Thursday, September 20, 2007
Suspect in murder of Russian diplomats arrested
Security
(AP) - Iraq's foreign minister said Iraqi authorities have arrested a man suspected of organizing the murder of four Russian diplomats in Baghdad last year, Russian news agencies reported Wednesday. Speaking during a trip to Russia, Hoyshan Zebari was quoted by Interfax and RIA-Novosti as identifying the suspect as a man named Abu Nur and said he was a member of the terrorist group al-Qaida in Iraq.
"We have arrested one suspect. All efforts are now being taken to speed up the investigation," he was quoted by RIA-Novosti as saying. No further information was given. Law enforcement officials in Baghdad could not be reached for comment because of the Ramadan holiday. The abduction and killing of the diplomats in Baghdad in June 2006 angered Moscow, which complained that Iraqi and U.S. coalition forces were not doing enough to provide security in Baghdad.
Russia has been a consistent critic of the U.S.-led military campaign in Iraq. In January, after the Russian Embassy in Baghdad was shelled, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to complain about the security situation.
"We have arrested one suspect. All efforts are now being taken to speed up the investigation," he was quoted by RIA-Novosti as saying. No further information was given. Law enforcement officials in Baghdad could not be reached for comment because of the Ramadan holiday. The abduction and killing of the diplomats in Baghdad in June 2006 angered Moscow, which complained that Iraqi and U.S. coalition forces were not doing enough to provide security in Baghdad.
Russia has been a consistent critic of the U.S.-led military campaign in Iraq. In January, after the Russian Embassy in Baghdad was shelled, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to complain about the security situation.
Labels: Abu Nur, Al Qaeda in Iraq, Hoyshan Zebari, murder, Russian diplomats
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
AQI militants seize village in Diyala
Insurgency
(AFP) - Al-Qaeda in Iraq militants have seized control of an village in the restive province of Diyala after a two-day battle with a rival Sunni insurgent group, police said on Wednesday. Dozens of fighters from the Islamist extremist group arrived in boats on Monday and launched an attack on Al-Shuan village on the banks of the Diyala river, police Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim al-Obeidi said
Members of the rival Brigades of the 1920 Revolution fought back but the Sunni Arab village eventually fell to the Al-Qaeda militants. Obeidi said the village had been attacked after its 300 or so inhabitants refused to align with Al-Qaeda in its fight against Iraqi and US security forces. "Al-Qaeda militants attacked the village two days ago and took control of it (Tuesday)," said Obeidi.
Quoting villagers who escaped the assault, Obeidi said seven of the 30 houses in the village had been destroyed but he gave no casualty figures. Many Sunni militants of the Brigades of the 1920 Revolution, an insurgent group formed to fight US forces in Iraq, have now joined with US and Iraqi troops to fight Al-Qaeda in Sunni Arab areas of Iraq. They also offer protection to vulnerable Sunni Arab villages under threat from Al-Qaeda as it seeks recruits for its anti-American insurgency.
Diyala, the second most dangerous region in Iraq after Baghdad, has been the focus in the past few months of a concerted military crackdown by US and Iraqi troops. According to US military commanders, dozens of fighters linked to Al-Qaeda have been killed or captured in the operation.
Members of the rival Brigades of the 1920 Revolution fought back but the Sunni Arab village eventually fell to the Al-Qaeda militants. Obeidi said the village had been attacked after its 300 or so inhabitants refused to align with Al-Qaeda in its fight against Iraqi and US security forces. "Al-Qaeda militants attacked the village two days ago and took control of it (Tuesday)," said Obeidi.
Quoting villagers who escaped the assault, Obeidi said seven of the 30 houses in the village had been destroyed but he gave no casualty figures. Many Sunni militants of the Brigades of the 1920 Revolution, an insurgent group formed to fight US forces in Iraq, have now joined with US and Iraqi troops to fight Al-Qaeda in Sunni Arab areas of Iraq. They also offer protection to vulnerable Sunni Arab villages under threat from Al-Qaeda as it seeks recruits for its anti-American insurgency.
Diyala, the second most dangerous region in Iraq after Baghdad, has been the focus in the past few months of a concerted military crackdown by US and Iraqi troops. According to US military commanders, dozens of fighters linked to Al-Qaeda have been killed or captured in the operation.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, Al-Shuan, Diyala, the 1920 Revolution Brigades
Monday, September 17, 2007
U.S. military says southern Sheiks want to join forces
Security, Tribal
American commanders in southern Iraq say Shiite sheiks are showing interest in joining forces with the US military against extremists, in much the same way that Sunni clansmen in the western part of the country have worked with American forces against Al Qaida.
Sheik Majid Tahir Al Magsousi, the leader of the Migasees tribe here in Wasit province, acknowledged tribal leaders have discussed creating a brigade of young men trained by the Americans to bolster local security as well as help patrol the border with Iran. He also said last week's assassination of Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, who spearheaded the Sunni uprising against Al Qaida in Anbar province, only made the Shiite tribal leaders more resolute.
''The death of Shaikh Abu Risha will not thwart us,'' he said. ''What matters to us is Iraq and its safety.'' The movement by Shiite clan leaders offers the potential to give US and Iraqi forces another tactical advantage in curbing lawlessness in Shiite areas. It also would give the Americans another resource as they beef up their presence on the border with Iran, which the military accuses of arming and training Shiite extremists.
Similar alliances with Sunni tribes in the western Anbar province helped break the grip of groups such as Al Qaida in Iraq and were widely cited in the Washington hearings as a major military success this year. Such pacts to fill the vacuum left by Iraqi police and soldiers unable or unwilling to act against Shiite militias carry even greater potential spin-offs for Iraq's US-backed leadership -- but also higher risks. Shiites represent about 60 per cent of Iraq's population and the bulk of the security forces and parliament. Worsening the current Shiite-on-Shiite battles could ripple to the highest levels.
But US officials at the heart of the effort hope to tap a wellspring of public frustration with militias and criminal gangs to recruit the tribal volunteers, although they stress it is still in the early stages. ''It's an anti-militia movement ... Shiite extremists of all stripes,'' said Wade Weems, head of a Provincial Reconstruction Team leading the dialogue in the Wasit province southeast of Baghdad.
But while the military has made inroads with Sunni leaders in some Baghdad neighborhoods and areas surrounding the capital, including Diyala province, officials stressed it's too early to know if efforts to extend the strategy to Shiite leaders will take root.
Sheik Majid Tahir Al Magsousi, the leader of the Migasees tribe here in Wasit province, acknowledged tribal leaders have discussed creating a brigade of young men trained by the Americans to bolster local security as well as help patrol the border with Iran. He also said last week's assassination of Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, who spearheaded the Sunni uprising against Al Qaida in Anbar province, only made the Shiite tribal leaders more resolute.
''The death of Shaikh Abu Risha will not thwart us,'' he said. ''What matters to us is Iraq and its safety.'' The movement by Shiite clan leaders offers the potential to give US and Iraqi forces another tactical advantage in curbing lawlessness in Shiite areas. It also would give the Americans another resource as they beef up their presence on the border with Iran, which the military accuses of arming and training Shiite extremists.
Similar alliances with Sunni tribes in the western Anbar province helped break the grip of groups such as Al Qaida in Iraq and were widely cited in the Washington hearings as a major military success this year. Such pacts to fill the vacuum left by Iraqi police and soldiers unable or unwilling to act against Shiite militias carry even greater potential spin-offs for Iraq's US-backed leadership -- but also higher risks. Shiites represent about 60 per cent of Iraq's population and the bulk of the security forces and parliament. Worsening the current Shiite-on-Shiite battles could ripple to the highest levels.
But US officials at the heart of the effort hope to tap a wellspring of public frustration with militias and criminal gangs to recruit the tribal volunteers, although they stress it is still in the early stages. ''It's an anti-militia movement ... Shiite extremists of all stripes,'' said Wade Weems, head of a Provincial Reconstruction Team leading the dialogue in the Wasit province southeast of Baghdad.
But while the military has made inroads with Sunni leaders in some Baghdad neighborhoods and areas surrounding the capital, including Diyala province, officials stressed it's too early to know if efforts to extend the strategy to Shiite leaders will take root.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, Migasees tribe, Sheik Abdul-Sattar abu Risha, Sheik Majid Tahir Al Magsousi, Shiite sheiks, southern Iraq, Wade Weems, Wasit
Monday, September 10, 2007
Mastermind behind Yazidi attack killed by U.S.
Security
(Gulf News) - A US air strike killed the Al Qaida militant who masterminded Iraq's deadliest bombings which killed more than 400 people on August 14, targeting the Yazidi sect, a US military spokesman said yesterday. He also said that "hundreds" of Al Qaida in Iraq had been captured or killed last month. "On September 3, a coalition air strike killed the terrorist responsible for the planning and conducting of the horrific attack against the Yazidis in northern Iraq on August 14," Rear Admiral Mark Fox said. Abu Mohammad Al Afri, also known as Abu Jasem, was killed in the air strike, southwest of the northern city of Mosul, Fox said.
Labels: Abu Jasem, Abu Mohammad Al Afri, air strike, Al Qaeda in Iraq, Mosul, Rear Admiral Mark Fox, Sinjar, Yazidis
Thursday, September 06, 2007
26,000 U.S. and Iraq forces go on offensive in n. Iraq
Security
(CNN) -- About 26,000 U.S. and Iraqi forces are taking part in an offensive against al Qaeda in Iraq in northern Iraq, the U.S. military said on Thursday. Iraqis gather at the site of a U.S. airstrike on Baghdad Thursday. Residents said people were killed in their sleep. The operation, Lightning Hammer II, is an extension of an earlier operation in Diyala province.
About 14,000 Iraqi security forces stationed throughout Nineveh province and 12,000 U.S. soldiers are conducting the operation, which started Wednesday evening. The military said the operation "follows Lightning Hammer I ... to deny al Qaeda safe haven in the provinces" of Salaheddin, Nineveh, Diyala, and Kirkuk.
