By DPA
Baghdad : Some 22 factions of the so-called Iraqi resistance announced in a statement Thursday that they joined forces and elected as their leader the vice-president of the former regime, Izzat al-Durri.
The statement, which has been posted on the Basra Network website, said the move to unify the factions was in response to a resolution voted by the US Senate that proposed dividing Iraq.
Unity under the leadership of al-Durri would end reluctance in the US “imperialistic” media to recognize the true identity of the resistance and the tendency to give Al Qaeda credit for it, the statement said.
Only five per cent of acts of resistance were carried out by Al Qaeda, the statement claimed.
Al-Durri was number six on the US military’s list of the 55 most-wanted Iraqi officials that was released in 2003 and the highest-ranking figure on the US list who have not been captured or killed yet.
The US has posted a 10-million-dollar reward for his capture.
The authenticity of the statement could not be independently verified.