Iraq Shiite leader al-Sadr's group says it freed 4 hostages in Baghdad

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/afx/2005/08/12/afx2178938.html

BAGHDAD (AFX) - Iraqi followers of Shiite radical leader Moqtada al-Sadr said today they have rescued four hostages -- three Syrians and one Iraqi -- who were abducted in the capital by 'terrorist groups'.

'Members of the Mehdi Army (the movement's outlawed militia) have freed some Arab and Iraqi hostages, kidnapped by terrorist groups who were planning to kill them in the coming hours,' said Sadr aide Sheikh Abdel Zahra al-Suwaidi in a sermon in the radicals' Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City.

[wtmusic]

1. WH memo: when mentioning al-Sadr's name, always include "radical"

...always.

[bemildred]

2. Yeah, tsk, they left off "firebrand" though. nt

[wtmusic]

5. hahaha

smack their little money grubbin' paws for that one!

[0rganism]

3. As the 3-way civil war develops, things are going to get much weirder

I expect to see a lot of false flag operations designed to draw the occupation forces into supporting particular ethnicities or leaders, at least temporarily. The same groups that take hostages one week might well be freeing hostages the next, as part of shaping public opinion locally and abroad. Militias that take potshots at American soldiers on Tuesdays and Thursdays will be begging the US for air support on Mondays and Wednesdays and getting kickbacks from the Iraqi parliament on the weekends.

And I don't even want to speculate about what happens if Iraq is used as a staging area for an invasion of Iran, or the Turks or Israelis become actively involved.

To quote Firesign, "If you think you are confusing now, you have not seen nothing yet!"

[Roland99]

4. Releasing hostages they took?

[manic expression]

6. This isn't new

Iraqi insurgents have opposed and killed foreign fighters, most notably in Fallujah (before we leveled the place...:puke:).

The Iraqi resistance, for the most part, does not like or work with the terrorists who kill Iraqis.