Iraqi Gunmen Storm Government Building, Killing 56 in a Grisly Hostage Siege
- Posted on March 29, 2011 at 7:43pm by
Emily Esfahani Smith
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BAGHDAD (AP) — Wearing military uniforms over explosives belts, gunmen held a local Iraqi government center hostage Tuesday in a grisly siege that ended with the deaths of at least 56 people, including three councilmen who were executed with gunshots to the head.
The five-hour standoff in Tikrit, former dictator Saddam Hussein’s home town, ended only when the attackers blew themselves up in one of the bloodiest days in Iraqi this year.
First they set fire to the bodies of the three slain Salahuddin province councilmen in a brutal, defiant show of how insurgents still render Iraq unstable – even if it has so far escaped the political unrest rolling across the Arab world.
“Why did they shoot him and set fire to his poor body?” said Salahuddin government spokesman Mohammed al-Asi, trying not to weep when confirming the killing of lawmaker Mehdi al-Aaran, an elderly man who headed the council’s religious affairs committee.
Speaking in a muted voice, Salahuddin Governor Ahmed Abdullah called the attack “a tragic incident carried out by ruthless terrorists.”
Iraqi officials were quick to blame al-Qaida in Iraq for the slaughter, noting that executions and suicide bombers are hallmarks of the extremist group. A senior intelligence official in Baghdad likened the attack to al-Qaida’s horrifying hostage raid last fall on a Catholic church in Baghdad that left 68 dead and stunned the nation.
Tuesday’s attack left 56 victims dead and 98 wounded, including government workers, security forces and bystanders, said Salahuddin health director Dr. Raied Ibrahim. Many died in the volleys of gunfire and explosions.
Among the dead were councilman Abdullah Jebara, a vocal al-Qaida foe; the council’s health committee chairman, Wathiq al-Samaraie; and Iraqi journalist Sabah al-Bazi, a correspondent for Al-Arabiya satellite TV channel and a freelancer for CNN and Reuters.
Members of Iraq’s parliament immediately called for an investigation into how the band of eight or nine insurgents could pull off the attack and paralyze a mostly-Sunni Muslim city that was once a hotbed for al-Qaida in Iraq and Saddam sympathizers. Tikrit is the capital of Salahuddin and is located 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Baghdad.
Officials are particularly sensitive about the ability of Iraqi security forces to protect the country as U.S. troops plan to leave at the end of the year.
“We denounce this sorrowful act, where insurgents with military uniforms could break into the council building,” said parliamentarian Suhad al-Obedi, who represents Salahuddin province. “This is a security breach.”
It’s not hard to buy uniforms on Iraqi streets, and the ease and deadliness of the attack demonstrated sophisticated planning by the gunmen.
A car bomb exploded outside the Salahuddin provincial council headquarters around 1 p.m., distracting security officials who rushed to put out the resulting fire. That’s when the uniformed gunmen – including one with counterfeit a high rank – identified themselves as Iraqi soldiers at a security checkpoint outside the compound. Told they would have to be searched before entering, they opened fire on guards and stormed the building.
“The gunmen were armed with grenades and began their raid by firing at random at a reception room,” said Ali Abdul Rihman, a spokesman for the governor. “Then they opened fire inside.”
The provincial council meets at the headquarters every Tuesday, but Rihman said local lawmakers ended their discussion early because there was little on their agenda. As a result, he said, most of the lawmakers had already left the headquarters when the assault began.
Al-Asi, the provincial spokesman, said 15 people were taken hostage on the headquarters’ second floor, where the gunmen hurled grenades and fired at security forces below. The hostages, including the three lawmakers, were each shot in the head, al-Asi said.
Parliament lawmaker Qutayba al-Jabouri said security forces did not try to negotiate with the gunmen since they were under assault. Gov. Abdullah described a fierce shootout between the gunmen and Iraqi security forces who surrounded the building.
American troops who were nearby as part of an advising mission with Iraqi forces also responded to the attack, and some U.S. soldiers received minor wounds, said military spokesman Col. Barry Johnson. The U.S. troops dropped back after Iraqi forces took control, Johnson said.
The looming deadline for the U.S. troops withdrawal, twinned with the political unrest cascading throughout the Mideast, has spooked American and Iraqi leaders alike about whether the fledgling Iraqi democracy will fall back into violence.
Baghdad University political analyst Hassan Kamil called Tuesday’s attacks “another indication that the insurgents are no way thinking of giving up the struggle in Iraq.”
