Posted on 08/05/2007 8:43:18 AM PDT by SirLinksalot
US troops killed the al-Qaida mastermind of the latest bombing at a prized Shi'ite shrine, and at least 13 people died when mortars rained down on their Baghdad neighborhood, official said Sunday.
Haitham Sabah Shaker Mohammed al-Badri was the al-Qaida in Iraq emir of Salahuddin province, and the figure responsible for the June 13 bombing of the Askariya mosque's twin minarets, the US military said in a statement. He died in a US operation east of Samarra on Thursday, though his death was announced three days later.
"Al-Badri was positively identified by close associates and family members," the statement said.
Al-Badri had also been a suspect in an earlier bombing, in February 2006, which destroyed the same mosque's golden dome and set in motion an unrelenting cycle of retaliatory sectarian bloodletting.
He was one of about 80 suspects detained in US and Iraqi raids in the Samarra area over the past week, the US military said. More than 1,000 Iraqi soldiers and police took part in the giant operation, backed by US paratroopers, it added.
Meanwhile, 13 people were killed early Sunday morning and 14 wounded by mortar shells in southeast Baghdad, according to police.
At least three mortars hit the Mashtal area on the eastern side of the Tigris River, a police officer said on condition of anonymity out of security concerns. It was unclear whether they were aimed at the area, or whether the shells fell short of their intended targeted.
Police and witnesses said two of the mortar shells landed near a gas station where people were lining up for fuel at the start of the workweek. Many of the victims were burned by fuel that burst into flames from the attack, the officer said.
Associated Press Television footage showed at least two cars with their windshields and windows shattered. The tail fin of a mortar shell was lodged in the ground nearby. Pools of blood soaked into the dusty ground outside crude cement block homes.
"Shrapnel hit my front window...then two explosions took place," said minibus driver Ali Abdul-Karim, 28. "Me and other drivers ran fast toward the sound of the explosions, to help evacuate the victims."
Abdul-Karim described a ghastly scene, with rescuers scurrying to discern the wounded from the dead.
"I saw two elderly women bleeding and laying on the ground. I don't know whether they were injured or dead," he said. "I also saw three seriously wounded boys laying near their jerry cans. A man was running and screaming, with his hands on his belly, which was cut by shrapnel."
The wounded lay bandaged on gurneys at a nearby hospital. Male relatives of the victims, many in clothes stained with their loved ones' blood, milled around outside the neighboring morgue, where at least eleven bodies were visible on metal shelves.
Mashtal is a Shi'ite-dominated neighborhood in southeast Baghdad. Its main intersection, where the gas station is located, leads to other Shi'ite slums such as Kamaliyah, Fudailiyah, and Sadr City.
The Askariya shrine in Samarra, 95 kilometers north of Baghdad, is one of the holiest places for Shi'ites. Despite heightened security put in place after the February 2006 bombing, suspected al-Qaida insurgents managed to infiltrate the compound and bring down its two minarets in June.
The first attack unleashed a bloodbath of reprisals - of Shi'ite death-squad murders of Sunnis, and Sunni bombing attacks on Shi'ites. At least 34,000 civilians died in last year's violence, the United Nations reported.
The second bombing, in June, toppled the two minarets - which for many Shi'ites, were symbols of resilience in the face of a tireless Sunni insurgency - and dealt a bold blow to hopes for reconciliation.
Also Sunday, six gunmen were killed and ten others arrested during clashes with Iraqi soldiers in Mosul, 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, the Iraqi Army said. Brigadier Mutaa al-Khazrachi said the fighting erupted at about 11 a.m., when an Iraqi Army patrol was ambushed in the city's eastern neighborhood of al-Antissar.
The US military said Sunday that its troops, along with Iraqi forces, had captured two al-Qaida suspects in the Taji area north of Baghdad, and three others in the al-Qaim area near the Syrian border. The arrests were carried out Friday, it said.
On Saturday, US Apache helicopters destroyed three insurgent rockets and damaged five more southeast of the Iraqi capital, according to a US military statement.
best news this weekend so far. I rejoice every time one of these subhuman devil children bites the dust.
Perfection.
This can’t be because I have heard from Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul we are not winning but losing to al Qaeda. Man, they must not be telling the truth.
Interesting spin here. The author seems to imply that the ‘big guy’ was first detained, then killed. Not that I’d find anything wrong with that, but I doubt that’s what happened.
Newt Gingrich....Anual conferance of Christians United for Israel 2007
We are in a global conflict with a force which wants to destroy us. I’ll just give you one example, because our enemies and many of our would-be friends who just don’t understand, always somehow bring it back to Israel…
If there is a civil war in Algeria and 100,000 Muslims are killed, it must be because of Israel.
If there are young girls walking to school killed by the Taliban for the purpose of terrorizing them from going, it must be because of Israel.
If there are six medical doctors living in Great Britain working for the National Health Service plotting terrorist attacks, they must be deranged because of Israel.
If there are six terrorists in New Jersey, it’s probably because they once saw a map of Israel. Whatever happens on the planet, it can’t be for the real reason because the real reason is too terrifying.
The fact is, the irreconcilable wing of Islam is quite clear: They want to kill Salmon Rushdie because he expressed free speech. They killed a television producer in Holland because he expressed free speech. They drove a Somali Dutch parliamentarian out of Holland because she expressed free speech.
If they were in charge tonight, not a single woman would be in this room. So let’s be clear:
We have two choices: We can find a way to be reasonable and surrender, or we can defeat them.
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