[whataretheysaying] Mary Madigan: Sunni suicide bombers launch coordinated attacks against the "anti-Islamic"

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Posted by Mary Madigan:
Sunni suicide bombers launch coordinated attacks against the "anti-Islamic"
http://whataretheysaying.powerblogs.com/posts/1187200671.shtml


   "If someone knows that he is capable of entering Iraq in order to join
   the fight, and if his intention is to raise up the word of God, then
   he is free to do so,"
   - [1]Sheik Saleh Al Luhaidan, chief justice of Saudi Arabia's Supreme
   Judicial Council, April 26, 2005

   The apparent predominance of Saudi fighters on the Internet lists has
   caused an alarmed reaction by Saudi officials, who fear a backlash
   from the Americans at the same time they are trying to convince the
   United States that they are working as allies against terrorism.
   - from [2]'Martyrs' In Iraq Mostly Saudis by Susan B. Glasser

   Via the [3]News Scotsman

     Four bombers struck communities of the small Kurdish Yazidi sect in
     north-west of the country yesterday.

     The death toll is the highest since last November when 215 people
     were killed by mortar fire and five car bombs in Baghdad's Shiite
     Muslim enclave of Sadr City.

     The US called the latest attacks "barbaric", while a Kurdish
     official said Baghdad had failed to protect the Yazidi.

     The bombings came as extremists staged other bold attacks by
     flattening a key bridge outside Baghdad and abducting five
     officials from an Oil Ministry compound in the capital in a raid
     using gunmen dressed as security officers.

     Nine US soldiers were also reported killed, including five in a
     helicopter crash.

     US officials believe extremists are attempting to regroup across
     northern Iraq after being driven from strongholds in and around
     Baghdad.

     The Islamic State in Iraq, an al Qaida front group, distributed
     leaflets a week ago warning residents near the scene of yesterday's
     bombings that an attack was imminent because Yazidis are
     "anti-Islamic".

   From [4]Harry's Place:

     Yazidis worship a deity considered to be a devil by some Muslims,
     so the "anti-Islamic" claim by the "The Islamic State in Iraq"
     suggests a purge of religious minorities may be the first order of
     business. Fighting "the occupation" seems to be a distant memory,
     and even that is seeming more and more like a pretext, doesn't it?
     The name of this al-Qaida front-group says it all.

   For months the [5]Iraqi government and the international community
   knew about the potential for a violent attack against the Yazidis:

     Yegorova has asked neighbouring countries and European nations to
     help members of their community flee Iraq.

     "We're desperate and with this massacre we're sure that soon
     there'll be more killings. Dozens of Yazidis have been individually
     killed over the past four years [since the US occupation of Iraq]
     and we have to save the remaining ones," he said. "Today, our
     organisation received a threatening letter saying that the massacre
     was just the beginning of the fate of all Yazidis."

     Yazidis have long claimed discrimination in Iraq for matters such
     as employment and education. But now, with sectarian violence
     escalating over the past year, the threat of death hangs over them.

     "We don't have schools near our towns that can cater for our
     children's education and our children cannot go to university in
     Mosul or in Baghdad after the constant reprisals. We are a minority
     but we are human beings too and have the same rights as any other
     Iraqi," said Hanan Quewal, 43, a resident of Sinjar who is
     desperately looking for a school for her grandsons.

     "Our community has been forgotten and has been threatened on a
     daily basis. We don't have anywhere to go and if things continue as
     they are, the only thing we can do is to wait for someone to kill
     us in the coming months," Hanan added.

   In February 2006, [6]Michael Totten visited the Yazidis. In the post
   [7]The Beginning of the Universe, he describes their community and
   their beliefs.

References

   1. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7645118/
   2. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/14/AR2005051401270.html
   3. http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1290702007
   4. http://hurryupharry.bloghouse.net/archives/2007/08/15/priorities_of_resistance.php
   5. http://www.iraqslogger.com/index.php/post/2468/Yazidis_Ask_Iraqi_Government_for_Protection
   6. http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/001064.html
   7. http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/001064.html