by miltiades » Sat Feb 02, 2008 1:22 pm
Eliko , this is how the Times of London reports this attrocity , it offers a reason why the these savages carried out this despicable act.You will no no mention of Algerian or other" resistance " attacks. They simply consider the selling of pets as haram !!!!
Baghdad’s fragile peace was shattered yesterday when explosives strapped to two women with Down’s syndrome were detonated by remote control in crowded pet markets, killing at least 91 people in the worst attacks that the capital had experienced for almost a year.
Iraqi and American officials blamed al-Qaeda, and accused the terrorist organisation of plumbing new depths of depravity. Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, said that al-Qaeda’s use of mentally-handicapped women as bombers showed that it had “no political programme here that is acceptable to a civilised society and that this is the most brutal and the most bankrupt of movements”.
Ryan Crocker, the US Ambassador, said: “There is nothing they won’t do if they think it will work in creating carnage and the political fallout that comes from that.”
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Al-Qaeda has increasingly used women as suicide bombers in recent weeks but this would be the first known case of its triggering their explosives through remote control. “We found the mobiles used to detonate the women,” Major-General Qassim Moussawi, an Iraqi military spokesman, said. He said that both women had Down’s syndrome.
The first woman was blown up in the bird section of the popular al-Ghazl pet market in central Baghdad soon after 10am, killing at least 50 people, injuring scores more and leaving the ground covered in body parts, blood and the scorched carcasses of birds.
A mobile phone rang incessantly amid the shoes, prayer beads, identity cards and other debris. Sunni fundamentalists consider the selling of pets to be haram — forbidden on religious grounds.
The woman’s head was found nearby. Colonel Mounim Hashim Fahad, an Iraqi army officer, said that she looked foreign. There were reports that she had blonde hair.
Ahmed Dabab, 36, a bird seller, said: “People were gathering around where most of the bird cages were and then this woman walked into the middle of the crowd. Then I saw a big flame and heard a loud bang. I saw bodies flying through the air. Most of the dead were young.”
Ali Ahmed, a pigeon seller, said: “I just remember the horrible scenes of the bodies of dead and wounded people mixed with the blood of animals and birds, and then I found myself lying in a hospital bed.”
The market, which opens only on Fridays, sells everything from dogs to snakes and exotic fish. It was bombed three times last year, most recently on November 23 when a bomb hidden in an animal container killed 13 people. It has revived in recent weeks, especially since the Friday driving ban was lifted, and yesterday was packed with visitors.
The second attack took place in another bird market in a predominantly Shia area of southeast Baghdad about 20 minutes later, soon before the Islamic call to prayer. That blast killed dozens more.
the fact that you can treat Copperline's contribution in such a disparaging manner is proof positive that your knowledge of the events in Iraq are enormously lacking.