The military said the original Operation Lightning Hammer -- August 13 to September 1 -- ousted militants from the Diyala River valley, northeast of Baquba, the capital of Diyala province. "Al Qaeda cells were driven from Baquba in Diyala due to Operation Arrowhead Ripper in June and July and then pursued in the Diyala River valley during Operation Lighting Hammer in August," Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, commander of Task Force Lightning and Multinational Division-North.
About 14,000 Iraqi security forces stationed throughout Nineveh province and 12,000 U.S. soldiers are conducting the operation, which started Wednesday evening. The military said the operation "follows Lightning Hammer I ... to deny al Qaeda safe haven in the provinces" of Salaheddin, Nineveh, Diyala, and Kirkuk.
The military said the original Operation Lightning Hammer -- August 13 to September 1 -- ousted militants from the Diyala River valley, northeast of Baquba, the capital of Diyala province. "Al Qaeda cells were driven from Baquba in Diyala due to Operation Arrowhead Ripper in June and July and then pursued in the Diyala River valley during Operation Lighting Hammer in August," Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, commander of Task Force Lightning and Multinational Division-North.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, Iraqi forces, Lightning Hammer II, northern Iraq, U.S. forces
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Islamic Army in Iraq signs ceasefire with Al Qaeda in Iraq
Insurgency
(The Times) - The Islamic Army is one of Iraq’s best known resistance groups, made up largely of former members of Saddam Hussein’s army and security forces. In a turnaround that heartened proponents of the US troop surge, it has lately been firing its weapons at Al-Qaeda in Iraq instead of American soldiers. The US military has been discreetly putting out feelers to the Islamic Army in the hope of winning it over permanently.
But Ibrahim al-Shammari, a representative of the Islamic Army, had an uncompromising message for the Americans. The Islamic Army and other armed factions would agree to talks only if they accepted that the “Islamic resistance” was the legitimate representative of the Iraqi people and agreed to set a clear timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. The government of Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, was finished, he boasted. “The final countdown has started. It has lost the support of Iraqis and the American people.”
It was hard to disagree when Senator Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, had just joined a chorus of US politicians demanding Maliki’s removal. She said she hoped the Iraqi parliament would replace him with a “less divisive and more unifying figure”. Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador in Baghdad, told Time magazine, “the fall of the Maliki government, when it happens, might be a good thing”.
Yet many opponents of the US troop build-up, including Clinton, are coming round to the view that the surge is partially working – at least to the west of Baghdad in Anbar province, where Sunni tribesmen have been aiding Iraqi security forces and the Americans.
According to Shammari, however, the gains in Anbar will be shortlived. He said the Islamic Army had signed a ceasefire with Al-Qaeda in Iraq. The country was to be carved into spheres of influence where the Islamic Army and Al-Qaeda in Iraq could operate independently of each other. It would represent an enormous setback for the surge. Shammari admitted Al-Qaeda in Iraq was unpopular. “Local people consider them enemy number one. They tyrannised people and killed and assaulted tribal leaders. They lost their bases and supporters and provoked the clans into rising up against them,” he said.
But the Islamic Army resents the way the Americans have tried to turn the infighting in Anbar to their advantage. “We’ve had big problems with Al-Qaeda ever since they began targeting and killing our men,” he said. “Eventually we had to fight back, but we found American troops were exploiting the situation by spreading rumours that exacerbated the conflict.”
The Islamic Army has also noted President George Bush’s comments about the success of the surge. “Bush foolishly announced to the world that all the Sunnis in Iraq were fighting Al-Qaeda so he could claim to have achieved a great victory,” Shammari said. “It’s nonsense.”
The Islamic Army is considering resuming the kidnapping of foreigners as a sign of renewed militancy, Shammari said. In the past, it was responsible for murdering Enzo Baldoni, an Italian journalist, and a number of foreign workers. It also kidnapped two French journalists who were later released. “Every foreigner in Iraq is a potential target for us no matter what his nationality or religion,” Shammari said. “If he is proven to be a spy, he will be punished and an Islamic court will determine his fate.” The purpose of taking hostages would not be to kill them, he added. “We want western governments to listen to the Iraqi people and stop supporting the occupation by sending their citizens to Iraq.”
The Islamic Army’s defiance sharpens the dilemma for American forces. Could progress in Anbar quickly unravel? If the US draws down its forces, will the Sunnis take the fight, not to Al-Qaeda, but to the Shi’ite government in Baghdad? And if so, will the US military have helped to build up a brutal sectarian force?
In Baghdad, Colonel Rick Welch, head of reconciliation for the US military command, told The Washington Post earlier this month that Sunni groups had recently provided 5,000 fighters for policing efforts in the capital. But he admitted that Maliki’s government was “worried that the Sunni tribes may be using mechanisms to build their strength and power and eventually to challenge this government. This is a risk for us all”.
The National Intelligence Estimate, drawn up by US intelligence agencies and published last week, spelt out similar dangers. “Sunni Arab resistance to Al-Qaeda in Iraq has expanded in the last six to nine months but has not yet translated into broad Sunni Arab support for the Iraqi government or widespread willingness to work with the Shia,” it noted.
Back in the villa, Shammari said Maliki’s government would soon be gone. “The daily contradictions in the statements by American leaders about Iraq prove that the Iraqi resistance is going in the right direction.”
He added: “The next president should take prompt action to withdraw all US troops from Iraq.” And Gordon Brown should follow suit, he said, though he could hardly fail to be aware that plans for British withdrawal in the coming months are already advanced. “The new prime minister should save Britain from the humiliating stupidity of Tony Blair and Bush and start withdrawing troops from Iraq now,” he said.
But Ibrahim al-Shammari, a representative of the Islamic Army, had an uncompromising message for the Americans. The Islamic Army and other armed factions would agree to talks only if they accepted that the “Islamic resistance” was the legitimate representative of the Iraqi people and agreed to set a clear timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. The government of Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, was finished, he boasted. “The final countdown has started. It has lost the support of Iraqis and the American people.”
It was hard to disagree when Senator Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, had just joined a chorus of US politicians demanding Maliki’s removal. She said she hoped the Iraqi parliament would replace him with a “less divisive and more unifying figure”. Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador in Baghdad, told Time magazine, “the fall of the Maliki government, when it happens, might be a good thing”.
Yet many opponents of the US troop build-up, including Clinton, are coming round to the view that the surge is partially working – at least to the west of Baghdad in Anbar province, where Sunni tribesmen have been aiding Iraqi security forces and the Americans.
According to Shammari, however, the gains in Anbar will be shortlived. He said the Islamic Army had signed a ceasefire with Al-Qaeda in Iraq. The country was to be carved into spheres of influence where the Islamic Army and Al-Qaeda in Iraq could operate independently of each other. It would represent an enormous setback for the surge. Shammari admitted Al-Qaeda in Iraq was unpopular. “Local people consider them enemy number one. They tyrannised people and killed and assaulted tribal leaders. They lost their bases and supporters and provoked the clans into rising up against them,” he said.
But the Islamic Army resents the way the Americans have tried to turn the infighting in Anbar to their advantage. “We’ve had big problems with Al-Qaeda ever since they began targeting and killing our men,” he said. “Eventually we had to fight back, but we found American troops were exploiting the situation by spreading rumours that exacerbated the conflict.”
The Islamic Army has also noted President George Bush’s comments about the success of the surge. “Bush foolishly announced to the world that all the Sunnis in Iraq were fighting Al-Qaeda so he could claim to have achieved a great victory,” Shammari said. “It’s nonsense.”
The Islamic Army is considering resuming the kidnapping of foreigners as a sign of renewed militancy, Shammari said. In the past, it was responsible for murdering Enzo Baldoni, an Italian journalist, and a number of foreign workers. It also kidnapped two French journalists who were later released. “Every foreigner in Iraq is a potential target for us no matter what his nationality or religion,” Shammari said. “If he is proven to be a spy, he will be punished and an Islamic court will determine his fate.” The purpose of taking hostages would not be to kill them, he added. “We want western governments to listen to the Iraqi people and stop supporting the occupation by sending their citizens to Iraq.”
The Islamic Army’s defiance sharpens the dilemma for American forces. Could progress in Anbar quickly unravel? If the US draws down its forces, will the Sunnis take the fight, not to Al-Qaeda, but to the Shi’ite government in Baghdad? And if so, will the US military have helped to build up a brutal sectarian force?
In Baghdad, Colonel Rick Welch, head of reconciliation for the US military command, told The Washington Post earlier this month that Sunni groups had recently provided 5,000 fighters for policing efforts in the capital. But he admitted that Maliki’s government was “worried that the Sunni tribes may be using mechanisms to build their strength and power and eventually to challenge this government. This is a risk for us all”.
The National Intelligence Estimate, drawn up by US intelligence agencies and published last week, spelt out similar dangers. “Sunni Arab resistance to Al-Qaeda in Iraq has expanded in the last six to nine months but has not yet translated into broad Sunni Arab support for the Iraqi government or widespread willingness to work with the Shia,” it noted.
Back in the villa, Shammari said Maliki’s government would soon be gone. “The daily contradictions in the statements by American leaders about Iraq prove that the Iraqi resistance is going in the right direction.”
He added: “The next president should take prompt action to withdraw all US troops from Iraq.” And Gordon Brown should follow suit, he said, though he could hardly fail to be aware that plans for British withdrawal in the coming months are already advanced. “The new prime minister should save Britain from the humiliating stupidity of Tony Blair and Bush and start withdrawing troops from Iraq now,” he said.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, Hillary Clinton, Ibrahim al-Shammari, Islamic Army in Iraq, kidnapping, Ryan Crocker
Child fighters on the rise in Iraq
Security
(Los Angeles Times) - Child fighters, once a rare presence on Iraq's battlefields, are playing a significant and growing role in kidnappings, killings and roadside bombings in the country, U.S. military officials say. Boys, some as young as 11, now outnumber foreign fighters at U.S. detention camps in Iraq. Since March, their numbers have risen to 800 from 100, said Maj. Gen. Douglas Stone, the commander of detainee operations. The Times reported last month that only 130 non-Iraqi fighters were in U.S. custody in Iraq.
