Out of Iraq, into Africa: general predicts move for al-Qaeda

"London: A senior US military officer predicts that al-Qaeda fighters in Iraq will move to the "vast ungoverned spaces" of the Horn of Africa once conditions in the country get too tough for them.

The warning came from Major-General Douglas Lute, US central command's director of operations.

"There will come a time when Zarqawi will face too much resistance in Iraq and will move on," General Lute said in London, referring to the head of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born Islamist who has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks.

Looking ahead to a time when he said Iraq would be "stabilised", General Lute predicted that Zarqawi would take the "path of least resistance" and leave the country for the Horn of Africa, which includes parts of Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia."
FairFax