Iraq - Iraqi rebels turn on Qaeda

Now they're rebels? As long as they're fighting al Qaeda who cares what you call them.

Jan 23, 2006 — BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi nationalist rebels in the Sunni Arab city of Ramadi have turned against their former al Qaeda allies after a bomb attack this month killed 80 people, sparking tit-for-tat assassinations.

Residents told Reuters on Monday at least three prominent figures on both sides were among those killed after local insurgent groups formed an alliance against al Qaeda, blaming it for massacring police recruits in Ramadi on January 5.

"There was a meeting right after the bombings," one Ramadi resident familiar with the events said. "Tribal leaders and political figures gathered to form the Anbar Revolutionaries to fight al Qaeda in Anbar and force them to leave the province.

"Since then there has been all-out war between them," said the resident in the capital of the sprawling western desert province of Anbar, speaking anonymously for fear of reprisals.

Local Iraqi officials confirmed residents' accounts of events but declined to comment publicly.

The bloodshed is the latest example of a trend U.S. military commanders and diplomats have been pointing to optimistically in recent months as a sign that some militants may be ready to pursue negotiable demands through the new Sunni Arab engagement in parliament after taking part in last month's election.

And six other groups have split from Zarqawi.

Add to this the fact that more and more ordinary Iraqis are turning in terrorists and weapons caches.

Hopefully, soon, someone will find that $25 million to hard to resist and will give up Zarqawi.
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