Peter Moore's release: timeline of hostages' ordeal

Source: Telegraph

Peter Moore, a British man held hostage in Iraq for over two and a half years has been freed. The following are the key dates in his ordeal:

Published: 8:30AM GMT 31 Dec 2009

Peter Moore and his four security guards were kidnapped in Baghdad in May 2007

May 29, 2007 BearingPoint IT consultant Peter Moore and his four GardaWorld bodyguards are seized by 40 armed men disguised as policemen at the Iraqi Finance Ministry in Baghdad.
September 6 The captives' families plead for their release, saying they are "ordinary family men".

December 4 The hostage-takers release a video to Arab TV saying they will kill one hostage "as a first warning" unless British troops are withdrawn from Iraq.

December 9 Prime Minister Gordon Brown visits Iraq and calls for the immediate release of the five men, saying hostage-taking will not alter British policy.

February 26, 2008 Video clip shows a visibly-distressed Mr Moore urging Gordon Brown to free nine Iraqis in exchange for their release.

February 29 The hostages' families appeal directly to the kidnappers to "show the world your true humanity, and let our loved ones go."

March 5 The Islamic Shiite Resistance in Iraq replies via the Internet that Iraqi mothers miss their children whom the British have detained too.

July 19 The kidnappers release new video claiming a hostage they call Jason committed suicide on May 25. Scottish hostage Alan McMenema shown pleading with the Government to speed his release.

March 22, 2009 A video is sent to the British Embassy in Baghdad. In it, the militants demand release of US detainee and Mr Moore shown in better condition saying the captives are being well-treated.

June 21 Remains handed to British authorities in Iraq are identified as security guards Jason Creswell and Jason Swindlehurst. Foreign Secretary David Miliband says "all of us have clearly failed" in efforts for the safe release of the men.

June 22 Mr Moore's father Graham angrily condemns Mr Miliband as a "total waste of space" and says waiting for news of his son is "torture".

July 29 The families of Alan McMenemy and Alec MacLachlan are told by the Government that they are "very likely" to have died.

September 3 Gordon Brown announces with "deepest regret" that the body of Mr MacLachlan has been recovered.

September 28 Nearly 100 members of a militant group suspected of links to the kidnapping of the five Britons have been released from prison.

December 30 Mr Moore is freed.

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Greek terrorist group claims responsibility for Sunday's bomb attack in Athens

Source: Xinhua

ATHENS, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Threatening with more similar attacks in the future, a Greek guerrilla group claimed responsibility on Monday evening for the strong explosion that caused major material damage, but no injuries, at the offices of a Greek insurance company on a main Athens avenue on Sunday night.
    "Conspiracy of Nuclei of Fire-Nihilists Sect" acknowledged that it was behind the attack in a statement that was posted on the Internet.
    Counter terrorism experts take the claim seriously, noting that until last night this particular group used a different methodology and was responsibly for less serious attacks.
    Police experts had suspected another group which has attacked financial targets in the past, like the Athens Stock Exchange building this September.
    Now they express fears that "Conspiracy of Nuclei of Fire-Nihilists Sect" which until now had caused minor damages using make-shift bombs in cooking pots, has been upgraded "through cooperation with other comrades" as it is underlined in the statement.
    Police are investigating what was left from the explosive device and footage of the security cameras.
    Next to the insurance company's offices there is a cinema that had to be evacuated.

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Kim Howells tells of joy and anger as Iraq hostage freed

Source: Wales online

Dec 31 2009 by James McCarthy, Western Mail

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FREED hostage Peter Moore was last night looking forward to being reunited with his family after being held for two-and-a-half years by Iraqi insurgents.

Computer expert Peter Moore, 36, was kidnapped along with his four British bodyguards at the finance ministry in Baghdad on May 29, 2007.

There were reports last night, some quoting what they said were military sources, that the men had been held in Iran in an operation masterminded by that country’s Revolutionary Guard.

