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| Iraq |
| Al-Qaeda video of Abu Ghraib attack released |
| 2005-12-16 |
| One of the things noted here in the second paragraph is that the attack on Abu Ghraib was an unmitigated disaster for al-Qaeda, as we documented here at Rantburg. Dozens of al-Qaeda in Iraq fighters who attacked Iraq's notorious Abu Ghraib prison in April planned to knock a hole in the prison wall and topple guard towers with a series of car bombs to free detainees and hit U.S. forces, according to a purported al-Qaeda video. The April 2 attack on the prison, west of Baghdad, left one attacker dead and more than 40 U.S. soldiers and 13 prisoners wounded. Dozens of militants failed to break in after attacking the facility with rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and car bombs. The eight-minute video, signed by the spokesman of al-Qaeda in Iraq and posted on an Islamic militant Web forum Tuesday, shows a satellite photo of the facility, with U.S. troop positions and "interrogation booths" marked in English, as a voice-over outlines the plans of the attack. A ticker along the bottom of the well-produced video streamed photos of abuse of detainees by U.S. soldiers at the facility, including a famed image of a naked prisoner being dragged on a leash by a female guard. The images of abuse and sexual humiliation at the prison have sparked outrage among Iraqis and across the Arab world since they first emerged in early 2004. Later in the video, militants are seen firing rockets, and Abu Ghraib is filmed from what appears to be a field some distance away. A large mushroom cloud — the kind raised by vehicle bombs — is seen, as are several plumes of smoke. Voices resembling those of al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden — apparently old speeches from previous statements — play in the background over some of the images. The identity of the voices could not immediately be confirmed. "This is Abu Ghraib prison, let it speak," says the voice purportedly belonging to al-Zarqawi. "Defense of the Muslim land begins with fighting on the starting line in Iraq," says the purported voice of bin Laden. The video's authenticity could not be verified. al-Qaeda in Iraq and other militant groups often put out videos of their attacks as propaganda aimed at drumming up support and encouraging Iraqis and other Arabs to join the insurgency against U.S. and Iraqi forces. Such videos often have old speeches by bin Laden or al-Zarqawi as a soundtrack to inspire followers. A statement with the Web posting said the video was part of a "full set," still to be released, showing attacks by the "Brigade of Aisha, Mother of the Faithful," a previous unknown cell of al-Qaeda in Iraq fighters. The voiceover explaining the plans for the attack says it had two aims: "First is to release our brothers from this prison. The second is raise the morale of the mujahedeen across Iraq if God lets us succeed in this operation." The plan for the attack involved more than 50 fighters assaulting the prison from four sides, he explains. From the south side, fighters were to knock a hole in the wall and "knock down towers" with a truck bomb, then drive an explosives-filled tractor through the hole. From two other sides, militants would engage the security forces as a distraction. Then, on the northwest side, attackers would break open the wall again with a vehicle bomb, then send two more car bombs through the hole "into the American forces to destroy their headquarters." The signal to launch the attack was to be a barrage of rockets on Abu Ghraib. U.S. authorities have not given exact details about what happened in the April 2 attack, so it was not known how closely the attackers stuck to the plan outlined in the video. But the plan was typical of well-coordinated assaults al-Qaeda has carried out in the past. Several times it has used the technique of breaking through a security wall with one suicide bomber, then driving a second through the hole to attempt to hit the target inside. The video shows men, said to be the suicide attackers who drove the suicide vehicle bombs, reading the Quran together in a room before the operation. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #4 From dd- ...three martyrs were killed while trying to infiltrate the fortresses of the infidels. In addition, seven martyrs detonated themselves and went to paradise—may Allah accept them among his martyrs. What? Killed with a gun in your hand isn't an auto ticket to Jihadi Sex Paradise in the Zarq form of the religion? I guess they need to have that separation from the suicide bombers, who get the VIP treatment. |
| Posted by: Penguin 2005-12-16 18:27 |
| #3 Voices resembling those of al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden ... play in the background over some of the images. ... "Defense of the Muslim land begins with fighting on the starting line in Iraq," says the purported voice of bin Laden. No connection between Al Qaeda and Iraq? Really? D'you want to argue the point with bin Laden? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-12-16 15:32 |
| #2 The April 2 attack on the prison, west of Baghdad, left one attacker dead and more than 40 U.S. soldiers and 13 prisoners wounded. What a huge victory for the muj, except no objectives were accomplished. I am surprised USA Today would be so sloppy or naive to print this, then I see the byline is AP from Cairo. Want to bet the author is named Mohammed from the Muslim Brotherhood? Hell, even the gunsex bunnies admitted 10 dead in their April presss release: “The results [of the battle]: The martyrs from this holy attack: three martyrs were killed while trying to infiltrate the fortresses of the infidels. In addition, seven martyrs detonated themselves and went to paradise—may Allah accept them among his martyrs. Finally, two mujahideen were injured and we ask Allah to help them recover from their wounds. But then, they also claimed: 2.) A large number—over 15—of their vehicles, armored cars, and tanks were destroyed, praise be to Allah for his blessing. 3.) Dozens of Americans were killed, praise be to Allah for his blessing. 4.) One Apache helicopter was shot down while desperately trying to rescue their defeated army, praise be to Allah for his blessing. Thank god during WWII, US "journalists" were smart enough not to have the Nazis writing the news stories. But this is the kind of propaganda that the "news" has devolved into. I just wish those controlling the media could be deported to an islamic country to live out the rest of their short lives as they want ordinary Americans to be subjected to. Fuck 'em, then hang 'em. By the way, a video of the attack was first released April 2005. Guess the islamists are so hard up they are re-releasing footage of unmitigated disasters to rally their pathetic sympathizers, including those in the press. The dumbasses lost about 40 dead. No figures were given of civilian casualties when the 2 truckbombs detontated in town short of the target. A first hand account: The insurgent force was estimated to be more than 60 members strong. Their attempt to infiltrate the operating base lasted for two hours before they were forced to retreat, but not without suffering at least 50 casualties. |
| Posted by: ed 2005-12-16 12:43 |
| #1 I'd say the only thing they failed to factor in was the .50 cal machine gun. You know , the one that is so powerfull it can drive a car to a stop at over a mile away. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2005-12-16 11:14 |