Al Qaeda camp in northern Iraq taken out in S & A attack

NBC | 032103 | Fred Francis

[canyon]

Talk about killing two birds with one stone!

[piasa]

Not to mention that MANY among Ansar al Islam, including many in the leadership, are Arab, not Kurdish.

* Al Aqsa Battalion : Part of Ansar al-Islam. Its deputy head is Abdul Jaber, according to captured Ansar Al Islam member Osman Ali. The Al Aqsa Battalion is made up of 80 guerrilla fighters, most of them Arabs from across the Middle East, Ali said. The battalion also includes a six-member group of would-be suicide bombers, which Ali said he was a member of. Both the Yahia Ayash Battalion and the Al Aqsa battalion launch attacks against the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, (PUK) a secular Kurdish militia fighting for control of the same area of northeastern Iraqi turf as Ansar al Islam..-"Canadian man called key in Iraq terror cell Iraq terror cell links Al Qaeda, Saddam," Sandro Contenta in Sulaymania, Iraq Toronto Star NEWS; Pg. A01 February 26, 2003 Wednesday Ontario Edition (it was abridged) see also The Hamilton Spectator for the unabridged version

* Yahia Ayash Battalion : Part of Ansar al-Islam. Commanded by former Canadian resident Abdul Jaber. The subgroup is named after the notorious Hamas bombmaker killed by Israeli security agents in 1996. Both the Yahia Ayash Battalion and the Al Aqsa battalion launch attacks against the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, (PUK) a secular Kurdish militia fighting for control of the same area of northeastern Iraqi turf as Ansar al Islam. -"Canadian man called key in Iraq terror cell Iraq terror cell links Al Qaeda, Saddam," Sandro Contenta in Sulaymania, Iraq Toronto Star NEWS; Pg. A01 February 26, 2003 Wednesday Ontario Edition (it was abridged) see also The Hamilton Spectator for the unabridged version

Note the strong Palestinian influence here. This is entirely in keeping with Saddam Hussein's reliance on Palestinians to do his dirty work. He doesn't much care if they are secular or fundamentalist.

Updated list of common enemies of Hussein and Ansar al Islam: Turkey, PUK, USA ... and Israel.

[NorCoGOP]

I thought there weren't any terrorist groups/Al Qaeda in Iraq.

Not anymore.

[the_doc]

There is a lot of evidence that they are allied with Saddam. They are in the same loop as the guys Woolsey testified about.

(In my opinion, one of the reason why they are parked where they are--in a remote part of Iraq--is because it allows Saddam to pretend that he has no connection with them.)

[FreedomFlyer]

This can't be true. All the people at work say that there is no Iraqi/Al Qaida link, so there couldn't be any Al Qaida camps in Iraq.

Further, Islam is a religion of peace . . . .

[Grampa Dave]

This is very good: I've come to think of South Dakota's senior Senator as "the Senator from Pierre."

[AFreeBird]

Nothing more.

Indeed!

[Grampa Dave]

When do lunatic leftist stop lying?

[Grampa Dave]

It looks worse and smells worse than egg on his face!

[luckystarmom]

What is the name of the Al Queda camp?

In my moms of twins group, we started debating the war, and several of the other moms said there was no indication that Al Queda and Iraq were linked. I told them there was indication, but I didn't have a link to the articles that I read about it.

[ApesForEvolution]

When and where did we use a MOAB and, just curious, how do you know it was our only one? Thanks.

[Freedom2specul8]

V
V
V

[Ditto]

These guys are not allied with Saddam. Oddly enough, we have been protecting them from Saddam since they were operating int he No Fly Zone.

The hell they aren't. The "good Kurds" only control a portion of the N. no-fly. The rest is controlled by a pro-Saddam Kurd faction. Saddam allowed these Al Quida to be there on condition that they fight the "good Kurds".

[HardStarboard]

>>>These guys are not allied with Saddam. Oddly enough, we have been protecting them from Saddam since they were operating int he No Fly Zone<<<

Bad info! There is a group of al Qaeda known as Ansar al-Islam which has been holding a valley opposite the Kurdish area in N. Iraq. These guys are mostly ex-afgahn fighters and are there only because they are useful to Saddam, holding the Kurds (who are our friends) at bay.

Ansar al Isalm numbered about 400 al-Qaeda. Bye-bye

[HardStarboard]

My source of information is Jeffrey Goldberg, reporter at large for New Yorker. If you are not familiar with his work, you should be. He is one of the formost authorities on terrorism, and has cajones as big as watermelons because he goes and interviews some of the really bad guys.

Two articles by him you can probably find at he the New Yorker archive: "The Great Terror" about Iraq's gassing of the Kurds and "The Unknown" about Iraqi and al Qaeda cooperation. Powerful stuff!! Cheers....

[Becki]

Nothing more.

Got that right!! Ain't it wonderful?

Becki

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

What is the name of the Al Queda camp?

Er. "Camp Osama"?

[apackof2]

Nothing more.

Exactly!

[Brad’s Gramma]

Bumping #33