U.S. got advance word of Iraq bombings
By JIM MANNION
AFP, with a report from AP
WASHINGTON -- The United States had intelligence warnings of this
week's deadly attacks against Shiites in Baghdad and Karbala, and
probably prevented even greater carnage with raids the night before
against operatives of Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, says the top U.S.
commander in Iraq.
U.S. and Iraqi forces foiled a third attack in Basra and thwarted
plans to attack several prominent Shia personalities, General John
Abizaid told the U.S. House armed services commitee yesterday.
"I believe the plan was for even greater carnage, and I think that
joint action between Americans and Iraqis prevented that from
happening, and we had better co-operation among various groups
throughout Iraq in terms of security than is widely reported," he
said.
The general spoke a day after the attacks, the deadliest in Iraq since
the fall of Saddam Hussein.
In Baghdad yesterday, Sunni preachers joined Shia clerics in a march
of thousands, trying to keep sectarian passions in check.
U.S. officials announced arrests in Karbala in connection with the
attacks and said coalition forces will strengthen border security.
In Washington, Gen. Abizaid said the U.S. military "had some
intelligence that indicated attacks would take place. We passed that
intelligence to Iraqi police and Iraqi Civil Defence Corps units and
to the local authorities. We also know they were trying to go after
several prominent Shia personalities."
The general said that security in Karbala has been left to the police,
civil defence and local authorities since the early days of the
occupation because of sensitivities over the presence of U.S. troops
near the holy sites. He said a Polish-led multinational division
established a security cordon outside Karbala, while U.S. forces set
up a similar cordon outside Baghdad.
"But as you know, sir, in a city like Karbala of over a million and a
city like Baghdad of over five million, you can literally find your
way through any type of security cordon, especially when there's about
a million pilgrims that are celebrating the Ashura holiday," he said.
He also confirmed U.S. suspicions that the attacks bore the hallmarks
of Mr. Zarqawi, a Jordanian whom Washington has accused of trying to
ignite a civil war between Iraq's Sunnis and Shiites.
The night before the attacks, "American special-operations units
raided some of the Zarqawi network operatives and probably prevented
even greater carnage by being successful in one of those raids," he
said.
"We have clear intelligence that ties Zarqawi to this attack. We also
have intelligence that shows there are some linkages between Zarqawi
and former regime elements, particularly the Iraqi intelligence
services." No group has claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attacks,
but a letter purported to come from al-Qaeda denied responsibility
yesterday, blaming U.S. troops instead.
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