Thursday, August 30, 2007
Death squad leader named in abduction of Brits
Security
(The Times) - Iraq’s most infamous Shia death squad commander was accused yesterday of masterminding the kidnapping of five British citizens who have not been heard from since their abduction in Baghdad three months ago. Hoshyar Zebari, Iraq’s Foreign Minister, told The Times that a group led by Abu Dera, a legendary figure with strong Iranian connections who is renowned for his brutality, was behind the abduction of the five Britons from the Iraqi Finance Ministry on May 29.
Mr Zebari said there was a striking similiarity between their abduction and that of Iraq’s Deputy Oil Minister by Abu Dera’s supporters on August 14. In both instances well-organised forces broke into heavily protected compounds.
The minister and five colleagues were seized by gunmen dressed in security force uniforms who forced their way into the offices of Iraq’s crude oil marketing agency. The Britons were seized by armed men dressed as Iraqi policemen who broke into the Finance Ministry. “I believe the same group who did this did the Ministry of Finance [raid],” Mr Zebari said in an interview in which he also cautioned of “catastrophic consequences” if
Mr Zebari said there was a striking similiarity between their abduction and that of Iraq’s Deputy Oil Minister by Abu Dera’s supporters on August 14. In both instances well-organised forces broke into heavily protected compounds.
The minister and five colleagues were seized by gunmen dressed in security force uniforms who forced their way into the offices of Iraq’s crude oil marketing agency. The Britons were seized by armed men dressed as Iraqi policemen who broke into the Finance Ministry. “I believe the same group who did this did the Ministry of Finance [raid],” Mr Zebari said in an interview in which he also cautioned of “catastrophic consequences” if
Abdel Jabber al-Wagaa, the Deputy Oil Minister, and his colleagues were released unharmed on Tuesday after what Mr Zebari described as “tough” negotiations with the kidnappers.
These talks enabled the Iraqi authorities to establish who the kidnappers were. However, Mr Zebari said he was unaware of any contact with the kidnappers of the Britons – a computer consultant and four security guards – and could not say for certain that they were still alive. “People say that since there’s not been any announcements or videos they may have been killed, but I really don’t know,” he said.
Britain has consistently refused to discuss its efforts to rescue the hostages, or even to name them, and an embassy spokeswoman in Baghdad declined to comment on Abu Dera’s alleged involvement yesterday. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is in contact with the families of the five hostages and has advised them all not to speak publicly.
The al-Mahdi Army is said to have splintered in recent months, with breakaway factions backed by Iran being blamed for some of the worst violence. Abu Dera is believed to lead one of those. He is an elusive figure who is spoken of with awe in the Shia slums of Sadr City, where he was raised.
After the US invasion of 2003 he is thought to have been a leading member of the al-Mahdi Army and to have led attacks on American troops. And when Sunni extremists bombed the Shia shrine in Samarra in 2006 he is said to have led the Shia death squads that killed thousands of innocent Sunnis in revenge. Locals say the Iraqi police allowed him free passage.
Stories of his barbarity are legion. A profile published by the Jamestown Foundation reports that he once commandeered several ambulances, drove them into a Sunni neighbourhood and announced on loudspeakers that Shias were slaughtering Sunnis. The young Sunnis who rushed to help were killed.
He allegedly offers his victims the choice of being executed through suffocation, shooting or being smashed to death with cinder blocks. There is a video recording of a man believed to be Abu Dera kidnapping Saddam Hussein’s lawyer Khamis al-Obeidi, parading him through the streets of Sadr City, and then shooting him three times in the head.
Abu Dera, whose real name is Ismail al-Zerjawi, is thought to be in his late thirties, married with two sons. His daring raids into Sunni communities have made him a hero to many poor young Shias. To others he is known as the “Shiite Zarqawi” – a reference to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the former leader in al-Qaeda in Iraq who exhorted Sunnis to kill Shias.
Britain has consistently refused to discuss its efforts to rescue the hostages, or even to name them, and an embassy spokeswoman in Baghdad declined to comment on Abu Dera’s alleged involvement yesterday. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is in contact with the families of the five hostages and has advised them all not to speak publicly.
The al-Mahdi Army is said to have splintered in recent months, with breakaway factions backed by Iran being blamed for some of the worst violence. Abu Dera is believed to lead one of those. He is an elusive figure who is spoken of with awe in the Shia slums of Sadr City, where he was raised.
After the US invasion of 2003 he is thought to have been a leading member of the al-Mahdi Army and to have led attacks on American troops. And when Sunni extremists bombed the Shia shrine in Samarra in 2006 he is said to have led the Shia death squads that killed thousands of innocent Sunnis in revenge. Locals say the Iraqi police allowed him free passage.
Stories of his barbarity are legion. A profile published by the Jamestown Foundation reports that he once commandeered several ambulances, drove them into a Sunni neighbourhood and announced on loudspeakers that Shias were slaughtering Sunnis. The young Sunnis who rushed to help were killed.
