August 26, 2008
BAGHDAD: Iraqi police have paraded a teenage girl caught wearing an explosives vest, prodding her in a video last night for her to confess to plans to stage a suicide bombing.
The girl appeared confused, but denied the allegation, saying she never intended to carry out the attack and wanted to remove the vest.
Still, her arrest heightened concern about a rise in suicide bombings by women in Iraq. The number of female bombers has more than tripled this year, from eight last year to 29 this year.
The circumstances of the girl's arrest on Sunday remain unclear. US officials said she had turned herself in, while local police said she was caught after arousing suspicion.
Reporters were invited to attend her questioning late on Sunday, and a video made by the authorities of her arrest and interrogation was made public last night.
The girl gave her first name as Rania and said she was born in 1993. Her exchange with the police offered a rare glimpse of a teenager allegedly recruited by insurgents.
However, it was not clear to what extent her answers were given out of fear or influenced by the presence of journalists.
The girl was arrested in the city of Baqouba, capital of the volatile Diyala province and an al-Qa'ida in Iraq stronghold. Diyala has experienced among the most violence in Iraq, even as the rest of the country has had a significant drop in attacks.
An Iraqi police officer said the girl's family was known for supporting al-Qaida in Iraq and that her father had carried out a suicide bombing. The officer also said a relative was suspected of having recruited her.
The girl led the police back to where she was given the explosives and they found a second bomb belt in an empty apartment in the Baqouba area. The girl's mother and sister were arrested.
Some female bombers may have been motivated by revenge, and US commanders believe al-Qa'ida in Iraq is increasingly seeking to exploit women unable to deal with the grief of losing husbands, children and others to the violence.
In Diyala, about 200 female volunteers recruited by the US-backed group Daughters of Iraq are helping search women at checkpoints. Many Iraqi women wear long robes, ideal for covering bulky suicide vests, and Iraqi policemen hesitate to pat them down at checkpoints because of cultural taboos.
The police footage of the girl's arrest on Sunday begins with her standing on a Baqouba street, next to a metal structure. Her arms are tied behind her back as police surround her. Later, a policeman is shown opening her robe, and subsequent frames show her wearing what appears to be the suicide vest, said to contain about 15kg of explosives.
The girl is then shown standing in a room, wrapped in a black cloak, her hair dishevelled and surrounded by police. She insists she does not know the women who gave her the vest. But when pressed to say whether she knew the woman who put the vest on her, she replied: "Yes."
Asked if she intended to blow herself up, she said: "No, no. They put it on me and told me to take it off at home. They did not tell me to explode myself."
BAGHDAD: Iraqi police have paraded a teenage girl caught wearing an explosives vest, prodding her in a video last night for her to confess to plans to stage a suicide bombing.
The girl appeared confused, but denied the allegation, saying she never intended to carry out the attack and wanted to remove the vest.
Still, her arrest heightened concern about a rise in suicide bombings by women in Iraq. The number of female bombers has more than tripled this year, from eight last year to 29 this year.
The circumstances of the girl's arrest on Sunday remain unclear. US officials said she had turned herself in, while local police said she was caught after arousing suspicion.
Reporters were invited to attend her questioning late on Sunday, and a video made by the authorities of her arrest and interrogation was made public last night.
The girl gave her first name as Rania and said she was born in 1993. Her exchange with the police offered a rare glimpse of a teenager allegedly recruited by insurgents.
However, it was not clear to what extent her answers were given out of fear or influenced by the presence of journalists.
The girl was arrested in the city of Baqouba, capital of the volatile Diyala province and an al-Qa'ida in Iraq stronghold. Diyala has experienced among the most violence in Iraq, even as the rest of the country has had a significant drop in attacks.
An Iraqi police officer said the girl's family was known for supporting al-Qaida in Iraq and that her father had carried out a suicide bombing. The officer also said a relative was suspected of having recruited her.
The girl led the police back to where she was given the explosives and they found a second bomb belt in an empty apartment in the Baqouba area. The girl's mother and sister were arrested.
Some female bombers may have been motivated by revenge, and US commanders believe al-Qa'ida in Iraq is increasingly seeking to exploit women unable to deal with the grief of losing husbands, children and others to the violence.
In Diyala, about 200 female volunteers recruited by the US-backed group Daughters of Iraq are helping search women at checkpoints. Many Iraqi women wear long robes, ideal for covering bulky suicide vests, and Iraqi policemen hesitate to pat them down at checkpoints because of cultural taboos.
The police footage of the girl's arrest on Sunday begins with her standing on a Baqouba street, next to a metal structure. Her arms are tied behind her back as police surround her. Later, a policeman is shown opening her robe, and subsequent frames show her wearing what appears to be the suicide vest, said to contain about 15kg of explosives.
The girl is then shown standing in a room, wrapped in a black cloak, her hair dishevelled and surrounded by police. She insists she does not know the women who gave her the vest. But when pressed to say whether she knew the woman who put the vest on her, she replied: "Yes."
Asked if she intended to blow herself up, she said: "No, no. They put it on me and told me to take it off at home. They did not tell me to explode myself."
Source: The Australian
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