Former Foreign Office minister Kim Howells was central in trying to get Mr Moore and his four bodyguards – including executed 30-year-old Alec MacLachlan of Llanelli – released.

Last night he was overjoyed Mr Moore was going home, but remained bitter about the “heinous” crimes his captors committed.

The Pontypridd MP said: “I don’t know of any hostage situation where so much energy and resources were used in trying to locate and get them out of there.

“Like many hostage situations it was made more complicated because you may get half-a-dozen groups claiming they have the hostages, people trying to gain political kudos or gangsters trying to get money.

“We had agents in very dangerous places trying to make contacts and sift through claims and counter claims to figure out who might know these guys.

“[Alec MacLachlan’s family] know better than anyone they can never bring Alec back. But they must feel a sense of joy that Peter has been released.

“These are people who have endured the most terrible suffering. Kidnapping is one of the most heinous crimes. It is very difficult for anyone who has not been through it to try and imagine what it is like.”

The former National Mineworkers’ Union official added: “I’m overjoyed Peter Moore has been released. I feel very angry and bitter that these gangsters have murdered four brave young men.

“It is very difficult to understand why they decided to murder his bodyguards but not to kill him.

“Whatever their reasons it is very difficult to understand it, and even more difficult to forgive them for what they have done.

“They have committed the most dreadful crimes. Not just against the men they have murdered but against the families of those young men.”

Fears for Mr Moore’s safety had grown after the bodies of three of the security guards were handed to the UK authorities.

They were Alec MacLachlan, Jason Swindlehurst, 38, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, and Jason Creswell, 39, of Glasgow.

The Foreign Office believes the fourth – Glaswegian Alan McMenemy – has also been killed.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Mr Moore was in “good health” at the British Embassy in Baghdad after being delivered to Iraqi authorities yesterday morning.

Mr Moore’s mother Avril Sweeney said his release had lifted “a big black cloud”. Speaking from her home in Thornton Cleveleys, Lancashire, the 54-year-old said the years of his imprisonment had been “horrendous” and news of his release yesterday had been “a huge shock”.

Mr Moore’s father Graeme, 60, from Wigston, Leicestershire, said he was “over the moon”.

“We are so relieved and we just want to get him home, back now to his family and friends. I’m breaking down, I’m just so overjoyed for the lad. It’s been such a long haul.”

In a phone call Mr Moore asked stepfather Fran Sweeney about the fate of his bodyguards.

He told him: “We’ll talk about it with you Peter when we see you.”

Home Secretary David Miliband said he was “delighted” by Mr Moore’s release.

“Peter is in good health despite many months of captivity. He is undergoing medical checks and he is going to be reunited with his family as soon as possible.

“He is obviously – to put it mildly – delighted at his release.”

He added: “My thoughts today are also with the families of Jason Swindlehurst, Jason Creswell and Alec MacLachlan.”

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Iraq suicide bombing kills 25

Source: LA TIMES

The governor of Anbar province is among 100 injured in the bombing in Ramadi. The attack brings back memories of violence from 2004 to '06, when the provincial capital was a wasteland.

By Nawaf Jabbar and Ned Parker

December 31, 2009

Reporting from Baghdad and Ramadi, Iraq - A suicide bomb attack Wednesday in Anbar province's capital killed 25 people and wounded 100, including the governor. The attack raised fears that the devastating bloodletting that swept western Iraq several years ago may be returning.

Gov. Qassim Fahdawi had rushed to the scene of an earlier car bombing in Ramadi and was preparing to leave the site when the suicide bomber struck. The blast killed the governor's security advisor and wounded Fahdawi and at least one other member of the provincial council.

The attacker probably was a member of Fahdawi's own security detail, several officials said.

There were contradictory reports on whether two car bombs had exploded in the area before the suicide bomber walked up to Fahdawi and his entourage.

