Purported al-Qaida Video Outlines Attack
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Dozens of al-Qaida in Iraq fighters who attacked Iraq's notorious Abu Ghraib prison in April planned to knock a hole in the prison wall and topple guard towers with a series of car bombs to free detainees and hit U.S. forces, according to a purported al-Qaida video. (To watch video, click HERE )
The April 2 attack on the prison, west of Baghdad, left one attacker dead and more than 40 U.S. soldiers and 13 prisoners wounded. Dozens of militants failed to break in after attacking the facility with rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and car bombs.
The eight-minute video, signed by the spokesman of al-Qaida in Iraq and posted on an Islamic militant Web forum Tuesday, shows a satellite photo of the facility, with U.S. troop positions and "interrogation booths" marked in English, as a voice-over outlines the plans of the attack.
A ticker along the bottom of the well-produced video streamed photos of abuse of detainees by U.S. soldiers at the facility, including a famed image of a naked prisoner being dragged on a leash by a female guard. The images of abuse and sexual humiliation at the prison have sparked outrage among Iraqis and across the Arab world since they first emerged in early 2004.
Later in the video, militants are seen firing rockets, and Abu Ghraib is filmed from what appears to be a field some distance away. A large mushroom cloud - the kind raised by vehicle bombs - is seen, as are several plumes of smoke.
Voices resembling those of al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden - apparently old speeches from previous statements - play in the background over some of the images. The identity of the voices could not immediately be confirmed.
"This is Abu Ghraib prison, let it speak," says the voice purportedly belonging to al-Zarqawi.
"Defense of the Muslim land begins with fighting on the starting line in Iraq," says the purported voice of bin Laden.
The video's authenticity could not be verified. Al-Qaida in Iraq and other militant groups often put out videos of their attacks as propaganda aimed at drumming up support and encouraging Iraqis and other Arabs to join the insurgency against U.S. and Iraqi forces. Such videos often have old speeches by bin Laden or al-Zarqawi as a soundtrack to inspire followers.
A statement with the Web posting said the video was part of a "full set," still to be released, showing attacks by the "Brigade of Aisha, Mother of the Faithful," a previous unknown cell of al-Qaida in Iraq fighters.
The voiceover explaining the plans for the attack says it had two aims: "First is to release our brothers from this prison. The second is raise the morale of the mujahedeen across Iraq if God lets us succeed in this operation."
The plan for the attack involved more than 50 fighters assaulting the prison from four sides, he explains. From the south side, fighters were to knock a hole in the wall and "knock down towers" with a truck bomb, then drive an explosives-filled tractor through the hole.
From two other sides, militants would engage the security forces as a distraction. Then, on the northwest side, attackers would break open the wall again with a vehicle bomb, then send two more car bombs through the hole "into the American forces to destroy their headquarters."
The signal to launch the attack was to be a barrage of rockets on Abu Ghraib.
U.S. authorities have not given exact details about what happened in the April 2 attack, so it was not known how closely the attackers stuck to the plan outlined in the video.
But the plan was typical of well-coordinated assaults al-Qaida has carried out in the past. Several times it has used the technique of breaking through a security wall with one suicide bomber, then driving a second through the hole to attempt to hit the target inside.
The video shows men, said to be the suicide attackers who drove the suicide vehicle bombs, reading the Quran together in a room before the operation.
The April 2 attack on the prison, west of Baghdad, left one attacker dead and more than 40 U.S. soldiers and 13 prisoners wounded. Dozens of militants failed to break in after attacking the facility with rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and car bombs.
The eight-minute video, signed by the spokesman of al-Qaida in Iraq and posted on an Islamic militant Web forum Tuesday, shows a satellite photo of the facility, with U.S. troop positions and "interrogation booths" marked in English, as a voice-over outlines the plans of the attack.
A ticker along the bottom of the well-produced video streamed photos of abuse of detainees by U.S. soldiers at the facility, including a famed image of a naked prisoner being dragged on a leash by a female guard. The images of abuse and sexual humiliation at the prison have sparked outrage among Iraqis and across the Arab world since they first emerged in early 2004.
Later in the video, militants are seen firing rockets, and Abu Ghraib is filmed from what appears to be a field some distance away. A large mushroom cloud - the kind raised by vehicle bombs - is seen, as are several plumes of smoke.
Voices resembling those of al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden - apparently old speeches from previous statements - play in the background over some of the images. The identity of the voices could not immediately be confirmed.
"This is Abu Ghraib prison, let it speak," says the voice purportedly belonging to al-Zarqawi.
"Defense of the Muslim land begins with fighting on the starting line in Iraq," says the purported voice of bin Laden.
The video's authenticity could not be verified. Al-Qaida in Iraq and other militant groups often put out videos of their attacks as propaganda aimed at drumming up support and encouraging Iraqis and other Arabs to join the insurgency against U.S. and Iraqi forces. Such videos often have old speeches by bin Laden or al-Zarqawi as a soundtrack to inspire followers.
A statement with the Web posting said the video was part of a "full set," still to be released, showing attacks by the "Brigade of Aisha, Mother of the Faithful," a previous unknown cell of al-Qaida in Iraq fighters.
The voiceover explaining the plans for the attack says it had two aims: "First is to release our brothers from this prison. The second is raise the morale of the mujahedeen across Iraq if God lets us succeed in this operation."
The plan for the attack involved more than 50 fighters assaulting the prison from four sides, he explains. From the south side, fighters were to knock a hole in the wall and "knock down towers" with a truck bomb, then drive an explosives-filled tractor through the hole.
From two other sides, militants would engage the security forces as a distraction. Then, on the northwest side, attackers would break open the wall again with a vehicle bomb, then send two more car bombs through the hole "into the American forces to destroy their headquarters."
The signal to launch the attack was to be a barrage of rockets on Abu Ghraib.
U.S. authorities have not given exact details about what happened in the April 2 attack, so it was not known how closely the attackers stuck to the plan outlined in the video.
But the plan was typical of well-coordinated assaults al-Qaida has carried out in the past. Several times it has used the technique of breaking through a security wall with one suicide bomber, then driving a second through the hole to attempt to hit the target inside.
The video shows men, said to be the suicide attackers who drove the suicide vehicle bombs, reading the Quran together in a room before the operation.
posted by Marko at 12/16/2005 09:48:00 AM
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