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| Iraq |
| Baghdad: Gunmen kidnap 10 anti-al-Qaida tribal leaders |
| 2007-10-29 |
| Ten Sunni and Shi'ite tribal leaders who had joined forces against al-Qaida in Iraq were abducted by gunmen as they were traveling home to Diyala province after a meeting with a government official in Baghdad, police and a relative said. The gunmen ambushed the two cars carrying the 10 men in Baghdad's predominantly Shi'ite neighborhood of Shaab at about 3:30 p.m., police officials said. The sheiks - seven Sunnis and three Shi'ites - were on their way back to Diyala province after attending a conference with the Shi'ite-dominated government's adviser for tribal affairs to discuss coordinating efforts against al-Qaida in Iraq. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #8 #6 According to Bill Roggio 8 of them have already been rescued with 4 of the kidnappers killed. Also CFI are naming names of Sadr's bigs who were behind it. All good. Posted by: remoteman 2007-10-29 15:09 UPDATE: Also Monday, the Iraqi army freed eight of 11 abducted Iraqi tribal sheiks in a raid, a Diyala tribal leader who is a member of the reconciliation committee in the province said. All of the freed sheiks were Shiite, from the Anbakiya tribe, the tribal leader said. He also said the body of one of the abducted Sunni sheikhs, who is of the al-Azza tribe, was later found near where the abductions took place. There was no immediate information regarding the two remaining sheikhs, who are also Sunni. An Interior Ministry official had originally told CNN that 10 tribal sheikhs -- seven Sunni and three Shiite -- had been kidnapped. Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari told CNN that four kidnappers were killed in the raid, which took place in Baghdad's Rusafa district on the Tigris River. The U.S. military has blamed a former Mehdi Army militia brigade commander for the sheikhs' abductions Earlier Monday, the U.S. military blamed the kidnappings on former Mehdi Army militia brigade commander Arkan Hasnawi. The military said Hasnawi "has joined forces with Iranian-supported special groups that are rejecting [Mehdi Army leader] Muqtada al-Sadr's direction to embrace fellow Iraqis." MOOKIE Al-Sadr, an Iraqi Shiite cleric who controls the Mehdi Army, has called on the militia to obey a cease-fire following deadly firefights in August with rival Shiite militias. Iran has denied that Iranian agents are helping train and equip militants in Iraq. The sheiks were kidnapped while returning home to Baquba following meetings in Baghdad with Iraqi government officials, an Interior Minister official said. The meetings concerned the reconciliation process in the nation. Update link, scroll down the article a bit.. |
| Posted by: Red Dawg 2007-10-29 18:02 |
| #7 If Sadr had a hand in it, or at least his militia, would that be an excuse to turn on him now that we've pounded Al-Qaida into the ground there? And I mean REALLY turn on him. As in kill him, or at least wipe out his militia for the most part. |
| Posted by: Charles 2007-10-29 16:58 |
| #6 According to Bill Roggio 8 of them have already been rescued with 4 of the kidnappers killed. Also CFI are naming names of Sadr's bigs who were behind it. All good. |
| Posted by: remoteman 2007-10-29 15:09 |
| #5 The local news rag reported the kidnappings were carried out by the Maqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army. When I read this I thought this sounded more like an AQ operation although anything is possible in the Byzantine politics of this region. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2007-10-29 12:35 |
| #4 Countdown to our "patriotic" left claiming this is a false flag operation carried out by Blackwater to trigger reprisals against the AQ Minutemen. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-10-29 08:48 |
| #3 Al Qaeda is making a big mistake in turning against the locals. This will assure a general anti-al Qaeda feeling among all Iraqis and cause problems for those already in custody. This helps the coalition forces in a major way. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2007-10-29 07:29 |
| #2 Blood feud. Blood feud. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2007-10-29 07:07 |
| #1 Baghdad: Gunmen kidnap 10 anti-al-Qaida tribal leaders sucks to be them... I think we're at a point, or the Iraqis are at a point that these actions will not be able to stop the progress in Iraq. IOW it's a bad thing to lose 6 that have already switched over to the right side BUT the 2nd in commands of those tribes ima hoping will even be more motivated now to kill al-Qaeda. At least that's what ima inferring from talking, hearing, watching and reading our Vets, CCs, NCOs and enlisted. |
| Posted by: Red Dawg 2007-10-29 00:28 |