He allegedly offers his victims the choice of being executed through suffocation, shooting or being smashed to death with cinder blocks. There is a video recording of a man believed to be Abu Dera kidnapping Saddam Hussein’s lawyer Khamis al-Obeidi, parading him through the streets of Sadr City, and then shooting him three times in the head.
Abu Dera, whose real name is Ismail al-Zerjawi, is thought to be in his late thirties, married with two sons. His daring raids into Sunni communities have made him a hero to many poor young Shias. To others he is known as the “Shiite Zarqawi” – a reference to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the former leader in al-Qaeda in Iraq who exhorted Sunnis to kill Shias.
Labels: Abdel Jabber al-Wagaa, Abu Dera, British hostages, Finance Ministry, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Iran, Ismail al-Zerjawi, Mahdi Army, Shiite Zarqawi
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
British Foreign Office appeals for information on hostages
Security
(The Times) - The Foreign Office admitted today that diplomats have no proof that five British civilians kidnapped in Iraq are still alive, as it launched a fresh appeal for information nearly two months after their abduction. The group, made up of four security guards and a consultant, were taken hostage on May 29 at the Iraqi Finance Ministry by dozens of armed insurgents dressed in the fatigues of police commandos.
One of those abducted was a consultant working for BearingPoint, an international firm providing technical and computer advice to the Iraqi Government, and the other four were security guards employed by GardaWorld, a Canadian-owned company which has offices in London and Hereford. The raid, which took place in broad daylight, was considered one of the most brazen abductions of Westerners since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
In a statement issued by the British embassy in Baghdad today, the Government appealed for information about the hostages' plight. The statement was issued in Arabic and aimed specifically at an Iraqi audience. "It’s now 55 days since the five British men were taken. We and their families are increasingly concerned for their welfare," Matthew Lodge, the British charge d’affaires in Baghdad told reporters.
"We have no evidence about their conditions, and we would like to know they are alive and well. We remain willing to listen and talk to those who may have any information about our people." A Foreign Office spokeswoman said that the statement was issued "to support ongoing work" to track down the hostages. She added: "We have not had proof of life." The decision to issue the statement is considered unusual in this case as the Foreign Office has deliberately kept a low profile since the hostages were taken.
Unlike the BBC's large-scale publicity campaign over the Alan Johnston kidnapping in Gaza, diplomats have decided that keeping the names, details and families of those kidnapped out of the media spotlight would be the best way to secure their release. On June 7, the British Ambassador to Iraq, Dominic Asquith, issued a statement appealing for their release and indicating that the Government was prepared to talk to the kidnappers.
Two weeks later, General David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, told The Times that the five were being held by a secret cell of the Mahdi Army militia that was armed, trained and funded by Iran. Despite the Foreign Office's efforts, however, little evidence has emerged as to where the five are being held over the past two months.
The battle for information about the hostages was dealt a further blow when The Times disclosed on July 10 that Canon Andrew White, a vicar who had been working independently towards their release, had been forced to leave the country because of a "serious security threat". It had been reported that the kidnappers had threatened to kill the hostages unless Canon White, who worked at the last Anglican church in Iraq, stopped trying to find out where they were.
One of those abducted was a consultant working for BearingPoint, an international firm providing technical and computer advice to the Iraqi Government, and the other four were security guards employed by GardaWorld, a Canadian-owned company which has offices in London and Hereford. The raid, which took place in broad daylight, was considered one of the most brazen abductions of Westerners since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
In a statement issued by the British embassy in Baghdad today, the Government appealed for information about the hostages' plight. The statement was issued in Arabic and aimed specifically at an Iraqi audience. "It’s now 55 days since the five British men were taken. We and their families are increasingly concerned for their welfare," Matthew Lodge, the British charge d’affaires in Baghdad told reporters.
"We have no evidence about their conditions, and we would like to know they are alive and well. We remain willing to listen and talk to those who may have any information about our people." A Foreign Office spokeswoman said that the statement was issued "to support ongoing work" to track down the hostages. She added: "We have not had proof of life." The decision to issue the statement is considered unusual in this case as the Foreign Office has deliberately kept a low profile since the hostages were taken.
Unlike the BBC's large-scale publicity campaign over the Alan Johnston kidnapping in Gaza, diplomats have decided that keeping the names, details and families of those kidnapped out of the media spotlight would be the best way to secure their release. On June 7, the British Ambassador to Iraq, Dominic Asquith, issued a statement appealing for their release and indicating that the Government was prepared to talk to the kidnappers.
Two weeks later, General David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, told The Times that the five were being held by a secret cell of the Mahdi Army militia that was armed, trained and funded by Iran. Despite the Foreign Office's efforts, however, little evidence has emerged as to where the five are being held over the past two months.
The battle for information about the hostages was dealt a further blow when The Times disclosed on July 10 that Canon Andrew White, a vicar who had been working independently towards their release, had been forced to leave the country because of a "serious security threat". It had been reported that the kidnappers had threatened to kill the hostages unless Canon White, who worked at the last Anglican church in Iraq, stopped trying to find out where they were.
Labels: Bearingpoint, British Foreign Office, British hostages, Canon Andrew White, Finance Ministry, GardaWorld, Mahdi Army, Matthew Lodge
