- AP

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq’s most feared terror group claimed responsibility Sunday for slaughtering members of the Iraqi security forces in Mosul, where dozens of bodies have been found. The claim raises fears the terror group has expanded to the north after the loss of its purported base in Fallujah.

A statement posted on an Islamist Web site in the name of al-Qaida in Iraq, led by Jordanian terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed responsibility for killing 17 members of Iraq’s security forces and a Kurdish militiaman in Mosul, where insurgents rose up this month in support of guerrillas facing a U.S.-led assault in Fallujah.

The claim could not be independently verified but the style of writing appeared similar to other statements by al-Zarqawi’s group, which is responsible for numerous car bombings and beheadings of foreign hostages in Iraq.

Mosul, a city in Northern Iraq, has been the site of over 50 killings within the past 10 days by terrorists. The Army of Ansar al-Sunnah is the main terrorist group that operates in Northern Iraq, however Zarqawi is the leader of Tawhid wal Jihad.

As noted before, the terrorist groups inside of Iraq are collaborating more and more instead of previously just respecting each others’ territories. What is interesting is that Tawhid wal Jihad seems to be given the green light to operate in a former Army of Ansar al-Sunnah stronghold with recognition. Whether this means the leadership of the Army of Ansar al-Sunnah has been killed or whether the two terrorist groups are in the process of merging remains to be seen. Most likely, the groups are not merging based upon their nationality differences as the Army of Ansar al-Sunnah are primarily Iraqis and Tawhid wal Jihad is full of non-Iraqis.