Posted on 09/14/2007 2:16:56 PM PDT by nuconvert
Anbar Sunnis vow 'revenge on Al-Qaeda' after slaying of sheikh
Compiled by Daily Star staff
September 15, 2007
Thousands of Sunni Arabs in Iraq's Anbar Province vowed Friday to avenge the death of their leader, Abdel-Sattar Abu Risha, a key US ally who was killed in a suspected Al-Qaeda bomb attack on Thursday. In violence around Iraq Friday, a truck-bomb attack killed four policemen and wounded five others about 250 kilometers north of Baghdad, while US and Iraqi forces killed three suspected insurgents in a helicopter raid in Anbar Province.
Angry and grieving mourners carried Abu Risha's body to a local cemetery in Ramadi, capital of the western desert province, in a procession amid tight security by Iraqi and US forces.
"Revenge on Al-Qaeda," mourners shouted. "There is no God but God, and Al-Qaeda is the enemy of Allah. Abdel-Sattar is the pride of Ramadi."
Abu Risha and three of his bodyguards were killed Thursday when a powerful bomb ripped through their convoy near the tribal leader's home outside Ramadi.
The assassination came on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and almost a year after Abu Risha formed the Anbar Awakening Conference, a coalition of 42 Sunni tribes who fought alongside US troops against Al-Qaeda in Anbar.
"We blame Al-Qaeda and we are going to continue our fight and avenge his death," said Sheikh Ahmad Abu Risha, who was elected the new leader of the tribal coalition soon after his brother's murder.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was represented at the funeral by national security advisor Muwaffaq al-Rubaie, who condemned the assassination.
"It is a national Iraqi disaster. What Abu Risha did for Iraq, no single man has done in the country's history," Rubaie told the mourners gathered at the sheikh's house. "We will support Anbar much more than before. Abu Risha is a national hero."
Maliki said in a statement that the attack bore "the fingerprints of Al-Qaeda" and was "aimed at destabilizing the province of Anbar." The movement of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr also condemned the Sunni sheikh's murder.
"Abu Risha was a man who proved that terrorism can be fought and security can be restored even in the most volatile area in Iraq," said Sheikh Saleh al-Obeidi, Sadr's spokesman in the Shiite holy city of Najaf.
Anbar security chief Tareq al-Dulaimi said it now appeared the sheikh was killed in a suicide car-bomb attack.
He said the bomber blew up his car alongside Abu Risha's convoy, and that it was not a roadside bomb that killed him as initially reported.
"There is reconstruction work going on between the sheikh's home on one side and a series of orchards on the other, so the road which is usually sealed off had to be opened for traffic," Dulaimi said.
"The terrorists exploited this situation to drive through a Mercedes car and blow it up near the sheikh's vehicle."
Statements on Islamist Web sites usually used by insurgent groups rejoiced at the sheikh's killing and said it was the work of Al-Qaeda.
"The apostate Abdel-Sattar Abu Risha, one of the biggest pigs of the Christian crusade, has been killed by the lions of Islamic unity. This is the beginning of the end of the Anbar Awakening Conference," one message said.
The sheikh's killing is seen as a setback to US efforts to contain the violence raging through Iraq and to crush the local wingof Osama bin Laden's jihadist group, alleged to be the key perpetrator of bloodshed in Iraq.
The slow restoration of order in Anbar had been touted by the US military as one sign that its surge strategy was working.
US President George W. Bush, on a surprise visit to Anbar last week, had shaken Abu Risha's hand and praised his efforts against Al-Qaeda.
Bush cited the boosted security improvements when he held out the prospect of a limited US troop withdrawal by next July in a televised address late Thursday.
In scattered violence around the country on Friday, a suicide truck bomb struck a police checkpoint near Beiji, 250 kilometers north of Baghdad, killing four policemen and wounding five others, a Beiji police officer said.
South of Baghdad, unidentified gunmen killed three farmers who had been taking their turn guarding a village about 30 kilometers in a drive-by shooting at 5 a.m., police said.
Farther south in the city of Hillah, gunmen attacked the home of Colonel Hussein Ali Hassoun al-Khafaji, an Iraqi army battalion commander, killing a guard and wounding another, police said.
In a helicopter assault mission west of Baghdad, three suspected insurgents were killed and three American soldiers were wounded, the US command said. Iraqi soldiers led the raid Thursday on a mosque in Karmah, a town in Iraq's western Anbar Province some 80 kilometers west of the capital, the US military said in a statement. The target was a high-ranking Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader, believed to be responsible for orchestrating murders, sniper attacks and the planting of roadside bombs.
During the operation, people fleeing the mosque fired at American troops - wounding three of them with non-life-threatening injuries. US and Iraqi forces retaliated with ground fire and close air support, killing three suspected insurgents, the military said.
The statement did not say whether the targeted Al-Qaeda figure was among the dead.
Troops also discovered four rockets, roadside-bomb-making materials and 50-caliber ammunition rounds inside the mosque, the statement said.
The tribal warriors of Anbar will descend upon Al-Qaeda. No prisoners, no quarter. I hope we won’t disrupt the tribes when they deal with Al-Qaeda in their own fashion.
May it echo throughout Iraq.
Interesting quotes.
What the Dems and other naysayers about Iraq don’t understand is that it takes great courage to stand with the US in Iraq. Iraqi officials and their families have been assassinatated and are the targets of assassination. These “brave” Dem Congressmen would not have the guts to hold office under such circumstances.
Exactly
It appears that even Sadr’s shite militia are condemning AQ as well. This is very good news and makes me wonder why we are pulling troops out when we are making such progress??
But hey...I am no military expert...LOL.
We call this “SURGE-PLUS”
You can’t stop a muslim from killing, but sometimes you can aim them in the right direction....
I was thinking that it might be an idea to take a brigade of these Anbar Sunni's, arm them to the teeth, and drop them in the middle of Wazeristan.
There goes Osama’s approval ratings!
Now only if CAIR will promote this common sense mindset...
Excellent idea!
That's pretty determined driving.
good. now we need to arm them and set them loose.
The title - good is right. I was hoping I’d see something like this. Prayers for the Sheikh and his family. May God protect his brother who’s taken his place.
Now only if CAIR will promote this common sense mindset...
CAIR has its own God. It's the ACLU isn't it?
Mohmmed Al Fahdawi, a police lieutenant-colonel in Ramadi, said the police and military would launch “a big offensive” against Al Qaida strongholds in Iraq.
“We have decided not to be merciful toward anyone who sympathizes with al Qaeda because it is either us or them,” he said.
Make no mistake. We are witnessing the moment of revelation that all of this WOT is aimed at achieving. I pray that this man may not have died in vain, that his loss may be part of a catalyst of great change and growth. I pray for it with all my heart.
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