Recruitment Continues For Jihad In Iraq

Yassin al-Bahar’s brother says the 27-year-old Saudi car salesman always wanted to die a martyr, to fall in battle defending fellow Muslims against the “enemies of Islam.” In Iraq, his wish came true. “A sniper bullet killed him, according to Islamic Web sites we checked,” said his brother, Bassam, who referred to his brother by the pseudonym he used as a fighter, saying he feared reprisals if the family’s real name became public. Al-Bahar was one of several Saudis who went to Iraq to join in a jihad, or holy war, that attracted hundreds of other Muslims enraged at the U.S.-led invasion of a Muslim country. Although Saddam Hussein’s regime was ousted and most of the volunteers are either dead or back home, the danger to U.S. and British troops from foreign fighters remains, U.S. officials say. Recruitment for jihad in Iraq continues around the region, and one counterterrorism expert warns of an attack like the 1983 bombing that killed 241 Marines in Beirut, Lebanon. U.S. troops being in another Arab country will likely provide a magnet for anti-American extremist groups, especially Saudi-born Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida. Bin Laden’s central grievance has always been the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia since Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Full Story