U.S. general blames al-Qaida for bombing

[maddezmom]

Source: Associated Press

U.S. general blames al-Qaida for bombing By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer
41 minutes ago



BAGHDAD - A U.S. commander said Thursday that revenge-seeking police apparently were behind retribution killings in northwestern Iraq, but he blamed al-Qaida for starting the carnage with a bombing in its bid to foil a security sweep in Baghdad by stoking sectarian violence elsewhere.

Police said meanwhile three car bombs have killed at least 25 people in Khalis, a Shiite town north of Baghdad.

Gen. David Petraeus also said the surge in attacks in Tal Afar and other cities was posing a challenge to bringing long-term stability to Iraq, but he expressed confidence in the U.S.-Iraqi crackdown on violence, now in its seventh week.

He said al-Qaida fighters had failed to incite sectarian violence despite increased attacks in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, Anbar to the west, and the northern cities of Kirkuk and Mosul.

~snip~

His comments were the first military confirmation that Shiite-dominated police forces were among the militants who went on a shooting rampage against Sunnis Wednesday in the religiously mixed Turkomen city, 260 miles northwest of Baghdad. Iraqi officials said as many as 70 men were killed execution-style.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070329/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_petraeus

[sabra]

1. when all else fails blame al-Qaida...

[maddezmom]

2. and then with the Shiite led gov't let go of the police that went a killilng spree

:eyes:

[sabra]

3. don't worry Petraeus still is expressing confidence - which is good enough

for McCain and Bush :eyes:

[no_hypocrisy]

4. At least, he didn't blame Iran which is what I was expecting.