Meanwhile, you can pin the next "terror attack" on this "Al-CIA-Duh" actor:
"13 killed during bold jailbreak in western Iraq; 3 militants still at large Inmates tried to overrun facility" by Timothy Williams and Mohammed Hussein, New York Times | December 27, 2008
BAGHDAD - Six police officers and seven prisoners suspected of being members of Al Qaeda in Iraq were killed early yesterday in a fierce gunfight during a brazen jailbreak at a police station in western Iraq, officials said.
Three of the militants, including a man Iraqi police described as being a local leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, escaped and remained at large, authorities said. Al Qaeda in Iraq is a homegrown Sunni extremist group that American intelligence agencies say is foreign-led, and the leader who escaped is suspected of having killed several police officers and civilians in the past.
The city of Ramadi, where the jailbreak occurred, was cordoned off yesterday morning and a curfew was imposed on its 450,000 residents, said Latif Obaid Ayada, the city's mayor. Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province, is located about 65 miles west of Baghdad.
Seven Iraqi police officers and one inmate were also wounded in the gun battle, which started inside a police station near the city center and spilled out onto local streets. No bystanders were reported injured....
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The escape attempt began about 1 a.m. after a police officer at al-Forsan police station was escorting an inmate back to his cell from an interrogation room, said Major General Tareq al-Youssef, police chief of Anbar Province.
As the officer entered the cell with the prisoner, another inmate, Emad Ahmed Ferhan, the suspected Al Qaeda in Iraq leader, complained that he felt nauseous and needed to use the toilet. As Ferhan was leaving the cell, which held about 30 inmates at the time, he attacked the police officer.
The police officer, Majid Latif, was overpowered, stripped of his AK-47 rifle, bound, and fatally shot, Youssef said. "They exploited the humanity of the guard to commit the crime," the police chief said. "He paid with his life for his mistake."
Of the 30 men in the cell, the police said 11 fled as part of what officials said had been a previously planned escape plot. The authorities said that 10 of the 11 men were being held for terrorism related offenses. The other man had been detained because he was suspected of having committed an honor crime.
After the original shooting, a second police officer rushed to the scene, but he was also shot dead, authorities said. Armed with a second automatic weapon at that point, the prisoners made their way to the police station's armory to secure more guns and ammunition, officials said.
Tha'eer Dulaimi, a police officer wounded in the ensuing shootout, said most of the station's officers had been in bed when the jailbreak began....
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A door-to-door search with photos of the three men who managed to escape, including Ferhan, continued throughout the day. There was no immediate information yesterday about Ferhan's alleged previous crimes.
Officials in Ramadi said yesterday that despite widespread support in the city for Al Qaeda in Iraq in recent years that there was no evidence that residents had aided the prisoners. Ramadi's mayor said adult males in the city had retrieved their own firearms and had helped the authorities search for the militants.
"The locals have played a prominent role in helping with security in town," Ayada said. Later, residents said the bold jailbreak does not necessarily mean that the militant group would reassert itself.
"I don't think this attack will take us back to the days of Al Qaeda," said Barzan al-Aliyawi, a 21-year-old student. Omar al-Reshawi, 25, agreed, saying local authorities need to take better precautions with jailed militants.
"It was negligent on the part of the police," he said. "They need to put those criminals in a special place, and the police should take more restrictive measures."--more--"
First the coup ridiculousness and now this. The whole story stinks to me.
And like clockwork:
"Car bombs in Iraq kill at least 25, wound 64" by Chelsea J. Carter, Associated Press Writer | December 27, 2008
BAGHDAD --A pair of car bombs killed more than two dozen people on Saturday, shattering a recent period of calm and serving as a grim reminder that recent gains remains fragile as Iraq prepares to take over security responsibilities for much of the country.
The attacks included one in the Iraqi capital -- the first major attack in more than a week -- that killed at least 22 people and injured 54. In other violence, a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq fugitive was killed in a gunbattle with police in the western city of Ramadi, police said....
Although violence has dropped by more than 80 percent around Iraq and particularly Baghdad, the U.S. military has repeatedly said the improved security conditions remain fragile....
Yeah, and ABOUT that VIOLENCE!!!!
"Violence is dropping sharply throughout the country (December 22, 2008)
However, the pace of violence in Iraq has picked up in the last few weeks (December 17, 2008)"
You know what? Make of them what you will because I'm tired of them.
