Iraq tribes vow to avenge murder al-Jazeera Friday 14 Sept 2007
Sunni Arab tribes in Anbar, the western Iraqi province, have vowed to avenge
the killing of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, their leader.
He died in a roadside-bomb attack near his home in Ramadi, the provincial
capital, on Thursday.
Abdul Sattar Abu Risha was leader of the Anbar Salvation Council, an alliance
of clans that supported the Iraqi government and US forces in fighting al-Qaeda
in the province.
An al Qaeda-led group said on Friday it carried out the killing of Abu Risha,
according to a posting on a web site.
The Islamic State in Iraq said the killing of Abu Risha was a "heroic
operation", but the authenticity of the statement could not be verified.
"Allah enabled your brothers ... to track down and assassinate the imam of
infidelity and apostasy ... one of the dogs of Bush," said the statement.
Abu Risha, at right, was praised by Bush during
his recent visit to the province of Anbar [AFP]
Funeral crowd
Thousands of people gathered in Ramadi on Friday to attend Abu Risha's funeral.
"We blame al-Qaeda and we are going to continue our fight and avenge his
death," Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha, brother of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, said on
Friday.
Ahmed Abu Risha was elected the new leader of the Anbar Salvation Conference
just hours after his brother's killing.
Pallbearers carried Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's body from Ramadi to the cemetery
10km outside the city, while the funeral procession shouted "revenge, revenge
on al-Qaeda."
Others mourners chanted "there is no God but Allah and al-Qaeda is the enemy of
Allah" and "Abdul Sattar is the pride of Ramadi".
Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, was represented by Muwaffaq
al-Rubaie, his national security adviser, who condemned the killing.
"It is a national Iraqi disaster. What Abu Risha did for Iraq, no single man
has done in the country's history," al-Rubaie told the mourners gathered in the
sheikh's house.
"We will support Anbar much more than before. Abu Risha is a national hero."
Prominent figure
"This is a man who has had a controversial past, but in recent months he has
become a very prominent figure, even meeting George Bush [the US president],"
Al Jazeera's James Bays said.
Abdul Sattar Abu Risha had urged the tribal leaders in other Iraqi provinces to
follow Anbar's lead in co-operating with the central government against
al-Qaeda.
"He was returning home when his convoy was hit by a roadside bomb planted by
insurgents," Colonel Tareq al-Dulaimi, Anbar security chief, said.
"His car was hit directly."
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Sheikh Jubeir Rashid, a senior member of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's group, told
the Associated Press: "It is a major blow to the council, but we are determined
to strike back and continue our work.
"Such an attack was expected, but it will not deter us."
Two of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's bodyguards were also killed by the roadside
bomb, Colonel Tareq Youssef, supervisor of Anbar police, said.
Police announced a state of emergency in Ramadi after the bombing and set up
additional checkpoints throughout the city, Rashid said.
Anbar success
General David Petraeus, the senior US commander in Iraq, repeatedly pointed to
successes in tackling a-Qaeda in Anbar during his testimony before the US
congress.
Omar Abdul Sattar from the Islamic Party of Iraq told Al Jazeera that Abdul
Sattar Abu Rishar had become a national symbol of the "national war against
al-Qaeda".
"His programme now against al-Qaeda has become a national programme. Diyala
province, Salahuddin province, Baghdad province are following now his
programme," he said.
The White House condemned Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's "assassination".
"His death also reminds us that the struggle will require continued
perseverance, and the Iraqis are increasingly turning away from al-Qaeda, as a
result of such extreme acts of violence," Kate Starr, White House national
security council spokeswoman, said.
Bush mentioned the killing in a speech on Thursday in which he announced that
he may pull some 30,000 US troops out of Iraq by mid-2008 effectively ending
the so-called surge.
Possible fallout
Hoda Abdel Hamid, Al Jazeera's Iraq correspondent, said Abdul Sattar Abu
Risha's death could derail some of the US successes.
"Anbar province was really the capital of al-Qaeda in Iraq ... he managed to
convince the tribes to give up their young people to make up the police and
armed forces in the province," she said.
Within hours of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's death, some Islamist websites posted
messages praising his killing, the Associated Press news agency reported.
One called him "one of the biggest pigs of the Crusaders", while another said
he would spend Ramadan "in the pits of hell".
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