Saturday, April 28, 2007
Prince Harry prime target for insurgents in Iraq
Security
(The Guardian) - Prince Harry will be a prime kidnap target for insurgents in Iraq, a commander in the Mahdi army, the Shia militia loyal to the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, has told the Guardian. "One of our aims is to capture Harry, we have people inside the British bases to inform us on when he will arrive," claimed Abu Mujtaba, who commands a unit of around 50 men active in the Mahdi army in Basra.
In comments denounced by British defence sources as "blatant propaganda", Abu Mujtaba told the Guardian: "We have a special unit that would work to track him down, with informants inside the bases. "Not only us, the Mahdi army, that will try to capture him, but every person who hates the British and the Americans will try to get him, all the mujahideens in Iraq, the al-Qaida, the Iranians all will try to get him."
The Guardian has seen evidence that Abu Mujtaba has a number of men under his command as well as weaponry including rockets, but there is no independent evidence to substantiate his claims that militias have infiltrated British bases, or established a unit to target Prince Harry. Abu Mujtaba continued: "For me he is just a British soldier and he should be killed if comes to Iraq, but let's be realistic, we can kill hundreds of British soldiers before forcing them to withdraw - like what's happening with Americans now - but Harry is a bigger catch and we will force the British to come on their knees and talk to us."
A senior Iraqi defence ministry official said that militias could overrun Basra relatively easily because they had successfully infiltrated local security forces. "When the Brits formed these forces they depended on these militias for lists of recruits," he said. The Ministry of Defence yesterday maintained its previous official line, that Prince Harry's deployment on a six-month tour to south-eastern Iraq with his regiment, the Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry, was under "constant consideration". It added: "It remains our intention that Prince Harry will be deployed as a troop leader."
The Blues and Royals are part of a mechanised brigade to be deployed next month. They will carry out reconnaissance using armoured cars. Reports that an attack by a roadside bomb on an armoured vehicle in Maysan province last week that killed two British soldiers was a "dry run" for an attempt on the prince's life were treated with scepticism yesterday by senior defence sources. However, it was the first time British soldiers have been killed in that type of vehicle in south-eastern Iraq by hostile action and security has been stepped up in the areas where the Blues and Royals will be based.
A final decision whether or not to deploy the prince will be taken by General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the army. While in Iraq, the prince - known as Cornet Wales - would carry out a troop commander's role, involving leading a troop of 12 men in four armoured reconnaissance vehicles, each with a crew of three.
April has been the bloodiest month for British service personnel in south-eastern Iraq since the invasion four years ago with 11 killed so far.
In comments denounced by British defence sources as "blatant propaganda", Abu Mujtaba told the Guardian: "We have a special unit that would work to track him down, with informants inside the bases. "Not only us, the Mahdi army, that will try to capture him, but every person who hates the British and the Americans will try to get him, all the mujahideens in Iraq, the al-Qaida, the Iranians all will try to get him."
The Guardian has seen evidence that Abu Mujtaba has a number of men under his command as well as weaponry including rockets, but there is no independent evidence to substantiate his claims that militias have infiltrated British bases, or established a unit to target Prince Harry. Abu Mujtaba continued: "For me he is just a British soldier and he should be killed if comes to Iraq, but let's be realistic, we can kill hundreds of British soldiers before forcing them to withdraw - like what's happening with Americans now - but Harry is a bigger catch and we will force the British to come on their knees and talk to us."
A senior Iraqi defence ministry official said that militias could overrun Basra relatively easily because they had successfully infiltrated local security forces. "When the Brits formed these forces they depended on these militias for lists of recruits," he said. The Ministry of Defence yesterday maintained its previous official line, that Prince Harry's deployment on a six-month tour to south-eastern Iraq with his regiment, the Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry, was under "constant consideration". It added: "It remains our intention that Prince Harry will be deployed as a troop leader."
The Blues and Royals are part of a mechanised brigade to be deployed next month. They will carry out reconnaissance using armoured cars. Reports that an attack by a roadside bomb on an armoured vehicle in Maysan province last week that killed two British soldiers was a "dry run" for an attempt on the prince's life were treated with scepticism yesterday by senior defence sources. However, it was the first time British soldiers have been killed in that type of vehicle in south-eastern Iraq by hostile action and security has been stepped up in the areas where the Blues and Royals will be based.
A final decision whether or not to deploy the prince will be taken by General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the army. While in Iraq, the prince - known as Cornet Wales - would carry out a troop commander's role, involving leading a troop of 12 men in four armoured reconnaissance vehicles, each with a crew of three.
April has been the bloodiest month for British service personnel in south-eastern Iraq since the invasion four years ago with 11 killed so far.
