Report: Militants' Use Of Aliases Changes With Change Of Location

Asharq al Awsat:
Militant Islamist groups extensive use of aliases is due to several reasons, Montasser al Zayat, who is known as "the Islamists' lawyer " in Egypt, told Asharq al Awsat newspaper. Al Zayat explains that when working in public, Islamists use aliases usually taken from Islamic history as a remembrance and honoring of earlier times. They also use it to mislead security agencies when working secretly, so that if a cell member is arrested the identities of the other members are not revealed, he added. Al Zayat also noted that militants' aliases change as they change location. He says al Qaeda's number two Ayman al Zawahri aliases including Dr. Abdul Moezz, Mr. Nour and Abu Mohammed.