Al-Qaida strikes again by Claudia Sonea

Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, , head of the Anbar Awakening Council, who organized 25 Sunni Arab clans into an alliance against al-Qaida in Iraq, died in a bomb explosion near his home, just west of Ramadi as he returned from his farm, according to police Col. Tareq Youssef. Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf stated that there was also a second bomb in order to be sure if the first one fails. This comes after in June four anti-al-Qaida sheiks as they met in a Baghdad hotel were killed by a suicide bomb. Despite the fact that no one claimed responsibility for the terrible act it is generally thought to be al-Qaida's work, mostly because they already killed four of Abu Risha's brothers and six other relatives for colluding with the U.S. military. The work started by him and the allied sheiks brought a major improvement in security in such Anbar flashpoints as Fallujah and Ramadi after years of failures from the Americans. Abu Risha's brother, Ahmed, was selected to replace him as head of the council, so the terrorist won't win and the fight against them can continue, according to Sheik Jubeir Rashid, a senior member of Abu Risha's council, and Ali Hatem al-Sulaiman, deputy chief of the province's biggest Sunni tribe, supports him. Even Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite who had been reluctant to support Abu Risha, said it's a terrible lost and Gen. David Petraeus in his report to the Congress praises the work of Abu Risha and his successes. Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino stated that Abu was one of the first interested in helping them to eradicate terrorism and thanks to him the situation is now easier for the US military. Moreover, a fatal attack on the headquarters garrison of the American military in Iraq carried out this week killing one person and wounding another 11, makes stronger the fears of Ramadi that now the black days of the terrorist will come again. Until further notice, stay connected.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070913/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq;_ylt=ArgbWI_cYxmntpgVf.Jf.ZCs0NUE

by Claudia Sonea for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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