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Iraqi Defence Spokesman Says 18 Nov Blasts Expected After Torture Reports

Posted on: Friday, 18 November 2005, 12:00 CST

Staff Brig-Gen Muhammad al-Askari, spokesman for the Iraqi Defence Ministry, commented on the 18 November Baghdad and Khanaqin bombings in a live interview with Qatari Al-Jazeera satellite TV at 1305 gmt on 18 November.

Asked how gunmen could reach a security centre affiliated with the Interior Ministry in Baghdad and carry out such operations, Al- Askari says: "Reaching these places is not very difficult. This proved that those armed elements have intelligence information and have people standing behind them and who organize these things well." He adds that the incidents took place following the reports on what is happening at Al-Jadiriyah prison. He says: "It was expected that there will be acts [of violence] to send a number of messages. I believe the first message is to continue to drag the Iraqi people into a sectarian war and say that the operation near this prison was revenge. The second message is addressed to the political blocs which refuse the participation of opposition figures and Ba'thists in the Arab League [-sponsored] conference [in Cairo], to say that there is no other option other than negotiating with them until the security situation stabilizes."

Asked whether today's bombings at the two Shi'i mosques in Khanaqin can be considered acts of revenge on a sectarian basis, Al- Askari says: "These elements have a political plan. Their hidden military objectives are based on sectarian discrimination and sedition." He goes on to say: "These operations are aimed at winning over some people by saying that most of the prisoners [at Al- Jadiriyah prison] are Sunni Arabs. Bombings at Shi'i mosques aim to say that they are revenge operations to win over supporters and to drag Shi'is into acts of revenge."

Asked why the Iraqi government rejects an international investigation into the alleged torture of prisoners at Al-Jadiriyah prison, Al-Askari says: "Launching an international investigation will infringe on Iraq's sovereignty. Any country that faces similar problems will hold internal investigations." He adds: "When the government takes the initiative and insists on launching an investigation, involving all elements and punishing anyone who commits violations - including the prime minister and the interior minister - then there is no need for an international investigation or referring this file to the UN or another country."

Source: BBC Monitoring Middle East

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