Islamic Jihad say suicide bombers gone to Baghdad

alertnet.org ^ | 30 Mar 2003 17:11:29 GMT | Mariam Karouny

[Destro]

30 Mar 2003 17:11:29 GMT

Islamic Jihad say suicide bombers gone to Baghdad

(Adds more Jihad quotes paragraph 8, background)

By Mariam Karouny

BEIRUT, March 30 (Reuters) - Radical Palestinian group Islamic Jihad said on Sunday it had sent a first wave of suicide bombers to Baghdad to help Iraqis fight U.S. and British troops.

"Al-Quds Brigades brings to our people and nation the good news of the arrival of its first martyrdom (attackers) to the heart of Baghdad," a faxed statement from the armed wing of Islamic Jihad said.

"This is to fulfil the holy duty of defending Arab and Muslim land," it said.

Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility on Sunday for a suicide bombing at a crowded pedestrian mall in the Israeli seaside town of Netanya that injured at least 30 people, calling the attack a "gift" to the Iraqi people.

Islamic Jihad's Lebanon representative, Abu Imad al-Rifai, confirmed the statement to Reuters. He said the suicide bombers had not come from Palestinian territories but from several countries.

Rifai declined to say how many potential Islamic Jihad suicide bombers had gone to Iraq but said more were on the way.

"Some have already arrived and others will come later... If there are means for people to go, they will," Rifai said.

"The battle with the American occupation is open to all possibilities and the cause of Iraq is an Arab and Muslim cause and we are a part of the Arab and Muslim nation," he added.

Asked if the Islamic Jihad members said to have gone to Baghdad had orders to carry out suicide bombings, Rifai said: "Yes, correct".

"A part of the role they are carrying out and have dedicated themselves to is fighting American occupation in Iraq and defending the Iraqi people," he said.

Iraqi authorities said President Saddam Hussein had awarded posthumous medals to a suicide car bomber who killed four U.S. soldiers in southern Iraq on Saturday.

Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan said thousands of Arab volunteers, including some from Saudi Arabia, were arriving in Iraq to help fight the invaders.

Suicide bombers are closely associated with the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Saddam, who sees himself as a pan-Arab leader fighting Zionism, has in the past paid money to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers.

Islamic Jihad is listed as a terrorist organisation by the U.S. government.

[swheats]

May those suicide bombers never make their destination.

[Attman]

Is "suicide bomber" a freakin' job description?

[mike_9958]

-> Is "suicide bomber" a freakin' job description? <-

LOL

first thing I thought.....

[upchuck]

Is "suicide bomber" a freakin' job description?

LOL, yeah it is. Then after you job is completed, you get a new job description, DEAD!

[Bars4Bill]

Please send the second and third and fourth waves as well, to concentrate in Baghdad. These maggots won't be attacking buses and restaurants. They'll be attacking troops trained to shoot to kill them.

My only question is: when a jihadist "suicide bomber" gets his or her brains blown out before self-detonation, does said maggot meet Allah?

[SoCal_Republican]

A suicide bomber on the battlefield is hardly the same threat as a suicide bomber amongst civilians. The biggest threat from suicide bombings is the terror and instability they can cause. This is war. People are there to kill others on both sides. It can't get any more unstable. The media may highlight the ten, tenty, (hundred?) deaths that may occur from suicide bombers, but they won't entertain the same discussion about the hundreds of Iraqi soldiers dying EVERY day. Suicide bombers cannot protect Saddam.

[Blood of Tyrants]

When Baghdad, the locals who welcome the regeime change will point them out.

[KC_Conspirator]

Do the American hating leftists need anymore proof of the ties between Saddam and terrorists?

[lawdog]

Al-Quds Brigades brings to our people and nation the good news of the arrival of its first martyrdom (attackers) to the heart of Baghdad," a faxed statement from the armed wing of Islamic Jihad said.

Yeah ,please step into the KILL BOX. Thank you.

[Master of Orion]

Yeah! Like Moths to a candle flame!

[CyberAnt]

Hmmmmm? I think most of them (200 at least) have gone to meet their maker - and there were no virgins waiting!!

[thatdewd]

Since Arafat's Fatah organisation has already sent "hundreds" of their suiciders, it seems the palies are DEFINITELY declaring war on the Coalition. Time to line up the bulldozers and make a push towards the Jordan River.