Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Al-Qaeda in Iraq Takes Responsibility for Assassination of Abu Risha
Insurgency, Tribal
(MEMRI) - On September 14, 2007, the Islamist website www.al-ekhlaas.net/forum, which is hosted in Malaysia, posted an announcement by the Al-Qaeda-founded Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) taking responsibility for the assassination of 'Abd Al-Sattar Abu Risha, head of the Al-Anbar Salvation Council. The statement declared that the assassination came because of Abu Risha's collaboration with the Americans and with the Al-Maliki government. It also announced the establishment of "special security committees" which will eliminate other senior figures from the Al-Anbar tribes who collaborate with these elements.
The following are excerpts:
"On Thursday, September 13, 2007, Allah allowed your brothers in the [ISI] Ministry of [General] Security to track and kill the imam of heresy and apostasy called 'Abd Al-Sattar Abu Risha, head of the so-called Al-Anbar Salvation Council, in a courageous operation that took over a month to prepare...
"Members of the noble tribes [in the Al-Anbar district] asked the soldiers of the Islamic State [of Iraq] to rescue them from the militias that are collaborating [with the Americans and with the Al-Maliki government], and from the corruption they have spread in the city of Al-Ramadi...
"Other apostate leaders who are collaborating with the American plan should be aware that the swords of the mujahideen are lying in wait for them. We hereby announce the establishment of special security committees that will track and kill top tribal leaders who have sullied the reputation of their noble tribes by being friendly towards the soldiers of the Cross and towards the Shi'ite Al-Maliki government...
"We apologize for not giving [more] details about this courageous operation. [We do this] for security reasons, in order to protect the lives of the blessed tribe members who took part in this successful and blessed operation."
The following are excerpts:
"On Thursday, September 13, 2007, Allah allowed your brothers in the [ISI] Ministry of [General] Security to track and kill the imam of heresy and apostasy called 'Abd Al-Sattar Abu Risha, head of the so-called Al-Anbar Salvation Council, in a courageous operation that took over a month to prepare...
"Members of the noble tribes [in the Al-Anbar district] asked the soldiers of the Islamic State [of Iraq] to rescue them from the militias that are collaborating [with the Americans and with the Al-Maliki government], and from the corruption they have spread in the city of Al-Ramadi...
"Other apostate leaders who are collaborating with the American plan should be aware that the swords of the mujahideen are lying in wait for them. We hereby announce the establishment of special security committees that will track and kill top tribal leaders who have sullied the reputation of their noble tribes by being friendly towards the soldiers of the Cross and towards the Shi'ite Al-Maliki government...
"We apologize for not giving [more] details about this courageous operation. [We do this] for security reasons, in order to protect the lives of the blessed tribe members who took part in this successful and blessed operation."
Labels: Al Qaeda, Anbar Salvation Council, assassination, Islamic State of Iraq, Malaysia, Sheik Abdul-Sattar abu Risha
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
Friday, April 20, 2007
Anbar tribes to form political coalition
Politics, Tribal
(LA Times) - A group of Sunni tribal leaders in beleaguered Al Anbar province said Thursday that it intended to form a national party to oppose insurgents such as Al Qaeda in Iraq and reengage with Iraq's political process. The announcement came after 200 sheiks said to represent 50 tribes met and agreed to form a provincial sheiks council and hold the first convention in May of their new party, called Iraq Awakening. Sheiks from three other provinces will attend, organizers said.
The driving force behind the new party, Sheik Abdul-Sattar abu Risha, said in an interview that the tribal leaders would be pushing a slate of candidates in Al Anbar provincial elections later this year, as well as in the next round of national parliamentary balloting, scheduled for 2009. One purpose of the party, Sattar said, is to promote a better image of American-led forces "to the Iraqis here." He added that the tribes also would participate in a U.S.-backed effort to reestablish a court system in Ramadi, the provincial capital.
The sheik is a leader of the Abu Risha tribe that is part of the larger Dulaimi tribal confederation in Al Anbar. His grab for power has been resented by some. His base of support remains around Ramadi, although he has been trying to reach out to other branches of the Dulaimi tribe around the province. Still, his history remains the subject of speculation, and others are wary of him, even though they may seek nominal affiliation with his movement as tribal leaders move to battle Al Qaeda in Iraq and its affiliates.
U.S. military leaders here said they were cheered by the announcement because cooperation from sheiks in Al Anbar in recent months had contributed to a rise in Iraqi police and army recruitment and a sharp reduction in insurgent attacks on U.S. troops and their Iraqi allies.
Al Anbar Gov. Mamoun Sami Rasheed said Thursday that the sheiks marginalized themselves by refusing to participate in Iraq's 2005 elections and, in some cases, supporting the Al Qaeda in Iraq organization. The sheiks in turn have mocked some of the provincial representatives for being absentee politicians with no local track record. Sattar said the sheiks council would offer "full accountability for anyone in his tribe. Also they will know of any strangers — man, woman or child — who try to mix in their neighborhoods."
Analysts who lauded the sheiks' announcement as well as U.S. efforts to work with them cautioned that the political situation remained fluid. "It's only now that the United States appears convinced of the need to build up local support against Al Qaeda," said Joost Hiltermann, a consultant with the International Crisis Group in Amman, the capital of Jordan. "What these people want is a restoration of Sunni power, or a preservation of certain privileges, or more simply, protection of their community from the Shiite majority and Iran."
Vali Nasr, a Middle East expert at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., said the "most important result may not be in the battlefield but in producing new Sunni voices that Shiites and Kurds can negotiate with." Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution in Washington said that improving U.S. relations with Sunni sheiks made "eminent sense" but that officials needed to be thinking about the "next step." "We need better contacts among Sunnis for the purposes of negotiating an end to the civil war," he said, "and this could create an opportunity to create partners in the larger project while also serving an immediate need."
Labels: Abu Risha tribe, Al Anbar, Al Qaeda in Iraq, Iraq Awakening, politics, provincial elections, Sheik Abdul-Sattar abu Risha, Sunni tribal leaders
