On May 1, 2007, Islamist websites posted a communiqué by the ISI, which was founded by Al-Qaeda in Iraq, denying reports that its commander Abu Hamza Al-Muhajir has been killed.
The communiqué, issued by the "ISI Information Ministry," states that these reports stem from the Iraqi government's wish to cover up its defeat at the hands of the jihad fighters.
The following are excerpts from the message:
It seems that the Shi'ite Al-Maliki government must [now] resort to spreading lies in the media... in order to cover up its failure to stop the blows of the jihad fighters... This government has announced that the apparatuses of apostates and collaborators have wounded the jihad fighter Sheikh Abu Hamza Al-Muhajir and killed his aide [in a location] north of Baghdad... [But the fact is that] Sheikh Abu Hamza Al-Muhajir is still wandering [free] in the Islamic State of Iraq, and fighting the enemies of Allah under the banner of Commander of the Believers Abu Omar Al-Baghdadi and [as a soldier in] the army of the Islamic State...
"These false reports by the [Iraqi] government – which have been denied even by its American masters – reflect its bankruptcy and frustration...
"Know that the army of the Islamic State is not [based on] one man but on many men – some who have already departed from this world and others who are still awaiting [death]..."
