Iraq arrests 13 policemen over mosque bombing - I thought it was Al Qaeda?

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.khaleejtimes.ae/DisplayArticleNew.asp?col=§ion=focusoniraq&xfile=data/focusoniraq/2007/June/focusoniraq_June59.xml

BAGHDAD - The US military said on Thursday that Iraqi security forces have arrested 13 policemen over the bombing of a Shia shrine in the town of Samarra, which Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki blamed on guards at the site.

‘Immediately following the attack, Brigadier General Duraid Ali Ahmed Mohammad Azzawi, deputy commander for the National Police in Samarra, arrested the emergency service unit commander and 12 policemen responsible for security at the time of the attack,’ the military said in a statement.

Wednesday’s bombing at the Al Askari mosque followed an attack by Al Qaeda militants in February 2006 that destroyed its golden dome and touched off a wave of sectarian killings that has left tens of thousands of people dead.

‘The guards present there had a role in this attack and they will be punished,’ Maliki told reporters during a visit to Samarra on Wednesday that was broadcast by Al Iraqiya television on Thursday.

[peekaloo]

1. but, but , but they were wearing patches that said "To Protect and Serve Al Qaeda"

:sarcasm:

[NewJeffCT]

2. They've been brainwashed in Al Qaeda's mind-control camps

and entered the police force as double-agents intent on fomenting a civil war in Iraq.

Sort of like how some here are brainwashed by Fox News and then pretend to be members of civilization.

[chelsea0011]

3. Again. Say it over and over. Just who the hell are we at "war" with in Iraq?

[Edweird]

4. Can it be both?

[NNN0LHI]

9. Could be both

The problem is who trained and armed those 13 policemen. If it was us who I strongly suspect it was thats kind of important. It begs the question just who are we standing up over there?

Don

[Philosoraptor]

5. Don't we train those guys? Like we used to train bin Laden?

[havocmom]

6. the 'raptor nails it yet again

:thumbsip:

[gratuitous]

7. Rounding up twice the usual number of suspects

Major Strasser will be most impressed.

[seemslikeadream]

8. Did they fly all their relatives out of the country?

Why does this sound so familiar? It seems I have heard something like this before. :shrug:

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/U.S._suspects_inside_job_in_Samara_0613.html

On Wednesday, a witness said the two minarets fell within minutes of each other.

"I was near the shrine when I heard big explosions that sent a thick cloud of dust in the sky covering the entire area," he told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"I quickly ran to the street from where I could see the shrine clearly. I saw one of the minarets was down. Seven minutes later as I was watching the shrine, another explosion occurred and the second minaret came crumbling down."

The area had been heavily fortified since last year's attack, but according to the witness there had been a row between the security forces on Tuesday