Saturday, May 05, 2007
Tribesmen attacked by suicide bomber
Security
(AFP) - At least 16 Iraqi army recruits were killed Saturday when a suicide bomber detonated explosives at their recruitment centre west of Baghdad one day after police found the murdered bodies of seven anti-terrorism officers. Another 21 recruits were wounded in the blast, which took place at an army base in the predominantly Sunni rural tribal area around Abu Ghraib, said a defense ministry official.
Sunni tribesmen that once fought with the insurgency have been increasingly joining the security services at the urging of their elders to restore stability to their strife-ridden lands. Interior ministry spokesman Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf told reporters Saturday that thanks to the efforts of the tribes, specifically in the western Al-Anbar province, security forces are now on the offensive.
"For the first time in four years the government is giving an offer to the armed groups to lay down their weapons and give themselves up to the government," he said. "Those that have not shed Iraqi blood will be given a general amnesty. We intend to raise the people of the province in the army and police to 21,000 fighters to ensure security there," he said, adding that at the end of 2006, there were 9,000.
Tribes in Iraq's western province of Al-Anbar have banded together and are working with US and Iraqi forces to combat Al-Qaeda and sending people to join the security services to restore stability and hasten the departure of US troops. The fiercely independent Sunni tribesmen also see the advantage of not being patrolled by security forces largely made up of Shiites from elsewhere in the country. Attempts are being made by the US military and Iraqi government to build such tribal alliances elsewhere in the country where the predominantly Sunni insurgency is raging with limited success.
Insurgents, particularly those linked with Al-Qaeda, have struck back hard against the tribes looking to ally with the government. The seven plain clothes police found murdered north of Baghdad in the oil refining town of Baiji on Friday were tribal recruits to Anbar province's special anti-terrorism police unit, a police intelligence captain told AFP on condition of anonymity. The bodies of the policemen, which were riddled with bullets, had been dumped on the roadside.
Sunni tribesmen that once fought with the insurgency have been increasingly joining the security services at the urging of their elders to restore stability to their strife-ridden lands. Interior ministry spokesman Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf told reporters Saturday that thanks to the efforts of the tribes, specifically in the western Al-Anbar province, security forces are now on the offensive.
"For the first time in four years the government is giving an offer to the armed groups to lay down their weapons and give themselves up to the government," he said. "Those that have not shed Iraqi blood will be given a general amnesty. We intend to raise the people of the province in the army and police to 21,000 fighters to ensure security there," he said, adding that at the end of 2006, there were 9,000.
Tribes in Iraq's western province of Al-Anbar have banded together and are working with US and Iraqi forces to combat Al-Qaeda and sending people to join the security services to restore stability and hasten the departure of US troops. The fiercely independent Sunni tribesmen also see the advantage of not being patrolled by security forces largely made up of Shiites from elsewhere in the country. Attempts are being made by the US military and Iraqi government to build such tribal alliances elsewhere in the country where the predominantly Sunni insurgency is raging with limited success.
Insurgents, particularly those linked with Al-Qaeda, have struck back hard against the tribes looking to ally with the government. The seven plain clothes police found murdered north of Baghdad in the oil refining town of Baiji on Friday were tribal recruits to Anbar province's special anti-terrorism police unit, a police intelligence captain told AFP on condition of anonymity. The bodies of the policemen, which were riddled with bullets, had been dumped on the roadside.
Labels: Abu Ghraib, army recruits, Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf, suicide bomber, Sunni tribesmen
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Al-Zobaie tribes attack al-Qaeda in retaliation for assassination attempt
Security, Tribal, Insurgency
(Al Sabbah) - Sources from the Abu Ghraib area said that the Zauba'a (al-Zobaie) tribes attacked Al-Qaeda in revenge for the attempted assassination attempt on Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Salam Zauba'ai which killed his son.Tribal sources from Abu Ghraib, Zedan town and Falluja's A'amreia said that fighting broke out between members of the Zauba'a tribe and groups of al-Qaeda in Iraq, which resulted in the death of armed men with other Arabic nationalities.
Labels: Abu Ghraib, al-Zobaie tribe, Fallujah, Minister Dr. Salam Zauba'ai
Anbar Awakening Sheik in assassination attempt
Tribal, Security
(Reuters) - A tribal leader in Abu Ghraib west of Baghdad was the target of an attack on Tuesday involving two blasts that killed his son and wounded at least one more person, relatives and a provincial official said. Sheikh Thahir al-Dari's son was killed in a double car bombing, and there were several more casualties, said Ahmed al-Dulaimi, head of the provincial council media office in Anbar.
However a relative of the sheikh, who is a member of a group of tribes who have formed an alliance against al Qaeda, said the son was killed when a rocket propelled grenade hit the car he was in. Another person was wounded in the car. Dari is the head of the al-Zobaie tribe, to which Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zobaie belongs. The deputy prime minister was the target of an assassination bid last week.
Suicide bombers have targeted a number of tribal leaders in the anti-Qaeda alliance amid a growing struggle in Anbar between the militant group and tribes who oppose it. Zobaie was wounded in last week's attack at his home in Baghdad. An aide said that suicide bomber was one of his own guards and said the tribe was itself divided between those loyal to the government and those supporting al Qaeda. Zobaie's office said on Tuesday he had recovered and might be discharged from the U.S. military hospital later on Tuesday.
However a relative of the sheikh, who is a member of a group of tribes who have formed an alliance against al Qaeda, said the son was killed when a rocket propelled grenade hit the car he was in. Another person was wounded in the car. Dari is the head of the al-Zobaie tribe, to which Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zobaie belongs. The deputy prime minister was the target of an assassination bid last week.
Suicide bombers have targeted a number of tribal leaders in the anti-Qaeda alliance amid a growing struggle in Anbar between the militant group and tribes who oppose it. Zobaie was wounded in last week's attack at his home in Baghdad. An aide said that suicide bomber was one of his own guards and said the tribe was itself divided between those loyal to the government and those supporting al Qaeda. Zobaie's office said on Tuesday he had recovered and might be discharged from the U.S. military hospital later on Tuesday.
COMMENT: There have been several attacks on tribal leaders who have turned against Al-Qaeda. These are likely to continue. However, most of the tribal leaders have had enough of Al-Qaeda and large civilian casualties caused by them as well as loss of their own family members and are likely to continue fighting against them. Their cooperation with Iraqi and U.S. security forces has strengthened the coalition and encouraged many young men to join the security forces in their areas. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Abu Ghraib, al-Zobaie tribe, Anbar Awakening, Sheikh Thahir al-Dari
