Iraqi al-Qaeda Group to Track Down 'Traitors'

Thursday's assassination of a Sunni tribal leader was the first in what an al-Qaeda front group warns will be the fate of all who cooperate with the US, reports the AP. The Islamic State of Iraq announced on Islamist websites that "special security committees" will track down "traitors" who support the Shiite-led government.

The group claimed responsibility for the assassination of Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, who led the anti-al-Qaeda uprising in Anbar, the center of the Sunni insurgency until the dramatic turnaround by the local sheiks. It separately announced a new offensive during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in honor of the founder of al-Qaeda in Iraq, killed last year. (More Iraq stories.)