Stone attributes the rise in child fighters in the country, in part, to the pressure that the U.S. buildup of troops has placed on the flow of foreign fighters. Fewer of them are making it into the country, he said, and the militant group Al Qaeda in Iraq is having a difficult time recruiting adults locally. Thus, it has turned to children." As our operations have increased, Al Qaeda [in Iraq] and others have used more minors in the fight against us, and in the process we have detained more and more juveniles," Stone said.
Stone attributes the rise in child fighters in the country, in part, to the pressure that the U.S. buildup of troops has placed on the flow of foreign fighters. Fewer of them are making it into the country, he said, and the militant group Al Qaeda in Iraq is having a difficult time recruiting adults locally. Thus, it has turned to children." As our operations have increased, Al Qaeda [in Iraq] and others have used more minors in the fight against us, and in the process we have detained more and more juveniles," Stone said.
He said the children make effective fighters because they are easily influenced, don't experience fear in the same way as adults and don't draw as much scrutiny from U.S. forces. Other causes for the increase in detentions may be that U.S. forces are simply coming into contact with more children because of the troop buildup, and that financial pressures may have pushed some Iraqi families toward the militants. Stone said some children have told interrogators that their parents encouraged them to do the militants' dirty work because the extremists have deep pockets.
Insurgents typically pay the boys $200 to $300 to plant a bomb, enough to support a family for two or three months, say their Iraqi instructors at a U.S. rehabilitation center. About 85% of the child detainees are Sunni and the majority live in Sunni Arab-dominated regions in the country's west and north. In these deeply impoverished, violence-torn communities, the men with money and influence are the ones with the most powerful arsenals. These are the children's role models.
The rise of child fighters will eventually make the Iraq conflict more gruesome, said Peter W. Singer, a Brookings Institution expert on child fighters. He said militant leaders often treat children as a cheap commodity, and peace will be less attainable because "conflict entrepreneurs" now have an established and pliable fighting force in their communities.
Websites feature stories of child martyrs as an inspiration, and on the other side of the sectarian divide, radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr's Mahdi Army also boasts of youngsters' involvement. "This shows that the Mahdi are a popular resistance movement against the occupiers. The old men and the young men are on the same field of battle," Sadr spokesman Sheik Ahmad Shebani told the London Daily Telegraph. The boys are arrested under a wide range of circumstances, and their commitment to insurgents is believed to vary greatly. Although some of their alleged offenses include kidnappings and killings, the vast majority are held for allegedly planting bombs in the road in exchange for money, authorities said.
The rise in young fighters compounds the savagery that has already shuttered many schools, left children wounded and hungry, and killed parents before children's eyes. For their American captors, the apparent surge of child fighters confuses enemy and friend on the battlefield even further, and it causes renewed scrutiny of the military's detention policies and lack of judicial access for juvenile detainees in custody. To accommodate the influx of boys, and to break the hold of the militants, a new education facility opened here Aug. 13. It sits a bus ride away from Camp Cropper, the U.S. detention area where the boys, between the ages of 11 and 17, live segregated from many others of the estimated 24,000 suspected insurgents in American custody in Iraq.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, boys, Camp Cropper, child fighters, children, detention centres, insurgents, Iraq, Mahdi Army, Maj. Gen. Douglas Stone
Friday, August 24, 2007
60 AQI fighters carry out coordinated attacks against police in Samarra
Security
Sixty suspected al-Qaida in Iraq fighters hit national police facilities in a coordinated attack in Samarra, sparking two hours of fighting that saw three people killed and more than a dozen insurgents captured, police said Friday. The masked attackers drove into the city at dusk Thursday in about 20 vehicles, including pickups with machine-guns, then split into small groups and assaulted four police checkpoints and a headquarters building, a Samarra police official said.
One policeman and two civilians - a woman and an 11-year-old girl - were killed in the fighting in the city 60 miles north of Baghdad, and nine others were injured including a police commando and three children. There were no details on insurgent casualties, but police arrested 14 suspects, the spokesman said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
The brazen attack came after early morning assaults by suspected al-Qaida fighters on two villages to the southeast of Samarra near Baqouba, where fighters bombed the house of a local Sunni sheik and kidnapped a group of mostly women. Residents were finally able to drive off the attackers and end the deadly rampage, but not before 17 villagers, including seven women, were killed. Ten al-Qaida gunmen also died.
The twin attacks near the Diyala provincial capital of Baquoba - a city 35 miles northeast of Baghdad that has been the focus of recent major U.S.-Iraqi military operations against alleged al-Qaida fighters and Shiite militiamen - hit a Shiite village and a Sunni village with the same ferocity but apparently different motives.
The attack on the Sunni village, Ibrahim al-Yahya, began when about 25 gunmen exploded a bomb at the house of Sheik Younis al-Shimari, destroying his home and killing him and one member of his family. Ten people were wounded, including four other members of the family and passers-by. Some of the wounded were hit by gunfire.
"They were shouting 'Allah Akbar and a curse be upon the renegades,'" said Umm Ahmed, a woman who was wounded in the attack. She refused to give her full name fearing retribution. "This attack will cause the uprising against them to spread to other villages." Seven people were kidnapped. Two of the abducted men were later found shot in the head on a road leading out of town. The rest of the captives were women, and their fate was unknown.
Al-Shimari and his village apparently came under attack after he called on the men there to rise up against al-Qaida. While the Sunni village was under attack, another band of alleged al-Qaida fighters stormed Timim, the nearby Shiite village and an obvious sectarian target, according to Baqouba police Brig. Ali Dlaiyan, who reported both assaults and gave the casualty tolls. He said the villagers were able to fight off the attack in a 30-minute gunbattle.
It was unclear how many of the 17 residents who died were in each village. A police vehicle rushing to the attack scene crashed and two policemen were killed, according to officials in the Diyala provincial police force who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.
The Sunni uprising against al-Qaida began spontaneously early this year in Anbar province, once a bastion of the Sunni insurgency in the west of Iraq, and has spread to Diyala province and some Baghdad neighborhoods. The U.S. military has encouraged disaffected Sunnis, many of them former insurgents, and has begun working side by side with the Sunni auxiliary units. Many of the Sunni militants disagree with Al Qaeda's brand of Islam and their mass casualty attacks on civilians.
One policeman and two civilians - a woman and an 11-year-old girl - were killed in the fighting in the city 60 miles north of Baghdad, and nine others were injured including a police commando and three children. There were no details on insurgent casualties, but police arrested 14 suspects, the spokesman said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
The brazen attack came after early morning assaults by suspected al-Qaida fighters on two villages to the southeast of Samarra near Baqouba, where fighters bombed the house of a local Sunni sheik and kidnapped a group of mostly women. Residents were finally able to drive off the attackers and end the deadly rampage, but not before 17 villagers, including seven women, were killed. Ten al-Qaida gunmen also died.
The twin attacks near the Diyala provincial capital of Baquoba - a city 35 miles northeast of Baghdad that has been the focus of recent major U.S.-Iraqi military operations against alleged al-Qaida fighters and Shiite militiamen - hit a Shiite village and a Sunni village with the same ferocity but apparently different motives.
The attack on the Sunni village, Ibrahim al-Yahya, began when about 25 gunmen exploded a bomb at the house of Sheik Younis al-Shimari, destroying his home and killing him and one member of his family. Ten people were wounded, including four other members of the family and passers-by. Some of the wounded were hit by gunfire.
"They were shouting 'Allah Akbar and a curse be upon the renegades,'" said Umm Ahmed, a woman who was wounded in the attack. She refused to give her full name fearing retribution. "This attack will cause the uprising against them to spread to other villages." Seven people were kidnapped. Two of the abducted men were later found shot in the head on a road leading out of town. The rest of the captives were women, and their fate was unknown.
Al-Shimari and his village apparently came under attack after he called on the men there to rise up against al-Qaida. While the Sunni village was under attack, another band of alleged al-Qaida fighters stormed Timim, the nearby Shiite village and an obvious sectarian target, according to Baqouba police Brig. Ali Dlaiyan, who reported both assaults and gave the casualty tolls. He said the villagers were able to fight off the attack in a 30-minute gunbattle.
It was unclear how many of the 17 residents who died were in each village. A police vehicle rushing to the attack scene crashed and two policemen were killed, according to officials in the Diyala provincial police force who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.
The Sunni uprising against al-Qaida began spontaneously early this year in Anbar province, once a bastion of the Sunni insurgency in the west of Iraq, and has spread to Diyala province and some Baghdad neighborhoods. The U.S. military has encouraged disaffected Sunnis, many of them former insurgents, and has begun working side by side with the Sunni auxiliary units. Many of the Sunni militants disagree with Al Qaeda's brand of Islam and their mass casualty attacks on civilians.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, Brig. Ali Dlaiyan, Diyala, Ibrahim al-Yahya, Samarra, Sheik Younis al-Shimari, Timim
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Death toll doubles in northern Iraq
Security
(CNN) -- The death toll in this week's suicide bombings in northern Iraq has risen to at least 500, local officials in Nineveh province said Wednesday. A girl wounded in the Tuesday attacks in northern Iraq arrives at a hospital in Duhouk, Iraq, on Wednesday. Iraqi Army and Mosul police sources earlier put the number at 260, but said it was likely to rise; 320 were reported wounded.
The Tuesday truck bombs that targeted the villages of Qahtaniya, al-Jazeera and Tal Uzair, in northern Iraq near the border with Syria, were a "trademark al Qaeda event" designed to sway U.S. public opinion against the war, a U.S. general said Wednesday. The attacks, targeting Kurdish villages of the Yazidi religious minority, were attempts to "break the will" of the American people and show that the U.S. troop escalation -- the "surge" -- is failing, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon said.
The bombings highlight the kind of sectarian tensions the troop surge was designed to stop. In another blast Thursday morning, a bomb in a parked car exploded at a busy shopping center in central Baghdad, killing at least nine people and wounding 17, Iraq's Ministry of Information said. Al Qaeda in Iraq is predominantly Sunni, and Mixon said members of the Yazidi religious minority have received threatening letters, called "night letters," telling them "to leave because they are infidels."
"This is an act of ethnic cleansing, if you will -- almost genocide when you consider the fact the target they attacked and the fact that these Yazidis, out in a very remote part of Nineveh province, where there is very little security and really no security required to this point," Mixon said. Sunni militants, including members of al Qaeda in Iraq, have targeted Yazidis in the area before.