“It is a show of force aiming at convincing people that despite the setbacks, the insurgency is still active,” Kamil said. “Security is still fragile.”
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Comments (78)
5410amh
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 10:01pmI think the main reason that a good number of iraqies don’t like us is because the first gulf war we declared war on iraq and told the people to rise up against sadam and then we just left them. And what hapened, sadam killed thousands of his own people. They thought we were going to help them overthrow sadam and we just left the rebels to fend for themselves. So what should they have expected when we came back in 2003 they probably thought we would just cut and run like we did in the 90′s.
Report Post »Mateytwo Barreett
Posted on March 30, 2011 at 7:44amI think it wopuld have been more appropriate if they hac waited until after the “official” date of departure. This whole issue signals a total lack of civil protocol. That being said, I wish someone wwould explain to me why the past 9 years has happened. The pols NEED to get the hell out of the way during a “kinetic action”
Report Post »NHwinter
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 9:58pm82dAirborne, God bless and get well quickly. We look forward to your return to the Blaze.
Report Post »caprica
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 9:53pmlets get our soldiers back and let the savage kill each other …..lets make sure we close the boarders ! we do not want any sarrhaaaaa savage eveil laws in our God’s Holly Land Christian Land call America ! lets the savages finish themself……they not worth 1 Amerian life ! the savages are 10000 years behind civilization !
Report Post »Dumbsht
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 9:35pmLet them blow the craps out of each other until they get together…if they continue to go after us then we finish the job if Israel hasn’t already.
Report Post »greggor
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 9:31pmThe only way to fix islam is to end it.
Report Post »RightPolitically
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:40pmThey know that this is their time to take Iraq over because the US will not go back into Iraq again.
Report Post »bkfirvine
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:31pmDon’t worry – if Obama can use this to further his political goals, it’ll be worth it.
Report Post »gdbhusker
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:29pmThis may be politically incorrect, but I no longer care!!! we need to make examples out of them….dig a trench, fill it with pig blood,…leave the trench open and let every muslim know what it is..go get a few of the “ extremists” and cap them…throw them into the pig blood!!! that will kill them here…and send them to a bad place in the afterlife!!! once people start seeing this..they will think twice about terrorism…..it’s easy to give up the mortal life for a cause….but impossible to give up the afterlife that drives them!!!!
Report Post »bkfirvine
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:46pmHow dare you consider using pig blood in such a way! The Chinese could use it to make a delicacy called “Blood Cake”.
Report Post »Dumbsht
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 9:38pmI’d rather the ditch method myself….if these beasts think they can get away with pushing us around they go for it. Time to show them what MASS DESTRUCTION really is. Punks.
Report Post »tankerBigRed1
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 10:24pmBlack Jack Persing- used this approach – with outstanding success..
Report Post »delhoghe
Posted on March 30, 2011 at 4:11amGD, you sound rather Islamic. Perhaps you should convert to Christianity and lose that rage.
Report Post »Ron_WA
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:26pmAlmost every Iraqi adult will tell you that the sectarian & clan violence will never completely end; all they pray for & work towards is for it to be restrained.
Report Post »BeeGirl
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:22pmFor someone so brave and fearless as those gunmen claim to be – why do they cover their faces?
Report Post »dinadp
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:21pmIt‘s like a day doesn’t go buy where I don’t read about crazy muslims killing innocent people.
Report Post »wheels
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:10pmBring em ALL home! Proven time & again, you CAN’T nationbuild & try to give human rights/dignity to tribal savages that will rip down any fledgling house of cards, even if it’s good for their own people. All foreign aid, bases, troops need to be re-invested at home & support to Israel, in my humble opinion.
Report Post »pappy
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:09pmLooks like it’s my turn to have posted messages denied… I tried 3 times. Will this one make it?
Report Post »delhoghe
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:08pmDemocracy is working well in Iraq.
Report Post »TRONINTHEMORNING
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:07pmIraq and Iran were considered to be great sites for new parking lots in the 70′s. Maybe it will have to come to that. Israel is in the balance and it‘s not cool to let them be in harm’s way–the way our loathesome prez is allowing them to be.
Report Post »jackeric61
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 7:59pmThe unification of an islamic state is coming and when the dust settles Israel will be the attacked from all sides. What will Obama do? Side with Israel or use the new UN protection policy to defend the islamic states when Israel uses there more powerful army. This does not look good at all
Report Post »pappy
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:07pmIs that still the religion of peace? Can someone help me out here… I’m not sure. I thought I heard Mr. obummer say it is… I thought.
