Using Kidnap Victims As Bombers

Team Infidel

Forum Spin Doctor
Media: The Associated Press
Byline: By DAVID RISING
Date: 22 September 2006


Body:


BAGHDAD, Iraq_Insurgents are now using unwitting kidnap victims as suicide
bombers _ seizing them, booby-trapping their cars without their knowledge,
then releasing them only to blow up the vehicles by remote control, the
Defense Ministry warned Thursday.

The Iraqi announcement _ the latest development in the deadly war waged by
the insurgency _ came as widespread lawlessness swept the capital Thursday
with kidnappings, deadly attacks on police, the discovery of more mutilated
death squad victims and a brazen daylight bank heist by men dressed as Iraqi
soldiers.

It was unclear from the Defense Ministry's statement whether the insurgents
are using kidnap 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 considerably from 25 percent of the
overall deaths 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. American officials
have said in the past that 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 did 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, since 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
number of Iraqi civilians killed in July and August hit 6,599, a record high
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 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 the 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 in Geneva.

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. Earlier in the day, 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.

Despite the bloodshed, coalition forces moved ahead with plans to turn
security responsibilities over to Iraqi troops by the end of 2007.

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 _ a campaign promise by new Prime
Minister Romano Prodi.

The overall U.S. strategy calls for coalition forces to redeploy to larger
bases and let Iraqis become responsible for their security in specific
regions. The larger bases can act in a support or reserve role to Iraqi
troops should they need help. No timeframe has been set for the eventual
drawdown of troops from Iraq.

In the Baghdad bank robbery, an AP reporter saw about 15 armed men in three
pickup trucks pull up outside a branch of the Rafidain Bank in the Karrada
area, a downtown commercial neighborhood.

The well-organized robbery appeared to witnesses to be a regular salary
pickup. Two or three of the men entered the bank, then five people exited
with bags, accompanied by a man in civilian clothes who appeared to be
carrying documents. They got back into their vehicles and drove off.

No shots were heard, but police 1st Lt. Mahmoud Khayyoun said a bank manager
was injured and the assailants got away with an unknown amount of cash.
 
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