BAGHDAD(AP)- A new group announced this week purportedly by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to target a Shiite militia, claimed responsibility for its first operation on Thursday, the killings of a Shiite in south Baghdad.
"Your brothers in the Omar Corps, which belongs to the al-Qaeda in Iraq, on Wednesday assassinated a leading member in the corps of treason, the Badr Corps in Doura," a statement posted on an al-Qaeda-linked website said.
Police confirmed that a member of the Badr Brigade, led by the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, was killed on Wednesday in the Doura district in southern Baghdad.
In an audiotape found on Wednesday on the same Web site, a speaker claiming to be al-Zarqawi announced formation of the Omar Corps to "eradicate" the Badr Brigade.
Al-Zarqawi”s group has been targeting Shiites, who dominate Iraq”s government, in a bid to trigger civil war.