BAGHDAD, May 19 (Reuters) – Iraqi and U.S. forces have arrested about 100 suspects thought to be crucial to the operations of militant groups in al Qaeda’s last haven of north Iraq, the commander of U.S. forces in the area said on Monday.
The Iraqi military launched an offensive against al Qaeda in the northern city of Mosul and surrounding Nineveh province on May 10. It has been largely Iraqi-led, with U.S. forces playing a support role.
Gunmen from Sunni Islamist al Qaeda regrouped in Nineveh after being pushed out of other parts of Iraq. The U.S. military says Mosul is its last major urban stronghold, from where its fighters still stage suicide bomb attacks and asassinations.
“They have arrested upward of about 1,250 individuals, of which about 100 are critical targets,” Major-General MarkHertling told Reuters in a telephone interview from Mosul.
“In the last several weeks, we have either captured or killed several AQI (al Qaeda in Iraq) emirs (commanders), some suicide cell leaders, some military cell leaders,” he said, adding that some were from other groups with loose links to alQaeda.
“Some of them are very senior. I’m talking about militaryemirs, battalion level commanders in al Qaeda,” he said.
Mohammed al-Askari, spokesman for Iraq’s Defence Ministry,said Iraqi forces had captured one of the Mosul leaders of al Qaeda on Sunday.
Abdul Khaleq al-Sabawi, head of al Qaeda’s military organisation in Mosul, was arrested near Tikrit, half-way between Mosul and Baghdad, in Salahuddin province and taken back to Mosul, he said.
Go Here to read Melanies Blog
The Jihadists Admit Defeat in Iraq
“A prolific jihadist sympathizer has posted an ‘explosive’ study on one of the main jihadist websites in which he laments the dire situation that the mujaheddin find themselves in Iraq by citing the steep drop in the number of insurgent operations conducted by the various jihadist groups, most notably Al-Qaeda’s 94 percent decline in operational ability over the last 12 months when only a year and half ago Al-Qaeda accounted for 60 percent of all jihadist activity!
The author, writing under the pseudonym ‘Dir’a limen wehhed’ [‘A Shield for the Monotheist’], posted his ‘Brief Study on the Consequences of the Division [Among] the [Jihadist] Groups on the Cause of Jihad in Iraq’ on May 12 and it is being displayed by the administration of the Al-Ekhlaas website—one of Al-Qaeda’s chief media outlets—among its more prominent recent posts. He’s considered one of Al-Ekhlaas’s “esteemed” writers.
The author tallies up and compares the numbers of operations claimed by each insurgent group under four categories: a year and half ago (November 2006), a year ago (May 2007), six months ago (November 2007) and now (May 2008). He demonstrated that while Al-Qaeda’s Islamic State of Iraq could claim 334 operations in Nov. 06 and 292 in May 07, their violent output dropped to 25 in Nov. 07 and 16 so far in May 08. Keep in mind that these assessments are based on Al-Qaeda’s own numbers.
More here:
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CODE PINK SUFFERS PR MISFIRE
AS MEDIA MOCKS THEIR
COVEN OF WITCHES
When Move America Forward learned that the media would be covering Code Pink’s day of witches, crones and sirens to protest the Marine Recruiting Center in Berkeley, CA we decided to mobilize our staff and some supporters to stage a counter demonstration.
We figured this was a perfect opportunity to help Code Pink make a fool of themselves, and that is exactly what happened.
We stood there with our American Flags, and brooms (so that Code Pink witches could jump on them and fly away to a country more to their liking… perhaps Iran or Syria or the like). We sang patriotic songs, and most importantly we talked to reporters to give them the other side of the story.
This video covers yet another Code Pink protest at the Marine Corps Recruiting Office in Berkeley, this time dressed up as “witches and crones,” on May 9, 2008. It is part of a larger report on the protest at http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=20
Note: Invoking a little fun from the Wizard of Oz, one of our signs said “Dorothy would drop her house on Code Pink witches!”
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TOP AL QAEDA IN IRAQ LEADER
IS ARRESTED IN MOSUL!
Photo: Iraqi Security Forces in Action
This story is good news for those who support the U.S.-led Coalition in the war on terror, and it’s also tricky for opponents of our troops’ missions (including the news media). >>> READ THE NEWS STORY – HERE
A senior Al Qaeda in Iraq leader has been arrested in Mosul, where Iraqi Security Forces have been cracking down on Al Qaeda forces who have been driven out of almost all other portions of the country. Here’s the best part – he was a general under Saddam Hussein before joining Al Qaeda in Iraq. But the tricky part for the media and anti-war activists is that if we captured a senior Al Qaeda in Iraq operative in Iraq, then that means we are fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq, despite what the media and some anti-war leaders have tried to convince you wasn’t happening. Turns out they’ve been caught lying – yet again! Go Here to read Pete Hesgeths report about the Sons of Iraq at National Review Jenny Hatch
HOBART — Jimmy Gerodemos puts in 14-hour days running his Northwest Indiana restaurants.
But the Munster resident, whose son, Louie, is autistic, says the restaurant business, as hard as it is, is nothing compared to dealing with autism.
Gerodemos and his wife, Violet, believe their son’s illness is the result of immunizations.
“He was a fine, normal kid when he was 18 months old, and the day after he got his immunizations, he changed,” Gerodemos said. “He’s never been the same.”
After a bad experience with the hospital birth of our first daughter, we decided we would never again go to the hospital to have a baby. This is the birth experience of our second daughter, born at home, in water. I loved it! It was an absolutely amazing and beautiful experience!
Great Birth – H/T to Susana Baig Jenny Hatch
