Attacker Kills 4 Sunni Sheiks Who Aided U.S.

[ProSense]

Attacker Kills 4 Sunni Sheiks Who Aided U.S.

By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. and ALI ADEEB
Published: June 26, 2007

BAGHDAD, Tuesday, June 26 — A suicide bomber on Monday assassinated four Sunni sheiks who were cooperating with Americans to fight Al Qaeda in Anbar Province. Witnesses said the bomber sneaked through security checkpoints, strode into a large Baghdad hotel and detonated an explosive belt just before lunchtime, killing 12 people including the sheiks.

The bombing struck at the heart of one of the rare bright spots for the American military. Just last year some senior military officers had all but given up on Anbar, the sprawling western province. But a group of Sunni sheiks banded together to fight Al Qaeda and supply young men to the police, bringing a significant turnabout. Anbar has allowed the American military to claim some success in its long-held ambition of splitting Sunnis away from the sway of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia.

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The bombings underscored how easily insurgents can strike at fortified structures throughout the country, despite the huge increase in American troops over the past four months.

At the Mansour, bodies lay strewn about thick heaps of concrete and glass rubble as large chunks of ceiling dangled precariously, prompting one Anbar leader to suggest that a larger bomb had been planted in the room. Hotel staff members speculated that the attacker was one of the sheiks’ guards. The hotel houses the Chinese Embassy, several Western news organizations, and some members of Parliament.

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But he asserted that many in Mr. Maliki’s government take orders from Iran, and added: “There are people close to the government who are behind this. We expect to be targets of assassinations and attacks everyday. The government is helpless, and any government who can’t protect its people and its leaders has to pack and leave.”

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The improvements in Anbar finally appear to have reduced American casualties. While the Marines and other forces there had long suffered an average of almost 30 deaths per month, there were only three American deaths in Anbar in June, according to the Web site Iraq Coalition Casualty Count.

Meanwhile, fatalities in Baghdad and Diyala Province have soared. On Monday, an American soldier was shot to death south of Baghdad. Another soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad.

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We've Lost. Here's How To Handle It.

'Anbar model' under fire

[ProSense]

1. A U.S. ally in Iraq is murdered

A U.S. ally in Iraq is murdered

Mohammed al Dulaimy and Hannah Allam | McClatchy Newspapers

last updated: June 26, 2007 06:45:43 AM

BAGHDAD - More than two years ago, Sheik Fasal al Gaood approached the U.S. military with what was then an unprecedented offer: His tribesmen were prepared to help American troops rout insurgents linked to al Qaida from Anbar province in western Iraq.

But the Sunni Muslim tribal leader and former provincial governor met one rebuff after another from American officers, he told McClatchy Newspapers at the time. Discouraged and angry, he warned that U.S. officers risked losing him as an ally.

The Americans eventually came around, and al Gaood renewed his offer. He helped turn some of Anbar's most prominent Sunni tribes into a force in the war against al Qaida's followers. That high-stakes partnership may have cost him his life: Al Gaood and 11 other Iraqis were killed Monday in a bombing at a Baghdad hotel where tribal sheiks who've joined forces with the U.S. were scheduled to meet.

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Al Gaood's story mirrors the war itself — a series of shifting alliances, missed opportunities and lives ended in murky circumstances. As of late Monday, al Qaida hasn't claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing on the Internet message boards it typically uses, leading some tribal leaders to wonder whether another enemy might have targeted the meeting.

Possible suspects range from Shiite groups such as the Mahdi Army to al Gaood's tribal comrades, who'd accused him of dealing behind their backs. News reports quoted at least one member of the Salvation Council, the group of tribal leaders who've pledged to hunt insurgents with ties to al Qaida, as saying that al Gaood and the other sheiks who were killed Monday had been dismissed from the group because of side deals they made with the Shiite-led Iraqi government.

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But even Abu Risha's group wasn't immune to finger-pointing, and Anbar residents noted that the partnership between his Awakening group and al Gaood's Salvation Council had begun to unravel. Members reportedly clashed over the use of torture and allegations of corruption.

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