When I first saw this headline, I didn't think that much of it but after reading more of it, this could actually be very big news. Those that found this al Qaeda in Iraq hideout are descbribed as "a group of Sunni Arabs fighting the Islamist militants" - well, that in plain language, means that members of an Awakening Council in Northern Iraq got another tip from an Iraqi citizen and went in to investigate. This is from the article:
And now THAT is what may be huge about this find - the fact that all that intel was in this hideout, once turned over to the U.S. command, is probably going to bring some great perspective on a lot of al Qaeda in Iraq operations. I especially noted the reference to "suspension of some fighters" - now, at this point in time, I gotta believe that al Qaeda in Iraq is desperate for any willing, able fighter to join them, so for them to suspend a member...well, that has to mean they are paranoid about moles in their organization or they are worried about some of the civilian torture issues. Either way it shows some chaos in the group and is a welcome sign.
I've said it before that the Awakening Councils have brought a key element to the fight against al Qaeda in Iraq and that is the tips that the general population will give only to them - this has been invaluable.
Here's the full story from AFP.
"We found 1,500 heavy, medium and light weapons as well as several bombs," Hassan told AFP.
He said the underground hideout had four big rooms, each with eight beds.
"We found documents which were messages between the base and other Al-Qaeda branches. One document had the names of Al-Qaeda members, another was a message from the group's chief (Abu Ayyub al-Masri) to other members," Hassan said.
He said other documents involved exchanges of messages regarding "funding, the suspension of some fighters and new deployments in Samarra".
And now THAT is what may be huge about this find - the fact that all that intel was in this hideout, once turned over to the U.S. command, is probably going to bring some great perspective on a lot of al Qaeda in Iraq operations. I especially noted the reference to "suspension of some fighters" - now, at this point in time, I gotta believe that al Qaeda in Iraq is desperate for any willing, able fighter to join them, so for them to suspend a member...well, that has to mean they are paranoid about moles in their organization or they are worried about some of the civilian torture issues. Either way it shows some chaos in the group and is a welcome sign.
I've said it before that the Awakening Councils have brought a key element to the fight against al Qaeda in Iraq and that is the tips that the general population will give only to them - this has been invaluable.
Here's the full story from AFP.
Suspected Qaeda hideout found on Iraq island
SAMARRA, Iraq (AFP) — A suspected Al-Qaeda hideout has been uncovered on an island on the Tigris river in central Iraq, by a group of Sunni Arabs fighting the Islamist militants, their leader said on Saturday.
The hideout, from where Al-Qaeda's operations in the provinces of Salaheddin, Anbar and Diyala are believed to have been coordinated, was found on an island in the Tigris near the city of Samarra, 125 kilometres (80 miles) north of Baghdad.
Majin Younis Hassan, leader of the local anti-Qaeda group, said the hideout was discovered early on Saturday following an "intelligence tip".
"We found 1,500 heavy, medium and light weapons as well as several bombs," Hassan told AFP.
He said the underground hideout had four big rooms, each with eight beds.
"We found documents which were messages between the base and other Al-Qaeda branches. One document had the names of Al-Qaeda members, another was a message from the group's chief (Abu Ayyub al-Masri) to other members," Hassan said.
He said other documents involved exchanges of messages regarding "funding, the suspension of some fighters and new deployments in Samarra".
Since September 2006, the US military has been bankrolling anti-Qaeda groups across Iraq recruited mainly among Sunni Arab tribes and former insurgents.
US commanders say there are now around 130 such groups totalling some 80,000 volunteers, 80 percent of them Sunni and the remainder Shiite.
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