In Baghdad, the coalition military commander, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, told reporters that the U.S. military had arrested about 20 people who may have been linked to al-Qaida but none had been confirmed as part of Osama bin Laden's terror network. "At one point, we had up to about 20 suspected al-Qaida members, but as we have continued to refine and interrogate, we have not been able to establish definitively that they were al-Qaida members," Sanchez said. Sanchez did not say where they were held, when they were detained or whether any of them have been released.
| I suspect Bagram, within the past month, and no... |
U.S. officials have said they suspect foreign volunteers, including some from al-Qaida, have slipped across the borders into Iraq to take part in a "holy war" against the U.S.-led occupation.
"Hmmm... This man is wearing a salwar kamiz and a turban, and he speaks Pashto. This is Iraq. I suspect he may be a foreign volunteer, possibly from al-Qaeda!"
"Holmes! Brilliant!" |
However, a number of U.S. commanders have said they were uncertain about the numbers of foreign fighters and their role in the insurgency. Asked about foreign fighters, Sanchez said "hundreds" of foreigners cross the border area to carry out attacks here. Sanchez was asked how close U.S. forces had been to capturing Saddam Hussein, Sanchez replied only: "Not close enough." American commanders have speculated that they are facing attacks from Saddam supporters, religious extremists and foreign fighters. U.S. officials have said at least some of the attacks may have been orchestrated by Saddam's former deputy Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, who may have forged an alliance with the Kurdish religious extremist group Ansar al-Islam.
| Yeah, yeah. We know that. Only the Ansar they've formed their alliance with is more likely the al-Tawhid bunch that was hiding out in Jordan and Syria, rather than the bunch who was blown to pieces in Kurdistan. |
Ansar al-Islam is believed to have ties to al-Qaida.
| I'm believed to have ties to my mother, too... |
It was unclear whether Sanchez was referring to Ansar fighters when he said the Americans were holding about 20 al-Qaida suspects. Sanchez also said that although attacks against his troops have increased, the insurgents know "that from a military point of view, they can't defeat us." He defended the use of aerial bombing in Tikrit and Fallujah over the past five days, saying it was necessary to defeat those who attack coalition forces. |