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Iraq 'suicide bomber', 16, jailed | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
A juvenile court in Iraq's Diyala province has sentenced a 16-year-old girl to seven-and-a-half years in prison for an attempted suicide attack. | |
Rania Ibrahim was arrested in August 2008 in Baqouba, capital of Diyala province, considered to be a stronghold of al-Qaeda. | Rania Ibrahim was arrested in August 2008 in Baqouba, capital of Diyala province, considered to be a stronghold of al-Qaeda. |
Video of the arrest shows police removing her long dress to reveal what appears to be a suicide belt. | Video of the arrest shows police removing her long dress to reveal what appears to be a suicide belt. |
She said a relative of her husband had told her to wear the vest. | She said a relative of her husband had told her to wear the vest. |
In the police video, Rania, with dark curls around a chubby, childish face, looks confused. | In the police video, Rania, with dark curls around a chubby, childish face, looks confused. |
Later in the footage she tells the police chief that she did not know what was going on, and police said that the girl appeared to have been drugged. | Later in the footage she tells the police chief that she did not know what was going on, and police said that the girl appeared to have been drugged. |
Rania left school when she was 11. Five months before the arrest she was sold into marriage. | Rania left school when she was 11. Five months before the arrest she was sold into marriage. |
'Told to wait' | 'Told to wait' |
It was a relative of her husband, she told police, who told her to put the vest on and wait outside for further instructions. | It was a relative of her husband, she told police, who told her to put the vest on and wait outside for further instructions. |
It is not clear what led to her capture, and initial reports suggested that she gave herself up. | It is not clear what led to her capture, and initial reports suggested that she gave herself up. |
The US military has described her as an "unwilling suicide bomber" forced or tricked into staging a suicide attack. | The US military has described her as an "unwilling suicide bomber" forced or tricked into staging a suicide attack. |
But a year after her arrest, she was found guilty by the Diyala juvenile court. | But a year after her arrest, she was found guilty by the Diyala juvenile court. |
Rania Ibrahim's story is not unique. Dozens of teenagers, both girls and boys, were used in suicide attacks in Iraq in the years following the US invasion. | Rania Ibrahim's story is not unique. Dozens of teenagers, both girls and boys, were used in suicide attacks in Iraq in the years following the US invasion. |
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