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Sorry the link didn't work. I've read the original source material for that article and it is all from articles written by Dr. David Cook at Rice University, one of the nation's preeminent experts on Islamic eschatology (study of their end-times beliefs). Anyone interested can google his name, or freeper dajjal has links to some of his articles on his home page (which I also recommend).

More on what is happening in Baghdad . . .

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/30/iraq/main2053845.shtml

(snip)

. . . After U.S. troops detained a bodyguard for the leader of Iraq's biggest Sunni Arab political group on suspicion he was preparing massive suicide bombings inside the fortified Green Zone, fearful officials on Saturday enforced a total ban on movement in Baghdad.

Speaking on Al-Arabiya TV on Saturday morning, Interior Ministry official Hussein Ali Kemal said the move was to "prevent the security situation from deteriorating." He added, however, that the information was that there was a threat that an attack "might occur against places of worship and shopping centers during Ramadan."

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=17671

2005-01-30

Insurgents spreading Iraq coup rumors

Iraqi government says ‘terrorists’ spreading rumor of military coup during all-day curfew.

BAGHDAD - Anti-government insurgents are spreading false rumors about an attempted coup in Baghdad, the government said Saturday, as the city was placed under curfew.

"This is a rumor that takfiris (Sunni extremists) and terrorists are spreading," said Brigadier General Qassim Mussawi, the prime minister's military spokesman, when asked about rumors of an impending military coup.

"This is not true, our forces will continue chasing terrorists in all sectors," he said on state television.

The all-day curfew was put in place Saturday "as a precautionary measure" said Mussawi, in response to intelligence tips about possible suicide attacks.

Two months ago rumors swirled about dissatisfaction in the Iraqi army leadership, and on Friday night the US television network NBC cited one of Iraq's deputy prime ministers as saying the military was planning a coup.

Interior ministry spokesman Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf laughed off the possibility of a coup.

"Who would be overthrowing whom? If you gave Baghdad to the army, they would say 'no, please keep it!'," he said.

"What would they do? Go down to the Green Zone and arrest (US Ambassador Zalmay) Khalilzad in the presence of a hundred thousand US soldiers?"

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2006-09-30T115340Z_01_GEO743062_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ.xml

Baghdad under total daylight curfew
Sat Sep 30, 2006 7:54 AM ET

By Peter Graff

(snipped)

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq imposed a total daylight curfew on Baghdad on Saturday, banning all movement, as U.S. forces said they had foiled a possible suicide plot to attack the city's sprawling "Green Zone" government compound.

U.S. troops on Friday arrested a security guard at the home of the leader of the main Sunni political bloc. The U.S. military said on Saturday the man was suspected of planning car bomb attacks on the fortified zone.

"Coalition force personnel detained an individual at the residence of Dr Adnan al-Dulaimi in Baghdad September 29. The detained individual is suspected of involvement in the planning of a multi-vehicle suicide operation inside Baghdad's International Zone," the military said in a statement.

It said the man may have been linked to al Qaeda, and the plan might have been to use suicide vests in the attack. U.S. forces did not enter Dulaimi's house, but searched a security trailer there and the suspect's car, it said.

Dulaimi leads the Accordance Front, the largest Sunni bloc in parliament, which is also housed inside the Green Zone. . .

There was no official explanation for the curfew, which emptied streets. A political source said it was linked to fears that security in the Green Zone had been compromised. He said access for all but the most senior officials had been curtailed.

The 5 sq km (2 sq mile) riverside compound once occupied by Saddam Hussein is home to thousands, including most senior officials and the U.S. and British embassies.

In March, Iraq jailed several defense officials accused of a plot to infiltrate hundreds of al Qaeda fighters into the Zone's security force.

Another senior Iraqi official said the curfew was imposed because of fears of more widespread unrest after a bloody first week of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, during which the U.S. military said suicide attacks had hit a record high.

The curfew would remain in place until 6 a.m. (0200 GMT) on Sunday, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's office said. The U.S. military said the curfew was the Iraqi government's decision, and such measures had proven effective in the past. . .