Head of Saddam tribe blown up in car bomb blast 10 Jun 2008 11:24:28 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Adds quotes, details, background)
By Nadheer al-Samarrai
TIKRIT, Iraq, June 10 (Reuters) - The head of Saddam Hussein's tribe was blown up by a bomb attached to his vehicle north of Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.
Major Hassan Emhimid, a police officer in the nearby town of Tikrit, said a bomb appeared to have been fixed to the undercarriage of Sheikh Ali al-Neda's car.
"Sheikh Neda was the victim of assassination. When he left his house there was a bomb in his car that killed him and a driver and wounded two of his guards," said Major Ahmed Subhi, head of a counter-terrorism unit in Salahuddin province.
A spokesman for Salahuddin Governor Hamad al-Qaisi confirmed the sheikh, head of the Albu-Naser tribe, had been killed.
The blast killed Neda after he left his house in Saddam's hometown of Awja and was travelling along the highway to Tikrit, 150 km (95 miles) north of Baghdad, the spokesman and police said.
Qaisi imposed an indefinite curfew in Awja, which was sealed off by police who were searching for suspects, the spokesman said.
It was Neda, a member of Iraq's minority Sunni Arab sect, who took possession of Saddam's body for burial after the Iraqi leader was executed in December 2006 for crimes against humanity. Gunmen shot dead Neda's brother in 2006.
On the first anniversary of Saddam's hanging, Neda had called on Iraqis to forget the past and work for national reconciliation.
"We have to build a future without revenge," he had said. (Additional reporting by Khalid Ansary; Writing by Ross Colvin; Editing by Caroline Drees)
---------------
US troops kill son, nephew of Iraqi governor in raid
Agencies
BAGHDAD: US forces shot dead the 17-year-old son and a nephew of the governor of northern Iraq’s Salahuddin province in a raid yesterday, local officials said.
The US military said it shot two armed men, adding it was later found they were both related to the governor.
Gov. Hamad Al-Qaisi’s brother, Lt. Col. Saad Al-Qaisi, said American troops stormed a family house in the town of Beiji, where the governor’s son Hussam and his cousin were staying.
“They shot dead Hussam and his cousin and wounded three others. This is barbaric and inhuman,” he said.
A statement from the US military said its forces had wounded and captured an Al-Qaeda financier in the house. “As they entered the target building, coalition forces encountered two armed men. Perceiving hostile intent... they shot and killed the men. It was subsequently determined that the two... were related to the governor,” the statement said.
Local officials said Gov. Al-Qaisi had cut short a visit to Turkey because of the shooting.
“We demand an investigation into this incident,” Deputy Gov. Abdullah Jabara said.
Pullout timetable
The Pentagon’s top military officer, meanwhile, said yesterday that a fixed timetable for withdrawing US combat troops from Iraq could jeopardize political and economic progress.
Adm. Mike Mullen said the agreement between President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki to set a “general time horizon” for bringing more troops home from the war was a sign of “healthy negotiations for a burgeoning democracy.”
“I think the strategic goals of having time horizons are ones that we all seek because eventually we would like to see US forces draw down and come home,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman said. “This right now doesn’t speak of either time lines or timetables, based on my understanding of where we are.”
The best way to determine troop levels, he said, is to assess the conditions on the ground and to consult with American commanders — the mission that Bush has given him.
“Should that mission change, and we get a new president, and should those conditions be conditions that get generated or required in order to advise a future president, I would do so accordingly,” Mullen said.
No comments:
Post a Comment