Iraqi Teen Girl Accused Of Plotting Attack

Arrest Caught On Video; Girl Publicly Interrogated, Paraded In Front Of Press

(AP)  Iraqi police publicly questioned a teenage girl after she was allegedly caught wearing an explosives belt, parading her in front of reporters and pressing her to confess she was planning a suicide bombing.

Police distributed videos of the arrest and public interrogation to the media on Monday, a day after they were made.

The girl gave her first name as Rania and said she was born in 1993. She appeared confused in the questioning, giving conflicting answers about whether she knew two women who put the vest packed with 33 pounds of explosives on her.

In the video of the arrest, a policeman standing next to the teenager could be heard saying that when she was picked up, she was initially unable to talk because she had been given drugs.

She denied under questioning that she planned to carry out an attack, saying she had been instructed to remove the vest when she got home.

The arrest heightened concern about a rise in suicide bombings by women. The number of female bombers has more than tripled from eight in 2007 to 29 this year, according to U.S. military officials.

The arrest video begins with the girl standing on a street in the city of Baqouba, capital of the volatile province of Diyala and a stronghold of al Qaeda in Iraq. She is shown with her arms behind her back, cuffed to a metal structure with police surrounding her.

At some point, a policeman partially removes her brightly colored, flowered robe and subsequent frames show her with her arms bare and chest partially exposed, wearing a white vest. Another picture shows a two-sided vest with pockets in both front and back filled with explosives.

The girl is then shown standing in a room, wrapped in a black cloak, her dark brown hair dyed a lighter shade and surrounded by several police officers.

During the public interrogation, reporters from local and foreign media stood behind cameras but did not ask the suspect any questions.

In the interrogation, she gives conflicting answers about whether she knew the women who gave her the vest.

"I swear to Allah that I do not know them. They were strangers," she is heard saying initially. But later she says "one of the women's names was maybe Fadhila and the other was called Widad."

When pressed about whether she knew the woman she then replied: "Yes."

Police asked if she intended to blow herself up.

"No, no, they put it on me and told me to take it off at home," she said. "They did not tell me to blow myself up."

A policeman then asks: "If so, why didn't you disconnect" the detonator?

The girl says: "I did not disconnect it (because) maybe it fell off me."

The circumstances of the girl's arrest remained unclear. U.S. officials said she had turned herself in, while local police said she was caught after arousing suspicion.

Her exchange with police offered a rare glimpse at a teenager allegedly recruited by insurgents.

An Iraqi police officer said the girl came from a family of al Qaeda in Iraq supporters in Baqouba and that her father had carried out a suicide bombing. The officer said a relative is suspected of having recruited her. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

He said the girl led them back to the area of Baqouba where she was given the explosives, and that they found a second bomb belt there. But that the apartment was empty. He said the girl's mother and sister were arrested.

Some female bombers may have been motivated by revenge. U.S. commanders believe al Qaeda in Iraq is increasingly seeking to exploit women who are unable to deal with the grief of losing husbands, children and others to the violence.

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 military said that in Diyala, some 200 female volunteers recruited by the U.S.-backed group Daughters of Iraq are helping search women at checkpoints. Diyala has been one of the most violent areas in Iraq, even as the rest of the country witnessed a significant drop in attacks.

Prime Minister Demands U.S. Withdrawal Timetable, Rejects Immunity

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says there can be no security agreement with the United States unless there is a "specific deadline" for the withdrawal of American troops.

Al-Maliki also says that unless some clauses in the draft agreement under discussion are changed, it will be "difficult" for the pact to be adopted.

He did not identify all those clauses.

But the prime minister told tribal leaders Monday that he cannot grant "open immunity" to Iraqis or foreigners because that would violate the "sanctity of Iraqi blood."

Baghdad and Washington are negotiating an agreement on the future of U.S. troops in Iraq.

Al-Maliki aides say Iraq insists on 2011 as the target date for the withdrawal of the last U.S. soldier.

[cattlekate]

"Insergents prove that they cant fight hand to hand man to man, ........."

Guerilla tactics are used by people who do not have F-15s with 500 pound bombs, Apache helicopters, 50 caliber DU bullets, and white phosphorus.

I am glad the girl gave herself up.

[beehive21-2009]

Put a bullet in her head,and hang all of her family.

[edward1975-2009]

These insurgent cowards use women and children to do their bidding, makes me question their belief in the cause. Shaming the weakest of their society into giving their lives up. They and their jihad are a joke.

[dev-advoc]

If we were invaded by the russians to change the way we are, I think we would use some of these tactics. We are not fighting terrorist in Iraq, for the most part we are fighting people who choose to live their lives how they prefer. Our great soldiers are following orders as they should, but they do not fully understand the way of life of these people. Why try to change them when they''ve been living like this for thousands of years. When we do leave it will return to how it was. The Iraqi military is going to lose the battle to sustain what has been accomplished. Just a couple of quick thoughts.

[docpeter-2009]

Shaming the weakest of their society into giving their lives up. They and their jihad are a joke.

Posted by Edward1975 at 12:12 PM : Aug 25, 2008
____________

And the US govt. didn''t do that with the draft in the late 1960s and ealry 1970s?

