Posted on 10/09/2005 9:23:39 AM PDT by Wiz
Basra, Iraq - The most powerful and feared institution here in southern Iraq's largest city is a shadowy force of 200 to 300 police officers known collectively as the Jameat, who dominate the local police and who are said to murder and torture at will. They answer to the leaders of Basra's sectarian militias.
The militia infiltration in Basra's police force and government goes far beyond the Jameat. But it may be the most ominous example of the degree to which militias dominate Basra.
The extent of Jameat's power became clear in September when British troops in armored vehicles tried to rescue two special operations soldiers who had been abducted and taken to its headquarters in a police building in Basra.
According to three British soldiers there that day, 1,000 to 2,000 people rapidly gathered near the station, which the British troops had partly demolished in an effort to free the captives. The soldiers were ultimately rescued from a house nearby, where they were being held by Shiite militiamen.
The British soldiers said many in the mob had been armed with homemade gasoline bombs and grenades, and that the attack appeared to be a disciplined and coordinated response to the sacking of the Jameat headquarters. Iraqi men standing on cars ordered the mob to attack, they said, while rioters clambered on top of armored vehicles and doused soldiers inside with gasoline.
"This was not a spontaneous public action," said Major Andy Hadfield, a British company commander. "It was closely organized and closely coordinated by a series of agitators."
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
Lay 'em out like poppies grow, row on row and let "el bastard" Mohammad sort them out!
Now once more by the numbers rat-a-tat-tat!
ping
Yeah , all in one place. Boom ....
Hooray for Alaska!
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