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Fighting continuing in Ramadi
IRAQI rebels in the Sunni Arab city of Ramadi have turned against their former al-Qaida allies after a bomb attack this month killed 80 people, sparking tit-for-tat assassinations.Residents yesterday said at least three prominent figures on both sides were among those killed after local insurgent groups formed an alliance against al-Qaida, blaming it for massacring police recruits in Ramadi on January 5. "There was a meeting right after the bombings," one Ramadi resident familiar with the events said. "Tribal leaders and political figures gathered to form the Anbar Revolutionaries to fight al-Qaida in Anbar and force them to leave the province. Since then there has been all-out war between them." The bloodshed is the latest example of a trend US military and diplomats have been pointing to as a sign some militants may be ready to pursue negotiable demands through the new Sunni Arab engagement in parliament after taking part in last month's election. In a further sign of the rifts emerging within Iraq's insurgency, Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has stepped aside as the head of a new council of radical groups in favour of an Iraqi, according to a posting on a website used by al-Qaida. Posted by: Dan Darling 2006-01-25 |
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