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Iraqi militant group names camp after Lal Masjid cleric

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Press Trust of India Islamabad
An Iraqi militant group -- Ansar al-Islam -- has named its new training camp after a radical cleric of Pakistan's Lal Masjid, a media report said today.

The group has also named one of its sub-divisions after slain cleric Abdul Rasheed Ghazi, who was killed in the 2007 military operation, the report said.

Ansar al-Islam released a video that starts with a "slickly edited" training montage showing fighters of the Ansar al-Islam engaged in various exercises and posing for the camera, their faces covered.

Then, in a departure from the norm, the video segues into a tribute to Ghazi, Dawn daily reported.
 

In the beginning, what seems to be a 'message' from Ghazi addressed to the "men of the ummah" is read out.

Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, who had ordered the operation, is currently facing trial for the killing of the cleric.

Ansar al-Islam operates in the Kurdish-dominated northern Iraq and aims at setting up an Islamist state.

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First Published: Mar 07 2014 | 6:06 PM IST

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