August 15, 2005
Terrorists Rescue Hostages from Other Terrorists
Terrorists from the Mahdi Army loyal to radical Shia leader Moqtada al-Sadr have freed four hostages in Iraq from Sunni terrorists loyal to al Qaeda. One of the freed hostages was an AP photographer.
BBC:
Followers of radical Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr say they have rescued four hostages from their kidnappers hours before they were to be killed.
Members of Mr Sadr's Mehdi Army freed the four Arab hostages from "terrorist groups" holding them in Baghdad, an aide to the cleric said....
"Members of the Mehdi Army have freed some Arab and Iraqi hostages, kidnapped by terrorist groups who were planning to kill them in the coming hours," he was quoted as saying.
The freed men identified themselves to an Associated Press photographer as Syrian Hisham Salem, Lebanese Mustafa Abdul-Rassoul Hussein, dual Syrian-Lebanese citizen Atta Ibrahim and Iraqi Kurd Haji Alawi.
A spokesman for Mr Sadr, Amer Husseini, was quoted by AP as saying the men were freed on Thursday night during a raid on an apartment in the northern district of Shaab.
He did not say what happened to the kidnappers or why the men had been seized in the first place.
While I hope for the best in Iraq, I fear for the worst.
Posted by: Rusty at
10:38 AM
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1
have we reached a turning point yet, where legitimacy of the constitution is ratified by members of terrorist cells wishing to join the talks to spare themselves? worked for the IRA, right?
Posted by: dave at August 15, 2005 10:49 AM (DO6vD)
2
Unfortunately it looks like the answer is no.
Posted by: Rusty Shackleford at August 15, 2005 12:44 PM (JQjhA)
3
It is said that war is politics by other means. Maybe so in this case. In South Africa, the ANC and white government were engaging in violent acts against each other even as they were negotiating the terms of democratioc transition.
And maybe I am a Chinese fighter pilot.
I think we are looking at the roots of a civil war. That has bad and good elements.
The Sunnis may fear for their lives and act as they are - diverting resources to militant units rather than political ones. The Shia, in control of the government, will look to a) US forces or b) Iranian support. Iran is willing to help them, that is for sure. If the US helps them, then their level of local political legitimacy diminishes. If they get Iranian help, it increases as they would be seen by Shia as able to conduct international affairs on their own terms.
The big upside is a Islamic war between Shia and Sunni. They each would claim the true source of faith and the proper interpretation of Shariah law. And they would suicide bomb each other. It would be pretty sweet.
Down side would be that non-Iraqi Sunnis would go there, train, and then leave, spreading their experience to other parts of the world, inlcuding the US and UK.
Posted by: Bill Dautrive at August 15, 2005 03:22 PM (G95Uf)
4
They freed the hostages without firing a shot or capturing or killing any of the kidnappers. Yea sure they did!
Posted by: greyrooster at August 15, 2005 07:21 PM (TBvsM)
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