Islam. "The raids serve the purpose of obtaining evidence about the existence, structure and working methods of the group, as well as indications of concrete terrorist activities," it said. Ansar al-Islam is a militant group originating in Kurdish-held northern Iraq. Prosecutors have been investigating its activities in Germany, which Nehm said included fund-raising, trafficking and propaganda, since December 2003. The United States accuses it of working closely with al Qaeda and with the network of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most prominent leader of the insurgency in Iraq. Zarqawi's group threatened to assassinate Allawi in an Internet statement in August, in which it said: "Allawi, be sure that we only have the sword for you, whose thirst we'll quench with your blood." --More 1957 Local Time 1657 GMT
