BAGHDAD — Al Qaida has infiltrated the Iraqi
Defense Ministry, Iraqi military officials announced.
Officials said Al Qaida has coopted several key members of the Defense
Ministry, responsible for the military. They said the members were ordered
to help Al Qaida operatives obtain jobs at critical facilities, including
the Green Zone in Baghdad.
[The Al Qaida plot was reported as the bodies of 115 men shot to death
were found in Baghdad this week, Middle East Newsline reported. Twenty-five of the bodies were reported to
have been found on Thursday.]
"We have uncovered in an investigation an Al Qaida terrorist plot to
capture the Green Zone, where the British and U.S. embassies are located,"
Maj. Gen. Abdul Aziz Mohammed, operations chief of the Iraq Army, said.
Several key Defense Ministry representatives have been arrested,
officials said. They said at least a dozen ministry employees were involved
in helping Al Qaida.
Officials said Al Qaida planned to install nearly 500 operatives as
soldiers deployed at checkpoints in key areas around Baghdad. They said the
operatives would then launch an attack on the Green Zone, which
contains the seat of the central Iraqi government.
Al Qaida has sought to infiltrate the Iraqi military and police since
they were established months after the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime in
2003, officials said. They said Al Qaida infiltration of the police has been
significant, particularly in the Sunni Triangle.
"The Iraqi people themselves are standing at a crossroads," said Gen.
Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who raised the prospect
of a civil war in Iraq. "And they are making critical decisions for their
country right now about which road they'll take."
Officials said they expect Al Qaida to target the Shi'ite pilgrimage of
Arbaeen, which ends on March 20. The pilgrims have been heading to Shi'ite
mosques in Karbala and Najaf.
In an effort to confront rising sectarian violence, U.S. Central Command
has deployed a battalion task force from the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored
Division in Baghdad. The unit, assigned to operate with the Iraq Army, had
been on call in neighboring Kuwait.
"I have discussed this with the Iraqi prime minister, and we found it
prudent to provide this additional support," Gen. George Casey, commander of
the U.S.-led coalition, said. "This short-term deployment will make a
long-term contribution to Iraq's security and political progress. The
troops from the call forward force are trained, ready and available for such
a mission."
