Jihadi Du Jour

The attack in Karbala where 5 American soldiers were shot in the head made me wonder if the Iraqi police were involved or at least complicit. Now I wonder if this goes straight to top. One of the vehicles had a license plate registered to Iraq's minister of trade, Abdul Falah al-Sudani, a Shiite who belongs to the Dawa party whose members include Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Al-Sudani lives in the Green Zone and denied that the plate had been stolen. (Macon.com)

The attack involved 9 to 12 English-speaking militants who posed as American security forces and traveled in vehicles that looked similar to U.S. government convoys. Ownership documents were found in two of the vehicles. No one seems to know where the military uniforms or IDs came from, but the SUV's traveled to Karbala along the road leading from Najaf, where anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is headquartered.

Carrying American weapons, and wearing new U.S. military combat fatigues, the militants overtook the American forces and kidnapped the four soldiers. They then took them east of the compound and killed them. (source)

One guard, who is also is a suspect, said he'd handed his weapon to the attackers and allowed the men into the compound because they were dressed in American military uniforms, spoke English and were using interpreters.

Iraq the Model says (hat tip Degrees of Madness):

If I remember well, some time ago the head of the provincial council was arrested under charges of terrorism, so the local authority in Kerbala isn’t exactly trustworthy. The governor said there was a security breach but what I smell here is the stench of an inside job at the highest levels in Kerbala.

Like I said earlier, this was not just a brazen attack by some militia or terrorists; behind this is a message and a threat from Iran and its surrogates to turn even the calm parts of Iraq into a dangerous war zone for America and the government in Baghdad.

Now it all makes sense. Al-Sadr has been pretending to comply with American requests, asking his militia to put their guns out of site. It's all for show. Sadr is an agent of Iran.

Four of the soldiers have possible ties to Fort Richardson. U.S...

That release identified the dead as 1st Lt. Jacob N. Fritz, 25, of Verdon, Neb., Spc. Johnathan B. Chism, 22, of Gonzales, La., Pfc. Shawn P. Falter, 25, of Cortland, N.Y., and Pvt. Johnathon M. Millican, 20, of Trafford, Ala. All four were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based at Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Another news release identified a fifth man killed as Capt. Brian S. Freeman, 31, of Temecula, Calif. (source)

Capt. Freeman was a former member of the Army World Class Athlete Program who competed in bobsled and skeleton with the U.S. national team.

Bottom line, I don't trust Maliki or Sadr. Phew! Something stinks in Karbala!!!

Linked with:
Degrees of Madness