IRAQ GROK Daily News – Excerpts from International Media Reports
[Links to full articles were active on the date posted here]
Gunmen Kill 15 in Baghdad Gold Heist: Police [May 25]
“Gunmen shot dead 15 people, mainly goldsmiths, and made off with gold and cash in a bustling shopping area of Baghdad on Tuesday, an Interior Ministry source told Reuters. The brazen daylight heist took place on a long, busy street lined with shops in southwest Baghdad, usually heavily protected by Iraqi security forces. They set off a roadside bomb near the shops, killing four bystanders and wounding three, city police officials said. Then they opened fire on 12 shops, killing nine gold shop owners or their workers and two bystanders. They threw percussion grenades into the shop as a distraction, then fled, police said. A witness said he heard an explosion, and the Interior Ministry source said police had defused a number of bombs left by the gunmen. “I heard an explosion and then I saw four dead bodies on the ground close to the gold shops,” the witness said..” [Complete report]
Al-Qaeda Denies World Cup Terror Plot Alleged by Iraq [May 25]
“Al-Qaeda in Iraq denied it was planning to attack the soccer World Cup in South Africa, a week after officials in Baghdad said they had captured a member of the group who confessed to plotting a terrorist act there. “We deny this news entirely,” the group said late yesterday in a statement posted on websites used by al-Qaeda. It described the charges as empty allegations and said its “dreams and aspirations” didn’t stretch as far as Johannesburg. Iraq’s Baghdad Military Command announced in a televised news conference on May 17 the capture of an al-Qaeda member, who it said had worked with Ayman al-Zawahiri, deputy to Osama bin Laden, “to plot terrorist attacks during the World Cup.” The suspect was identified as Abdullah Azzam Saleh al- Qahtani, a Saudi Arabian national described as chief of the group’s security in Baghdad. The Iraqi military said he was a lieutenant in the Saudi army and had entered Iraq in 2004..” [Complete Report]
Iraqi Lawmaker Killed in Mosul [May 25]
“A newly elected lawmaker from a cross-sectarian list that narrowly won March polls was killed in an apparent drive-by shooting at his home in northern Iraq, according to the Iraqi interior ministry. Bashar Hamid al-Lagaidi was shot on the doorstep of his house in the northern city of Mosul on Monday evening, according to the ministry. He was taken to a hospital in the city, where he was pronounced dead. Mr. Lagaidi was elected to parliament as part of Iraqiya, the slate of candidates led by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, which won 91 seats. Iraqiya, which includes a number of high-profile Sunni candidates, narrowly beat a coalition led by Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, which captured 89 seats. It’s unclear exactly how the killing might affect the political horse-trading now taking place among Iraq’s various political blocs in the run-up to forming a new government. Mr. Lagaidi would most likely be replaced in parliament by another member of his slate..” [Complete Report]
