Italian Journalist Injured By Troops In Iraq 2005 "Notified Tips Line Blue Chevy She Was In Was IED"

[Hissyspit]

WikiLeaks Iraq War Logs document says that kidnapper, after taking $500,000 payment from United States, called in to tips line and has U.S. troops attempt to assassinate Sgrena by claiming IED in vehicle.

emptywheel Twitter:

Here's report on Sgrena: After captives released her, they reportedly called in car as carrying IED, so we torched it.

http://english.aljazeera.net/services/xml/mediafiles/tsif/showcase.html#report/2005-305-034639-0934

INTEL REPORT: / IS ALLEGEDLY RESPONSIBLE FOR MAJORITY OF KIDNAPPING

DateNovember 01 2005, 0346
Type/CategoryThreat Report/Kidnapping Threat
LocationKarkh, Baghdad (MND-BAGHDAD)
Coordinates33.27119064, 44.37763977

Summary: Giuliana Sgrena, an Italian journalist, was kidnapped outside Baghdad University in February 2005. She was freed a month later; shortly afterwards, US soldiers at a checkpoint opened fire on the car carrying her and two Italian secret service agents. One of them, Nicola Calipari, was killed.

This report - apparently based on a Jordanian intelligence interrogation of Al-Qaeda in Iraq's "chief kidnapper" - seems to explain why Sgrena's car was fired upon.

He reportedly confirmed AQI was paid a $500,000 ransom for her release, a previously unconfirmed detail. Afterwards, AQI called the interior ministry, and warned it that the car carrying Sgrena and the Italian agents was actually carrying a car bomb. That information was relayed to US forces.
SERIAL: (U) IIR 6 110 0522 06_x000D_(SEC//REL MCFI)
SOURCE: (S//REL TO USA, MCFI) SOURCE //6 067 2556// A HIGH RANKING OFFICIAL WITH DIRECT ACCESS TO THE REPORTED INFORMATION BASED ON HIS PROFESSIONAL POSITION WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION. INDEPENDENT SOURCES HAVE CORROBORATED PREVIOUS INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THIS SOURCE. RELIABILITY HAS NOT YET BEEN DETERMINED.

SUMMARY: (S//REL TO USA, MCFI) <REDACTED>, FORMER LEADER OF THE BAGHDAD CELL RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAJORITY OF KIDNAPPINGS OF FOREIGNERS IN IRAQ.

TEXT. 1. (S//REL TO USA, MCFI) ON 25 OCTOBER 2005, MINISTRY OF INTERIOR PERSONNEL FLEW TO JORDON TO ARREST <REDACTED>. THE EXTRADITION HAS BEEN COORDINATED WITH INTERPOL AND THE JORDANIAN GOVERNMENT BY BRITISH AUTHORITIES.

2. (S//REL TO USA, MCFI) <HE> IS THE FORMER LEADER OF THE BAGHDAD CELL OF THE 1920 BRIGADE AND THE IMAM OF THE ABU MUSTAFA MOSQUE LOCATED AT BAGHDAD UNIVERSITY, BAGHDAD, IZ. <HE> IS ALLEGEDLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAJORITY OF KIDNAPPINGS OF FOREIGNERS IN IRAQ. SOURCE PROVIDED INFORMATION ABOUT THE INCIDENT WITH THE ITALIAN JOURNALIST, GIULIANA ((SGRENA)). SOURCE SAID THAT AFTER RECEIVING $500,000 US DOLLARS FOR THE RELEASE OF SGRENA, <HE> TOLD HER TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE BAGHDAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. WHILE SGRENA WAS ENROUTE TO THE AIRPORT, NOTIFIED THE MINISTRY OF INTERIOR (MOI) TIPS LINE THAT THE BLUE CHEVY CELEBRITY THAT SGRENA WAS A PASSENGER IN, WAS A VEHICLE BORN IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICE (VBIED). AS THE VEHICLE NEARED THE CHECKPOINT, IT WAS FIRED UPON BY COALITION
3. (S//REL TO USA, MCFI) <HE> IS ALSO LINKED

[Hissyspit]

1. Kick for those who still care.

Was a big deal here when it happened.

[golddigger]

2. K&R.

[DFab420]

3. Your subject line is wrong..

should read Member of Italian Secret Service Killed by American Soldiers.

Giuliana Sgrena the journalist, is still alive and well, although she did receive wounds due to the altercation.

Also nice to know the US is paying 500,000 dollars for foreign journalists so they can be freed...Least there is that right? Helping out people kidnapped by terrorists?

[Hissyspit]

4. Yes, sorry. Will fix.

Thanks. Was doing a little conflation in my head as I was typing.

[DFab420]

6. Thank You

:hi: :-)

I try very hard not to nit pick.. Also how crazy is all of these documents!! I can't wait to hear the.."What war crimes" argument from the * disciples now

[Hissyspit]

7. It was important.

So much info in the documents and I've been trying to make sense of them and post so many articles all at the same time (about 10).

[madrchsod]

5. yikes....i remember that !

[wellst0nev0ter]

8. Yep, Nothing New Here, All Old News, Etc. Etc. Ad Nauseum (n/t)

[sabrina 1]

9. This was a huge deal when it happened. Burlesconi

was on the phone to the Agent, who was a big hero in Italy, when the car was fired on. The Italians were outraged.

And airc, Berlusconi lost the next election over it. He was accused of being a Bush 'poodle' like Blair amongst other things and seemed to be shocked that his 'allies' had killed one of Italy's heroes.

I do remember a lot of denials about who actually fired on the car.

But, if this is true, why didn't they just tell the truth? And why fire on the car when they knew who was in it? The media all over the world was covering the story. The Italian agent was hailed as a hero for rescuing her. I wonder did he bring the money with him? The reporter claimed at the time that they did not want her to tell her story. She was wounded badly but survived.

Could they not have told the driver to pull over and get everyone out of the car, THEN blow it up?

And I thought we didn't 'deal with terrorists'?

It was in the news for a long time then, as with everything else, people moved on.

I wonder how many embedded reporters knew the facts at the time ...

What a waste of lives this war has been ~