Eleven Iraqis arrested over killing of tribal chief

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Eleven Iraqis arrested over killing of tribal chief
Sat Sep 22, 2007 2:06pm EDT

RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) - Eleven Iraqi suspects have
been arrested for involvement in the killing of a Sunni
Arab tribal leader who helped push al Qaeda fighters
from much of Anbar province, his brother said.

Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, head of the Anbar Salvation
Council alliance of Sunni tribes opposed to al Qaeda,
was killed in a September 13 bomb attack shortly after
a public meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush.

Ahmed Abu Risha, who succeeded him last week, said
the attackers had been helped by one of Abu Risha's
own guards.

-snip-

He said "a member of Abdul Sattar's security guards
facilitated the entrance of the suicide bomber and we
later arrested a cell of 11 al Qaeda members who
planned the attack."

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSKAR84916920070922

[razzleberry]

1. the fate of these people, and their families ...

would appear to be rather bleak

[ohio2007]

2. I wonder if AQ was really going to pay the hit money they promised

Al-Qaida in Iraq offered $1.5 million to kill Anbar Leader -
BAGHDAD - Twenty-five people have been arrested in connection with the assassination of the leader of the U.S.-backed revolt by Sunni Arab tribesmen in Anbar province against al-Qaida in Iraq, a police official said Friday.

Those detained include the head of the security detail that was supposed to protect Sheik Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, who was killed in a bombing Sept. 13, police Lt. Col. Jubeir Rashid said.

Rashid said the security chief, Capt. Karim al-Barghothi, told police that al-Qaida in Iraq offered him $1.5 million but that he was arrested before he could collect the money.




snip
Abu Risha, who organized 25 Sunni Arab clans into an alliance against al-Qaida, died along with two bodyguards and a driver when a bomb exploded near his walled compound just west of Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad.

snip
According to Rashid's account, al-Barghothi allowed a suicide car bomber into the compound minutes before Abu Risha was due to enter. The bomber pretended to be parking but detonated his explosives as the tribal leader's vehicle passed about 20 yards away, Rashid said.

Another suspect confessed to filming the operation, he said.

The details differed from earlier accounts that Abu Risha was struck by a roadside bomb just outside the compound.

The suspects were arrested the day after the bombing, Rashid added. He also said Abu Risha had given al-Barghothi money and a house as a wedding gift just six months before the attack, which he said was in the works for a month.

The al-Qaida front group the Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility for the assassination.



http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=492_1190416008