BAGHDAD — Al Qaida has rallied with an offensive targeting the new Sunni-dominated auxiliary
police in Iraq.
At least 14 people were killed in an Al Qaida suicide strike on Monday
that targeted the Al Sahwa auxiliary police. Al Sahwa, or Awakening,
has deployed thousands of Sunnis to identify and help capture Al Qaida
operatives in the Baghdad area.
The Al Qaida attack killed Col. Riyad Al Samaraee, commander of Al Sahwa
in Baghdad, Middle East Newsline reported. Al Samaraee, 57, was said to have been a leading commander in
the counter-insurgency effort against Al Qaida and helped recruit thousands
of Sunnis, particularly tribesmen.
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An Al Qaida suicide bomber detonated his explosive belt in a building
that housed the office of the Muslim Sunni Waqf. The bomber was said to have
embraced Al Samaraee before the explosion.
In November 2007, officials said, Samaraee led an anti-Al Qaida campaign
in Baghdad's Al Azamiya district. They said scores of Al Qaida operatives
were killed or captured, including insurgency commanders.
Al Sahwa contains about 70,000 members, trained and paid in cooperation
with the U.S. military. Many of the officers, organized into 300 units, were
expected to be recruited into the Iraqi police.
