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Kurdish Ansar al-Islam terrorist group has claimed
responsibility for Erbil Blast
10.5.2007 |
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Kurdish Arm of Al-Qaeda Claim Erbil Blast
May 10, 2007
Erbil, Kurdistan region (Iraq), May 10, --
The Kurdistan Brigade of al-Qaeda in Iraq - a new
military formation which belongs to the Kurdish
Ansar al-Islam, has claimed responsibility for
Wednesday's suicide
bomb attack in Erbil. At least 19, people were
killed when a vehicle with explosives rammed into
the offices of the interior and security ministry of
the autonomous region of Kurdistan.
The official site of the Kurdish Ansar al-Islam said
"the suicide bomber who completed the attack is a
member of the Kurdistan Brigade which forms part of
the Islamic State of Iraq [cartel] set up by
al-Qaeda in Iraq".
Groups of Ansar al Islam - a Sunni Islamist Kurdish
group - have been spotted on various occasions
recently near the border between Iraqi Kurdistan and
Iran, a fact which makes the authorities suspect
Tehran of providing logistical support and refuge to
the group.
A source within the Kurdish peshmerga militia -
which allied itself with the US-led coalition in the
2003 war and serves as the main security force for
the Kurdistan regional government - told (AKI) on
Monday that "intelligence acquired by the local
authorities shows that Ansar al-Islam and Ansar al-Sunna
- linked to al-Qaeda - are reorganising their ranks
and deploying their forces near the border".
At the same time, a Kurdish armed group has
distributed a statement in the area close to the
Iranian border, threatening the 'apostates' of Islam
and calling on local people to reveal the names of
young people who recently converted to Christianity.
The statement, which (AKI) has seen, adds that "the
apostates of the Islamic religion will be the
targets of a programme by the jihadi groups and the
residents must collaborate with Ansar al-Islam to
reveal their identities".
Kurdish MP Mahmoud 'Uthman held a press conference
condemning the attack and announcing his suspicions
of the Ansar al-Islam organization. He also blamed
Ansar al-Sunna, a militant Sunni Arab group opposed
to the US occupation and the current government of
Iraq.
“The attack that targeted the city of Erbil was
expected, despite the intense security operations in
recent days. We had intelligence information that
terrorist groups had plans to disrupt security and
to bring the instability of Baghdad and central Iraq
to Kurdistan,” a source told AKI.
“Large quantities of weapons and explosives” were
discovered in Kurdistan in recent days, the security
source said.
Kurdish intelligence officials initially believed
that these were destined to be smuggled into the
rest of Iraq, but later investigations revealed that
they were intended for operations inside Kurdish
territory.
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