Al Qaeda Kidnaps 15 Women & Children

Reuters/Helmiy al-Azawi

Al Qaeda in Iraq attacked several villages where religious leaders were forming an anti-al Qaeda coalition. Several people were killed, but the major concern now is why al Qaeda took the women and children.

Al Qaeda fighters kidnapped 15 Iraqi women and children after attacking two villages north of Baghdad on Thursday and killing a religious leader who had been trying to form an anti-al Qaeda tribal alliance, police said.

Police said 32 people had been killed in an hour-long battle between villagers and al Qaeda.

This was also a red on red incident which is becoming increasingly common now days.

Residents said the local fighters were loyal to the Sunni Arab "1920 Revolution Brigade," which has increasingly clashed with al Qaeda, and had repelled the attack.

The fighting underscored a growing split between Sunni Arab militants and al Qaeda, which U.S. forces have sought to exploit as they try to quell sectarian violence.

Al Qaeda's adherence to a hardline brand of Sunni Islam and its indiscriminate killing of civilians have isolated it from Iraq's Sunni Arab community. Tribal leaders in Anbar, Diyala and Salahuddin provinces have all formed alliances to fight it.

Hopefully we are able to get the women and children back alive, but I'm pessimistic.