http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2863333
"Court Blocks Suspect's Transfer to Iraq
Appeals Court Blocks American's Transfer to Iraq for Trial on Terror Charges"
by Michael J. Sniffen (AP) (February 9, 2007)
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Note: The following text is a quote:
http://osint.internet-haganah.com/archives/000828.html
February 12, 2007
US Court of Appeals in DC claims Iraqi jurisdiction
MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN Associated Press Feb 9, 2007
WASHINGTON - A federal appeals court blocked the Pentagon on Friday from transferring an American citizen to an Iraqi court to face charges he supported terrorists and insurgents. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia unanimously ruled that Shawqi Omar, a citizen of both Jordan and the United States who once served in the Minnesota National Guard, has a right to argue for his release before a U.S. court. By a 2-1 vote, the panel also upheld an injunction issued last year by U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina here that barred the U.S. military from turning Omar over for trial in an Iraqi court… Voicing disappointment, spokesman Erik Ablin said the Justice Department believes the decision "will inappropriately interfere with the executive branch's prerogative to prosecute a war and to make good on its commitments to our allies." He noted the partial dissent called the ruling unprecedented and said it would effectively block a foreign government from making an arrest on its own soil… Omar was captured in Iraq in 2004 by U.S. forces during a raid on associates of Iraq al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed in a U.S. air strike in 2006. Omar is imprisoned at Camp Bucca, in southern Iraq. He was been held in several camps for over two years without formal charges and, his family says, without access to counsel. The U.S. military says Omar was harboring insurgents and had bomb-making materials at the time of his arrest. The military decided in 2005 to transfer him to the Central Criminal Court of Iraq for trial but has been blocked by the U.S. court injunction…
Posted on 12 February 2007 @ 15:38 GMT
NOTE: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=3016
Numerous Suspected Terrorists Captured in Iraq; Weapons Cache Found
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 11, 2007 – Coalition forces captured a suspected al Qaeda in Iraq military planner and detained 14 other suspected terrorists during multiple operations today, military officials reported.
-- In Mosul, coalition forces detained two suspected terrorists including an alleged al Qaeda military planner who is suspected of attacks in Muhalabiyah.
-- In Baghdad, five suspects were detained with alleged ties to a makeshift bomb procurement and operations cell. Coalition forces northeast of Balad also detained six suspected terrorists who have alleged ties to foreign fighter operations.
-- Two more people with suspected ties to al Qaeda foreign fighters were detained today in Tikrit, officials said.
No civilians or coalition forces were injured during the raids. These types of operations continue to disrupt al Qaeda's ability to operate in Iraq, officials said.
Elsewhere in Iraq, soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, uncovered a weapons cache buried on a farm in western Baghdad yesterday, and Iraqi troops working together with soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment took 15 suspects into custody for questioning.
The weapons cache contained numerous munitions, including blasting caps, artillery rounds, ammunition rounds and makeshift bomb materials, officials said.
Also, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers destroyed a building used by terrorists near a village west of Baghdad on Feb. 9. Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, coordinated the strike in cooperation with other units from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division in Sumalat.
The building, which has been a known insurgent sniper position and an alleged makeshift-bomb manufacturing site, was destroyed to prevent its further use by insurgent forces, officials said.
In addition, soldiers from the 3rd Combined Arms Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, and Iraqi army soldiers cordoned off the Jabouri Peninsula, just outside of Balad on Feb. 9 and began operations to clear the area of insurgents and al Qaeda fighters, officials reported.
"Al Qaeda and other insurgents have used this area as a safe haven. We have targeted the insurgents in this area for the past five months, but they still pose a threat to coalition forces, Iraqi civilians and Iraqi security forces," said Lt. Col. Kevin Dunlop, commander of 3rd Combined Arms Battalion.
This operation will target high value individuals, training areas and terrorist safe havens in an effort to restore and sustain peace in the peninsula and surrounding areas, Dunlop said.
Finally, on Feb. 8, Iraqi army soldiers responded to a tip and conducted a raid to break up a car bomb cell in Ameriyah. The Iraqi army troops detained one terrorist suspect. During initial questioning, the suspect implicated a second suspected car bomb cell member living next door, officials said.
(Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq and Defense Department news releases.)