Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed to punish those behind Tuesday's attack in Tikrit where gunmen stormed into the building and seized hostages. At least 98 people were wounded.
Maliki did not say who was behind the attack and there has been no claim of responsibility yet. But Iraqi and U.S. officials pointed fingers at al Qaeda.
"...The tactics use mirror closely and in fact reflect what al Qaeda and what al Qaeda-associated groups have used in the past," the main U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, Major General Jeffrey Buchanan, told Reuters.
"Both in the use of car bombs, in the use of suicide bombers or attackers wearing suicide vests and their ... execution of hostages. So, it bears all the signatures of an al Qaeda attack ... But we have not seen specific claims by al Qaeda."
Ali al-Moussawi, a media adviser to Maliki, said Iraqi security forces may have been infiltrated by militants. The gunmen wore the uniforms of security forces.
"All initial indications show that it is al Qaeda, but maybe there are also other elements cooperating with them," he said.
Tuesday's attack in Tikrit, a former stronghold of al Qaeda, was the deadliest in Iraq this year.
No comments :
Post a Comment