Report Post »obama_binpharteen
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:08pmI am 100% Israel will be attacked. I am 1000% Obama will not help Israel, but rather help destroy it.
Report Post »teachermitch32
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 11:43pmHappily, in the end, God wins. I read the book. Oh yea, and those who honor God and pray the peace of Jerusalem win too.
Report Post »chips1
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 7:58pmDon’t jump to conclusions. Hillery said they just don’t fully understand them yet, but she is trying.
Report Post »paperpushermj
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:42pmShe will understanding everything when the Saudis tell her these people are friends of the Saudi Government.
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 9:34pmVery.
Report Post »paperpushermj
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 7:58pmI can’t conceive of it. This behavior just does not fit inside a Westerners mind. Are we talking about a sub-species of human.
Report Post »Red Meat
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 7:57pmWe should pull all our troops out of the Mideast and drop Neutron bombs over the entire region. When the radiation subsides, we can go back in and take their oil.
Anyone left alive can be conscripted to drill more oil.
Report Post »csl84030
Posted on March 30, 2011 at 2:35pmRed Meat for President 2012!!!!
Report Post »TRONINTHEMORNING
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 7:52pmI’m so thankful to be an American in Colorado and not in some godless, hell hole like Iraq. If not for our military, I couldn’t say this. Unbridled thanks to our service men and women.
Report Post »avenger
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 7:51pmah..democracy at its best…..why don’t we nuke the place and spare the oil fields.these people are tribal religious savages…
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 7:49pmWell, the Iraqis said they wanted us out of Iraq. They got it.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:04pmSave the fact we still have troops in country; maybe not combat troops, yet still troops.
Report Post »mossbrain
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:32pmWe never should have gone there in the first place, only a strong ruthless dictator can control these animals. Democracy is a farce in these lands of Arab savages. Why do people want us to stay there? So our men and women can be slaughtered also for millennium to come? Only a fool thinks we can “Win the War”.
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 7:47pmThe whole world has lost its mind. Everybody has just gone nuts.
Report Post »82dAirborne
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 7:56pmI don’t scare easily. These people are.. I don’t know the words to describe them. Generally in a battle you try to survive to destroy the enemy and protect your buddies. What makes this enemy so dangerous is that he doesn’t care about personal survival and is fueled by religious fanaticism. The closest thing in modern warfare would be the Japanese in WWII with their devotion to their emperor. I am begging to think the only way for us to survive, much less “win”, is to wipe them out or strictly contain them somehow.
To my pals here on the Blaze -> In the morning I start a couple of fun filled days at the V.A. hospital. As of 1 April I will not have internet access at home. I have made a deal with a neighbor to allow me to check email from time to time. Yes I know this is a little strange but I feel as though I have made quite a few friends here. So if anyone would like to keep in touch with me: jshoffman13@hotmail.com is the address. I look forward to typing at you all soon.
Jeff
Yeah I know I’ll probably get spammed half to death but what the heck!
Report Post »Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 9:35pmInteresting, my post was deleted.
As I said, 82dAirborne
God Bless and Get Well.
Why did God create the Airborne, because Marines are afraid to fly.
Just Kidding SacredHonor, Semper Fi.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 10:11pm@Darmok:
My grandpa told me, and he was a marine, that the marines are not afraid to fly; they just do not use parachutes when leaving the airplanes.
Report Post »Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 10:35pmSnow
Report Post »I have a good friend who is a retired Marine. He always said “The boat ride over has better fishing. Besides, it gives the enemy time to surrender, knowing the Marines are coming.”
marine249
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 10:56pmDARMOK
in a odd way you may be right.
I always liked my feet on the ground
we have a lot of good Marines who like to take to the air
SEMPER FI
Report Post »Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 11:30pmA long time ago, We were doing an exercise in Korea, Team spririt, our job in Air Force Civil Eng. was to be first there and build 250 tents, Chow hall, Latrines and Shower/Shave tents. We had the flight crews come in after we had been working for 3 1/2 weeks straight, sun up to sun down, they griped about living in a tent for 3 weeks, another aircrew came in, same thing gripe/gripe/gripe. By that time we had been living in tents for almost 2 months. The Marines came in, stayed for 2 weeks and would go do airdrops, land, and get driven down to do it agian the next day. All I heard from them was, Wow, we don’t have to sleep outside, this is great.
