BAGHDAD – An Al Qaeda front group warned it will hunt down and kill Sunni Arab tribal leaders who cooperate with America and its Iraqi partners, saying the assassination of the leader of the revolt against the terror movement was just a beginning.

In a separate statement, the Islamic State of Iraq announced a new offensive in Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting that began this week. The statement said the offensive was in honor of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the founder of Al Qaeda in Iraq who was killed by an American airstrike in June 2006.

The statements were posted yesterday and today on Islamist Web sites and among other things claimed responsibility for the assassination of Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, who spearheaded the uprising against Al Qaeda in Anbar province west of the capital.

In claiming responsibility for Abu Risha’s death Thursday, the Islamic State said it had formed “special security committees” to track down and “assassinate the tribal figures, the traitors, who stained the reputations of the real tribes by submitting to the soldiers of the Crusade” and the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister al-Maliki.

“We will publish lists of names of the tribal figures to scandalize them in front of our blessed tribes,” the statement added.

In a second statement posted today, the purported head of the Islamic State, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, said he was “honored to announce” the new offensive in memory of al-Zarqawi.

Today we witness the fallacy of the Western civilization and the renaissance of the Islamic giant,” Mr. al-Baghdadi said in a half-hour audio file.

American officials hope Abu Risha’s death will not reverse the tide against Al Qaeda, which began last year when he organized Sunni clans to fight the terror movement, producing a dramatic turnaround in Ramadi and other parts of Anbar province.

The revolt has spread to Sunni insurgent groups in Baghdad, Diyala province and elsewhere. Some insurgents who were ambushing American troops a few months ago are now working alongside the Americans to rid their communities of Al Qaeda.

Abu Risha’s brother Ahmed was elected head of the Anbar Awakening movement soon after the bombing at the family’s heavily guarded compound on the outskirts of Ramadi.

The national Interior Ministry announced that a police brigade would be named after the slain tribal leader and a statue would be erected in Ramadi in his honor.

Iraqi officials said the roadside bomb was just outside Abu Risha’s walled compound in view of a guard shack and an Iraqi police checkpoint.
Some 1,500 mourners called for revenge as they buried Abu Risha on yesterday.

Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, the second-highest ranking American officer in Iraq, and several high-ranking government officials attended the funeral, including Iraq’s interior and defense ministers and National Security Adviser Mouwaffak al-Rubaie.

“We condemn the killing of Abu Risha, but this will not deter us from helping the people of Anbar — we will support them more than before,” Mr. al-Rubaie declared. “It is a national disaster and a great loss for the Iraqi people — Abu Risha was the only person to confront Al Qaeda in Anbar.”

Abu Risha’s assassination clouded President Bush’s claims of progress in Iraq, especially in Anbar, which had been the center of the Sunni insurgency until the dramatic turnaround by the local sheiks. Mr. Bush met with Abu Risha during a visit to Anbar on September 3.

In a televised address Thursday, Mr. Bush ordered gradual reductions in American forces in Iraq but rejected calls to end the war. More than 130,000 American troops will remain after the withdrawals are completed in July.

Secretary of Defense Gates yesterday raised the possibility of cutting American troop levels to 100,000 or so by the end of 2008, if conditions improve enough.

“It was encouraging to see the president’s comments to Americans to reinforce support for us,” said American Lieutenant Colonel Mike Donnelly, 42, based at Tikrit with the 25th Infantry Division.

American Captain Bryan Greening, 25, said he found no surprises in Mr.Bush’s speech.

“I think the drawdown is a good idea,” said Captain Greening, assigned to Tikrit with the 1st Cavalry Division. “The surge has done whatever it can and now it’s time to allow soldiers to go home and get some rest.”

First Lieutenant Larry Pitts, 33, serving with the 82nd Airborne Division in north Baghdad, said soldiers are aware of the political debate in America but “we don’t have the time to worry about the big picture.”

In violence today, an Iraqi soldier was killed when gunmen attacked a checkpoint in Baqouba, capital of Diyala province, Iraqi army said. Police and army officials said eight civilians also were killed and five others wounded in attacks in and around the volatile city, which had been a stronghold of the Islamic State until American soldiers overran it in July.