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| Iraq |
| PUK offers amnesty to Ansar al-Islam members |
| 2003-04-01 |
| Commander of the Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Halabja region said on Tuesday the remnants of Ansar al-Islam Party who surrendered voluntarily will be granted amnesty. Speaking at a press conference, Sheikh Jaafar said five members of the Ansar al-Islam Party who have surrendered themselves will be pardoned and freed over the next few days. He added that the general region of Halabja and areas under the control of Ansar al-Islam have been cleared up in cooperation with US forces and currently there were no Ansar forces in the region. The Kurdish military official said the US forces backed up PUK Peshmergas in their massive ground attacks on the positions of Ansar al-Islam. The PUK has launched comprehensive plans for development of the region and compensating the damages inflicted by Ansar al-Islam, he noted. During the press conference, five US officers briefed reporters on the operations aimed at suppression of the Ansar al-Islam and said any comment on political issues should be made by politicians. I'm not sure those beauzeaux deserve an amnesty, but I'd guess they're local Kurdish yokels, rather than Arab professional killers. I still think it would be a good idea to require that they become agnostics as a condition of release, though. Nobody's ever heard of an agnostic jihad. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |