http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/US-captures-carbombing-ring-in-Iraq/2007
/03/27/1174761444748.html

US captures car-bombing ring in Iraq
March 27, 2007 - 2:14PM

The US military has captured the leaders of a car-bombing ring blamed for
killing hundreds of Iraqis.

The news came as the departing US ambassador said Americans are in ongoing
talks with insurgent representatives to try to persuade them to turn against
al-Qaeda.

The US command said one of the car-bombers, Haitham al-Shimari, was
suspected in the "planning and execution of the majority of car bombs which
have killed hundreds of Iraqi citizens in Sadr City," a Shi'ite enclave of
Baghdad.

Another, identified as Haidar al-Jafar, was second-in-command of a cell that
killed some 900 "innocent" Iraqis and wounded almost 2,000, the military
said. Three other men believed connected to that cell also were in custody.

The suspected bombers were rounded up last week by American forces during
continuing security sweeps in Azamiyah, the Sunni stronghold in northern
Baghdad, the military statement said.

In a farewell news conference, outgoing US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said
American Embassy and Iraqi officials had talked to people representing
insurgent groups.

But he ruled out contact with al-Qaeda in Iraq, which has been blamed for
many suicide bombings.

"We have had discussions with those groups," Khalilzad said.

"They are continuing to take place and I think one of the challenges is how
to separate more and more groups away from al-Qaeda."

US officials have been working for years to encourage dialogue with Iraqi
groups - including major Sunni insurgent groups, except al-Qaeda.

Khalilzad has said previously that US officials have met with people linked
to the Sunni insurgency, and the new top US general in Iraq, General David
Petraeus, said this month that dialogue was necessary because force alone
cannot halt the violence.

But Khalilzad said the talks have shifted from "unreasonable demands" by the
groups for a US withdrawal to forming an alliance against al-Qaeda.
He said the effort has gained support among tribal leaders and even some
insurgents.

"Iraqis are uniting against al-Qaeda," he said.

"Coalition commanders have been able to engage some insurgents to explore
ways to collaborate in fighting the terrorists. These insurgents are also in
touch with the government seeking reconciliation and cooperation in the
fight against the al-Qaeda terrorists and joining the government in a
reconciliation program."

The Afghan-born diplomat, who has been nominated by US President George W
Bush to be ambassador to the United Nations, said the US hopes to build on
that momentum.

"We have talked to groups who have not participated in the political
process, who have ties with some of the insurgent groups who are
reconcilable insurgents," he said.

"The terrorists are irreconcilable. There cannot be reconciliation with
al-Qaeda. They have to be brought to justice, but there are groups that
resisted the democratic change, the change in Iraq."

The ambassador said he was cautiously optimistic about efforts to bring
stability to Iraq.

"In my view, though difficult challenges lie ahead and there is a long way
to go, Iraq is fundamentally headed in the right direction and success is
possible," he said, pointing to a nearly 25 per cent reduction in violence
during a six-week-old security crackdown in Baghdad as well as economic
progress.

He acknowledged, however, that he was leaving his post with a litany of
unfinished business, including an oil law that is waiting for parliamentary
approval, and he called on Iraqi leaders to make progress on legislative and
political measures to bring disaffected Sunnis into the political fold.

"Iraqis must not lose this opportunity, and they must step up and take the
tough decisions necessary for success," Khalilzad said.

His comments came as debate heated up in the United States over a Democratic
push for a bill that would set a 2008 date for the withdrawal of American
forces.

The House or Representatives narrowly passed a bill on Friday that would pay
for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan this year, but would require that combat
troops come home from Iraq before September 2008 - or earlier if the Iraqi
government did not meet certain requirements. Bush has made clear he will
veto any such legislation.

The ambassador - who will be replaced by the US ambassador to Pakistan Ryan
Crocker - said Iraqi leaders should take it as a warning.

"I know that we are an impatient people, and I constantly signal to the
Iraqi leaders that our patience, or the patience of the American people, is
running out," he said.

Khalilzad's remarks coincided with the eruption of sectarian violence in
Sunni-Shi'ite towns south of the capital.

Two explosions likely caused by rockets struck the heavily fortified Green
Zone hours after his speech, slightly wounding three people, US Embassy
spokesman Lou Fintor said.

Authorities in Iskandariyah imposed a curfew after two people were killed
and two wounded in sectarian clashes sparked by an attack by suspected
Shi'ite militants on a Sunni mosque, police said.

Iraqi and US forces sealed off the area around the mosque, but clashes
erupted elsewhere in the town.

A bomb also went off near a Sunni mosque in Mahaweel, damaging the building
but causing no casualties, police said.

At least 35 people were killed or found dead in 24 hours in Iraq, including
two civilians in a suicide car bombing against an Iraqi checkpoint in
central Baghdad, and 15 bullet-riddled bodies in Baghdad.




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