Al-Qaida linked to killing of 25 Iraqi police
Source: Agencies |
March 6, 2012, Tuesday
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A GANG of gunmen disguised in military-style uniforms and carrying forged arrest warrants killed 25 police yesterday, then hoisted the battle flag of al-Qaida in a carefully planned early morning shooting spree in western Iraq, officials said.
The killings began with an attack on a suburban checkpoint and the kidnapping of two police commanders from their homes in the western Iraqi city of Haditha around 2am. It ended with the gang disappearing into the desert following this latest bloody strike against Iraq's security forces.
At least one of the attackers was killed in a raid that lasted about 30 minutes.
"We consider this attack as a serious security breach and we believe that al-Qaida or groups linked to it are behind this," said Mohammed Fathi, spokesman for the governor of Iraq's western Anbar province where Haditha is located.
Iraqi officials described a systematic plot to kill police in Haditha, 220 kilometers northwest of Baghdad, with attackers disguising themselves in military uniforms and driving cars painted to look like Iraqi interior ministry vehicles.
Fathi said the gang claimed they were military officials with arrest warrants for city police. They were stopped at a checkpoint outside Haditha, where they took away the guards' mobile phones before shooting nine of them, he said.
The gang's convoy, described by one Haditha police lieutenant as 13 cars long, then stopped at the homes of two Haditha police commanders, including the colonel who served as the city's SWAT team leader.
Brandishing the fake arrest warrants, the gunmen forced the commanders into the convoy, then shot both less than 400 meters away, Fathi said.
Fathi said the gang had false arrest warrants for 15 police officials in Haditha. As they moved through the city, they were stopped at another checkpoint near the city's main market.
A fierce gun battle broke out, with the gang raising the black flag of al-Qaida in a show of defiance. Six policemen were killed in that skirmish, and another six were killed in shootings as security forces chased the gang through the city, Fathi said.
Most of the gang escaped, fleeing north into a desert area in bordering Ninevah province known as Jazeera, according to a police lieutenant in Haditha. On the way out, Fathi said, another two policemen were killed at another checkpoint.
Police at the scene said three of the attackers were killed. Fathi said only one insurgent's body has been identified.
Haditha is a former Sunni insurgent stronghold of about 85,000 people in a valley where the Euphrates River runs through the desert.
The Haditha lieutenant said the Jazeera desert is being used as al-Qaida's newest headquarters, partly because of the difficulty faced by police forces in reaching into the region.
The killings began with an attack on a suburban checkpoint and the kidnapping of two police commanders from their homes in the western Iraqi city of Haditha around 2am. It ended with the gang disappearing into the desert following this latest bloody strike against Iraq's security forces.
At least one of the attackers was killed in a raid that lasted about 30 minutes.
"We consider this attack as a serious security breach and we believe that al-Qaida or groups linked to it are behind this," said Mohammed Fathi, spokesman for the governor of Iraq's western Anbar province where Haditha is located.
Iraqi officials described a systematic plot to kill police in Haditha, 220 kilometers northwest of Baghdad, with attackers disguising themselves in military uniforms and driving cars painted to look like Iraqi interior ministry vehicles.
Fathi said the gang claimed they were military officials with arrest warrants for city police. They were stopped at a checkpoint outside Haditha, where they took away the guards' mobile phones before shooting nine of them, he said.
The gang's convoy, described by one Haditha police lieutenant as 13 cars long, then stopped at the homes of two Haditha police commanders, including the colonel who served as the city's SWAT team leader.
Brandishing the fake arrest warrants, the gunmen forced the commanders into the convoy, then shot both less than 400 meters away, Fathi said.
Fathi said the gang had false arrest warrants for 15 police officials in Haditha. As they moved through the city, they were stopped at another checkpoint near the city's main market.
A fierce gun battle broke out, with the gang raising the black flag of al-Qaida in a show of defiance. Six policemen were killed in that skirmish, and another six were killed in shootings as security forces chased the gang through the city, Fathi said.
Most of the gang escaped, fleeing north into a desert area in bordering Ninevah province known as Jazeera, according to a police lieutenant in Haditha. On the way out, Fathi said, another two policemen were killed at another checkpoint.
Police at the scene said three of the attackers were killed. Fathi said only one insurgent's body has been identified.
Haditha is a former Sunni insurgent stronghold of about 85,000 people in a valley where the Euphrates River runs through the desert.
The Haditha lieutenant said the Jazeera desert is being used as al-Qaida's newest headquarters, partly because of the difficulty faced by police forces in reaching into the region.
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