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Residents foil bomb plot in Baghdad suburb
Edited for length and to make sense out of the usual al-Guardian scatter-shot style. US soldiers and Iraqi police prevented a coordinated bomb attack yesterday when they seized three suspected militants, including one thought to be from Syria, on a stretch of road in Baghdad known as "detonation valley". The arrest of a Syrian would, if confirmed, lend support to claims by US and Iraqi officials that foreign fighters from Iran and Syria are entering Iraq to fight coalition troops. As noted by Rantburg months ago. The foiled multiple bomb attack involved a car packed with explosives, and two roadside devices. The attack was averted when three men in a white car were stopped after a tip-off from locals, said General Abbas Nasr Hussein, chief of police in Ad Doura, a suburb in the south of Baghdad. The car, which was loaded with explosives, had been seen driving back and forth along a road leading from the main market in Ad Doura past a palace which is occupied by the US military. Half an hour later, residents alerted police to an improvised explosive device packed into a rusting exhaust pipe. At midday, police found a third remote-controlled bomb hidden in bushes by the side of the road, about 500 metres from the market. The devices were described by Iraqi police as "designed to kill and maim". In each case US troops were called to conduct controlled explosions. Thanks to the residents. Gen Hussein said the road in Ad Doura was used by US soldiers patrolling the south of the Iraqi capital. Yesterdayâs attempted attack was the sixth incident there in the past month. The three arrested men were being interrogated by US military police last night. The police chief said that one of the suspects, an Iraqi believed to be in his early 20s, said he was given $200 for his part in the attack, but had not said by whom "Ahmed, the pliers, please." "Are you sure thatâs permitted, Jack?" "Dammit, this mope is trying to kill my people!" "My people, too. Hereâs the large pliers." At the Ad Doura bus station yesterday, witnesses expressed their anger at the attacks which are increasingly claiming Iraqi lives. Mohammed Haji, a bus driver, said: "Those who conduct such attacks, who support the old regime, are nothing more than corrupt pharaohs turned to rats. Every attack on US soldiers makes us more likely to be hurt and them more likely to stay. "I donât wish the Americans any harm, but they shouldnât be here for much longer, for everyoneâs sake." We agree with you, Mohammed. Just keep helping us flush out the pharaoh rats and weâll leave. Farouk al-Sharaa, Syriaâs foreign minister, said earlier this week that there was evidence of fighters crossing from Syria into Iraq. The three official crossings were strictly controlled, he said, but people were "crossing without permission" at other points along the 400-mile frontier. He likened this to the problems faced by the US in controlling its border with Mexico. Except the poor schmoes from Mexico arenât coming to California to try and kill us, Farouk. In an interview with western journalists, Mr Sharaa said that Syria was "not gloating over [the Americansâ] misfortunes in Iraq... If Iraq is not stable, this will be reflected negatively in the neighbouring countries." Heâs correct, but not in the way he thinks. Although Syria supports Palestinian militant groups, it opposes Islamist extremists and observers say it would be alarmed if they became established in Iraq. Perhaps because the Syrians are beginning to understand cause-and-effect? Posted by: Steve White 2003-10-24 |
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