Two Women Suicide Bombers in Baghdad

International / Middle East
Dozens Killed in Worst Baghdad Attack in Months
By STEPHEN FARRELL and MUDHAFER AL-HUSAINI
Published: February 2, 2008
Twin suicide bombings struck two markets in mainly Shiite areas of central Baghdad on Friday.

Online Questions for Al-Qaida Reveal Terrorists Frustrated and Wanting More Terror Against the U.S.

Judging by hundreds of questions submitted online to al Qaeda's No. 2 leader, it seems the terror network's self-proclaimed supporters are as much in the dark about the its operations and plans as Western analysts and intelligence agencies.

Al Qaeda's No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri...was supposedly taking questions via the Internet.

Among their concerns: Where will it strike next? Does it control small militant groups in the Mideast and Europe? Why hasn't it hit America again?

Al Qaeda's media arm, Al-Sahab, announced last month that Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, would take questions from the public in an "online interview."

More than 900 entries, some with multiple questions, were posted on a militant Web site before the January 16 deadline...
...The vast majority of questioners, identified only by their computer usernames, appeared to be supporters of al Qaeda or the jihadi cause, often expressing praise for "our beloved sheik" and "the lion of jihad, Sheik Osama."

Many appeared frustrated that al Qaeda is not doing more.

"When we will see the men of al Qaeda waging holy war in Palestine? Because frankly our situation has become very bad," wrote one, with the username "Seeking the Path."

"As for al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia," he asked, "are there efforts to revive jihadi action there after the blows that hurt us?"

Another, signed "Osama the Lion," asked: "Why doesn't al Qaeda open a front in Egypt, where there are wide opportunities and fertile ground for drawing in mujahedeen?"

Another, called "Knight of Islam," asked, "We are awaiting a strike against American soil. Why has that not been done? Why are the Jews in the world not struck?"

Suicide Bombings in Diyala Province, Iraq

Robert H. Reid of the Associated Press writes:

BAGHDAD - A woman with explosives strapped to her body attacked the office of a Sunni group that had turned against al-Qaida in Iraq — one of two suicide bombings in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad that left at least 22 people dead Friday.

An Iraqi official claimed the woman was seeking revenge for her two sons who were killed fighting for al-Qaida.

The two brazen attacks were the latest in a series of al-Qaida assaults against members of the new "awakening groups" — mostly Sunnis including former insurgents who have begun cooperating with the Americans to rid their communities of extremists.

'Islam vs. Islamists' Documentary Trailer

Suicide Bombing in Kabul

A suicide bomber struck a minibus full of soldiers in the Chihulsutoon area south of Kabul, said Aziz Ahmad, an Afghan army officer at the site of the blast.

Purported Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujaheed claimed responsibility for the blast in a text message sent to an Associated Press reporter in neighboring Pakistan.

The minibus was demolished and its mangled frame lay on the side of the road as the wounded were whisked to hospitals (four children were believed to have been killed.)

The blast was the third suicide attack in the city in the last eight days. It follows a similar attack against a NATO convoy on Tuesday that left 22 civilians wounded.

Gillian Gibbons Back in Britain: Cautious

Gibbons was cautious about answering questions.

When asked her feelings about the offense she was accused of, she said: “I don’t think I really know enough about it to comment really. It’s a very difficult area and a very delicate area.”

She added, “I was very upset to think that I might have caused offense to people.”

Asked if she was terrified of prison, Gibbons said, “That’s an understatement.”

“I was in two different prisons,” she added. I never actually went to the main women’s prison, thankfully. The first one I was at was just like a downtown prison — like a lockup. I was treated the same as any other Sudanese prisoner in that you were given the bare minimum.

“Then I was moved to another prison and there the Ministry of the Interior sent me a bed, which is possibly the best present I’ve ever had.”

The trauma has not deterred Gibbons from teaching.

Of course, I don't know Ms. Gibbons, but she sounds like she is still 'terrified.' Seems to me that recovering from such inhumane and idiotic treatment will take some time.

Favorites: More on Gillian Gibbons

Thinking about Gillian Gibbons again. All this teacher of 7 year old students did was allow them to choose their favorite name for the teddy bear.

And, not surprisingly, the class' favorite name was Mohammad.

Odd, that no one has wondered what project of this second grade classroom would involve naming a teddy bear - an obvious American icon of childhood?

I am a bit surprised that the bear itself was not offensive to Islam... And why would a teddy bear be offensive? I have no idea; although it makes about as much sense to me as the name causing offense.

Update on Gillian Gibbons, British 'Teddy Bear' Teacher

MSNBC reports:

In a written statement released by the presidential palace and read by Warsi to reporters Monday, 54-year-old Gibbons said she was sorry if she caused any "distress."

"I have a great respect for the Islamic religion and would not knowingly offend anyone," Gibbons said in the statement. "I am looking forward to seeing my family and friends, but I am very sorry that I will be unable to return to Sudan."

Gibbons prompted a complaint after she let her pupils at Khartoum's private Unity High School pick their favorite name for a teddy bear as part of a project in September.

Twenty out of 23 of them chose Muhammad — a popular boy's name in Sudan, as well as the name of Islam's Prophet.

The staff of Unity High School where Gibbons worked shouted gleefully when they heard the news.

"Everybody is so happy, everyone is just laughing now," Robert Boulos, head of the school, told Reuters.

He said Gibbons would be welcome to rejoin the teaching staff if she wanted. Gibbons had been suspended following a school investigation into the affair.

Rantings Against the Abrahamic Faiths: Marcus Brigstock

Sudan Releases British Teacher, Gillian Gibbons

MSNBC reports:

Sudanese presidential spokesman Mahzoub Faidul told The Associated Press that Gibbons would "be released today and will fly back to England today."

In a written statement released by the presidential palace and read by Warsi to reporters, Gibbons said she was sorry if she caused any "distress."

"I have a great respect for the Islamic religion and would not knowingly offend anyone," Gibbons, 54, who has been imprisoned since Thursday, said in the statement.

"I am looking forward to seeing my family and friends, but I am very sorry that I will be unable to return to Sudan," the statement read.

Hard to imagine that Gillian Gibbons would want to return to Sudan to teach! But, an intelligent woman to:

1) Apologize that she 'offended' anyone.
2) Express her 'respect' for the Islamic faith.
3) State, whether sincerely or not, that she desires to teach Sudanese children.

Teddy Bears and Teachers and Islamic Extremism

Don Singleton: Execute her

Don Singleton: Execute her

Sudanese React Violently to Name of Teddy Bear

Teacher hidden as Sudan mob urges death

By MOHAMED OSMAN, Associated Press Writer Fri Nov 30, 5:06 PM ET

KHARTOUM, Sudan - Thousands of Sudanese, many armed with clubs and swords and beating drums, burned pictures of a British teacher Friday and demanded her execution for insulting Islam by letting her students name a teddy bear Muhammad.

Sudan's Islamic government, which has long whipped up anti-Western, Muslim hard-line sentiment at home, was balancing between fueling outrage over the case of Gillian Gibbons and containing it.

The government does not want to seriously damage ties with Britain, but the show of anger underlines its stance that Sudanese oppose Western interference, lawyers and political foes said. The uproar comes as the U.N. is accusing Sudan of dragging its feet on the deployment of peacekeepers in the war-torn Darfur region.

Many in the protesting crowd shouted "Kill her! Kill her by firing squad!"

In response to the rally in central Khartoum, Gibbons was moved from the women's prison across the Nile in Oumdurman to a secret location, her chief lawyer Kamal al-Gizouli told the Associated Press. He said he visited her there to discuss her conviction Thursday on charges of insulting Islam.

The 54-year-old Gibbons, who was sentenced to 15 days in jail, spoke Friday with her son John and daughter Jessica in Britain by telephone.

"One of the things my mum said today was that I don't want any resentment towards Muslims," the son told AP. "She's holding up quite well."

Despite the fervor of the protest, the rest of Khartoum was quiet. The rally was far smaller than February 2006 protests held with government backing after European newspapers ran caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, suggesting popular anger over Gibbons did not run as deep.

In their mosque sermons Friday, several Muslim clerics harshly denounced Gibbons, saying she had intentionally insulted the prophet, but they not call for protests and said the punishment ordered by the court was sufficient.

Still, after prayers, several thousand people converged on Khartoum's Martyrs Square, near the presidential palace, and began calling for Gibbons' execution. Many seemed to be from Sufi groups, religious sects that emphasize reverence for the prophet.

Some angrily denounced the teacher, but others smiled as they beat drums and burned newspapers with Gibbons' picture, waving swords and clubs and green banners, the color of Islam.

Chants of "Kill her!" and "No tolerance: Execution!" rang out as hundreds of police in riot gear stood by, keeping the crowd contained but not moving against the rally.

Protesters dismissed Gibbons' claims that she didn't mean to insult the prophet.

"It is a premeditated action, and this unbeliever thinks that she can fool us?" said Yassin Mubarak, a young dreadlocked man swathed in green and carrying a sword. "What she did requires her life to be taken."

Several hundred protesters marched to Unity High School, where Gibbons worked, and chanted outside briefly before heading toward the nearby British Embassy. They were stopped by security forces two blocks from the embassy. The protest dispersed after an hour.

"I would like to tell the whole world that what happened here from this English teacher is not acceptable to us," said a protester, Sheikh Nasser Abu Shamah.

There was no overt sign that the government organized the protest, but such a public rally could not have taken place without at least official assent.

Gibbons was sentenced Thursday to 15 days in jail and deportation for insulting Islam with the naming of the teddy bear, which was part of a class project for her 7-year-old students at the private school.

She escaped harsher punishment that could have included up to 40 lashes, six months in prison and a fine. Her time in jail since her arrest Sunday counts toward the sentence.