Brig. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said there were three suicide trucks carrying two tons of explosives. At least 30 houses and other buildings were destroyed. Khalaf said the carnage looks like the aftermath of a "mini-nuclear explosion." More bodies are expected to be found. The U.S. military said there were five bombings -- four at a crowded bus station in Qahtaniya and a fifth in al-Jazeera. The massacre comes ahead of next month's report to Congress by Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker on progress in Iraq.
The Tuesday truck bombs that targeted the villages of Qahtaniya, al-Jazeera and Tal Uzair, in northern Iraq near the border with Syria, were a "trademark al Qaeda event" designed to sway U.S. public opinion against the war, a U.S. general said Wednesday. The attacks, targeting Kurdish villages of the Yazidi religious minority, were attempts to "break the will" of the American people and show that the U.S. troop escalation -- the "surge" -- is failing, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon said.
The bombings highlight the kind of sectarian tensions the troop surge was designed to stop. In another blast Thursday morning, a bomb in a parked car exploded at a busy shopping center in central Baghdad, killing at least nine people and wounding 17, Iraq's Ministry of Information said. Al Qaeda in Iraq is predominantly Sunni, and Mixon said members of the Yazidi religious minority have received threatening letters, called "night letters," telling them "to leave because they are infidels."
"This is an act of ethnic cleansing, if you will -- almost genocide when you consider the fact the target they attacked and the fact that these Yazidis, out in a very remote part of Nineveh province, where there is very little security and really no security required to this point," Mixon said. Sunni militants, including members of al Qaeda in Iraq, have targeted Yazidis in the area before.
Brig. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said there were three suicide trucks carrying two tons of explosives. At least 30 houses and other buildings were destroyed. Khalaf said the carnage looks like the aftermath of a "mini-nuclear explosion." More bodies are expected to be found. The U.S. military said there were five bombings -- four at a crowded bus station in Qahtaniya and a fifth in al-Jazeera. The massacre comes ahead of next month's report to Congress by Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker on progress in Iraq.
The office of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki blamed Sunni extremists for the "monstrous crime." He said a committee has been formed to investigate. Ashraf Qazi, the U.N. secretary-general's special representative for Iraq, called the attack an "abominable crime aimed at widening the sectarian and ethnic divide in Iraq." Qazi urged Iraqi authorities to bolster their efforts to protect minorities.
The Yazidi sect is a mainly Kurdish minority, an ancient group that worships seven angels, in the form of peacocks, who are subordinate to the supreme god who created the universe. A couple of related incidents in the spring highlighted the tensions between Sunnis and Yazidis. In April, a Kurdish Yazidi teenage girl was brutally beaten, kicked and stoned to death in northern Iraq by other Yazidis in what authorities said was an "honor killing" after she was seen with a Sunni Muslim man. Although she had not married him or converted, her attackers believed she had.
The Yazidis condemn mixing with people of another faith. That killing is said to have spurred the killings of about two dozen Yazidi men by Sunni Muslims in the Mosul area two weeks later. Attackers affiliated with al Qaeda pulled 24 Yazidi men out of a bus and slaughtered them, according to a provincial official.
The Yazidi sect is a mainly Kurdish minority, an ancient group that worships seven angels, in the form of peacocks, who are subordinate to the supreme god who created the universe. A couple of related incidents in the spring highlighted the tensions between Sunnis and Yazidis. In April, a Kurdish Yazidi teenage girl was brutally beaten, kicked and stoned to death in northern Iraq by other Yazidis in what authorities said was an "honor killing" after she was seen with a Sunni Muslim man. Although she had not married him or converted, her attackers believed she had.
The Yazidis condemn mixing with people of another faith. That killing is said to have spurred the killings of about two dozen Yazidi men by Sunni Muslims in the Mosul area two weeks later. Attackers affiliated with al Qaeda pulled 24 Yazidi men out of a bus and slaughtered them, according to a provincial official.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, al-Jazeera, Brig. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, Qahtaniya, suicide trucks, Tal Uzair, Yezidis
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Yezidis targeted in simultaneous suicide bombings, 175 dead
Security
(Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Wednesday al Qaeda was the "prime suspect" in suicide bombings overnight on an ancient minority sect that Iraqi officials said killed more than 175 people in northern Iraq. Rescue workers searched for bodies in the rubble of dozens of buildings destroyed in up to five simultaneous car bomb attacks.
The attackers, driving fuel tankers, struck densely populated residential areas west of the city of Mosul that are home to members of the Yazidi sect, whose followers are considered infidels by Sunni Islamist militant groups. The fuel tanker attacks occurred about 8pm local time [1700 GMT]. The U.S. military said it was too early to say who was responsible, but the scale and apparently coordinated nature meant the attack carried the hallmarks of Sunni Islamist al Qaeda. The United States has condemned the attack as barbaric.
In the aftermath of the blast, authorities imposed a total curfew in the Sinjar area, which is close to the Syrian border where the U.S. military has been battling al Qaeda in Iraq. It's also one of the transit points for fighters coming into the country from Syria. Sinjar district mayor Dakheel Qassim Hasoun said only people and vehicles involved in rescue efforts would be allowed to move through the area. He said it would be impossible to establish a final death toll any time soon because many bodies were still buried in the rubble of up to 30 houses destroyed in the blasts.
Lieutenant-Colonel Mike Donnelly, U.S. military spokesman for northern Iraq, said U.S. forces were assisting Iraqi emergency agencies as they sifted through the rubble and were providing logistical, security and medical support. Iraqi army captain Mohammad al-Jaad put the death from the attack by at least three suicide bombers driving fuel tankers at 175, with 200 wounded. Hasoun said the death toll could go as high as 200. Dhakil Qassim, a mayor in the town of Sinjar near the attacks who blamed Al Qaida in Iraq, said four trucks approached Qahataniya from dirt roads and they all explodedwithin minutes of each other.
Iraqi authorities said the death toll was so high because most of the destroyed houses, all tightly packed in three Yazidi residential compounds, were made of mud that were shattered by the force of the attack. "It is going to be difficult to get a full death toll because of the nature of the buildings," Garver said.
The U.S. military said five vehicle-borne bombs had been detonated in Yazidi residential compounds in the villages of Kahtaniya and al-Jazeera. Jaad said the village of Tal Uzair was also hit. The Islamic State in Iraq, an Al Qaida front group, distributed leaflets a week ago warning residents near the scene of Tuesday's bombings that an attack was imminent because Yazidis are "anti-Islamic."
Yazidis are members of a pre-Islamic Kurdish sect who live in northern Iraq and Syria. Sunni militants have targeted Yazidis in recent months by kidnapping and killing them. Yazidis in Iraq say they have often faced discrimination because Melek Taus, the chief angel they venerate as a manifestation of God is often identified as the fallen angel Satan in biblical terminology.
Some members stoned a Yazidi teenager to death in April. She had converted to Islam and fled her family with a Muslim boyfriend. Police said 18-year-old Duaa Khalil Aswad was killed by relatives who disapproved of the match. The incident appears to have sparked an increase in attacks on Yazidis. The bodies of two Yazidi men who had been stoned to death were also found in the northern city of Kirkuk on Tuesday, police said.
The attackers, driving fuel tankers, struck densely populated residential areas west of the city of Mosul that are home to members of the Yazidi sect, whose followers are considered infidels by Sunni Islamist militant groups. The fuel tanker attacks occurred about 8pm local time [1700 GMT]. The U.S. military said it was too early to say who was responsible, but the scale and apparently coordinated nature meant the attack carried the hallmarks of Sunni Islamist al Qaeda. The United States has condemned the attack as barbaric.
In the aftermath of the blast, authorities imposed a total curfew in the Sinjar area, which is close to the Syrian border where the U.S. military has been battling al Qaeda in Iraq. It's also one of the transit points for fighters coming into the country from Syria. Sinjar district mayor Dakheel Qassim Hasoun said only people and vehicles involved in rescue efforts would be allowed to move through the area. He said it would be impossible to establish a final death toll any time soon because many bodies were still buried in the rubble of up to 30 houses destroyed in the blasts.
Lieutenant-Colonel Mike Donnelly, U.S. military spokesman for northern Iraq, said U.S. forces were assisting Iraqi emergency agencies as they sifted through the rubble and were providing logistical, security and medical support. Iraqi army captain Mohammad al-Jaad put the death from the attack by at least three suicide bombers driving fuel tankers at 175, with 200 wounded. Hasoun said the death toll could go as high as 200. Dhakil Qassim, a mayor in the town of Sinjar near the attacks who blamed Al Qaida in Iraq, said four trucks approached Qahataniya from dirt roads and they all explodedwithin minutes of each other.
Iraqi authorities said the death toll was so high because most of the destroyed houses, all tightly packed in three Yazidi residential compounds, were made of mud that were shattered by the force of the attack. "It is going to be difficult to get a full death toll because of the nature of the buildings," Garver said.
The U.S. military said five vehicle-borne bombs had been detonated in Yazidi residential compounds in the villages of Kahtaniya and al-Jazeera. Jaad said the village of Tal Uzair was also hit. The Islamic State in Iraq, an Al Qaida front group, distributed leaflets a week ago warning residents near the scene of Tuesday's bombings that an attack was imminent because Yazidis are "anti-Islamic."
Yazidis are members of a pre-Islamic Kurdish sect who live in northern Iraq and Syria. Sunni militants have targeted Yazidis in recent months by kidnapping and killing them. Yazidis in Iraq say they have often faced discrimination because Melek Taus, the chief angel they venerate as a manifestation of God is often identified as the fallen angel Satan in biblical terminology.
