Yet another reason to thank Oon Yeoh
Yet another reason to thank Oon Yeoh.
New suicide bombers: kidnapped Iraqis
By David Rising
The Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Insurgents are using unwitting kidnapping victims as suicide bombers — booby-trapping their cars without their knowledge, then releasing them only to blow up the vehicles by remote control, the Defense Ministry warned Thursday.
It was unclear from the ministry's statement whether the insurgents are using kidnapping victims because they are having trouble finding recruits for suicide missions. Suicide car bombs are responsible for 7 percent of the total Iraqi deaths this year — down from 25 percent in the last eight months of 2005, according to an Associated Press count.
A U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity said he was aware of such incidents but was unable to provide further details. U.S. officials have said insurgents often tape or handcuff a suicide driver's hands to a car, or bind his foot to the accelerator pedal, to ensure that he does not back out at the last minute. The remains of such hands and feet have been found at blast sites.
Although roadside bombs are the main weapon used by insurgents, suicide car bombers are often their most effective one — designed to maximize casualties and sow fear among the population. According to the Washington-based Brookings Institution, from the fall of Saddam Hussein to Sept. 17, there have been 343 suicide car bombings involved in attacks causing multiple deaths around Iraq.
"According to our intelligence information, recent car bomb explosions targeting checkpoints and public places have nothing to do with [traditional] terrorist operations," the Defense Ministry said in its statement.
It said that first "a motorist is kidnapped with his car. They then booby-trap the car without the driver knowing. Then the kidnapped driver is released and threatened to take a certain road."
The kidnappers then follow the car and when the unwitting victim "reaches a checkpoint, a public place or an army or police patrol, the criminal terrorists following the driver detonate the car from a distance."
The U.N. Assistance Mission in Iraq's Human Rights office warned that the total of Iraqi civilians killed in July and August hit 6,599, a record number that is far greater than initial estimates had suggested and points to the grave sectarian crisis gripping the country.
It offered a grim assessment across a range of indicators, reporting worrying evidence of torture, unlawful detentions, the growth of sectarian militias and death squads, and a rise in "honor killings" of women.
The United Nations' chief anti-torture expert warned in Geneva on Thursday that torture may now be more widespread than it was under Saddam's regime, with militias, terrorist groups and government forces disregarding rules on humane treatment of prisoners.
"What most people tell you is that the situation as far as torture is concerned now in Iraq is totally out of hand," Manfred Nowak said.
Other developments
• More than a dozen apparent victims of death squads were found in the capital Thursday, many showing signs of torture.
• A U.S. soldier was killed Thursday while operating in the restive Anbar province west of Baghdad, the military announced. The military said another American soldier was killed in northern Baghdad on Wednesday when a roadside bomb exploded next to the vehicle in which he was traveling.
• Italy formally handed over the reins of the relatively quiet Dhi Qar province in the south. It was the second of Iraq's 18 provinces to be turned over to local control and paves the way for most of Italy's 1,600 troops to return home by the end of the year.
• In Baghdad, about 15 armed men in three pickup trucks robbed a bank in a downtown commercial neighborhood.
• U.S. and Iraqi forces arrested top aides to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in pre-dawn raids Thursday, according to al-Sadr officials who called the move a provocation. The raids, which took place in Baghdad and Najaf, included a top spokesman for the group, Sheikh Salah al-Obaidy, al-Sadr officials said.
Information from The Washington Post is included in this report.
Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company
New suicide bombers: kidnapped Iraqis
By David Rising
The Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Insurgents are using unwitting kidnapping victims as suicide bombers — booby-trapping their cars without their knowledge, then releasing them only to blow up the vehicles by remote control, the Defense Ministry warned Thursday.
It was unclear from the ministry's statement whether the insurgents are using kidnapping victims because they are having trouble finding recruits for suicide missions. Suicide car bombs are responsible for 7 percent of the total Iraqi deaths this year — down from 25 percent in the last eight months of 2005, according to an Associated Press count.
A U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity said he was aware of such incidents but was unable to provide further details. U.S. officials have said insurgents often tape or handcuff a suicide driver's hands to a car, or bind his foot to the accelerator pedal, to ensure that he does not back out at the last minute. The remains of such hands and feet have been found at blast sites.
Although roadside bombs are the main weapon used by insurgents, suicide car bombers are often their most effective one — designed to maximize casualties and sow fear among the population. According to the Washington-based Brookings Institution, from the fall of Saddam Hussein to Sept. 17, there have been 343 suicide car bombings involved in attacks causing multiple deaths around Iraq.
"According to our intelligence information, recent car bomb explosions targeting checkpoints and public places have nothing to do with [traditional] terrorist operations," the Defense Ministry said in its statement.
It said that first "a motorist is kidnapped with his car. They then booby-trap the car without the driver knowing. Then the kidnapped driver is released and threatened to take a certain road."
The kidnappers then follow the car and when the unwitting victim "reaches a checkpoint, a public place or an army or police patrol, the criminal terrorists following the driver detonate the car from a distance."
The U.N. Assistance Mission in Iraq's Human Rights office warned that the total of Iraqi civilians killed in July and August hit 6,599, a record number that is far greater than initial estimates had suggested and points to the grave sectarian crisis gripping the country.
It offered a grim assessment across a range of indicators, reporting worrying evidence of torture, unlawful detentions, the growth of sectarian militias and death squads, and a rise in "honor killings" of women.
The United Nations' chief anti-torture expert warned in Geneva on Thursday that torture may now be more widespread than it was under Saddam's regime, with militias, terrorist groups and government forces disregarding rules on humane treatment of prisoners.
"What most people tell you is that the situation as far as torture is concerned now in Iraq is totally out of hand," Manfred Nowak said.
Other developments
• More than a dozen apparent victims of death squads were found in the capital Thursday, many showing signs of torture.
• A U.S. soldier was killed Thursday while operating in the restive Anbar province west of Baghdad, the military announced. The military said another American soldier was killed in northern Baghdad on Wednesday when a roadside bomb exploded next to the vehicle in which he was traveling.
• Italy formally handed over the reins of the relatively quiet Dhi Qar province in the south. It was the second of Iraq's 18 provinces to be turned over to local control and paves the way for most of Italy's 1,600 troops to return home by the end of the year.
• In Baghdad, about 15 armed men in three pickup trucks robbed a bank in a downtown commercial neighborhood.
• U.S. and Iraqi forces arrested top aides to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in pre-dawn raids Thursday, according to al-Sadr officials who called the move a provocation. The raids, which took place in Baghdad and Najaf, included a top spokesman for the group, Sheikh Salah al-Obaidy, al-Sadr officials said.
Information from The Washington Post is included in this report.
Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company
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