what exactly were they hunting? i've searched and can't find it
Posted on 12/20/2015 1:45:38 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
Nine of the Qataris kidnapped from Iraq's Samawa desert are members of the ruling family: sources
Published December 19th, 2015 - 20:00 GMT via SyndiGate.info
As the mystery surrounding the abduction last week of a Qatari hunting party in Iraq deepened, a report in Kuwait said that nine of its members were from the Al Thani Ruling family.
The Al Thani hunters abducted are Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Mohammad Al Thani, Shaikh Nayed Bin Eid Mohammad Al Thani, Shaikh Abdul Rahman Bin Jasem Abdul Aziz Jassem Al Thani, Shaikh Jassem Bin Fahad Mohammad Thani Al Thani, Shaikh Khalid Bin Jassem Fahad Mohammad Al Thani, Shaikh Mohammad Bin Khalid Ahmad Mohammad Al Thani, Shaikh Fahad Bin Eid Mhammad Thani Al Thani, Shaikh Abdul Aziz Bin Mohammad Bin Ahmad Al Thani, and Shaikh Jabr Bin Ahmad Al Thani, Kuwaiti daily Al Rai reported on Friday.
No details have been provided about the identity of the kidnappers and the reason for the abduction, but so far nine people have been able to reach Kuwait where they provided some information about what happened.
The nine who drove back into Kuwait, and were welcomed at Abdaly border crossing by officials and the Qatari ambassador in Kuwait City, are one Kuwaiti, two Saudis and six Qataris.
However, none of the Qataris who arrived in Kuwait was a member of the Al Thani family.
According to one of the rescued, the expedition of hunters that crossed from Kuwait into Iraq three weeks ago consisted of 70 people, including members of the Ruling family in Qatar, young people, Saudis and Kuwaitis.
"Armed militias attacked the camp where the party was staying at around 2am and kidnapped all those who were there at the time," he said. "They were 32 people and the list included hunters, workers, cooks and helpers. They were transported to an undisclosed location. The other members of the party were not kidnapped because they were away on a night hunting expedition," he said, quoted by Al Rai.
"The hunting expedition was duly licenced by the Iraqi authorities and the tent of the hunting party is among the largest put up by various hunting groups in the area," he said.
Kuwaiti officials said they have been monitoring the situation closely through the ministry of interior and the ministry of foreign affairs, but they denied claims they were aware of the identity of the kidnappers or their militia.
"Negotiations to secure the release of the kidnapped hunting party members were conducted directly with the Iraqi authorities," Khalid Al Jarallah, the deputy foreign minister, said.
Reports in Iraq said the nine people who had been able to cross back into Kuwait were servants and not hunters.
"They were not kidnapped alongside the hunters and they were taken back to Kuwait by the Iraqi authorities," an Iraqi police source told Iraqi news site Al Sumaria.
Faleh Al Ziyadi, the governor of Al Muthanna in the south of Iraq, said he had banned all Gulf hunting parties from hunting in the area following the kidnapping.
"Military operations with aerial assistance from the army and the police are being conducted to find the kidnapped," he said. "A security committee headed by the interior minister has been formed to look into the kidnapping and identify the kidnappers and locate them," he said.
Ahmad Al Abyadh, an Iraqi political analyst, told Al Rai that if the kidnapped are not released quickly, they will most likely be used as a bargaining chip in negotiations to secure the release detainees held by armed factions in Syria.
The presence of Gulf nationals on hunting expeditions using falcons in southern Iraq is a deep-rooted tradition.
Hunting trips up to 2003, the year the regime was changed in Iraq, were under the direct supervision of the intelligence services, Al Sumaria said.
However, after 2003, the number of Gulf nationals who crossed into Iraq to hunt has dwindled due to security concerns, but expeditions never stopped.
The Gulf hunters regularly purchased falcons from Iraqis in the southern part of the country where several associations breed them and promote hunting.
By Habib Toumi
Man, this is like a Patriots - Dolphins game, who do I root for as a Jets fan?
Fools go hunting where falcons fear to fly.
“It was an an al Thani who raced his supercar around Beverly Hills...”
Thank you. I thought the al Thani name was familiar.