"We [started] to walk back to the office, and while we were walking, we felt an explosion come from the middle of us. . . . I did not see him coming because he was from the bodyguards," said a security officer who was there when the governor was attacked. "I know him, [but] I can't mention his name for security reasons."

The explosions evoked memories of the province's dark days from 2004 to '06, when Al Qaeda in Iraq turned Ramadi into a wasteland of blown-up buildings with only a Marine company to prevent the provincial capital's government center from being overrun.

Only after Sheik Abdul-Sattar abu Risha, a tribal leader, revolted against militants and created the U.S.-allied Awakening movement did the tide turn. Even with Abu Risha's assassination in September 2007, the province continued to move forward and was hailed as one of Iraq's success stories.

The bombings Wednesday followed a steady increase in the number of attacks this fall, mainly assassinations, around the province's other main city, Fallouja, and the town of Abu Ghraib, between the province and Baghdad.

Tribal leaders said Wednesday that Anbar had entered a new period of bloodshed as the March national elections approach. They said they feared that Al Qaeda in Iraq would try to capitalize on tribal and political rivalries to reassert itself.

"The relative calm after the effort of Sheik Abu Risha in my opinion is over, and I started to say that since April 2009," said Sheik Hatem Suleiman, one of the most senior tribal leaders in the province. "In my opinion, it is the negligence of the officials and the tribal sheiks of Anbar. They underestimated the matter. Al Qaeda is still existing in Anbar."

Suleiman, a rival of the governor's party, blamed the province's political and tribal figures for being distracted by the quest to make money from reconstruction contracts, as well as by the competition for political power.

"When you see the negligence and the corruption in Anbar, and no action is taken, such incidents are expected," he said. "It is wrong to say that we are strong and that Al Qaeda is no longer here. Al Qaeda is still working and will work in the future."

A former insurgent still in contact with elements of armed groups said Wednesday's violence probably was the product of intense friction among Sunni Muslim political parties and figures in Anbar.

The former insurgent, who did not want to be named for security reasons, said that various elements in Anbar and Sunni political circles were willing to use Al Qaeda in Iraq if it helped them achieve their political interests and discredit Ahmed abu Risha, the head of the Sunni tribal movement around Ramadi and the late sheik's brother. Abu Risha's list won provincial elections and is running for national office in a partnership with Shiite politicians. The attack was designed "to weaken Abu Risha," the former insurgent said.

Another factor in the security deterioration is thought to be the tense relationship between the national government and the remnants of the Sunni paramilitary movement that helped defeat Al Qaeda in Iraq in places such as Abu Ghraib. The paramilitary leaders are worried about being arrested by the government, and locals are deeply suspicious of the mainly Shiite army units that police them.

On Tuesday, Abu Maarouf, a former Awakening fighter, sat in his home on the outskirts of the farming district not far from where a tribal leader was killed by a bomb over the weekend. Maarouf, who has three sons and a brother who had been detained by the government, said the political season had brought renewed strife west of Baghdad.

"The cards are mixed," he said. "You can't distinguish who is involved. The elections are coming to Abu Ghraib."

ned.parker@latimes.com

Jabbar is a special correspondent. Times staff writers Usama Redha and Raheem Salman in Baghdad contributed to this report.

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30 killed, 50 injured in twin Iraq bombings

Source: HT

Baghdad, December 30, 2009

At least 30 people were killed and 50 injured when two suicide bombers struck the western Iraqi city of Ramadi Wednesday, police said.

Qassim Mohammed, the governor of the overwhelmingly Sunni province, and Abbas al-Dulaimi, the deputy director of the Ramadi police, were among those injured when a man detonated explosives packed into his car outside the governor's office, police said.

Soon after, a second man detonated explosives strapped to his body outside the government building.

There were contradictory reports as to whether Mohammed and al-Dulaimi had been killed in the blast. Police said that the two, and provincial council member Saadoun Abdel-Mohsen, were being treated for injuries.

It was the bloodiest attack in the province this year.

