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| Iraq |
| 4 Killed in Suicide Bombing at Checkpoint in Northern Iraq |
| 2003-02-27 |
| A man detonated a bomb he was wearing near a Kurdish military headquarters in northern Iraq today, killing himself and three others in what the authorities described as the first Kurdish suicide bombing. His mom will be so proud! The authorities said the attack, at a military checkpoint in Zamaqi, was probably the work of Ansar al-Islam, a militant Islamic group that the United States contends has connections to both Al Qaeda and President Saddam Hussein of Iraq. It occurred late in the morning, when a sport utility vehicle used as a taxi was stopped at a checkpoint by Kurdish guards. A Kurdish security official said the guards were suspicious of the taxi's passenger and asked him to leave the vehicle for an inspection. "When he was about to be checked, he pressed the button," the official said. "Papers, please." "OK, I've got them right here in my vest" The blast, from a bomb made from an estimated 10 pounds of explosives packed with metal shards, killed the taxi driver and one of the guards outright. A second guard died soon afterward, the official said. The checkpoint was on a military road roughly a three-minute drive from a headquarters where Kurdish forces supervise military action against Ansar, which occupies a front and a series of bases in the area. The headquarters has been frequented by American intelligence teams in recent months. The boomer most likely wanted to get into the HQ. Ansar al-Islam did not immediately claim responsibility for the bombing, although in past actions, including military attacks and the assassination of a Kurdish minister of Parliament, the group has waited a day or two before announcing its role. If Ansar is responsible, it would be the group's first successful suicide bombing. The authorities here accuse Kurdish Islamists of trying suicide bombings three times last year, all of which failed when the bombers were caught. I'd hardly consider it a success, killing two guards and a taxi driver only put the Kurds on higher alert. Late last year, a Kurdish security official, Col. Wasta Hassan, said that Ansar had trained 50 men for suicide attacks, and that more attempts were imminent. He said many of the potential bombers had been videotaped preparing for attacks, an activity apparently copied from Palestinian bombers. Maybe that should provide a hint on who trained them. Dr. Barham Salih, prime minister of the eastern Kurdish zone, denounced the bombing today and offered it as an example of the need for military action against Ansar's bases along the Iranian border. "This ongoing terrorist threat can only be eradicated through a concentrated international response," he said. "It is time for resolute response." It's almost time for a airstrike. |
| Posted by:Steve |