Last modified: 2005-08-06 by joe mcmillan
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by Richard Knipel
by Richard Knipel
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The militant group run by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, called "Unity and Holy
War," is apparently using its own flag for display in hostage videos
and other purposes. This is black, with Arabic writing in white, and
a disc, in yellow or white. I guess that black may be based on the
color of the Abbasid dynasty who formed a Sunni Islamic Iraq-based
empire that was in conflict with Shiites, as Zarqawi's group is.
According to the New York Times, the flag was discovered in Falluja's
main police station after a February attack. It has also been used in
videos of Korean, Turkish, Bulgarian and Filipino hostages. I have provided
rough images of two versions I've seen in the media.
Richard Knipel, 11 July 2004
Both flags have the Shahada (Islamic creed) in different writing on top.
I can't read the blurred bottom inscription in the first version, but in the second it
says "al-tawhid" (unity) and "al-jihad" (holy war).
Dov Gutterman, 11 July 2004