Fri Sep 14, 2007 11:40am BST
RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) - Sunni Arab Iraqis and U.S. forces in Anbar province vowed on Friday to keep fighting al Qaeda after the assassination of a tribal leader who worked with Americans to create one of Iraq's few security success stories.
Abdul Sattar Abu Risha was killed in a bombing attack on Thursday near his home in Ramadi, provincial capital of what was once one of Iraq's most dangerous areas.
"All the tribes agreed to fight al Qaeda until the last child in Anbar," his brother, Ahmed Abu Risha, told Reuters.
Ahmed Abu Risha was named as the council's new head hours after the death of his charismatic, chain-smoking brother, who wore flowing white and gold robes as he shook hands with Bush.
"The killing of Sheikh Abu Risha will give us more energy ... to continue confronting al Qaeda members and to dispose of them," said Sheikh Rashid Majid, a leader of the al-Bufahad tribe in Ramadi.
"But his murder will make us more cautious, because the reason for the killing of Abu Risha was careless security. We are 90 percent sure that al Qaeda is behind the assassination."
Many ordinary Iraqis agreed. "All of Anbar owes this man, he offered security and stability," said 45-year-old Mohammed Hussain Ali from Ramadi.
Iraq's national security adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani, Defence Minister General Abdel Qader Jassim and Lieutenant-General Raymond Odierno, second in command of U.S. forces in Iraq, joined hundreds of mourners at Abu Risha's funeral amid tight security.
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9 comments:
as expected, Iraq is heading toward stabilization. I made a prediction in a post not too long ago that an Islamic coalition and Russia will move against Israel, and those nations will be devastated by it - Iraq will wind up the most stable because she will not participate in that invasion of Israel.
What amazes me the MOST - is that because this deflates the "anti-War, it ain't better" arguments - the MSM barely mentions truly significant relationships being built by the Bush Doctrine. It is a shame to have lost such an ally but - the good news is many others are emboldened to fill his footsteps.
:-) Lizzy
I was just reading about this when I got your email. Brave folks and I'm proud of them.
It's too bad it took the death of one of their leaders to finally convince them of the evil that is al Qaeda. But as they say, better late than never!
Now if we could only get the Dems on board...
It is about bloddy time... only when the people decide they have had enough and are willing to fight instead of aiding the insurgents will there be some semblance of peace.
Frickin' muzzies are finally realizing that the murderers are the insurgents - holy crap!
It's frustrating that it takes this kind of tragedy to wake people up to the threat from the Islamonazis. However, I have a feeling those people will NOT forget the act which finally spurred them into action.
I can't say the same for way too many Americans.
Well said.
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