Pakistan: Al-Qaeda claims Bhutto's death

Karachi, 27 Dec. (AKI) - (by Syed Saleem Shahzad) - A spokesperson for the al-Qaeda terrorist network has claimed responsibility for the death on Thursday of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

“We terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat [the] mujahadeen,” Al-Qaeda’s commander and main spokesperson Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid told Adnkronos International (AKI) in a phone call from an unknown location, speaking in faltering English. Al-Yazid is the main al-Qaeda commander in Afghanistan.

It is believed that the decision to kill Bhutto, who is the leader of the opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP), was made by al-Qaeda No. 2, the Egyptian doctor, Ayman al-Zawahiri in October.

Death squads were allegedly constituted for the mission and ultimately one cell comprising a defunct Lashkar-i-Jhangvi’s Punjabi volunteer succeeded in killing Bhutto.

Bhutto had just addressed a pre-election rally on Thursday in the garrison town of Rawalpindi when the bomb went off.

She had come to Rawalpindi after finishing a rapid election campaign, ahead of the January polls, in Pakistan's volatile North West Frontier Province (NWFP) where she had talked about a war against terrorism and al-Qaeda.

Reports say at least 15 other people were killed in the attack and several others injured.

As news of Bhutto's death spread throughout the country, there are reports that people have taken to the streets to protest the death of the leader of the PPP, which has the largest support of any party in Pakistan.

In the southern port city of Karachi, Bhutto's hometown, residents reportedly threw stones at cars and burnt tyres.

Via AKI, whoever they are. H/T to Konservo.


Comment:

Hmm... Now that I've looked into this, I'm extremely skeptical. The only news agencies reporting that Yazid was responsible are AKI and Asia Times Online, not exactly media giants. Both claim to have been contacted personally by Yazid. Why would he contact them and not, say, Al Jazeera, or the Associated Press, or some other group with actual readers? Furthermore, the Pakistani government is making contradictory claims (which, needless to say, are also suspect). I smell BS.

More on Haditha

US marines granted Haditha immunity

The US Marine Corps has dropped all charges against a sergeant accused in the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha in 2005, and granted at least seven more marines immunity.

The decision to drop charges against Sergeant Sanick Dela Cruz, 24, was made on Tuesday by Lieutenant-General James Mattis who is overseeing the case.

Military prosecutors have since given immunity to at least seven marines and they may be called to testify at the trial of troops accused in the Haditha killings, according to leaked documents obtained by the Associated Press.

Charges dismissed

Dela Cruz had been charged with unpremeditated murder and could have received up to life in prison for the deaths of five Iraqi civilians in the November 19, 2005, killings.

He has been granted immunity from prosecution and must testify at upcoming hearings for other marines charged in the Haditha case.

Dan Marino, Dela Cruz's lawyer, declined to comment.

On the day of the killings, a marine squad was in Haditha, a town in Anbar province, when their convoy was hit by a roadside bomb killing one marine. In response, the marines raided several homes and killed 24 Iraqis, including women and children.

Dela Cruz and three other marines were charged in December with unpremeditated murder in the deaths.

The marines say they believed they were under attack in the wake of the roadside bomb blast and followed procedures to defend themselves.

Other marines granted immunity include an officer who told troops to raid a house and a sergeant who took photographs of the dead but later deleted them from his camera, according to the Associated Press.

The immunity orders ensure that any testimony the marines volunteer cannot be used against them.

Lieutenant-Colonel Sean Gibson declined on Friday to comment on individual cases due to the ongoing nature of the investigation.

Iraqis 'devalued'

In a separate investigation, a US army general concluded the Marine Corps chain of command in Iraq ignored signs of "serious misconduct" in the Haditha killings, The Washington Post reported.

A report by Major-General Eldon Bargewell found officers may have willfully ignored reports of the civilian deaths to protect themselves and their units from blame.

Bargewell concluded that commanders fostered a tendency that devalued Iraqis to the extent that US soldiers considered the deaths of innocents insignificant.

The report, now unclassified, focuses on the reporting of the Haditha incident and the training and command climate within the Marine Corps leadership.

It does not address the November 19, 2005, incident in detail.

Comment:
Good, it looks like only one Marine received immunity, which means the trial will go on. Full immunity seems awfully generous, though I suppose there's not really any way to know until after the trial (a verdict of not guilty would make the issue moot).

I'm going to see if I can rustle up a copy of that report.

US marine cleared in Iraq killings

The US marines corps has dropped charges against a soldier accused of killing five civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha in 2005.

Sgt. Sanick P. Dela Cruz of Chicago had faced charges of unpremeditated murder.

The commanding general in the case has granted Dela Cruz immunity in exchange for his testimony, the marines said in a statement on Tuesday.

The statement, released from their base in Camp Pendleton, California did not explain why the charges were dropped.

A Marines spokesman refused to elaborate when contacted by AFP news agency.

"We've said all we are going to say about it," he said.

Dela Cruz was one of four marines charged last year with killing civilians in Haditha, 260km west of Baghdad, in November 2005.

Prosecutors alleged that the marines went on a killing spree in the town, shooting unarmed men, women and children after a comrade, Miguel Terrazaz, was killed by a roadside bomb while on patrol.

Defence lawyers said the marines followed established wartime rules of engagement and the deaths occurred after the soldiers became embroiled in a furious firefight with insurgents.

Four other marines - including 3rd Battalion Commander Jeffrey Chessani and Captain Lucas McConnell, neither of whom was in Haditha during the bloodshed - face charges of failing to properly investigate or report the killings.

Via Al Jazeera.


Comment:

I don't know what they're trying to do here, but it sure doesn't have anything to do with justice. Haditha had nothing to do with "established wartime rules of engagement." If I recall correctly, they shot and killed an infant and a frail old man. Not even letting the case go to trial is a repulsive miscarriage of justice. If the city of Haditha were to declare allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq tomorrow, I can't say I'd blame them.