CAIRO, 8 July 2005 — A videotape attributed to Al-Qaeda’s leader in Iraq, Abu Mussab Al-Zarqawi, said yesterday his group has killed the Egyptian envoy to Iraq.
“We Al-Qaeda in Iraq announce that the judgment of God has been implemented against the ambassador of Egypt. Oh enemy of God, Ihab Al-Sherif, this is your punishment in this life,” said the group in an Internet statement posted on a website.
The group posted a video showing the hostage speaking but not the actual killing.
The Egyptian government confirmed the murder of the envoy, abducted near his house in Baghdad last Saturday. “The Egyptian Foreign Ministry... has received with deep pain and sadness the news of the martyrdom of Ambassador Dr. Ihab Al-Sherif,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.
“The presidency expressed its regret at the passing of.... Ihab Al-Sherif ... who lost his life at the hands of terrorism which trades in Islam,” added a statement from the president’s office.
The Foreign Ministry said the killing would not deter Egypt from its commitment to the people of Iraq.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fad sent a message of condolence to President Hosni Mubarak describing the murdered envoy as a martyr. “While condemning this criminal act, we convey our condolences to Your Excellency and to the family of the martyr. We pray to the Almighty Allah to have mercy on his soul and eradicate those spreading corruption,” the king said.
Crown Prince Abdullah and Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, sent similar messages to President Mubarak.
The 51-year-old diplomat, was appointed to the post on June 1 and was the first Arab ambassador to post-Saddam Iraq. Sherif, father of two daughters, is a well-known politician in Egypt and was the first aide to the Egyptian ambassador in Tel Aviv from 1999 to 2003 and later was the acting head of mission following the withdrawal of the ambassador after the 2000 Palestinian intifada.
“He is a good man and never had any relation with the US forces in Iraq and was happy to be appointed the new ambassador because he wanted to have a dialogue with the Iraqis,” Sherif’s brother-in-law told the state-owned Channel Two.
Sherif’s daughter Ingy told Arab News that she and her family were in shock. “If it is true that my father is dead, it is a horrific disaster and his kidnappers don’t realize that they killed an innocent man and a good Muslim who wanted nothing but help the Iraqis,” said Ingy. “All I have to say now is that God will punish them for their barbarous crime and for killing an innocent soul,” she added.
The opposition in Egypt blamed the United States for the death of the diplomat. “The American administration is responsible for the death of our ambassador,” said prominent Islamist MP Muhammad Abdel Qoudous. “This is a reaction to their brutal activities in Iraq,” he added.
Sheikh Mohammed Sayed Tantawi of Al-Azhar, the highest authority in Sunni Islam, has previously urged the kidnappers to release the envoy.
