across the country. In this, the first major study of al-Zarqawi, Jean-Charles Brisard takes an in-depth look at the man now widely regarded as the new face of Al Qaeda. Based on witness statements, official documents and previously unpublished material, Brisard offers a vivid and compelling account of Zarqawi’s rise to power as the incarnation of international terrorism and Islamic extremism.
