Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

From the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI)

Tuesday, 19 Oct 2004

DEFENCE/SECURITY
·         Sunni leader accuses US of killing colleague-Al-Sharqiyah
·         Al-Qa'idah-linked group issues second threat to Skorea - Jihadist web site
·         E-book on Jama'at al-Tawhid wa-al-Jihad, al-Zarqawi posted on web site- Jihadist web site
·         Body of Iraqi translator found- Al-Sharqiyah TV
·         Two brothers gunned down- Al-Sharqiyah
·         Border police arrest two Afghans, one Pakistani- Al-Diyar TV
ELECTIONS
·         Al-Sistani committee formed to prepare candidates for elections- Al-Manar
·         Election rules ban candidacy of senior Ba'thists, soldiers - Al-Mu'tamar
POLITICS
·         Radio warns against close ties with Jordan- Voice of the Mujahidin
·         Radio confirms Al-Sistani refusal to meet US envoy in Al-Najaf- Voice of the Mujahidin
IRAQI PRESS HEADLINES, 18 OCT. 04
·         Al-Zaman [daily, independent, Baghdad edition of London-based Al-Zaman]
·         Al-Bayan [Baghdad, daily newspaper in Arabic published by the Islamic Al-Da'wah Party]
·         Al-Dustur [Baghdad, daily independent newspaper in Arabic]
·         Al-Mada [Baghdad, daily, independent newspaper published by Al-Mada Media, Culture and Arts Corporation] 18 Oct
·         Al-Mu'tamar [Baghdad, daily newspaper in Arabic published by the Iraqi National Congress]
·         Al-Sharq al-Awsat [Baghdad edition of London-based, Saudi-owned daily Al-Sharq al-Awsat]
IRAQI BROADCAST MEDIA SUMMARIES, 18 OCT. 04
·         Al-Diyar Satellite Channel In Arabic, Baghdad
·         Al-Iraqiah Satellite Channel, Baghdad, in Arabic,
·         SCIRI's Voice of the Mujahidin in Arabic,Iran,
·         Dar Al-Salam Radio, Iraqi Islamic Party-affiliated
IRAQI PRESS QUOTES AND COMMENTS, 18 OCT 04
·         Churches Attacks reveal the bankruptcy of the groups behind them- Al-Bayan
·         Iraqi army should not be targeted as equal to the occupation forces- Al-Zaman
KURDS NEWS /UPDATES FROM IRAQI KURDISH PRESS
·         TV journalist killed in Baghdad- KurdSat TV
·         Kurdistan Satellite TV news, 18 Oct 04
·         KurdSat TV news, 18 Oct 04:

DEFENCE/SECURITY

Sunni leader accuses US of killing colleague-Al-Sharqiyah

Al-Sharqiyah TV, 18 Oct 04: Muhsin Abd-al-Hamid, member of the National Assembly and head of the Iraqi Islamic Party, on 18 October accused the US Army of killing one of his party's leaders on the main road on 16 October, Iraqi Al-Sharqiyah TV reported. Abd-al-Hamid told the Assembly that the US Army opened fire on Nabil al-Abdali, a prominent leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party and killed him. He said that other leaders from his party had also been killed by the US army's gunfire. He called on the National Assembly members to demand departure of the US Army from the alleyways and streets saying the US army should be restricted in barracks outside the cities.

Al-Qa'idah-linked group issues second threat to Skorea - Jihadist web site

(Jihadist web site 18 Oct 04): A group calling itself the Kata'ib al-Shahid Hammudi al-Masri [Martyr Hammudi al-Masri Battalions] on 18 October posted a message at the Islamic Dialogue Open Forum [www.openforum/ws/vb] warning South Korea to withdraw its troops from Iraq within seven days or "we will burn Seoul and destroy it completely." The following is an extract from the message: "This is the second warning to the agent South Korean Government bowing to the US Crusaders. You have only seven days and nights left [to withdraw from Iraq], after which we will burn Seoul and destroy it completely. This warning also addresses the South Korean people. If you do not exert pressure on your government to withdraw from the blessed land of the two rivers [Iraq], you will have only yourselves to blame when you see your city destroyed around you."
The first undated threat to the South Korean Government from this group, which described itself as the "Al-Qa'idah Organization in South and East Asia, posted on 11 October, stated that its troops and "establishments" would be targeted if it did not withdraw its troops from Iraq within 14 days.

E-book on Jama'at al-Tawhid wa-al-Jihad, al-Zarqawi posted on web site- Jihadist web site

(Jihadist web site 18 Oct 04):: A link to the Islamic Global Media Front on 17 October featured an e-book on the Jama'at al-Tawhid wa-al-Jihad and Abu-Mus'ab al-Zarqawi. A statement about the e-book indicated that the book had been prepared by "Quqaz" of Al-Ansar Forum who wrote: "I have gathered in it [the book] everything that was issued by the group under the leadership of Shaykh Abu-Mus'ab al-Zarqawi, including statements, news, or announcements. I have taken some of the military operations and some of Shaykh Abu-Mus'ab's statements that reflect Salafi ideology and their jihad tactics so that the Muslim nation is aware that there are men in this age who are fighting for religion and the elevation of God's words." The table of contents revealed that, in addition to material on Al-Zarqawi's group, the book contained articles by well-known Islamist writers like Lewis Atiyatallah, and Shaykh Hamid al-Ali. It also contained Usamah Bin-Ladin's message to the people of Iraq.

Body of Iraqi translator found- Al-Sharqiyah TV

(Al-Sharqiyah, Baghdad, in Arabic, 18 Oct 04): Mosul Police found a headless body of an Iraqi translator working for the Americans, Iraqi Al-Sharqiyah TV reported on 18 October. Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Ali from the Al-Shirqat Police said that the headless body was found at dawn on the Al-Shirqat-Mosul main road.