Some members stoned a Yazidi teenager to death in April. She had converted to Islam and fled her family with a Muslim boyfriend. Police said 18-year-old Duaa Khalil Aswad was killed by relatives who disapproved of the match. The incident appears to have sparked an increase in attacks on Yazidis. The bodies of two Yazidi men who had been stoned to death were also found in the northern city of Kirkuk on Tuesday, police said.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, al-Jazeera, Duaa Khalil Aswad, fuel tankers, Islamic State in Iraq, Kahtaniya, Lieutenant-Colonel Mike Donnelly, Melek Taus, Qahataniya, Sinjar, suicide bombings, Tal Uzair, Yezidis
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
US Army: 1920 Revolutionary Battalions Has Reconciled With The Iraqi Government
Politics, Insurgency
(Al Mashriq Newspaper) - 30 JUL - Yesterday, reconciliation was achieved between 1920 Revolutionary Battalions and the Iraqi government with the assistance of the US Army. A US Army statement clarified that the goal of this reconciliation is to assist the Iraqi government and MNF to smash Al Qaida in Iraq. It is worthy to mention that Iraqi security officials were upset with the US Army arming some insurgent groups with the Iraqi government’s approval.
Labels: 1920 Revolutionary Battalions, Al Qaeda in Iraq, Iraqi government, reconciliation, U.S. military
Al Qaeda Members Gathering In Himrin Mountains To Avoid Operation “Arrowhead Ripper”
Security, Insurgency
(Al Mada Newspaper) - 30 JUL - On Saturday, an Iraqi Army source reported that Al Qaeda members, and their groups, have escaped into the Himrin Mountains. (The Al Qaeda members began hiding in these mountains more) especially after the ‘second stage’ of Operation Arrowhead Ripper began in Baquba’s area.
The “anonymous source, in a press statement”, said “Groups from the Al Qaeda organization have begun to gather in the Himrin Mountains, which are located on the ‘northeast border of Diyala Province’ with some areas of the Kurdistan region… And, these mountains also pass through parts of the Provinces of Salah Ad Din, Kirkuk (Tamim), and Mosul (Ninawa).”
The source continued, “This ‘gathering operation’ coincided with Operation Arrowhead Ripper finishing its first month. The result of this operation is that the Al Qaeda members have fled Arrowhead Ripper’s area of operations instead of facing the Security Forces… And, our information confirmed that 200-350 Al Qaeda members have reached various areas of Kirkuk and Salah Ad Din Provinces. They (these Al Qaeda) members are now gathering in order to conduct attacks in these areas.”
The source also mentioned, “The Himrin Mountains are located along the (Iranian border) and are adjacent to ‘Iranian mountains’. This area is very difficult terrain, and it has many caves. It is also near an unoccupied desert area which runs from Kirkuk to Diyala.” He added, “These areas have many different population groups; Arabs, Kurds, and Turkmen living in the area. And, it is an open area which is easily used for smuggling …And, it is an area where people can easily and secretly cross into or out of Iraq. Most of the smuggling operations which occurred during the “old regime (Saddam)” used this area and, currently, this is still occurring.”
The source added, “Intelligence information indicates that most of these ‘armed groups’ (gathering in this area) belong to Al Qaeda. They are attempting to gather there, because it is a safe area for them… especially areas of the Himrin Mountains and the desert area between the town of Muqdadiya and the Mansuriyat Al Jabil and Dali Abbas area (two adjacent areas)… Muqdadiya is located 45 km northeast of Baquba; and, the Mansuriyat Al Jabil and the Dali Abbas area, both of which are located 50 km northeast of Baquba. [Therefore, there may be a large concentration of AQIQ in this 5 km long stretch of Diyala Province.] There are also gatherings occurring in semi-mountainous areas, such as: the Al Athim area, 100 km north of Baghdad.”
According to this source Operation Arrowhead Ripper “was closing in on the AQIQ members so, they fled to these open areas in which they can move freely about without being observed by Iraqi Security Forces.”
The “anonymous source, in a press statement”, said “Groups from the Al Qaeda organization have begun to gather in the Himrin Mountains, which are located on the ‘northeast border of Diyala Province’ with some areas of the Kurdistan region… And, these mountains also pass through parts of the Provinces of Salah Ad Din, Kirkuk (Tamim), and Mosul (Ninawa).”
The source continued, “This ‘gathering operation’ coincided with Operation Arrowhead Ripper finishing its first month. The result of this operation is that the Al Qaeda members have fled Arrowhead Ripper’s area of operations instead of facing the Security Forces… And, our information confirmed that 200-350 Al Qaeda members have reached various areas of Kirkuk and Salah Ad Din Provinces. They (these Al Qaeda) members are now gathering in order to conduct attacks in these areas.”
The source also mentioned, “The Himrin Mountains are located along the (Iranian border) and are adjacent to ‘Iranian mountains’. This area is very difficult terrain, and it has many caves. It is also near an unoccupied desert area which runs from Kirkuk to Diyala.” He added, “These areas have many different population groups; Arabs, Kurds, and Turkmen living in the area. And, it is an open area which is easily used for smuggling …And, it is an area where people can easily and secretly cross into or out of Iraq. Most of the smuggling operations which occurred during the “old regime (Saddam)” used this area and, currently, this is still occurring.”
The source added, “Intelligence information indicates that most of these ‘armed groups’ (gathering in this area) belong to Al Qaeda. They are attempting to gather there, because it is a safe area for them… especially areas of the Himrin Mountains and the desert area between the town of Muqdadiya and the Mansuriyat Al Jabil and Dali Abbas area (two adjacent areas)… Muqdadiya is located 45 km northeast of Baquba; and, the Mansuriyat Al Jabil and the Dali Abbas area, both of which are located 50 km northeast of Baquba. [Therefore, there may be a large concentration of AQIQ in this 5 km long stretch of Diyala Province.] There are also gatherings occurring in semi-mountainous areas, such as: the Al Athim area, 100 km north of Baghdad.”
According to this source Operation Arrowhead Ripper “was closing in on the AQIQ members so, they fled to these open areas in which they can move freely about without being observed by Iraqi Security Forces.”
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, Arrowhead Ripper, Diyala, Himrin Mountains, Muqdadiya
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Al-Qaeda members becoming informants for U.S. military
Insurgency
(The Times) - Fed up with being part of a group that cuts off a person’s face with piano wire to teach others a lesson, dozens of low-level members of al-Qaeda in Iraq are daring to become informants for the US military in a hostile Baghdad neighbourhood. The ground-breaking move in Doura is part of a wider trend that has started in other al-Qaeda hotspots across the country and in which Sunni insurgent groups and tribal sheikhs have stood together with the coalition against the extremist movement.
“They are turning. We are talking to people who we believe have worked for al-Qaeda in Iraq and want to reconcile and have peace,” said Colonel Ricky Gibbs, commander of the 4th Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, which oversees the area. The sewage-filled streets of Doura, a Sunni Arab enclave in south Baghdad, provide an ugly setting for what US commanders say is al-Qaeda’s last stronghold in the city. The secretive group, however, appears to be losing its grip as a “surge” of US troops in the neighbourhood – part of the latest effort by President Bush to end the chaos in Iraq – has resulted in scores of fighters being killed, captured or forced to flee.
“Al-Qaeda’s days are numbered and right now he is scrambling,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Stephen Michael, who commands a battalion of 700 troops in Doura. A key factor is that local people and members of al-Qaeda itself have become sickened by the violence and are starting to rebel, Lieutenant-Colonel Michael said. “The people have got to deny them sanctuary and that is exactly what is happening.”
Al-Qaeda informants comprise largely members of the Doura network who found themselves either working with the group after the US-led invasion in March 2003, or signed up to earn extra cash because there were no other jobs going. Disgusted at the attacks and intimidation techniques used on friends, neighbours and even relatives, they are now increasingly looking for a way out, US officers say.
“It is only after al-Qaeda has become truly barbaric and done things like, to teach lessons to people, cut their face off with piano wire in front of their family and then murdered everybody except one child who told the tale afterwards . . . that people realise how much of a mess they are in,” Lieutenant James Danly, 31, who works on military intelligence in Doura, said.
It is impossible to corroborate the claims, but he said that scores of junior al-Qaeda in Iraq members there had become informants since May, including one low-level cell leader who gave vital information after his arrest. “He gave us dates, places and names and who did what,” Lieutenant Danly said. When asked why he was being so forthcoming, the man said: “Because I am sick of it and I hate them, and I am done.”
Working with insurgents – even those who claim to have switched sides – is a leap of faith for both sides. Every informant who visits Forward Operating Base Falcon, a vast military camp on the southern outskirts of Baghdad, is blindfolded when brought in and out to avoid gleaning any information about his surroundings.
The risk sometimes pays off. A recent tip-off led to the fatal shooting of Abu Kaldoun, one of three senior al-Qaeda leaders in Doura, during a US raid last week. “He was turned in by one of his own,” Colonel Michael said.
Progress with making contacts and gathering actionable information is slow because al-Qaeda has persuasive methods of keeping people quiet. This month it beheaded two men in the street and pinned a note on to their corpses giving warning that anyone who cooperated with US troops would meet the same fate.
The increased presence of US forces in Doura, however, is encouraging insiders to overcome their fear and divulge what they know. Convoys of US soldiers are working the rubble-strewn streets day and night, knocking on doors, speaking to locals and following up leads on possible insurgent hideouts.
“People in al-Qaeda come to us and give us information,” said Lieutenant Scott Flanigan, as he drove past a line of fruit and vegetable stalls near a shabby shopping street in Doura, where people were buying bread and other groceries. The informants were not seeking an amnesty for crimes that they had committed. “They just do not want to be killed,” Lieutenant Flanigan said.
Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi – who was killed in a US raid last year – established the Iraqi al-Qaeda network in 2004, but opinions differ on its compilation, size and capabilities. Some military experts believe that the group is a cell-based network of chapters who are loosely linked to an overall leader by go-between operatives.
Others, however, describe al-Qaeda in Iraq as a sort of franchise, with separate cells around the country that use the brand – made infamous by Osama bin Laden – and cultural ideology but do not work closely with each other or for one overriding leader. Despite the uncertainties one thing seems guaranteed. A hardcore of people calling themselves al-Qaeda in Iraq remains devoted to the extremist cause and is determined to fight on whatever the cost.
“They are turning. We are talking to people who we believe have worked for al-Qaeda in Iraq and want to reconcile and have peace,” said Colonel Ricky Gibbs, commander of the 4th Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, which oversees the area. The sewage-filled streets of Doura, a Sunni Arab enclave in south Baghdad, provide an ugly setting for what US commanders say is al-Qaeda’s last stronghold in the city. The secretive group, however, appears to be losing its grip as a “surge” of US troops in the neighbourhood – part of the latest effort by President Bush to end the chaos in Iraq – has resulted in scores of fighters being killed, captured or forced to flee.
