Al Qaida used Sunni women for a series of suicide bombings in 2007. The
attacks by women were interrupted by U.S. and Iraqi operations in the
northern province of Diyala in early 2008, which dismantled at least one
major Al Qaida cell that recruited suicide bombers.
On Tuesday, an Iraqi commander said Iraqi and U.S. troops launched a
major operation meant to destroy the Al Qaida leadership in Diyala. Iraq
Army Gen. Ali Ghaidan said the operation was titled "Omens of Prosperity."
"The targets of these vicious and cowardly attacks were innocent Iraqi
men, women, and children who were freely practicing their democratic rights
and religious faith," a statement by U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker and U.S.
military commander Gen. David Petraeus said. "It is crucial that the Iraqi
people remain united and steadfast in the face of those terrorists who would
use violence to destroy a free Iraq and set back the progress for which so
many have so bravely sacrificed."
Officials said the Al Qaida network has resumed the recruitment and
training of women suicide bombers. They said the bombings were meant to
signal a
resumption of Al Qaida mass-casualty attacks in Baghdad and other major
Iraqi cities.
An Al Qaida car bomb, meant to be detonated after the female suicide
attack, was foiled by Iraqi police in Kirkuk. Police did not provide details
of the car bomb.
Officials said Al Qaida targeted women for recruitment because of their
ability to gain access to civilian and military areas. They said women,
despite government orders, have usually avoided searches at military and
police
checkpoints.
The Interior Ministry has employed and trained 200 women officers to
search visitors to the Shi'ite pilgrimage near Kazimiyah. In 2005, at least
1,000 pilgrims died in a bridge stampede sparked by an Al Qaida suicide
bombing in Kazimiyah.
Meanwhile, Iraqi and U.S. forces have been raiding suspected Al Qaida
strongholds in the Nineveh province. On July 28, the U.S. military reported
the detention of nearly 60 Al Qaida suspects and the death of four Iraqi
soldiers.
"Four Iraqi army soldiers were killed, and six Iraqi soldiers and one
coalition force soldier were wounded during the operation," the military
said.