I hope Mario Andretti al Thani was one of the “guests”.
what exactly were they hunting? i've searched and can't find it
The Arab League Council called on the Iraqi government to shoulder its legal responsibilities and take the necessary measures to ensure the safety of the abductees Qatari citizens and release them as soon as possible, especially as they had entered the Iraqi territory through an official entry visas issued by the Iraqi Embassy in Doha, based on the consent of the Iraqi Interior Ministry, and the kidnapping incident has occurred in territory under the sovereignty of the Iraqi government and its security control.
http://www.qna.org.qa/en-us/News/15122420140051/Arab-Foreign-Ministers-Condemn-Kidnapping-of-Qatari-Nationals
sorry: This can develop into something complicated:
Looks like a proxy war between Saudi and Iran. The kidnappers demand the release of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheikh_Nimr sentenced to death in Saudi. Nasrallah is going to be involved as negotiator.
http://al-akhbar.com/node/248885
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Mohammed_Baqir_al-Nimr is not mentioned yet, but if he is pardoned soon it is an indication that Saudi want to defuse the situation and negotiate. But, this is “honor country” so expect irrationalities.
Only the Russian state media Sputnik News had a short piece on it, identifying a Shiite militia who might be responsible.
Sputnik News is like Debka, not to be trusted.
Iraq's top Shi'ite Muslim cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called for the release of a group of Qatari hunters kidnapped in the south of the country, his representative said on Friday.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-iraq-sistani-idUKKBN0U80JW20151225
Sistani is one of the few sane persons in the region.
According to the Egyptian newspaper al-Ahram, the Qataris were abducted by the members of the Shiite militia group Brigade of Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas. Negotiations for the release of the hostages are being conducted by Hadi al-Amiri, one of the leading commanders of the militia group.Let's see if Sistani's call can be heeded by whoever instigated this incident.
... or killed.
Saudi Arabia executed 47 people on Saturday for terrorism, including the prominent Shi’ite Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimrits, Interior Ministry said in a statement.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-security-idUSKBN0UG03B20160102
How many of the Qatari royals will be executed now?
We know what the problem is, but almost nothing is done (from a year ago - Oct 2014):
“This is a time bomb that, under the guise of education, Wahhabi Salafism is igniting under the world really. And it is funded by Saudi and Qatari money and that must stop,” said Gen Shaw. “And the question then is ‘does bombing people over there really tackle that?’ I don’t think so. I’d far rather see a much stronger handle on the ideological battle rather than the physical battle.”
When it comes to waging that ideological struggle, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are pivotal. “The root problem is that those two countries are the only two countries in the world where Wahhabi Salafism is the state religion – and Isil is a violent expression of Wahabist Salafism,” said Gen Shaw.
“The primary threat of Isil is not to us in the West: it’s to Saudi Arabia and also to the other Gulf states.”
Both Qatar and Saudi Arabia are playing small parts in the air campaign against Isil, contributing two and four jet fighters respectively. But Gen Shaw said they “should be in the forefront” and, above all, leading an ideological counter-revolution against Isil.
The sad thing for Nimr is that his work to improve the situation for Shias in Saudi was used by the Iranians against Saudi:
Nimr had long been regarded as the most vocal Shi’ite leader in Qatif, willing to publicly criticise the Al Saud ruling family and call directly for elections. But he was careful to avoid calling for violence, analysts say.
http://www.trust.org/item/20160102095347-tozwj
How many of the Qatari royals will be executed now?
and will the proxy war between Iran and Saudi heat up?
Iran has warned Saudi Arabia it will pay “a high price” for executing prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
#Saudi Armored Vehicles Heading To Restive #Qatif City After The Execution Of Prominent Cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.
https://twitter.com/Terror_Monitor/status/683245572841697280
Yemen
http://www.dailysabah.com/mideast/2016/01/02/saudi-led-coalition-announces-end-of-yemen-ceasefire
Approximately 60,000 Shiites (estimate of 1969) live in the oasis town of Qatif, which is about 65 km (40 mi) from the main Saudi refinery and the export terminal of Ras Tanura.
For the latest info, disinfo, gossip etc about Qatif:
https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&vertical=default&q=Qatif
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