Thursday, September 06, 2007
Foreign factions have infiltrated Mahdi Army
Politics
(Stratfor) - "Foreign factions" have infiltrated the leadership of radical Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army in an attempt to expand their control in Iraq, Al-Hayat reported, citing unnamed sources within the movement. The factions reportedly provide monetary support, moral support, weapons and training. The infiltrated elements no longer obeyed al-Sadr's commands and instead targeted Shia and Sunnis without coordination with the al-Sadr movement.
Sheikh Abu Zeinab, spokesman for Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army, threatened political and military reprisals if the Iraqi government does not release arrested Mehdi Army members, Al-Hayat reported. Five-hundred movement members and 12 leaders of the Mehdi Army were arrested recently. Al-Sadr's movement also called for the dismantling of the holy site protection force in Karbala, claiming the protection group instigated recent violence there.
Labels: foreign fighters, Mahdi Army, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Sheikh Abu Zeinab
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, April 26, 2007
Maliki tells Satterfield to speak with Iran, Syria to prevent foreign fighters, weapons
Politics, Region
(RFE/RL) - During a meeting in Kuwait on April 24, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told David Satterfield, a senior adviser to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Iraq, that the United States should start talking to Syria and Iran, international media reported. According to an al-Maliki aide, who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity, Satterfield asked the Iraqi leader what more could be done to prevent foreign fighters and illegal weapons from entering Iraq through Iran and Syria.
The aide quoted al-Maliki as telling Satterfield, "You should open a dialogue with Iran and Syria in the interests of Iraq's security." The Iraqi and U.S. governments have long accused Damascus of allowing foreign fighters to cross into Iraq from Syria to carry out attacks. In addition, U.S. officials have accused Tehran of funneling weapons into Iraq that have been used against U.S. military personnel. Both Iran and Syria have denied these accusations. One of the key recommendations in a report conducted by the U.S. bipartisan Iraq Study Group called for direct U.S. engagement with Iran and Syria in an effort to help stabilize Iraq.
Labels: David Satterfield, foreign fighters, Iran, Kuwait, Nouri Al-Maliki, Syria