Two brothers gunned down- Al-Sharqiyah

(Al-Sharqiyah, Baghdad, in Arabic, 18 Oct 04): Two brothers, Amir and Ghanim Hamdun Mulla Alaw, were killed by unknown assailants in Mosul on the evening of 17 October, Iraqi Al-Sharqiyah TV reported the next day. They were killed when the attackers opened fire at them from a "Manifest" car they were driving in the industrial area in Mosul. The TV reported that the two brothers were members of one of the well-known families in the city. Amir was a commander from the first batch in the military academy, then he assumed the post of commander of Mosul infantry training centre and commander of non-commissioned officers, while his brother Ghanim was a contractor.

Border police arrest two Afghans, one Pakistani- Al-Diyar TV

(Al-Diyar TV, Baghdad, in Arabic, 17 Oct 04): The eastern Iraqi Mandali police units have arrested three foreign infiltrators in the Mandali district, Iraqi Al-Diyar TV reported on 17 October. A police source said that the border police detachments arrested two individuals with Afghan nationality and another with Pakistani nationality as they tried to cross the border between Iraq and Iran near the Hilah police post in the Mandali district. Their weapons were confiscated.

(Al-Manar Television ,18 Oct 04): Hamid al-Khaffaf, official spokesman for Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Beirut has announced the formation of a committee comprising independents to prepare a unified national list of candidates who enjoy the confidence of the religious authority, Lebanese Al-Manar TV reported on 18 October. Hamid al-Khaffaf said that the authority also called for adopting a mechanism to ensure the participation of Iraqis living abroad in the elections. He said the committee had already begun its work.

(Al-Mu'tamar, Baghdad, in Arabic 17 Oct 04): The Iraqi High Commission for Elections published new rules governing the eligibility of political groups or individuals and the mechanism for nominating candidates in the elections, Iraqi National Congress (INC) weekly newspaper Al-Mu'tamar reported on 17 October. According to the guidelines, the paper said, political entities were discouraged from adopting military or religious slogans. Candidates standing in the elections should hold Iraqi nationality, be more than 30 years old, and not a member of the dissolved Ba'th Party with the rank of a party group member or higher. Members of the Ba'th Party of a lower rank would be required to sign a document renouncing their membership in order to participate in the elections. The candidate should also not be a member of the former security agencies, should not have taken part in the persecution of fellow citizens, should not have illegally amassed wealth, should not be convicted for any honour-related crime, and should not be a member of the Armed Forces. Finally, the candidate should hold at least a high school diploma, the paper reported.

(Voice of the Mujahidin, 18 Oct 04): The radio said that the interim government's warm relationship with Jordan should not be encouraged as Amman "was a strategic ally of the tyrant Saddam" and is suspected to have links with Israel. "The new government should at least have refrained from resuming the same strategic relations," the radio said, adding that through Jordan, "Mosad agents spread into neighbouring Arab countries." The radio said that already the Saddam regime is directing accusations against Iran, "which the tyrant Saddam regime had always fought". It concluded that government should not allow itself to be forced "to do the bidding of the United States and the Zionist entity".

(Voice of the Mujahidin, 18 Oct 04): Shaykh Adil Rubay'i, spokesman for Ayatollah Shaykh Ishaq al-Fayyad, confirmed that Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and other Shi'i authorities refused to receive US ambassador John Negroponte during his visit to Al-Najaf on 17th, Voice of Mujahidin reported on 18 October. According to the radio, Rubay'i told Al-Hayat newspaper that Al-Sistani has refused to meet any US figure or any figure from the US allied forces. The radio said Negroponte had requested the meeting but the religious authorities decided to turn him down.

Al-Bayan [Baghdad, daily newspaper in Arabic] 18 Oct: [From editorial] "We believe the recent terrorist attacks (on churches) reveal the bankruptcy of the groups behind them, especially after their desperate attempts have failed to drag the country into civil war and sow division between the different sections of Iraqi people The telling response to such criminal acts of aggression is to track down those who carry them out and bring them to justice. Moreover, efforts should be intensified to contain the negative impact of such attacks and strengthen national cohesion to make our Christian brethren feel that we are all standing together united in one trench against Iraq's enemies and all evildoers who want to strike its national unity."

Al-Zaman [daily, independent, Baghdad edition of London-based Al-Zaman] 18 Oct: [From commentary by Fatih Abd-al-Salam] "Any nascent Iraqi army or formation should not be targeted as an equal to the occupation forces Weakening this army before it can rebuild itself is a blow to the whole country We should not slide into side-battles accusing Iraqi military of treason under the influence of political-religious slogans hiding intelligence agenda from neighbouring states intended to keep Iraq weak The US forces will leave one day, and we are staying here. Therefore, our hands should not be stained with the blood of Iraqis, be they current or former government employees someone is feeding the assassination and liquidation tendency since it is the only way that adopts less means and causes greater harm to the society. It is no secret in whose interest Iraq should remain helpless and marginal, whether or not there are occupation forces on its land."

(KurdSat TV, Al-Sulaymaniyah, in Sorani Kurdish, 16 Oct 04: "Terrorist groups and the remnants of the entombed Ba'thist regime" killed a correspondent for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan's (PUK) Baghdad television station Al-Hurriyah TV, Iraqi PUK satellite TV reported on 16 October. Correspondent Dina Muhammad Hasan was killed while she was going to work at the TV building in Baghdad, the report said, in a "treacherous attempt to stop the progress of Iraqis towards the consolidation democracy, freedom of speech and press". (KurdSat TV, Al-Sulaymaniyah, in Sorani Kurdish 0600 gmt 16 Oct 04)

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