Iraqi Group Threatens to Kill Zarqawi

FoxNews.com is reporting that a video of a group of Iraqis threatening Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been send to al-Arabiya television.

A group of armed, masked Iraqi men threatened Tuesday to kill Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (search) if he did not immediately leave the country, accusing him of murdering innocent Iraqis and defiling the Muslim religion.

The threats revealed the deep anger many Iraqis, including insurgent groups, feel toward foreign fighters, whom many consider as illegitimate a presence here as the 160,000 U.S. and other coalition troops.

I would rather see such threats coming from the Iraqi security forces, but vigilante justice is preferable to al-Zarqawi's injustices until the security forces are capable and reliable enough for the task. Also, it is encouraging to see some practitioners of Islam standing up for the tenets of their faith violated by these Islamist terrorists.

In the video, three men, their faces covered with Arab headscarves, were flanked by rocket propelled grenades and an Iraqi flag. The man speaking had a clear Iraqi accent.

"We swear to Allah that we have started preparing ... to capture him and his allies or kill them and present them as gift to our people." the man said. "This is the last warning. If you don't stop, we will do to you what the coalition forces have failed to do."

Al-Zarqawi, said to be connected to Al Qaeda, is believed to be behind a series of coordinated attacks on police and security forces that killed 100 people only days before U.S. forces handed over power to an Iraqi interim government.

His followers have also claimed responsibility for the beheading of American businessman Nicholas Berg (search) and South Korean translator Kim Sun-il (search).

Hopefully, this is a sign that the Iraqis have had enough and are reaching the point that they'll fight for their own future.