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If accurate -- and, considering other reports indicate that jihadists have been fleeing Iraq for Afghanistan -- this may bode well for Iraq. "Iraq Nabs Hundreds of Al-Qaeda Suspects," from Alalam, August: 2
BAQUBA, Iraq, Aug 2--Iraq military backed by US forces arrested on Saturday hundreds of suspects during an offensive aimed at stamping out Al-Qaeda in a restive central province, officials said.Major General Mohammed al-Askari, spokesman for the defense ministry, said that the forces arrested 265 suspects so far during operations in Diyala province.
The raids have taken place throughout the province where 50,000 Iraqi soldiers and police began a major push against insurgents on Tuesday to secure the volatile region.
"The operation is still on going successfully and is now in its fifth day," Askari said.
Among those detained was Abu Anas al-Baghdadi, a top al-Qaeda operative in Diyala and four members of the so-called Council of Mujahedeen, one of many front groups for Al-Qaeda, according to interior ministry spokesman Abdelkarim Khalaf.
In the past few months the multi-ethnic region made up of Christians and Muslims has seen repeated efforts by Iraqi militaries to drive out insurgents.
Last week, Iraqi forces backed by US troops launched a major assault against rebels in the province.
Iraqi troops netted about 20 suspected insurgents in the operation.
Last month the US military said a force of 30,000 Iraqi soldiers and police were amassing in Diyala and its capital Baquba, an area where insurgents regularly carry out attacks.
Asskri said that the security operations codenamed "Glad Tidings" would specifically target Al-Qaeda operatives.
Diyala, fed by the Euphrates and Diyala rivers, was once the granary of Iraq and the country's orange capital with its lush orchards.
Iraqi policemen and US soldiers take positions during their joint operation in Diyala province.
Posted by Raymond at August 2, 2008 5:19 PM
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This is certainly encouraging, but seeing as Al Qaeda is a Sunni franchise, what's going on at the Shiite end of the stick? Is the government of Iraq an ally, or crypto-ally of Iran? And is the Shiite insurgency merely less violent because the Shiites are now the dominant force in the country? I'm suspicious of Ahmedinejad's friendly statements to Iraq.
It would certainly be cause for some major hand-wringing if the net result of all that blood and treasure was a Shiite super-state comprised of Iran and Iraq. That would make the Saddam Hussein days seem like a golden age.
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at August 2, 2008 6:43 PM
..if they are not dead, they will be back
Posted by: ploome at August 2, 2008 7:02 PM
That's right, ploome - sort of like the Night of the Living Jihadi - now playing at your local Baghdad bijou.
Posted by: jewdog at August 2, 2008 7:55 PM
The Shia insurgency was rolled up by Maliki. Resistance was light because it was rudderless. El Sadr is hibernating in Qom, where he will remain for several years, earning his wings as an Ayatollah. Once he has done so, he will revisit Iraq with a vengeance and attempt to insinuate himself as the 'Supreme Leader' of a Shia theocracy.
Time will tell.
Posted by: Cornelius at August 3, 2008 1:23 AM
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