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Intelligence on Iraq blasts not acted upon: defence minister
Baghdad (AFP) Dec 12, 2009 Iraqi officials received "clear intelligence" before each of the three massive attacks to hit Baghdad since August but failed to act, an MP quoted Defence Minister Abdul Qader Obeidi as saying on Saturday. Obeidi's remarks to MPs came in the aftermath of coordinated blasts on Tuesday that killed 127 people, following bloody bombings which struck the city on August 19 and October 25, costing around 250 lives. "There was clear intelligence information about the three bloody explosions in Baghdad, but those responsible did not take the required measures to stop the explosions," the minister said, according to Shiite MP Iman al-Asadi. Obeidi, Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani and National Security Minister Shirwan al-Waili all gave briefings to lawmakers that were to continue on Sunday, a parliamentary official said. "Parliament noticed that there was no coordination between the ministries of interior and defence," Asadi told reporters after the briefings. "This is negatively influencing the security situation," he said. In a question-and-answer session with MPs on Thursday, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki accused rivals of stoking political rows which had put the country's security at risk. The premier added that Iraq's security forces needed to be de-politicised. After the latest big attack, Maliki carried out a shake-up of senior members of the security forces, dismissing the officer in charge of Baghdad's security and replacing him with another general. Sunni MP Omar al-Juburi said on Saturday that Iraq's security problems were "not because of the ministries' poor performances, but because of the absence of a security strategy, due to political disagreements." "The situation will remain unstable until we put an end to sectarianism." Juburi said Obeidi had told MPs that the majority of weapons and munitions seized by Iraqi security forces were Russian-manufactured and had entered the country via Syria. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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Iraq defence minister asks for budget to pay informersBaghdad (AFP) Dec 12, 2009 Iraqi Defence Minister Abdel Qader Obeidi on Saturday asked parliament for funds to recruit informers, saying that the authorities lacked sufficient information on insurgents. "Our intelligence services desperately lack information since their budget is so small, and the law states that in order to pay an informer they first have to give his full name and his sources," Obeidi told MPs. T ... read more |
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