Report Post »MaggieRose
Posted on March 30, 2011 at 8:49am@82ndAIRBORNE… keeping you in my prayers… God Bless and speedy healing! My son flies the perfectly good CH-47′s you guys jump out of…
Report Post »Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 7:45pmBut it was a peaceful slaughter, in the name of Allah.
Report Post »drhunt
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 9:07pmThis has got Iran written ALL over it. The fly in the soup, Ack-My-Dinner’s-Bad, is sowing violence again.
Report Post »mattwakulik
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 7:44pmsee what happens when we leave!
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 7:50pmYup! They asked for it; they got it. In spades!
Report Post »Robert-CA
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 7:54pmThat’s very bad , they kill & blow up their own people & mosques , their agenda is killing & destroying anything in their way even children .
Report Post »Radical islam & communism is our enemy & we should not be tolerant with them at all & we should cut the snake from the head .
Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 7:57pmBut if we call Islam evil, we are racist. I guess only the Muslims can kill Muslims, and only if they shout Allah’s name first, and then it’s good.
Report Post »I wonder if the victims get 72 virgins as well.
Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:00pmSame madness continues onward, get our boys and girls home NOW!!!
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:03pmRobert CA
Indeed it is the ‘Radical’ part of ANY group, secular or religious, that is dangerous; and where needed be watched, and the terrorist parts dealt with swiftly and decisivly. Take off the head, and thrash the body and limbs so savagly along with the roots, nothing comes back.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:08pm@Darmok:
I just hope the victims receive justice done unto their attackers.
Personally I can see each of these attackers going to the appropriate part of the afterlife with fire and flames, and the ladies awaiting them are 72 clones of Loraine Bobbet, all with very sharp tools for the job at hand…
Report Post »sooner12
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:09pmLet’s get the heck out of Dodge.
Report Post »redneck
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:11pmIt’s amazing to me that Islamic Koranian values ALWAYS determine a way to justify MURDER.
Report Post »paperpushermj
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:24pm@REDNECK
Report Post »Thats because they worship “the Blood God”
SavingtheRepublic.com
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:27pmHmmmm the night we rolled in back in ‘03 I was watching it live at like 3am, I said “this is Bush’s Vietnam”.
There is a large portion of Iraqi ppl who do not appreciate what America has sacrificed for them. Granted it is partly b/c they have been conditioned to live under fear, but when they see/saw those American flags rolling through their streets they had the opportunity to come out of the threat of fear etc and to take their country back. The Iraqis have chosen not to do so.
How many know of militants/ insurgents armed, building IEDs etc and they do not run to a US soldier to warn them or turn the hostiles in? Sorry it is that simple when you are being liberated, either speak up or be silent, there no middle ground.
Time to bring our troops home before they are completely surrounded when the ME comes apart as this thing will never end b/c of very simple idea. These militants/insurgents act on an ideology, “you cannot kiss an idea, cannot touch it, or hold it… ideas do not bleed, they do not feel pain”.
Report Post »HappyStretchedThin
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:35pmSTR,
Report Post »For someone who distrusts the media as much as you do, you sure have bought their tripe about Iraq and Vietnam.
A large portion of Iraqis don’t support the Americans properly? Maybe, but NOT a majority. The majority had purple fingers. Ideas don’t feel or bleed, but they CAN be beaten–when contact with superior ideas is allowed to penetrate. Freedom may be gone once lost, but their fight to make it a way of life for them is not over, they’re still in the process of gaining.
Keep the faith!
NOBALONEY
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:45pmIt might be al quaida, but more likely its the sectarian battle thats been going on for over 1200 years. Bring our heroic troops home.
Report Post »Gold Coin & Economic News
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 9:14pmIt’s not going to be a pretty day when we finally get out of there. It’s just amazing how brutal there terrorists can be. Amazing!
Report Post »*************************
Posted on March 30, 2011 at 1:30amWhen you join Islam (or are born into that criminal organization), you follow the dictates of their book of Satanic Verses. “Religion of peace”? LOL! A religion of Satan. The peace of dead bodies.
F.B.I., do your duty to defend America!
“Come on, boys! The way you’re lolly-gaggin’ around here with them picks and them shovels, you‘d think it was a hundert an’ twenty degree. Can‘t be more than a hundert an’ fourteen.” -cowboy Lyle, Blazing Saddles
Report Post »GODSAMERICA
Posted on March 30, 2011 at 10:36amI say that if they ever get caught, put them in a small cell with several pigs and let them live with the pigs and then see how brave they act. I bet it would be like the story of how an elephant will freak out when they see a mouse. Feed all of them the same kind of food – pig slop.
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