Abu Abdullah Rashid al-Baghdadi, "believed to be a former officer in Saddam's army, or its elite Republican Guard, who has worked closely with al-Zarqawi since the overthrow of the Iraqi dictator in April 2003", was also considered to be the replacement for Abu Musab al Zarqawi's al Qaeda in Iraq.
al-Baghdadi released a tape mourning the loss of their "great leader" Abu Musab al Zarqawi, saying that his death will bring violent reprisal attacks on Sunnis, Shia and U.S. forces.
al-Baghdadi is also "an Iraqi friend of Al Qaeda supremo Osama bin Laden, whom he met in Afghanistan" according to intelligence experts cited by AFP.
If both of the stories regarding Abu Abdullah Rashid al-Baghdadi's links to Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden are true than Baghdadi is a living link between Saddam Hussein's regime, Osama bin Laden and today's insurgency in Iraq.
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