This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/24/world/middleeast/al-qaeda-asserts-responsibility-for-iraqi-prison-breaks.html
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Al Qaeda Asserts Responsibility for Iraqi Prison Breaks | Al Qaeda Asserts Responsibility for Iraqi Prison Breaks |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Al Qaeda’s Iraq affiliate asserted responsibility on Tuesday for brazen assaults on two prisons on the outskirts of Baghdad two days earlier that freed hundreds of inmates, including many of its own members, in one of the most serious breaches of security since the final American military withdrawal from the country more than two years ago. | Al Qaeda’s Iraq affiliate asserted responsibility on Tuesday for brazen assaults on two prisons on the outskirts of Baghdad two days earlier that freed hundreds of inmates, including many of its own members, in one of the most serious breaches of security since the final American military withdrawal from the country more than two years ago. |
| In a statement posted on jihadist Web sites titled “Conquering the Tyrants,” the Al Qaeda branch in Iraq, a largely homegrown organization of Sunni militant extremists, said the assaults on the two high-security prisons, Taji and Abu Ghraib, had been planned for months. | In a statement posted on jihadist Web sites titled “Conquering the Tyrants,” the Al Qaeda branch in Iraq, a largely homegrown organization of Sunni militant extremists, said the assaults on the two high-security prisons, Taji and Abu Ghraib, had been planned for months. |
| The audacity of the assaults underscored the deterioration of Iraq’s stability, punctuated recently by an almost daily litany of car bombings and other violence tied to a resurrection of sectarian tensions in the country, largely between the majority Shiites and minority Sunnis. The monthlong Ramadan holiday celebrated by all Muslims appears to have done little to diminish the mayhem. | The audacity of the assaults underscored the deterioration of Iraq’s stability, punctuated recently by an almost daily litany of car bombings and other violence tied to a resurrection of sectarian tensions in the country, largely between the majority Shiites and minority Sunnis. The monthlong Ramadan holiday celebrated by all Muslims appears to have done little to diminish the mayhem. |
| The Qaeda claim came as an emergency committee formed by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki to investigate the prison breaks said in a statement that its initial findings suggested that “some of the guards were involved with the terrorist attackers.” | The Qaeda claim came as an emergency committee formed by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki to investigate the prison breaks said in a statement that its initial findings suggested that “some of the guards were involved with the terrorist attackers.” |
| There were conflicting accounts by Al Qaeda and Iraqi security officials on the number of escapees and casualties. But there appeared to be little dispute that hundreds of Qaeda militants, some of whom had been captured by the Americans during the war, were now on the loose, an outcome that sent new waves of fear through Baghdad and beyond. | |
| “This attack is unlike any other attack when they target a coffee shop or a public market,” said Hamid Fadhil, a political science professor at Baghdad University. “They are targeting the most secured place with big numbers of security forces.” | |
| Al Qaeda said 500 prisoners had escaped, all of them mujahedeen, or holy warriors. Iraqi officials said 800 prisoners had fled from Abu Ghraib alone but 400 had been recaptured or killed, implying that at least 400 were at large. Mr. Maliki’s committee said no prisoners had escaped from Taji and an unspecified number had been killed there. | Al Qaeda said 500 prisoners had escaped, all of them mujahedeen, or holy warriors. Iraqi officials said 800 prisoners had fled from Abu Ghraib alone but 400 had been recaptured or killed, implying that at least 400 were at large. Mr. Maliki’s committee said no prisoners had escaped from Taji and an unspecified number had been killed there. |
| The Qaeda account also asserted that its fighters had killed at least 120 Iraqi security guards in the assaults, while Iraqi Interior Ministry officials said 20 had been killed. | The Qaeda account also asserted that its fighters had killed at least 120 Iraqi security guards in the assaults, while Iraqi Interior Ministry officials said 20 had been killed. |
| According to the Qaeda account, the planners of the assaults, which began Sunday evening, coordinated the detonation of 12 car bombs and a barrage of Grad missiles and mortar rounds to kill sentries outside the prisons as groups of heavily armed assailants breached the entrances, all having taken an oath not to emerge alive until the prisoners were freed. | According to the Qaeda account, the planners of the assaults, which began Sunday evening, coordinated the detonation of 12 car bombs and a barrage of Grad missiles and mortar rounds to kill sentries outside the prisons as groups of heavily armed assailants breached the entrances, all having taken an oath not to emerge alive until the prisoners were freed. |
| Thousands of inmates were housed in Taji and Abu Ghraib — the prison made famous by the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal during the eight-year American occupation. | Thousands of inmates were housed in Taji and Abu Ghraib — the prison made famous by the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal during the eight-year American occupation. |
| A growing number of Iraq’s Sunnis have been alienated by the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Maliki and what they view as his sectarian agenda to disenfranchise them and strengthen ties with Shiite-led Iran. Their resentments have fed the growing strength of Al Qaeda in Iraq and its Sunni jihadist affiliates, a development that has increasingly worried American officials. | A growing number of Iraq’s Sunnis have been alienated by the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Maliki and what they view as his sectarian agenda to disenfranchise them and strengthen ties with Shiite-led Iran. Their resentments have fed the growing strength of Al Qaeda in Iraq and its Sunni jihadist affiliates, a development that has increasingly worried American officials. |
| Al Qaeda’s Iraqi branch has also been sending fighters to join the insurgency in neighboring Syria, where rebels drawn mostly from that country’s Sunni majority have been fighting the government of President Bashar al-Assad, whose minority Alawite sect is a Shiite offshoot that gets heavy support from Iran and from Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite organization. | Al Qaeda’s Iraqi branch has also been sending fighters to join the insurgency in neighboring Syria, where rebels drawn mostly from that country’s Sunni majority have been fighting the government of President Bashar al-Assad, whose minority Alawite sect is a Shiite offshoot that gets heavy support from Iran and from Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite organization. |
Rick Gladstone reported from New York, and Duraid Adnan from Baghdad. | Rick Gladstone reported from New York, and Duraid Adnan from Baghdad. |