Terrorists target security forces in western Iraq

By Mohammed al-Qaisi in Hit
For Al-Shorfa.com
2010-01-07

[ALI AL-SAADI/AFP/Getty Images] Iraqi anti-terrorist officers were the target of the latest terrorist attack.

At least eight Iraqis were killed and 11 were wounded in Hit on Thursday (January 7th) after five terrorist attacks targeted the houses of local police officers, the commander of the city's anti-terrorism unit, and the deputy chief of police.

Maj. Rahim Zebn, official Anbar police spokesperson, told Mawtani.com that al-Qaeda-linked gunmen planted bombs and gas cylinders around several houses belonging to police officers in central Hit (180 km west of Baghdad) and blew them up, killing and wounding a number of victims, mostly women and children.

"A number of gunmen stormed the house of the commander of the anti-terrorism unit, Lt. Col. Waleed Mohammed Salman al-Hiti, planted bombs near his bedroom window, and blew them up.

The bombing killed his two sisters, his 4-year old son, and his mother," Zebn said. Al-Hiti sustained serious head injuries as a result of the bombing. In addition, two policemen stationed in the guard cabin near his house were also wounded. According to Zebn, "The gunmen apparently exploited the bitter cold weather while the policemen were sleeping."

Zebn added that the police opened an investigation into the conduct of the two policemen and accused them of negligence. Three minutes after the first explosion, another explosion took place, targeting the house of the father of the anti-terrorism unit commander and wounding three of his family members, who were transferred to Hit Public Hospital.

According to Zebn, homemade bombs were used in the second explosion.

Fifteen minutes later, a powerful explosion rocked the house of lawyer Qais Hammoudi al-Hiti, who was hired a few weeks ago to file legal actions against al-Qaeda members recently arrested by US and Iraqi forces. They were charged with killing Iraqis and causing moral and material damage while al-Qaeda controlled the city.

The explosion killed the lawyer, seriously wounded his wife, and damaged a major part of his house.

Zebn added, "A fourth explosion took place just minutes after the third explosion. This one targeting an anti-terrorism unit officer named Madeen Yassin Hardan. The officer, his wife, and one of his children were wounded and transferred to the hospital as well."

Meanwhile, Capt. Dhiya Ahmed al-Hiti, of al-Jamia neighborhood police in central Hit, said that a landmine targeted the deputy police chief while he was on his way to the scene of explosions, lightly wounding him and three of his escorts.

In the wake of these bombings, a state of maximum alert was declared. The measures include a curfew and ban on the entry or exit of citizens for fear of further acts of violence targeting the city.

"Al-Qaeda is responsible for these terrorist attacks," Mohammed al-Raoui, commander of Western Regional Operations in Anbar, told Mawtani. "I think that the killing of a four-year-old child or an old woman is not heroism or jihad; rather, it is terrorism. Therefore, we promise to arrest the perpetrators of this attack in few days time."

Al-Raoui said that after the imposition of the curfew, "the city was sealed off and the terrorists are besieged inside it. We are preparing to conduct raids and searches with the help of city residents to arrest those criminals."

Al-Raoui revealed that police forces managed on Thursday to thwart an attempt to bomb a house owned by a judge in Anbar's High Criminal Court. A number of bombs were discovered and defused before they exploded. However, al-Raoui did not give more details about the name of the judge or the whereabouts of his house in Hit.

Just a few hours after the explosions, dozens of citizens gathered at the gate of Hit Public Hospital to donate blood.

"Dozens of citizens flocked spontaneously to the hospital to donate blood to the victims an hour after the explosion. They see their blood donation as some sort of reaction and rejection of al-Qaeda's acts," Dr. Hani Abdullah of Hit Public Hospital said.

Ibrahim Saeed, 33, said, "I want to donate blood. This is the best reaction to the criminals who were unable to confront the security forces in the streets and opted to target their families and women. It is a cowardly act."

"Day after day, al-Qaeda is proving that it is only a bunch of killers whose hearts are devoid of mercy. Today, in our view and the Iraq society's view, they have fallen," said Iman Ali, one of the blood donors.

Kareema Saadi, wife of one of the injured, said, "A bunch of mentally deranged people committed that crime. They have to be confined to a prison or a mental health facility. Even animals do not target women and children. They have robbed our city of its calm, killed some people, and then ran away like cowards."

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