Sunday, March 18, 2007
Weapons cache found at Sunni MP's house
Security, Politics
(AFP) - Iraqi security forces seized a cache of weapons, including a sniper rifle, and arrested seven suspects in a raid on the house of a leading Sunni parliamentarian, officials said Sunday. Brigadier General Qassim Mussawi, spokesman for Iraqi forces in Baghdad, also said that four cars taken from Dhafer al-Ani's house had been tested by "non-Iraqi experts" and found to contain traces of explosives.
Ani is a former spokesman for Iraq's biggest Sunni movement, the Islamic Party, which is part of the government of national unity. It was not clear whether Ani was in his west Baghdad home on March 8, when the raid took place, and he was not reported among those detained. Mussawi said the forces found "65 Kalashnikov assault rifles and other weapons and seized four vehicles.
"We have dealt transparently with the detainees and released six of them, because we do not have enough evidence against them," he added. "We're still holding one of them who had a sniper rifle inscribed with a verse from the Koran -- 'If you shoot, and find your target, it is not you who shoots, but God'," he said, referring to a slogan popular with insurgents. Mussawi said the vehicles were impounded at the Office of Criminal Evidence and had tested positive for traces of the powerful explosive TNT.
Speaking at a separate news conference, Iraq government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh, told reporters that the search proved that Iraqi officials would investigate anyone suspected of breaking the law, whatever their rank. "If lawmakers break the law we will deal with them according to the law; they will be treated according to the law," he said.
The Islamic Party's website confirmed there had been a raid, in a statement that said the weapons were properly licensed and accused Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of ordering the raid.
Ani is a former spokesman for Iraq's biggest Sunni movement, the Islamic Party, which is part of the government of national unity. It was not clear whether Ani was in his west Baghdad home on March 8, when the raid took place, and he was not reported among those detained. Mussawi said the forces found "65 Kalashnikov assault rifles and other weapons and seized four vehicles.
"We have dealt transparently with the detainees and released six of them, because we do not have enough evidence against them," he added. "We're still holding one of them who had a sniper rifle inscribed with a verse from the Koran -- 'If you shoot, and find your target, it is not you who shoots, but God'," he said, referring to a slogan popular with insurgents. Mussawi said the vehicles were impounded at the Office of Criminal Evidence and had tested positive for traces of the powerful explosive TNT.
Speaking at a separate news conference, Iraq government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh, told reporters that the search proved that Iraqi officials would investigate anyone suspected of breaking the law, whatever their rank. "If lawmakers break the law we will deal with them according to the law; they will be treated according to the law," he said.
The Islamic Party's website confirmed there had been a raid, in a statement that said the weapons were properly licensed and accused Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of ordering the raid.
Labels: Brigadier Qassim Moussawi, Dhafer al-Ani, Iraqi Islamic Party
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Civilian deaths decraese in Baghdad as attacks increase in other areas
Security
(Reuters) Civilian deaths and car bombs have fallen sharply in Baghdad since a U.S.-backed crackdown began a month ago, but attacks outside the capital were rising as militants change tactics, Iraqi officials said on Wednesday. In an upbeat assessment of the first 30 days of the security plan, Iraqi military spokesman Brigadier Qassim Moussawi said the number of Iraqis killed by violence in Baghdad since February 14 was 265, down from 1,440 killed in the previous month.
The number of car bombings, a favorite weapon used by suspected Sunni Arab militants fighting the Shi'ite-led government, was down to 36 from 56, Moussawi told reporters. But as thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops flow into the capital, attacks in the area surrounding Baghdad have increased, he said, without providing specific figures.
The number of car bombings, a favorite weapon used by suspected Sunni Arab militants fighting the Shi'ite-led government, was down to 36 from 56, Moussawi told reporters. But as thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops flow into the capital, attacks in the area surrounding Baghdad have increased, he said, without providing specific figures.
There are about 100,000 Iraqi and U.S. forces deployed in Baghdad under a plan to sweep neighborhoods and rid streets of Sunni Arab militants and Shi'ite militias. The U.S. military says the Mehdi Army Shi'ite militia is the greatest threat to security in Iraq and has conducted sweeps in the Shi'ite militia stronghold of Sadr City. So far Shi'ite militias have been lying low and many of their leading figures are believed to have fled the capital, a development that has coincided with a decline in execution-style killings.
But violence has been on the rise elsewhere, including in western Anbar province, a Sunni militant stronghold where al Qaeda and local tribes are engaged in a power struggle, and in Diyala, a religiously mixed area northeast of the capital.
But violence has been on the rise elsewhere, including in western Anbar province, a Sunni militant stronghold where al Qaeda and local tribes are engaged in a power struggle, and in Diyala, a religiously mixed area northeast of the capital.
Labels: Al Anbar, Al Qaeda in Iraq, Baghdad, Brigadier Qassim Moussawi, civilian deaths, Diyala, Mahdi Army, tribes