“Al-Qaeda’s days are numbered and right now he is scrambling,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Stephen Michael, who commands a battalion of 700 troops in Doura. A key factor is that local people and members of al-Qaeda itself have become sickened by the violence and are starting to rebel, Lieutenant-Colonel Michael said. “The people have got to deny them sanctuary and that is exactly what is happening.”
Al-Qaeda informants comprise largely members of the Doura network who found themselves either working with the group after the US-led invasion in March 2003, or signed up to earn extra cash because there were no other jobs going. Disgusted at the attacks and intimidation techniques used on friends, neighbours and even relatives, they are now increasingly looking for a way out, US officers say.
“It is only after al-Qaeda has become truly barbaric and done things like, to teach lessons to people, cut their face off with piano wire in front of their family and then murdered everybody except one child who told the tale afterwards . . . that people realise how much of a mess they are in,” Lieutenant James Danly, 31, who works on military intelligence in Doura, said.
It is impossible to corroborate the claims, but he said that scores of junior al-Qaeda in Iraq members there had become informants since May, including one low-level cell leader who gave vital information after his arrest. “He gave us dates, places and names and who did what,” Lieutenant Danly said. When asked why he was being so forthcoming, the man said: “Because I am sick of it and I hate them, and I am done.”
Working with insurgents – even those who claim to have switched sides – is a leap of faith for both sides. Every informant who visits Forward Operating Base Falcon, a vast military camp on the southern outskirts of Baghdad, is blindfolded when brought in and out to avoid gleaning any information about his surroundings.
The risk sometimes pays off. A recent tip-off led to the fatal shooting of Abu Kaldoun, one of three senior al-Qaeda leaders in Doura, during a US raid last week. “He was turned in by one of his own,” Colonel Michael said.
Progress with making contacts and gathering actionable information is slow because al-Qaeda has persuasive methods of keeping people quiet. This month it beheaded two men in the street and pinned a note on to their corpses giving warning that anyone who cooperated with US troops would meet the same fate.
The increased presence of US forces in Doura, however, is encouraging insiders to overcome their fear and divulge what they know. Convoys of US soldiers are working the rubble-strewn streets day and night, knocking on doors, speaking to locals and following up leads on possible insurgent hideouts.
“People in al-Qaeda come to us and give us information,” said Lieutenant Scott Flanigan, as he drove past a line of fruit and vegetable stalls near a shabby shopping street in Doura, where people were buying bread and other groceries. The informants were not seeking an amnesty for crimes that they had committed. “They just do not want to be killed,” Lieutenant Flanigan said.
Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi – who was killed in a US raid last year – established the Iraqi al-Qaeda network in 2004, but opinions differ on its compilation, size and capabilities. Some military experts believe that the group is a cell-based network of chapters who are loosely linked to an overall leader by go-between operatives.
Others, however, describe al-Qaeda in Iraq as a sort of franchise, with separate cells around the country that use the brand – made infamous by Osama bin Laden – and cultural ideology but do not work closely with each other or for one overriding leader. Despite the uncertainties one thing seems guaranteed. A hardcore of people calling themselves al-Qaeda in Iraq remains devoted to the extremist cause and is determined to fight on whatever the cost.
Labels: Abu Kaldoun, Al Qaeda in Iraq, Colonel Ricky Gibbs, Doura, Forward Operating Base Falcon, informants, Lieutenant-Colonel Stephen Michael, U.S. military
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Captured senior Al Qaeda in Iraq leader calls Islamic State of Iraq a front
Insurgency
(CNN) - The U.S. military on Wednesday announced the arrest of a senior leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, an insurgent who, the military said, is casting himself as a "conduit" between the top leaders of al Qaeda and al Qaeda in Iraq. Khalid al-Mashadani, an Iraqi also known as Abu Shahed, was seized on July 4 in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and is in coalition custody, the military said.
"He served as the al Qaeda media emir for Baghdad and then was appointed the media emir for all of Iraq," said Brig. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner, Multi-National Force-Iraq spokesman, who briefed reporters. He is believed to be the most senior Iraqi in al Qaeda in Iraq. During interrogations, al-Mashadani shed light on the workings of al Qaeda in Iraq and its connection with al Qaeda outside of Iraq, Bergner said.
He said al-Mashadani is a close associate of al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri and served as an "intermediary" between al-Masri, al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, the second-in-command of al Qaeda. "In fact, communication between senior al Qaeda leadership and al-Masri frequently went through al-Mashadani," Bergner said.
Bergner said al-Mashadani co-founded an organization "in cyberspace" called the Islamic State of Iraq, which he referred to as a "marketing" effort to create a Taliban-like state in Iraq. U.S. counterterrorism officials also told CNN that al-Mashadani was a top lieutenant to al-Masri and regarded as a "jack of all trades," involved in recruitment and in organizing and planning attacks, with particular interest in propaganda activities.
One of those officials said the announcement of his arrest was delayed because officials wanted to "maximize their ability to get information" from him before others he was associated with knew about his detention. Al-Mashadani also shed light on the Islamic State of Iraq, the so-called umbrella group of Iraqi insurgents that includes al Qaeda in Iraq.
That group has claimed responsibility for many terrorist attacks. But Bergner said that al-Mashadani passed on the information that the creation of the group was a ruse to cast itself as home-grown, when in fact it is led by foreigners. It went so far as to create a fictional political head of Islamic State of Iraq, Omar al-Baghdadi and an actor was used to portray him.
Bergner said Islamic State of Iraq is "a front organization" for al Qaeda in Iraq and a "pseudonym" for it as well.
"It is really being controlled, directed and guided by al Qaeda in Iraq leadership." Bergner also said al-Mashadani was a leader in the Ansar al Sunna terrorist group before joining al Qaeda in Iraq two-and-a-half-years ago.
What the U.S. military has learned from al-Mashadani and other operatives they've seized is that "there is a flow of strategic direction, of prioritization of messaging and other guidance that comes from al Qaeda senior leadership to the al Qaeda in Iraq leadership," Bergner said. Bergner emphasizes that that there is a "clear connection between al Qaeda in Iraq and al Qaeda senior leadership outside Iraq."
The arrest of al-Mashadani was announced amid controversy over President Bush's contention that al Qaeda and al Qaeda in Iraq are one and the same. The evidence has been not been significant about the extent of the relationship. But a new U.S. government intelligence analysis released Tuesday said al Qaeda's terrorist activities in Iraq not only serve to bolster the group and recruit more members, but may also be the nexus for another planned attack on U.S. soil.
The declassified portion of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) warns of "a persistent and evolving terrorist threat over the next three years" from Islamic terrorist groups, namely al Qaeda. Al Qaeda is increasing its efforts to get operatives into the United States for an attack and has nearly all the capabilities it needs to carry out such a mission, according to the report, which represents the combined analyses of all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies.
"He served as the al Qaeda media emir for Baghdad and then was appointed the media emir for all of Iraq," said Brig. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner, Multi-National Force-Iraq spokesman, who briefed reporters. He is believed to be the most senior Iraqi in al Qaeda in Iraq. During interrogations, al-Mashadani shed light on the workings of al Qaeda in Iraq and its connection with al Qaeda outside of Iraq, Bergner said.
He said al-Mashadani is a close associate of al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri and served as an "intermediary" between al-Masri, al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, the second-in-command of al Qaeda. "In fact, communication between senior al Qaeda leadership and al-Masri frequently went through al-Mashadani," Bergner said.
Bergner said al-Mashadani co-founded an organization "in cyberspace" called the Islamic State of Iraq, which he referred to as a "marketing" effort to create a Taliban-like state in Iraq. U.S. counterterrorism officials also told CNN that al-Mashadani was a top lieutenant to al-Masri and regarded as a "jack of all trades," involved in recruitment and in organizing and planning attacks, with particular interest in propaganda activities.
One of those officials said the announcement of his arrest was delayed because officials wanted to "maximize their ability to get information" from him before others he was associated with knew about his detention. Al-Mashadani also shed light on the Islamic State of Iraq, the so-called umbrella group of Iraqi insurgents that includes al Qaeda in Iraq.
That group has claimed responsibility for many terrorist attacks. But Bergner said that al-Mashadani passed on the information that the creation of the group was a ruse to cast itself as home-grown, when in fact it is led by foreigners. It went so far as to create a fictional political head of Islamic State of Iraq, Omar al-Baghdadi and an actor was used to portray him.
Bergner said Islamic State of Iraq is "a front organization" for al Qaeda in Iraq and a "pseudonym" for it as well.
"It is really being controlled, directed and guided by al Qaeda in Iraq leadership." Bergner also said al-Mashadani was a leader in the Ansar al Sunna terrorist group before joining al Qaeda in Iraq two-and-a-half-years ago.
What the U.S. military has learned from al-Mashadani and other operatives they've seized is that "there is a flow of strategic direction, of prioritization of messaging and other guidance that comes from al Qaeda senior leadership to the al Qaeda in Iraq leadership," Bergner said. Bergner emphasizes that that there is a "clear connection between al Qaeda in Iraq and al Qaeda senior leadership outside Iraq."
The arrest of al-Mashadani was announced amid controversy over President Bush's contention that al Qaeda and al Qaeda in Iraq are one and the same. The evidence has been not been significant about the extent of the relationship. But a new U.S. government intelligence analysis released Tuesday said al Qaeda's terrorist activities in Iraq not only serve to bolster the group and recruit more members, but may also be the nexus for another planned attack on U.S. soil.
The declassified portion of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) warns of "a persistent and evolving terrorist threat over the next three years" from Islamic terrorist groups, namely al Qaeda. Al Qaeda is increasing its efforts to get operatives into the United States for an attack and has nearly all the capabilities it needs to carry out such a mission, according to the report, which represents the combined analyses of all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies.
