Al-Qaeda in Iraq murder 25, hoist their battle flag in victory

A common tactic when fighting; you take the enemies position, lower his flag and raise your own.  In this case, the flag raised is of our sworn enemy, in a country we believed we had saved from a murderous thug (which we placed there to begin with.)

Nothing says thanks for the memories than the flag of our foe flying high in a country we declared peace in before we left.


From FOXNews March 5

Al Qaeda flag hoisted after 25 police killed in Iraq shooting spree

BAGHDAD –  A gang of gunmen disguised in military-style uniforms and carrying forged arrest warrants killed 25 police Monday, then hoisted the battle flag of Al Qaeda in a carefully planned early morning shooting spree in western Iraq, officials said.

The killings in Haditha highlight Al Qaeda's success in regaining a foothold in an area they once dominated through police executions and murdering city officials.

By going after police, the militants demonstrate to the residents of Haditha, a desert city closer to the Syrian border than to Baghdad, how isolated they are from the central government's protection and intimidate those who want to join the security forces.

The city's proximity to the border, just 65 miles away, means it is vital territory to Al Qaeda if they want to ramp up operations in Syria to help overthrow the government of President Bashar Assad. Already, Sunni militants who revile Assad because he's a member of an offshoot religion of Shiism are crossing from Iraq into Syria.

The killings carried out by Al Qaeda Monday morning demonstrated a high degree of coordination, knowledge of their targets and a boldness that indicated little fear of the local security forces ability to fight back.

The violence began with an attack on a suburban checkpoint around 2 a.m. in Haditha and ended with the gang disappearing into the desert a half hour later.

"We consider this attack as a serious security breach and we believe that Al Qaeda or groups linked to it are behind this," said Mohammed Fathi, spokesman for the governor of Iraq's western Anbar province where Haditha is located.

Iraqi officials described a systematic plot to kill police in Haditha, 140 miles northwest of Baghdad, with attackers disguising themselves in military uniforms and driving cars painted to look like Iraqi interior ministry vehicles.

Fathi said the gang claimed they were military officials with arrest warrants for city police. They were stopped at a checkpoint outside Haditha, where they took away the guards' mobile phones before shooting nine of them, he said.

The gang's convoy, described by one Haditha police lieutenant as stretching 13 cars long, then stopped at the homes of two Haditha police commanders, including the colonel who served as the city's SWAT team leader. Brandishing the fake arrest warrants, the gunmen forced the commanders into the convoy, and shot both less than a quarter-mile away, Fathi said.

Fathi said the gang had false arrest warrants for 15 police officials in Haditha. As their convoy moved through the city, they were stopped at another checkpoint near the city's main market. A fierce gun battle broke out, with the gang raising the black flag of Al Qaeda in a show of defiance.

Six policemen were killed in that skirmish, and another six were killed in shootings as security forces chased the gang through the city, Fathi said.

Most of the gang escaped, fleeing north into a desert area in bordering Ninevah province known as Jazeera, according to a police lieutenant in Haditha. On the way out, Fathi said, another two policemen were killed...

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