Reports: Al Qaeda Establishes Emirate In Mosul
Ninewa, Aug 25, (VOI) – Fears have grown over the establishment of an alleged Islamic emirate in Mosul after armed groups distributed leaflets to local citizens announcing the formation of Al Qaeda Islamic rule in the mainly Sunni city.
Hamid Qasim, a shopkeeper from Mosul’s neighborhood of al-Dawwasa, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) that armed groups had threatened to attack police forces in the city and ordered local residents to stay home. “The street leading to the municipal council building and downtown al-Dawwasa street have been blocked for more than a month,” Qasim indicated. “The city has become a scene of daily assassinations, in addition to blasts and mortar shelling targeting innocent civilians,” Qasim added.
Rafat Najm, a local resident, said armed groups have taken control of the city and described officials’ statements about the allegedly safe security situation in Mosul as false. “Armed groups are killing people without a deterrent. If a member of these groups is arrested, he is usually released within a few days. How come they (local authorities) ask us to cooperate with the security apparatus while the police are infiltrated by these groups?” Najm wondered.
Mahmoud from al-Mosul al-Jadida said that these groups have their own religion courts, where they impose Sharia punishments on people. Mahmoud said that members of these groups arrested a young man a few days ago and whipped him up to 80 times in public for allegedly harassing a girl in the city’s popular market.
Meanwhile, Ninewa’s Governor Darid Kashmoula warned Al Qaeda that local police will strike with an iron fist against any attempt to resume terrorist activity in Mosul. “We are not terrified of their statements about the establishment of an Islamic emirate in Mosul. The Iraqi people categorically reject this and want to restore stability and security to the city,” Kashmoula explained.
Major General Wathiq al-Hamadani, the police chief in Ninewa, described armed groups’ threats to turn Mosul into an Islamic emirate as an indication of the failure and “bankruptcy” of armed groups.
Hajim Sulaiman, a professor of sociology in Mosul University, accused armed groups of attempting to provoke sectarian conflict between the city’s religious communities. Mosul is inhabited by a large number of Christians, Assyrians, Armenians and Kurds. “How could there be an Islamic emirate where different religious communities live?” Sulaiman wondered.
Mosul, the capital city of Ninewa province, is located 405 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
Stick together you guys, you can kick the nut-jobs out.
August 26th, 2007 at 4:30 amKurds will never submit to AQI. Hell, they wouldn’t even submit to Saddam. Won’t be long before the Kurds run these punks out of town on a rail….
August 26th, 2007 at 8:12 amWhat’s the matter with the MSM? No reporters in Mosul?
August 26th, 2007 at 8:44 am