Oh, that''s right, those drafted were not shamed into it. If they had waelth they could escape by going to college and making the grade. If they had ewalth and connections they could avoid all of it like our own GWB.

[edward1975-2009]

docpeter: Not sure what you practice, let''s hope nothing that requires a brain. We have never, will never use children and woman as walking bombs. As far as comparing the draft to recruiting the very people most men would die defending, I can see just what type of idiot you truly are. Try getting a set.

[sistatee-2009]

If she kills herself, maybe she''ll get herself as one of the 72 virgins. OMG!

[haoli25]

But the important question is, ''Did the vest make her butt look big?''

[haoli25]

But the important question is, ''Did the vest make her butt look big?''

[questionnews]

She was just on her way to pagent!

"Here we see Rania in a sequence burka with matching slippers. The ensemble reatures a C-4 vest with rhinestone accents. Notice how all the wires received the same glitter pattern as the detonator! That''s something the judges will take note of. The grey duct tape will cost her points though since the pattern clearly shows it was applied with the left hand, you know, the dirty hand. Overall, her performance and appearance rates average."

[jennmarikp]

I read that she was searched because she aroused suspicion not because she turned herself in. When they first questioned her she was on drugs and couldn''t answer questions.

Does anyone know for a fact that she volunteered for this? From what I am reading it sounds like she was told what to do.

[wardoglrs]

You morons bad mouthing this women should be shot.

These people are being occupied by a foreign country they are being robbed of the land cause of the US invasion.

One day when America gets occupied by China and Russia you will find your selves in the same shoes.

Your government lied you into this war and stole your money and gave it to the war corps. And you support it?.

Your own Government steals from you and its no big deal?. Your all deceived and soon after the election you will be living in hell. Your economy has been sold
to other countries your work force has been transferred to other nations your own two party system has corrupted your way of living.

You have lived beyound your means and now you will live below them.

[questionnews]

You morons bad mouthing this women should be shot.

Posted by WarDogLRS at 02:14 PM : Aug 25, 2008

Hey! Shooting people for practicing free speech. You apparently post from a place where that is the norm.

[matisyahu3]

CBS is completely changing this story around. Reuters, which I consider to be much more reputable than CBS, said that she turned herself in because she couldn''t go through blowing herself up and that it was later learned that she was forced and told to put the jacket on and meet someone at a later time with details of the attack.

Stupid CBS trying to create a story to invoke more fear and ratings

[summarex]

Put a bullet in her head,and hang all of her family.
Posted by beehive21 at 12:05 PM : Aug 25, 2008

No you animal!
America was not established to serve Jerusalem.

[questionnews]

She looks like that fat thing on Cheers.

Posted by dekooning2 at 02:43 PM : Aug 25, 2008

Kristie Ally?

[whiskyrokkr]

The twisted mind of a radical muslim. See what that great Islamic upbringing did for this young lady.

[libsluv2spit]

give these pro-terrorist liberals a chance and we would be seeing this on american cities..

[rosieod4prez]

I say find out who gave her the vest, tie them all together and put them in the center of the largest stadium Baghdad has, and allow their peers to vote on whether the explosives should be detonated or if they should be held forever in prison...

[whiskyrokkr]

Sad,such a young mind corrupted by a bunch of closet hhommoos

[trishab57]

Strange she looks like the Girl who testified before the Security Committee and was crying pretending the Iraqi soldiers took the Kowaiti babies out of their warm beds and put to die on the cold floors. It was shown that girl was the daughter of the Koweiti Ambassador to Washington, and it was all but true.

-Is this another maskarade by some amateur actors of the Puppet government we put in Iraq? Or is it a bad Western Type film section being shown to Americans for fast-food consumption?

[beehive21-2009]

Summerex,this has nothing to do with anyone other than a person and the family, deciding to do harm to others, that have nothing to do with the BS.All Bombers in the families who brought them here must be shot and hung,as they have lowered themselves to lowlife who no longer deserve the company of humans.Kill all the family of all the bombers and it will stop,Oh, don''t forget the Camels,too.

[sociald63]

She looks like that fat thing on Cheers.

hey - i dont think rosie odonnell was a guest on cheers

[sociald63]

well - blow her up in a vacant lot so she can met her so-called allah. thats what she wanted to accomplish in the first place. she''s too fat & ugly to be dating anyways -

[sociald63]

well - blow her up in a vacant lot so she can met her so-called allah. thats what she wanted to accomplish in the first place. she''s too fat & ugly to be dating anyways -

[lambor59]

Do you belive this propaganda? if you do, you are stupid just like other Bush''s cronies.

[lambor59]

After raping the innocent teen until she passed out, Bush''s death squad get out the bomb vest and put it on the girl and claimed that she is the would be bomber....we all know Bush propaganda.

[swwils]

I really dont think this 15 year old girl is the mastermind behind this.I believe from all I have seen over their,that if she was going to detonate that bomb we wouldn''t be talking about her carrying a suicide bomb,but how many she killed,and where!She definately needs interrogated(as a child)and the people that did this too her,or for her can be captured.It is time too roll out of Iraq except for an attachment,and our fleet.Time to prepare for the big dog mess that is brewing,with Iran.Russia needs stopped NOW.I am not going too learn Iranian,or Russian so Washington,or you corporate rich people do something quick!