Troops besiege gunmen holding hostages in Iraq 17 April 2005
KUT, Iraq - Iraqi soldiers surrounded a town south of Baghdad as gunmen, believed to be Sunni militants, held scores of Shiite residents hostage and threatened to kill them unless all Shiites left.
The mass seizure of residents Saturday coincided with a string of insurgent attacks across the country in which at least 17 Iraqis were killed, seven of them in one explosion in central Iraq.
In an incident likely to heighten sectarian tension between the majority Shiites, who swept January’s elections, and the embittered disempowered Sunnis, gunmen blew up an empty Shiite mosque in Al-Madain after taking the hostages.
An interior ministry official said the gunmen were holding some 80 hostages and threatening to kill them unless all Shiites left the town, which lies some 30 kilometres (18 miles) south of Baghdad.
Iraqi army special forces have surrounded the town and there was a brief exchange of gunfire, the official added.
The standoff began Friday when the gunmen riding pickup trucks seized hostages and called over loudspeakers on Shiites to leave, a defense ministry official said.
Scores fled the town, some heading for the city of Kut further south.
“They have detained more than 80 people, including women and children, and they are threatening to kill them unless Shiites leave,” Iraqi army Captain Haitham Mohammed said.
Many Iraqi soldiers and police put on civilian clothing to flee the mixed Sunni-Shiite town, located on the Tigris river on the site of the ancient city of Ctesiphon.
The area around Al-Madain is home to several Sunni Arab tribes who follow the radical Wahhabi brand of Islam that dominates Saudi Arabia and recent reports suggested that Shiites have set up vigilante groups for protection.
An interior ministry official suggested events in Madain could be a response to the abduction of Sunnis from the powerful Dulaimi tribe, who have a presence in the area.
In other violence, at least 17 people were killed, including two US soldiers and a Turkish truck driver, in separate incidents, US and Iraqi officials said.
In the most lethal attack, seven died, including a number of policemen, and five were wounded when a bomb went off in a crowded lunchtime restaurant in Baquba, north of the capital, police said.
In Baghdad, one civilian was killed and three wounded when a suicide bomber drove his car into a military-guarded convoy bringing to four the number of bombings in the capital since Thursday.
The Al Qaeda-linked group of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi said in statements carried on the Internet that it carried out Saturday’s two suicide attacks, in Baquba and in Baghdad. The authenticity of the statements could not immediately be verified.
An Iraqi policeman was also shot dead in southern Baghdad while driving his car, the interior ministry said.
In continuing attacks on the estimated 140,000 US troops in Iraq, one American soldier, travelling in a convoy, was killed by an explosion near Taji, north of Baghdad, the US military said, one day after another had died of his wounds in an attack near Tikrit, further north.
This brings to 1,547 the number of US military personnel killed in Iraq since the US-led invasion more than two years ago.
A Turkish truck driver was killed when a roadside bomb exploded near the northern oil refining town of Baiji setting his vehicle ablaze, said Iraqi police. This brought to eight the number of foreign truck drivers killed this year in northern Iraq.
An Iraqi soldier died and another was wounded overnight in an explosion near Samarra, north of Baghdad, and four civilians were wounded in a dawn car bomb attack against an Iraqi army convoy in the same area.
The Iraqi army meanwhile said it had arrested 20 people in Khalis, north of Baghdad, on suspicion of involvement in insurgent attacks. It also said its soldiers had killed two leaders of Ansar al-Sunna, an Al Qaeda-linked network, Friday.
The leader of the network was identified as Abu Bakr Mohammed Nayef al-Janabi, a former intelligence officer under Saddam Hussein.
Meanwhile talks continued among different factions on forming the new government as parliament prepared to meet Sunday.
“As far as we know the government has not been formed, so it will not be on the agenda when we meet,” Hajem al-Hassani, parliament speaker told AFP.
The main obstacle to completing the cabinet is finding the right candidates from the Sunni community, which largely boycotted the elections and whose radical elements are fuelling the insurgency.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar al-Zebari warned Iraq’s neighbors to do a better job to prevent insurgents from slipping across their borders.
“We expect more from them. Before the excuse was there’s no elected government. This time we stand on stronger ground,” Zebari said ahead of a two-day meeting in Istanbul with foreign ministers from Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey.
“We need more action from them on border protection (and) the penetration of terrorist infiltrators.”
He listed controls on money transfers and media incitement as other areas of concern.
Rebels hold 150; Shi’ite mosque blown up
Web posted at: 4/17/2005 6:47:11
Source ::: AFP
KUT: Iraqi soldiers surrounded a town south of Baghdad yesterday as gunmen held 150 of Shiite residents hostage and threatened to kill them unless all Shi’ites left.
The mass seizure of residents coincided with a string of insurgent attacks across the country in which at least 17 Iraqis were killed late on Friday and yesterday, seven of them in one explosion in central Iraq.
In an incident likely to heighten sectarian tension between the Shi’ites and the Sunnis, gunmen blew up an empty Shi’ite mosque in Al Madain after taking the hostages. An interior ministry official said the gunmen were holding some 150 hostages and threatening to kill them unless all Shi’ites left the town which lies 30km south of Baghdad,. Iraqi army special forces have surrounded the town and there was a brief exchange of gunfire, the official added.
The stand-off began on Friday when the gunmen riding pick-up trucks seized hostages and called over loudspeakers on Shi’ites to leave, a defence ministry official said. Scores fled the town, some heading for the city of Kut further south.
Many Iraqi soldiers and police put on civilian clothing to flee the mixed Sunni-Shiite town, located on the Tigris river on the site of the ancient city of Ctesiphon. The area around Al-Madain is home to several Sunni tribes.
In other violence, at least 17 people were killed, including two US soldiers and a Turkish truck driver, in separate incidents. In the most lethal attack, seven died, including a number of policemen, and five were wounded when a bomb went off in at crowded lunchtime restaurant in Baquba.
In Baghdad, one civilian was killed and three wounded when a suicide bomber drove his car into a military-guarded convoy bringing to four the number of bombings in the capital since Thursday.
In continuing attacks on the estimated 140,000 US troops in Iraq, one American soldier, travelling in a convoy, was killed by an explosion near Taji, north of Baghdad, the US military said, one day after another had died of his wounds in an attack near Tikrit. This brings to 1,547 the number of US military personnel killed in Iraq since the US-led invasion more than two years ago. The Iraqi army meanwhile said it had arrested 20 people in Khalis, north of Baghdad, on suspicion of involvement in insurgent attacks.
Meanwhile Luxembourg, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, said an international conference on Iraq may be held in Brussels at the start of June if Baghdad agrees. “The moment has come for it to tell the world what kind of future it is planning for its people,” said EU external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.