Labels: Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, Abu Shahed, Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda in Iraq, al-Masri, al-Zawahiri, Ansar Al Sunna, Brig. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner, Islamic State of Iraq, Khalid al-Mashadani, Mosul, Osama bin Laden
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
U.S. military turns to ex-insurgents to battle Al Qaeda in Iraq
Security
(Christian Science Monitor) - In the pursuit of an elusive enemy the US loosely labels AQI (Al Qaeda in Iraq), US Green Berets and soldiers in this remote corner of Iraq have enlisted the help of a new ally that they have christened LRF, the "Legitimate Resistance Force." It includes ex-insurgents, police dropouts with checkered backgrounds, and former Al Qaeda-linked fighters – all united by a desire to rid Diyala Province of the network's influence, say US officers.
"A lot of them are former Al Qaeda operatives ... but when they saw the stealing, murder, and terrorism, they realized it was not the way forward for Iraq," says Maj. John Woodward of San Antonio. But the risks of such a temporary solution are high, say critics, and the plan could foster new, powerful militias outside the control of the Iraqi Army. It's a strategy that also threatens to further fuel sectarian battles as LRFs are largely Sunni, posing a major threat to Shiite militias.
So far, however, it is too early to judge the effectiveness of this new group, but its creation clearly demonstrates a desire by the US to look for grass-roots solutions amid increasing frustration with the combat readiness – and even loyalty – of Iraqi forces. It also seems to indicate that the Americans are willing to take a short-term gamble on the LRFs in order to show some successes in the fight against AQI before September, when a highly anticipated progress report on Iraq is due to Congress.
The idea for LRFs was born out of the links US troops have sought to foster with Iraqi tribal leaders in Diyala Province as part of the US-led offensive "Arrowhead Ripper," which has been under way here for about a month. But the LRF initiative has little in common with the high-profile tribal Anbar Salvation Council, which was formally endorsed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and helped reduce violence there. Mr. Maliki has backed a Diyala version of that group called the Isnad (support) Council, but it has had much less impact due to the more fragmented nature of Diyala's tribal, ethnic, and sectarian makeup.
Maliki warned US forces last month against creating new militias in their fight against Al Qaeda-linked operatives. He insisted that all collaboration with local groups must be done through his government. "What the Americans are doing is very risky and unwise. They are planting the seeds for future wars," warned Sami al-Askari, a parliamentarian close to Maliki, commenting on groups like the LRF.
"A lot of them are former Al Qaeda operatives ... but when they saw the stealing, murder, and terrorism, they realized it was not the way forward for Iraq," says Maj. John Woodward of San Antonio. But the risks of such a temporary solution are high, say critics, and the plan could foster new, powerful militias outside the control of the Iraqi Army. It's a strategy that also threatens to further fuel sectarian battles as LRFs are largely Sunni, posing a major threat to Shiite militias.
So far, however, it is too early to judge the effectiveness of this new group, but its creation clearly demonstrates a desire by the US to look for grass-roots solutions amid increasing frustration with the combat readiness – and even loyalty – of Iraqi forces. It also seems to indicate that the Americans are willing to take a short-term gamble on the LRFs in order to show some successes in the fight against AQI before September, when a highly anticipated progress report on Iraq is due to Congress.
The idea for LRFs was born out of the links US troops have sought to foster with Iraqi tribal leaders in Diyala Province as part of the US-led offensive "Arrowhead Ripper," which has been under way here for about a month. But the LRF initiative has little in common with the high-profile tribal Anbar Salvation Council, which was formally endorsed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and helped reduce violence there. Mr. Maliki has backed a Diyala version of that group called the Isnad (support) Council, but it has had much less impact due to the more fragmented nature of Diyala's tribal, ethnic, and sectarian makeup.
Maliki warned US forces last month against creating new militias in their fight against Al Qaeda-linked operatives. He insisted that all collaboration with local groups must be done through his government. "What the Americans are doing is very risky and unwise. They are planting the seeds for future wars," warned Sami al-Askari, a parliamentarian close to Maliki, commenting on groups like the LRF.
These ever-shifting allegiances and the fine line between friend and foe provide a hint of the dangers associated with this new US strategy despite its short-term viability. "The long-term problem is that you are working with fractured social forces," says Toby Dodge, an Iraq expert at Queen Mary, University of London.
"The danger is that once they run Al Qaeda out, they may turn on you, the Iraqi government, or both."
Lt. Col. Keith Gogas, who commands the Diyala-based 6-9 Army unit, agrees with the concept of the LRF, but says he thinks the term itself may be problematic. He's working to cement local ties in other creative ways. Last Friday, he reunited a local tribal sheikh with his nephew, whom he helped get released from a US-run prison after the man had been detained for nearly 10 months on suspicion of being a member of the Shiite Mahdi Army militia and committing crimes against Sunnis in Diyala.
"You see how loyal and truthful the Americans are," says Sheikh Saad al-Siriwati to his kinsmen as he puts his arm around Colonel Gogas. "My tribe and I are eternally indebted to Gogas." Abu Saida, the predominantly Shiite town of Shiekh Saad, has come a long way from being one of the most violent in Diyala to the most cooperative with US forces in the fight against extremists. But just as the line between friend and foe is murky so, too, is the division between war and peace.
"The danger is that once they run Al Qaeda out, they may turn on you, the Iraqi government, or both."
Lt. Col. Keith Gogas, who commands the Diyala-based 6-9 Army unit, agrees with the concept of the LRF, but says he thinks the term itself may be problematic. He's working to cement local ties in other creative ways. Last Friday, he reunited a local tribal sheikh with his nephew, whom he helped get released from a US-run prison after the man had been detained for nearly 10 months on suspicion of being a member of the Shiite Mahdi Army militia and committing crimes against Sunnis in Diyala.
"You see how loyal and truthful the Americans are," says Sheikh Saad al-Siriwati to his kinsmen as he puts his arm around Colonel Gogas. "My tribe and I are eternally indebted to Gogas." Abu Saida, the predominantly Shiite town of Shiekh Saad, has come a long way from being one of the most violent in Diyala to the most cooperative with US forces in the fight against extremists. But just as the line between friend and foe is murky so, too, is the division between war and peace.
Labels: 6-9 Army unit, Al Qaeda in Iraq, Anbar Salvation Council, Diyala, Isnad Council, Legitimate Resistance Force, Lt. Col. Keith Gogas, militias, US Green Berets
Monday, July 16, 2007
Report - Saudis make up largest number of foreign fighters in Iraq
Insurgency
(Gulf News) - Although Bush administration officials have frequently lashed out at Syria and Iran for helping the insurgents and militias who attack US troops and civilians here, the largest number of foreign fighters and suicide bombers in Iraq come from a third next-door neighbour, Saudi Arabia, according to a senior US military officer and Iraqi lawmakers.
The US military believes 45 per cent of all foreign militants are Saudi, another 15 per cent are from Syria and Lebanon and 10 per cent from North Africa, according to official US military figures released to the Los Angeles Times by the officer. Nearly half of the 135 foreigners currently held in US detention facilities in Iraq are Saudi.
Saudi fighters are thought to have carried out more suicide bombings than any other nationality, said the senior American military officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the subject's sensitivity for the US government. It is apparently the first time a US official has given such a breakdown on the pivotal role played by Saudi nationals in Iraq's Sunni Arab insurgency.
He added that 50 per cent of all Saudi fighters here are suicide bombers. In the last six months, such bombings have killed or injured 4,000 Iraqis. The situation has left the American military in the awkward position of facing an enemy whose top source of fighters is a key regional ally that at best has not been able to prevent its citizens from undertaking bloody attacks in Iraq, and at worst shares complicity in sending jihadists to commit attacks against US forces, civilians and Iraq's Shiite-led government.
The situation also casts a spotlight on the tangled web of alliances and enemies that often swirl just below the surface in the political relationships between Muslim nations and with the US government. The threat of suicide attacks by a Sunni insurgent group that calls itself Al Qaida in Iraq is the greatest short-term threat to Iraq's security, US military spokesman Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner warned last Wednesday. The Saudi government does not dispute that some of its youth are ending up as suicide bombers in Iraq, but says it has done everything it currently can to stop the bloodshed.
The bombings in Iraq mainly target Iraq's Shiite majority whom Sunni Arab extremists consider unbelievers.
"Saudis are actually being misused. Someone is helping them come to Iraq, someone is helping them inside Iraq, someone is recruiting them to be suicide bombers. We have no idea who these people are. We aren't getting any formal information from the Iraqi government,'' said Gen. Mansour Al Turki, spokesman for the Saudi interior ministry. "If we get good feedback from the Iraqi government about Saudis being arrested in Iraq, probably we can help."
The US military believes 45 per cent of all foreign militants are Saudi, another 15 per cent are from Syria and Lebanon and 10 per cent from North Africa, according to official US military figures released to the Los Angeles Times by the officer. Nearly half of the 135 foreigners currently held in US detention facilities in Iraq are Saudi.
Saudi fighters are thought to have carried out more suicide bombings than any other nationality, said the senior American military officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the subject's sensitivity for the US government. It is apparently the first time a US official has given such a breakdown on the pivotal role played by Saudi nationals in Iraq's Sunni Arab insurgency.
He added that 50 per cent of all Saudi fighters here are suicide bombers. In the last six months, such bombings have killed or injured 4,000 Iraqis. The situation has left the American military in the awkward position of facing an enemy whose top source of fighters is a key regional ally that at best has not been able to prevent its citizens from undertaking bloody attacks in Iraq, and at worst shares complicity in sending jihadists to commit attacks against US forces, civilians and Iraq's Shiite-led government.
The situation also casts a spotlight on the tangled web of alliances and enemies that often swirl just below the surface in the political relationships between Muslim nations and with the US government. The threat of suicide attacks by a Sunni insurgent group that calls itself Al Qaida in Iraq is the greatest short-term threat to Iraq's security, US military spokesman Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner warned last Wednesday. The Saudi government does not dispute that some of its youth are ending up as suicide bombers in Iraq, but says it has done everything it currently can to stop the bloodshed.
The bombings in Iraq mainly target Iraq's Shiite majority whom Sunni Arab extremists consider unbelievers.
