Militants Groups in Iraq Name Spokesman

"BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Two militant groups said Sunday they have named a new spokesman to silence those who claim to speak for the insurgency.

In a joint statement posted on an Islamic Web site, the Islamic Army in Iraq and the Army of Mujahedeen said they had chosen Ibrahim Youssef al-Shammari as their spokesman.

The little-known al-Shammari appeared on the Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera on Sunday "to silence all those who talk in the name of the mujahedeen," the groups said in a statement posted on an Islamic Web site.

During an appearance on Al-Jazeera, al-Shammari said the resistance "has a realistic and truthful political project," adding that the groups were in talks with other armed factions to come up with a unified position. He did not elaborate.

Al-Shammari argued that sectarian problems were created after the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq in order to prolong the presence of foreign troops.

Last week, a Web statement issued in the name of The Islamic Army in Iraq, the Army of Mujahedeen and the Ansar al-Sunnah Army threatened the life of a Sunni Arab politician, Ayham al-Samarie, who announced the formation of a political group he claims represents the demands of an umbrella organization of insurgents.

The three groups accused the dual U.S.-Iraqi national of spreading lies."
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