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Yemen 'can handle al-Qaeda menace'

Source: Aljazeera

Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula said it was behind Friday's bombing attempt [File picture] The Yemeni government has vowed to deal with the "menace of al-Qaeda in Yemen" after the group claimed responsibility for a plot to bring down an aircraft bound for the US city of Detroit on Christmas. Saying his government would not authorise or co-operate with any potential US strike on its soil, Abdullah Alsaidi, Yemen's permanent representative to the United Nations, told Al Jazeera that his country "is capable of taking care of its own problems". Alsaidi welcomed co-operation with and assistance from the US "with respect to intelligence information", saying it was necessary to Yemen's battle against al-Qaeda. But he added that "we are not encouraging US attacks, we are saying that Yemen will take care of this problem on its own". Hideout raided On Wednesday, Yemeni security forces raided an alleged al-Qaeda hideout in a western province, sparking a gun battle with fighters. A security official speaking on condition of anonymity said the target was a house owned by an al-Qaeda sympathiser. The official said the owner was arrested, a suspected al-Qaeda member was injured and several fighters who fled were being pursued.  A Yemeni official said Abdulmutallab "was probably in touch with terror cells" [AFP] Brigadier-General Saleh al-Zawari, Yemen's deputy interior minister, told senior military officials that the interior ministry "will continue tracking down al-Qaeda terrorists and will continue its strikes against the group until it is totally eliminated". Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian passenger, was arrested last Friday on suspicion of trying to bring down the Northwest Airlines aircraft carrying 289 people. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, an offshoot of Osama bin Laden's group based in Yemen, claimed it was behind the attempt. US investigators said Abdulmutallab told them he received training and instructions from al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen. Yemen's government said Abdulmutallab spent two periods in the country, from 2004-2005 and from August to December this year, just before the attempted attack. And Alsaidi told Al Jazeera that Abdulmutallab "was probably in touch with terror cells" in Yemen, although the envoy denied that the explosives from the failed attack came from his country, saying Abdulmutallab "most likely picked them up somewhere else". "I have also heard from other governments that he picked them up in other African countries closer to Nigeria," he said. Abdulmutallab's Yemen connection has drawn attention to al-Qaeda's presence in the country. US role Before Wednesday's clashes, Yemeni forces backed by US intelligence carried out two major strikes against al-Qaeda hideouts this month, reportedly killing more than 60 fighters. In video Al Jazeera's Owen Fay reports on al-Qaeda's increasing presence in Yemen The US has increasingly provided intelligence, surveillance and training to Yemeni forces in the past year, and has provided some firepower, according to a senior US defence official, who requested anonymity. Bryan Whitman, a US defence department spokesman, said Yemen received $67m in training and support under the Pentagon's counterterrorism programme last year, second only to $112m spent in Pakistan. "We are going to work with allies and partners to seek out terrorist activity, al-Qaeda, wherever they operate, plan their operations, seek safe harbour," he said, adding that "this is an effort that is years old now". But US officials downplayed reports that retaliatory strikes in Yemen would be launched. "These reports are inflammatory and do not address the issue," Barbara Bodine, a former US ambassador to Yemen, told Al Jazeera, adding that "we need to understand the size, configuration of the al-Qaeda presence in Yemen". "Any moves would be better done by the Yemen military. Conducting air strikes would not help either, as you would end up with collateral damage. Actions such as these are merely reactionary, but not aimed at solving the problem," she said. Meanwhile, Barack Obama, the US president, has demanded a preliminary report by Thursday on the security lapses in the plane bomb plot. He said the intelligence community should have been able to piece together information that would have raised "red flags" and possibly prevented Abdulmutallab from boarding the airliner. Abdulmutallab had been placed in one broad database but never made it on to more restrictive lists, despite his father's warnings to US embassy officials in Nigeria last month. The failed attack in Detroit was launched almost a year after al-Qaeda's operations in Yemen and Saudi Arabia united to form al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, making Yemen its base.

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