Insurgent Iraqi TV outlet emerges in Syria

DAMASCUS, Syria, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- An Iraqi television channel banned for airing 24-hour footage of attacks on U.S. soldiers has re-emerged in Syria under authority of a former Iraqi leader.

Al-Zawraa TV had broadcast terrorist attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq continuously. It was banned from Arab satellite coverage under U.S. pressure, but has resurfaced as al-Rai TV in Syria, the Middle East Media Research Institute reported.

The MERI report states Mish'an al-Jabouri, a former Iraqi lawmaker and alleged supporter of the insurgency, owned al-Zawraa in Iraq and is now registered in Syria as the owner of al-Rai.

He fled to Syria around 2005 after he was indicted for stealing government funds intended for the protection of the oil infrastructure in Kirkuk. He allegedly used the money to fund the insurgency.

Al-Rai began broadcasting a weekly program, "The Harvest of the Resistance," at the start of the holy month of Ramadan.

"They tell us the most glorious story in the history of mankind -- a story not of death, but of eternal life and martyrdom for the sake of freedom, under the banner of Jihad," said the show's presenter, Hussein Hussein.

Recent broadcasts also included interviews with former Baath Party official and member of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council Salah Omar Ali-Ali, a strong opponent of the U.S. presence in Iraq.