A Suicide Bomber Teacher Accidentally Blows His Class Up
If there were such a thing, it would probably be rule No. 1 in the teaching manual for instructors of aspiring suicide bombers: Don't give lessons with live explosives.
By Sadho Ram — 11 Feb 2014, 01:35 PM — Updated almost 11 years ago
22 Iraqi militants were killed and 15 more injured, on Monday during a suicide bombing training session when an instructor accidentally set off an explosion during a demonstration
The commander was training them on how to blow themselves up amid a crowd of people using explosive belts and car bombs, when of the devices went off
The instructor was unnamed in a New York Times report, so little is known about the man other than he failed to realize his bomb belt was chock full of live explosives before showing his students how to detonate it.
mashable.com
Even more embarrassing was that the group was filming a propaganda video of how to conduct car bomb attacks when the explosives detonated, according to Majeed Ali, the head of the Sahwa militia force in the city.
nypost.com
According to reports, all the students were and are members of a group called the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, an Al Qaeda faction that has been at war with the Iraqi army throughout the country's Anbar Province for years.
Security forces were drawn to the area by the sound of the explosion
The officer said security forces, who rushed to the area after hearing the sound of the explosion, arrested 12 of the wounded plus another 10 suspected militants trying to flee the area.
nypost.com
File picture of gunman patrolling during clashes with Iraqi security forces in Fallujah, Iraq in 5 January 2014.
Image via huffpost.comThe security officers searched two houses and a garage in the camp and found a stockpile of terrorist weapons, including seven vehicles prepared to serve as car bombs, several explosive belts and handmade roadside bombs.
The dead instructor has not been named, but he was described as an experienced operative who specialised in training and recruitment
An Iraqi army officer told The New York Times that his final lesson had killed "the bad guys for once".
telegraph.co.uk
Referring to the recruiting pitch that martyrdom is a sure ticket to heaven and the virgins that await there, the officer added, “Maybe this suicide bomber will really get to heaven as they say.”
nytimes.com
Raad Hashim, a local, working the counter at a liquor store near the site of the attack, burst out laughing when he heard the news
“This is so funny,” Mr. Hashim said. “It shows how stupid they are, those dogs and sons of dogs.” More seriously, he said, “it also gives me pain, as I remember all the innocent people that were killed here.”
ndtv.com
“This is God showing justice,” Mr. Hashim continued. “This is God sending a message to the bad people and the criminals in the world, to tell them to stop the injustice and to bring peace. Evil will not win in the end. It’s always life that wins over death.”
nytimes.com
Another resident of the area, who lives near the ministry building that was targeted last week, said: “I heard this today when my friend rang me in the afternoon to tell me about it. He was so happy as if he was getting married.
ndtv.com
“Which made me happy as well,” the resident said. “I hope that their graves burn and all the rest of them burn as well. I was not happy with the number killed, though: I wanted more of them to die, as I remember my friend who was killed by a suicide bomber in 2007.”
nytimes.com
“What happened today was not death, but it was life to us,” Mr. Hashim said
“Those 22 who were killed today might have killed hundreds of Iraqis, hundreds of innocent souls. May they burn in hell.”
nytimes.com
In Iraq, suicide bombings are a frequent occurrence. In the wake of America's military withdrawal from that country in 2011, violence has has returned to levels not seen for years
In 2013, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, 7,818 Iraqi civilians and police were murdered in acts of terrorism or other violence and 17,891 more were injured, making that year the most deadly since 2008.
mashable.com
The Al Qaeda force has enjoyed huge success in recent months, as they have wrested major cities away from Iraqi government control and have set their sights on bringing chaos to Baghdad, the country's capital.
theguardian.com