Labels: Abu Mujtaba, Basra, Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry, Cornet Wales, General Sir Richard Dannatt, insurgents, Iraq, kidnap, Mahdi Army, Prince Harry
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Released Iranian diplomat says he was tortured by U.S. forces
Iran, U.S.
(DPA) - An Iranian diplomat who arrived in Tehran Tuesday upon release from Iraq was quoted Saturday as saying he had been kidnapped and tortured there by US forces, the official IRNA news agency reported. 'I was transferred to a base near the Baghdad airport after the Iraqi agents working under the control of the (Central Intelligence Agency) CIA kidnapped me,' Jalal Sharafi, second secretary of Iran's embassy in Baghdad, was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Armed militants dressed as Iraqi soldiers had kidnapped him in the Karada area of central Baghdad on February 4. Iran harshly condemned the abduction as a 'terrorist act'. 'The CIA agents' questions were mainly about Iran's presence and influence in Iraq,' said the diplomat, adding that 'they had severely tortured me when they faced my answers about Iran's official relations with the Iraqi government.'
The allegations follow claims by 15 British naval personnel the previous day that they had been subjected to intense psychological pressure in 13 days of Iranian custody after being seized in the Shatt al-Arab waterway.
Five other Iranians were arrested in January by the US military at a consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Arbil as part of the effort to confront alleged Iranian meddling in Iraq.
Tehran insists the five men were consulate officers and were not involved in militant activities. Washington accuses them of being members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and providing material support to Shiite militias.
Armed militants dressed as Iraqi soldiers had kidnapped him in the Karada area of central Baghdad on February 4. Iran harshly condemned the abduction as a 'terrorist act'. 'The CIA agents' questions were mainly about Iran's presence and influence in Iraq,' said the diplomat, adding that 'they had severely tortured me when they faced my answers about Iran's official relations with the Iraqi government.'
The allegations follow claims by 15 British naval personnel the previous day that they had been subjected to intense psychological pressure in 13 days of Iranian custody after being seized in the Shatt al-Arab waterway.
Five other Iranians were arrested in January by the US military at a consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Arbil as part of the effort to confront alleged Iranian meddling in Iraq.
Tehran insists the five men were consulate officers and were not involved in militant activities. Washington accuses them of being members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and providing material support to Shiite militias.
Labels: CIA, Iranian diplomat, Jalal Sharafi, kidnap, torture, U.S.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Video of kidnapped American-Iraqi soldier found
Security
(SITE) A posting to a Shi’ite jihadist forum, made in the name of a previously unknown Iraqi Shi’te insurgency group, Ahl al-Bayt Brigades, on February 13, 2007, contained a 10 second video showing abducted U.S. Army Sgt. Ahmed Qusai Altaie.
Sergeant Altaie, an Iraqi-American soldier serving as a translator for the U.S. military in Iraq, was declared “duty status whereabouts unknown” after he and a cousin were abducted in the Karrada neighborhood in central Baghdad on October 23, 2006. His cousin was later released. Sergeant Altaie is the nephew of Entifadh Qanbar, a former advisor to Ahmed Chalabi.
Though the video carries no audio, a document was also issued, in which the group states “we warn the American people of the result of sending their soldiers to Iraq so they don’t face the same fate…”
Sergeant Altaie, an Iraqi-American soldier serving as a translator for the U.S. military in Iraq, was declared “duty status whereabouts unknown” after he and a cousin were abducted in the Karrada neighborhood in central Baghdad on October 23, 2006. His cousin was later released. Sergeant Altaie is the nephew of Entifadh Qanbar, a former advisor to Ahmed Chalabi.
Though the video carries no audio, a document was also issued, in which the group states “we warn the American people of the result of sending their soldiers to Iraq so they don’t face the same fate…”
Labels: kidnap, security, U.S. soldier
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Video released of Iraqi-American soldier
Security
(AP) A Shiite militant group has released a video of an Iraqi-American soldier who was kidnapped nearly four months ago while visiting his wife in downtown Baghdad, an American television network reported Wednesday. The U.S. government has offered a $50,000 reward leading to the recovery of Iraqi-born American Army translator Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie, a 41-year-old reserve soldier from Ann Arbor, Mich., who was abducted by gunmen on Oct. 23.
The video was broadcast by CNN and it was unclear when it was made. Al-Taayie's uncle identified him from the video, the network said. The Associated Press could not immediately find the video in a search of militant Web sites.
The video was broadcast by CNN and it was unclear when it was made. Al-Taayie's uncle identified him from the video, the network said. The Associated Press could not immediately find the video in a search of militant Web sites.
Labels: kidnap, security, soldier
