ISI Kidnaps Three More Iraqi Officials, Issues 24-Hour Ultimatum to Al-Maliki

In a May 8, 2007 communiqué, the Islamic State of Iraq announced that it had kidnapped an officer in the Al-Maliki government's Defense Ministry, Lieutenant Colonel Khalid Ahmad Hussein, earlier that day in Mosul. The communiqué added that the ISI had kidnapped two of his personal guards as well, who are also prison interrogation officers.

The communiqué stated that the hostages will be executed within 24 hours unless the Al-Maliki government met the following demands: releasing all those were arrested at the Al-Sadiq mosque in Al-A'zamiyya, and releasing all residents of Al-A'zamiyya arrested at the Al-Nu'man hospital.

Below are some images which were attached to the communiqué:

Video of a February 18, 2007 Islamic State of Iraq Attack on Al-Tarmiyah Police Station

On May 6, 2007, Islamist websites posted a 20-minute video titled "The Abu Hafsa Al-Mashadani Operation." The video was produced by Al-Furqan, the ISI's media company; it documents the attack on a police station in Al-Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad, on February 18, 2007. The video was filmed from six different angles, and throughout the video the number of the camera filming each segment is noted.

As the film begins, Abu Anas Al-Najdi, who carried out the operation, reads out his will, emphasizing that the commandment of jihad is a personal obligation incumbent upon every Muslim. Then he embraces his "brothers" and takes leave of them before starting out on his mission. The date shown on the screen is February 15, 2007.

Next, a truck is shown (apparently a truck bomb with Abu Anas inside it), and three mujahideen are shown shooting from behind a wall at a building labeled "Enemy [Police] Station"; the gunfire is apparently meant to divert police attention from the approaching truck. After a while there is a powerful explosion at the police station, and the station goes up in flames. A helicopter arrives at the site, and the following caption appears: "Enemy helicopters arrive to remove the corpses and to get the better of the mujahideen, but they fail." Then the mujahideen are seen taking over the destroyed police station and waving the ISI flag while shouting "Allahu Akbar." The date shown on the screen is February 18, 2007.

In the following segment, titled "Results of the Operation," a narrator says: "On Tuesday, 2 Safar 1428 [February 20, 2007 – the date does not square with the date on the screenshots], an attack was carried out on the Al-Tarmiyah police station, with light and medium weapons. The hour of the attack was chosen in order to keep civilians safe. The number of Crusader American soldiers [at the station] was 70… After we diverted the Americans' attention, the brother [Abu Anas Al-Najdi] set out on the martyrdom-seeking operation. Abu Anas… managed to enter through the main entrance gate after firing a missile that was attached to the side of the truck. Then he turned [and drove] towards the building and carried out [the attack] a few meters from it. As a result of the operation, at least 50 Crusader soldiers were killed, and 5 HMMWVs near the entrance gate were destroyed."

Interspersed throughout the video are video and audio clips of bin Laden, Al-Zarqawi, and Al-Baghdadi encouraging jihad and martyrdom-seeking operations. At the conclusion of the video, pictures of two martyrs are shown, one of whom is Abu Hafsa Al-Mashadani, for whom the Al-Tarmiyah operation was named, who died October 18, 2006.

To view the film, click on the following link: http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ClipMediaID=830059&ak=null

Below are images taken from the film: