U.S. Says Three al-Qaida Caught in Iraq

[CatWoman]

MOSUL, Iraq - American forces have captured three members of Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s terrorist network in northern Iraq (news - web sites), a U.S. military commander told The Associated Press on Sunday. If confirmed, it would be the first disclosed detention of al-Qaida militants in Iraq.

About 10 members of Ansar al-Islam — an Islamic group U.S. officials believe has al-Qaida links in northern Iraq — also have been arrested by U.S. troops in the past seven months, said Col. Joe Anderson, commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division.

Asked if troops had captured members of al-Qaida, Anderson — whose brigade controls Mosul — replied: "Three, two weeks ago."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=2&u=/ap/20031130/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_us_commander_interview_3

[Terwilliger]

1. hmmmmm

seems dicey

[asjr]

2. AQ

Yes, and I caught Jack the Ripper in the 19th century.

[loudnclear]

3. Caught but not in Saddam's Tikrit....they were always in N. Iraq

which is controlled or was controlled by US allies, the Kurds who are or were Saddam's enemies. This story is no help for Bush lies to get us into the war.

[janx]

4. And they weren't al-Qaeda. Note how the article twists

the facts.

[MrPrax]

6. Good to see someone else remembers...

this stuff...yeah there seems to be concensus that the only Al-Queda activity in Iraq was the Ansar al-Islam

Taliban-style group grows in Iraq

By Catherine Taylor | Special to The Christian Science Monitor
HALABJA, NORTHERN IRAQ – A radical Islamist group – with possible links to Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein – is growing and threatening the stability of the Kurdish region in northern Iraq.

The group – Ansar al-Islam – emerged just days before the Sept. 11 attacks on the US. It delivered a fatwa, or manifesto, to the citizens in mountain villages against "the blasphemous secularist, political, social, and cultural" society there, according to Kurdish party leaders.
more
at: http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0315/p01s04-wome.html
or
The rise and fall of Ansar al-Islam
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1016/p12s01-woiq.html

The real story of course is that since this taliban linked group has been well known, why didn't the US and Britain take them out when they ruled the 'no-fly' zone in Northern Iraq and why bother with building a phoney case against Saddam, when this guys were operating with impunity?

[Cush]

5. nice timing

this comes, what, the day after they said they haven't found a single Al Qeada member in IRaq?

[Media_Lies_Daily]

7. So, how long did the torture last until they "confessed"?

[devinsgram]

8. Wow, who would have guessed they'd be there.

[AliceWonderland]

9. Wow

Does this mean that someone finally figured out, on a rational and evidentiary basis, what exactly "Al-Qa'eda" is?

[GAspnes]

10. taken out of context

The Bush administration has asserted that bin Laden's terrorist network maintained links with the government of deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

So, if we capture Al-Qaida militants in the U.S., that proves that * is conspiring with them?

[54anickel]

11. Ahhh, ya, right.

Ansar al-Islam — an Islamic group U.S. officials believe has al-Qaida links

So we should believe they have links to Al-Qaida?
Like we should believe in Saddam has WMD, chemcial weapons, ties to al-Qaida, etc.


Why should we believe ANYTHING that comes out of this misadministation

[NickB79]

12. But when did they enter Iraq?

That's the key question: were they there before or after Saddam's regime fell? I think the Bush administration would rather we not ask that particular question, since they more than likely came in after Saddam's fall.