"Saudis are actually being misused. Someone is helping them come to Iraq, someone is helping them inside Iraq, someone is recruiting them to be suicide bombers. We have no idea who these people are. We aren't getting any formal information from the Iraqi government,'' said Gen. Mansour Al Turki, spokesman for the Saudi interior ministry. "If we get good feedback from the Iraqi government about Saudis being arrested in Iraq, probably we can help."
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner, foreign fighters, Gen. Mansour Al Turki, Lebanon, North Africa, Saudi Arabia, Syria
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Al Qaeda deputy leader calls on Muslims to rally behind the group
Terrorism
(SITE) - Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the second individual in command of al-Qaeda, presents a speech titled, “The Advice of One Concerned”, in a one-hour and thirty-five minute video produced by the multimedia wing of as-Sahab and issued to jihadist forums on Wednesday, July 4, 2007. Zawahiri is dressed in white, three images on a screen to his back, and English-subtitles are provided for the spoken Arabic.
Touching upon a variety of issues pertinent to the jihadi arena and Muslims, including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Palestine, Zawahiri repeats his call for unification of Mujahideen and total support among Muslim populations for jihad, but his observations go into considerable depth by utilizing footage from a variety of speakers to dovetail his arguments. For example, in discussing Saudi Arabia and the malignancy of the Saudi Royal Family in regard to that country, Iraq, and the entire region, Zawahiri uses excerpts from Bob Woodward’s book, Plan of Attack, to portray the Kingdom’s culpability in the War in Iraq, its agenda, and collaboration with the West at the expense of Muslims.
Zawahiri also encourages greater support for the Islamic State of Iraq despite it lacking “necessary qualifications”, courts Kurds to join jihad, and lauds Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the deceased Emir of al-Qaeda in Iraq, formerly Tawhid Wal Jihad, for his opening of a path for greater unity in the ranks of Mujahideen by being among the first to pledge to Usama bin Laden and join al-Qaeda.
He adds that other groups have also joined the organization, though they prefered that this news not yet be announced, but the declarations will come soon. Iraq is also the launchpad from which Zawahiri launches his diatribe against Saudi Arabia, using aforementioned evidence to warn that Iraq will fall if the Saudis gain significant influence in its politics. Concerning al-Qaeda, Zawahiri points to a second half of a long-term plan, consisting of using Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia as camps for jihadi preparation and training.
Labels: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda in Iraq, as-Sahab, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, Islamic State of Iraq, Kurds, Tawhid Wal Jihad
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Iraqi Islamic Party condemns Diyala operation
Security, Politics
(RFE/RL) - The Sunni-led Iraqi Islamic Party issued a statement on its website on July 1 condemning Operation Arrowhead Ripper, a joint U.S.-Iraqi military operation aimed at eliminating Al-Qaeda in Iraq elements in and around the town of Ba'qubah, the capital of Diyala Governorate. The party described what is occurring in Ba'qubah as a " bloody massacre" and "collective punishment," and urged Iraqi and U.S. forces to differentiate between armed fighters and innocent civilians.
"Western Ba'qubah neighborhoods [Al-Mafraq, Al-Mu'allimin, and Al-Qatun] have been exposed to a fierce attack for more than a week," the statement said. "Occupation forces have bombarded those neighborhoods with planes, which resulted in the destruction of more than 150 houses and the killing of more than 350 citizens, whose bodies remain under the rubble of the buildings. They also arrested dozens of citizens."
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, Baqouba, Diyala, Iraqi Islamic Party, Operation Arrowhead Ripper
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Truck bomb kills 75 as new offensive launched
Security
(RFE/RL) - A massive truck bomb explosion has killed some 75 people and wounded at least 130 in central Baghdad. The explosion occurred near the Shi'ite Al-Khalani Mosque in the city center. The attack in Baghdad's busy commercial district of Sinak came just hours after thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops launched a new offensive north of Baghdad aimed at clearing the region of Sunni insurgents and Al-Qaeda.
The operation is called Arrowhead Ripper and involves some 10,000 U.S. and Iraqi soldiers in Diyala Governorate. The operation began in earnest overnight, with air and ground assaults in and around the provincial capital of Ba'qubah, 60 kilometers north of Baghdad. By daybreak, the U.S. military said 22 militants had been killed. The Diyala operation opens a new front and comes in response to changing insurgent tactics.
The U.S.-led troop surge in Baghdad, and Al-Anbar Governorate to the west, has meant insurgents, who are being pushed out of those areas, are refocusing their activities to other parts of the country. In a report issued on June 13, the Pentagon said the rise in attacks in Diyala and Ninawa governorates were threatening to offset coalition gains in Iraq’s center. In recent months, Diyala Governorate has emerged as a center of the Sunni Arab insurgency, with Al-Qaeda In Mesopotamia and other militant groups turning it into a base of operations.
Shi’ite militias have also been active in the region. Diyala Governorate, a prime agricultural region of date and orange groves has a mixed Sunni and Shi’a population. That makes it explosive as extremists seek to fan sectarian tensions. Thousands of people have already been forced from their homes in fighting between militant groups.
While Diyala Governorate appears to be a current epicenter of insurgent-led violence in Iraq, the Pentagon report also notes a rise in militant attacks in the southern city of Al-Basrah as well as Mosul and Tal Afar in the north, all of which were once touted as islands of relative stability. Operation Arrowhead Ripper comes just days after the U.S. military said it had completed its buildup of forces in Iraq to 160,000 troops.
The operation is called Arrowhead Ripper and involves some 10,000 U.S. and Iraqi soldiers in Diyala Governorate. The operation began in earnest overnight, with air and ground assaults in and around the provincial capital of Ba'qubah, 60 kilometers north of Baghdad. By daybreak, the U.S. military said 22 militants had been killed. The Diyala operation opens a new front and comes in response to changing insurgent tactics.
The U.S.-led troop surge in Baghdad, and Al-Anbar Governorate to the west, has meant insurgents, who are being pushed out of those areas, are refocusing their activities to other parts of the country. In a report issued on June 13, the Pentagon said the rise in attacks in Diyala and Ninawa governorates were threatening to offset coalition gains in Iraq’s center. In recent months, Diyala Governorate has emerged as a center of the Sunni Arab insurgency, with Al-Qaeda In Mesopotamia and other militant groups turning it into a base of operations.
Shi’ite militias have also been active in the region. Diyala Governorate, a prime agricultural region of date and orange groves has a mixed Sunni and Shi’a population. That makes it explosive as extremists seek to fan sectarian tensions. Thousands of people have already been forced from their homes in fighting between militant groups.
While Diyala Governorate appears to be a current epicenter of insurgent-led violence in Iraq, the Pentagon report also notes a rise in militant attacks in the southern city of Al-Basrah as well as Mosul and Tal Afar in the north, all of which were once touted as islands of relative stability. Operation Arrowhead Ripper comes just days after the U.S. military said it had completed its buildup of forces in Iraq to 160,000 troops.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, Al-Khalani Mosque, Arrowhead Ripper, Baqouba, Diyala, Shia militias, Sinak, truck bomb
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Islamic Army in Iraq says cease-fire reached with al-Qaeda in Iraq
Insurgency
A Sunni insurgent group said Wednesday it has reached a cease-fire with al-Qaida in Iraq. The claim comes as the conflict between the Islamic Army in Iraq and al-Qaida in Iraq, which is also Sunni, has intensified in recent months. Last week, the two groups were believed to have clashed in the Baghdad neighborhood of Amariyah.
"This agreement is based on a cease-fire between the two parties that bans all armed acts and all other activities that could cause attrition," Ibrahim al-Shimmari, spokesman for the Islamic Army in Iraq, told Al-Jazeera television in a telephone interview. "The armistice started at dawn Wednesday."
Al-Jazeera showed a copy of the cease-fire, which stipulated "halting all escalation, including media" and "establishing a judicial committee on pending issues between the two parties." Al-Shimmari said the cease-fire "aims to safeguard Islamic blood and not give a chance to Iraq's enemies from America and Iran." "We hope that relations between the Islamic Army and al-Qaida return to the early days of jihad (holy struggle) when we were very close to those brothers," al-Shimmari added.
Divisions among Iraq's extremists became more apparent two months ago when Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, who heads the al-Qaida front group Islamic State in Iraq, urged militants in an audiotape to stop fighting one another and unite against American forces. He told rival groups he wanted to end their disagreements and vowed to punish any of his fighters who kill other militants.
The Islamic State in Iraq announced a 10-member shadow government "Cabinet" in April as an alternative to the U.S.-backed, Shiite-led administration of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The conflict came to a head when al-Shimmari said he did not recognize al-Qaida's claim to a state. He told Al-Jazeera television in an April interview that there could be no state "under crusader occupation." In an interview with Al-Jazeera in April, al-Shimmari accused al-Qaida of killing 30 members of the Islamic Army.
"This agreement is based on a cease-fire between the two parties that bans all armed acts and all other activities that could cause attrition," Ibrahim al-Shimmari, spokesman for the Islamic Army in Iraq, told Al-Jazeera television in a telephone interview. "The armistice started at dawn Wednesday."
Al-Jazeera showed a copy of the cease-fire, which stipulated "halting all escalation, including media" and "establishing a judicial committee on pending issues between the two parties." Al-Shimmari said the cease-fire "aims to safeguard Islamic blood and not give a chance to Iraq's enemies from America and Iran." "We hope that relations between the Islamic Army and al-Qaida return to the early days of jihad (holy struggle) when we were very close to those brothers," al-Shimmari added.
Divisions among Iraq's extremists became more apparent two months ago when Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, who heads the al-Qaida front group Islamic State in Iraq, urged militants in an audiotape to stop fighting one another and unite against American forces. He told rival groups he wanted to end their disagreements and vowed to punish any of his fighters who kill other militants.
The Islamic State in Iraq announced a 10-member shadow government "Cabinet" in April as an alternative to the U.S.-backed, Shiite-led administration of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The conflict came to a head when al-Shimmari said he did not recognize al-Qaida's claim to a state. He told Al-Jazeera television in an April interview that there could be no state "under crusader occupation." In an interview with Al-Jazeera in April, al-Shimmari accused al-Qaida of killing 30 members of the Islamic Army.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, Ibrahim al-Shimmari, Islamic Army in Iraq
