BAGHDAD - Hundreds of Iraqi and U.S. troops cordoned off sections of Baghdad’s Sadr City slum Wednesday and conducted raids in an apparent effort to find five British citizens who Iraqi officials believed were abducted by the Shiite Mahdi Army militia.
Four of the abducted men were security workers employed by a security firm out of Montreal, Canada. The fifth was a client of the firm. All were British citizens.
The five men were pulled out of a Finance Ministry office by about 40 heavily armed men in police uniforms in broad daylight Tuesday and driven in a convoy of 19 four-wheel-drive vehicles toward Sadr City, according to Iraqi officials in the Interior and Finance ministries.
One has to wonder how 19 vehicles with 40 heavily armed men got through security. Unless, of course, they had help from the inside …
Residents of Sadr City said hundreds of U.S. and Iraqi troops sealed off areas of the Shiite neighborhood overnight and carried out a series of arrest raids that lasted until dawn. The residents spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared reprisals for talking to the Western media.
The U.S. military said it had arrested five suspected militants and one suspected leader of a militant cell during early morning raids in Sadr City. Those arrested were believed part of a cell that smuggled weapons from Iran and sent militants to Iran for training, the statement said.
We have to keep in mind that this information is coming from ‘anonymous’ sources from within Sadr City. It’s hard to know if any or parts of what they report can be believed.
Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, the Interior Ministry spokesman, said Tuesday’s abduction was carried out by men wearing police uniforms who showed up at the Finance Ministry data collection facility in 19 four-wheel drive vehicles of the type used by police. He said the band of kidnappers sped off across the Army Canal to the east. Sadr City, the Shiite Mahdi Army stronghold, is directly east of the canal.
“We are pursuing this case very vigorously, first to release them, secondly to establish the truth of what happened, who was responsible,” Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told BBC radio.
Zebari said that the government has long believed that its security forces were infiltrated by militia members.
“The number of people who were involved in the operation  to seal off the building, to set roadblocks, to get into the building with such confidence  (means they) must have some connection,” he said.
Ahhh, this is what I was saying, there has to be inside help. Well, yeah!! It’s long been known that the Iraqi security forces, police and military is infiltrated with terrorists. It’s a dangerous situation for the Iraqis and for our American Soldiers. Who can be trusted.
And yet, they are asked to trust them, even live in the same quarters with them. And when the terrorists strike, our Soldiers are expected to again put themselves in harms way to search for the hostages.
It seems to me it would be more productive to weed them out of the Iraqi army, police and security forces to begin with. Defeat then rebuild.
Meanwhile, our Soldiers are carrying the load and will continue to look for the British citizens. HOOAH!!!
May 31st, 2007 at 12:02 am
mullah cimoc say ameriki people nos so punish. now in usa all woman to controlling the life. use him television make ameirki man thinking it normal for woman be boss, for woman reporter cover war because ameriki man so feminze.
why no man reporter in war. why tv show make the woman the boss. this for create the mental impression of woman control.
this make easier for ameriki society accept mrs. clinton the new president of usa, so cruel and the wicked. all ameriki tv network control by intel agency for this purposes.
May 31st, 2007 at 9:20 pm
Mullah Sumac Cimoc is a former New York City ‘pub lick skoole stew dent’ that relocated to Utah where he now puts the holes into his donuts at 5 am every single day! Our Death Star II Moonbat Detector Beam traces him from the Mothership to Uranus to the Black Hole and back to Utah every full moon. Carnac Cimoc is 100% pure left-wing-ding entertainment! Uranus-Up Mullah Sumac!