Sent along by Col. Mike Walker, USMC (retired)
Marines,
This is what so many have sacrificed so much for as a
hard earned road to victory since the Marines arrived
in al Anbar in early 2004.
Semper Fi,
Mike
Sunni revolt against al-Qaida spreads
By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writers
An al-Qaida-linked suicide bomber struck a safehouse
occupied by an insurgent group that has turned against
the terror network. Friday's attack northeast of
Baghdad killed two other militants, police said, the
latest sign that an internal Sunni power struggle is
spreading.
The explosion in Baqouba came as Iraqi and U.S. troops
fanned out in the Sunni stronghold of Amariyah in the
capital, enforcing an indefinite curfew after heavily
armed residents clashed with al-Qaida in Iraq
fighters, apparently fed up with the group's brutal
tactics.
"Al-Qaida fighters and leaders have completely
destroyed Amariyah," said Abu Ahmed, a 40-year-old
Sunni father of four who said he joined in the
clashes. "No one can venture out, and all the
businesses are closed. They kill everyone who
criticizes them and is against their acts even if they
are Sunnis."
Other residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity
because they feared retribution, said the clashes
began after al-Qaida militants abducted and tortured
Sunnis from the area. That prompted a large number of
residents, including many members of the rival Islamic
Army armed with guns and rocket-propelled grenades, to
rise up against the terror network. U.S. forces joined
them in the fighting Wednesday and Thursday.
Ahmed denied being a member of any insurgent group but
said he sympathizes with "honest Iraqi resistance,"
referring to those opposed both to U.S.-led efforts in
Iraq and to the brutal tactics of al-Qaida.
With the insurgency appearing increasingly fragmented,
Iraqi officials congratulated Amariyah residents for
confronting al-Qaida.
"Government security forces are now in control of the
Amariyah district," Iraqi military spokesman Qassim
al-Moussawi was quoted as saying by Iraqi state TV. He
also lauded "the cooperation of local residents with
the government."
U.S. and Iraqi officials have claimed recent success
in the effort to isolate al-Qaida, particularly in the
western Anbar province, where many Sunni tribes have
banded together to fight the terror network.
A growing number of Sunni tribes have reportedly been
turning against al-Qaida elsewhere as well, repelled
by the terror network's sheer brutality and austere
religious extremism.
The extremists also are competing with nationalist
groups for influence and control over diminishing
territory in the face of U.S. assaults, a situation
exacerbated by the influx of Sunni fighters to areas
outside the capital as they flee a nearly
four-month-old security crackdown.
But the clashes in Amariyah appeared to be the
fiercest fighting between Sunni groups in the capital.
"I think this is happening because of al-Qaida's
brutality," said Ehsan Ahrari, professor and
specialist in counterterrorism at the Asia-Pacific
Center for Security Studies. "They have been hurting
the Sunni population in Iraq and that is coming back
to hurt al-Qaida."
"The event itself is significant because it looks like
the U.S. is making some breakthrough in terms of
establishing consensus with the Sunni population," he
said. "Of course we have to hold our breath and see,
but this is important no doubt."
Official casualty figures from the fighting in
Amariyah were not available. But a local council
member, who declined to be identified because of
security concerns, said at least 31 people, including
six al-Qaida militants, were killed and 45 other
fighters were detained in the clashes. The council
member also said an indefinite curfew was imposed
starting at 6 a.m. on Friday, confining people to
their houses.
The explosion in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of
Baghdad, came as residents said al-Qaida was trying to
regain control of the central Tahrir neighborhood from
the 1920 Revolution Brigades, a group composed of
officials and soldiers from the ousted regime who have
allied themselves with local security forces against
the terror network.
Local police said at least two members of the rival
insurgent group were killed. The bomber was affiliated
with al-Qaida in Iraq, according to police who would
not be named because they feared they would be
targeted.
AP writers Sinan Salaheddin and Bushra Juhi in Baghdad
and AP's News Research Center in New York contributed
to this report.
