The Sorely Underreported Story of the Week
Perhaps you’ve been flooded with reports from across the Pond that the Royals have a new progeny. The media outlets have been 24/7 with coverage about Princess Kate being in labor and giving birth to a baby boy.
But that’s not nearly as newsworthy as what happened in a dusty and ancient part of the world.
Al Qaeda terrorists busted in to one of the world’s most notorious prisons and released more than 500 prisoners, including many senior members of al Qaeda.
Hundreds of convicts, including senior members of al Qaeda, broke out of Iraq’s Abu Ghraib jail as comrades launched a military-style assault to free them, authorities said on Monday.
The deadly raid on the high-security jail happened as Sunni Muslim militants are re-gaining momentum in their insurgency against the Shiite-led government that came to power after the U.S. invasion to oust Saddam Hussein.
Suicide bombers drove cars packed with explosives to the gates of the prison on the outskirts of Baghdad on Sunday night and blasted their way into the compound, while gunmen attacked guards with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.
Other militants took up positions near the main road, fighting off security reinforcements sent from Baghdad as several militants wearing suicide vests entered the prison on foot to help free the inmates.
According to senior Iraqi security officials, most of those who escaped were senior members of al Qaeda in Iraq.
Considering the damage that al Qaeda inflicted on Iraq during the past decade, and the ongoing fight in neighboring Syria, the level of violence is sure to rise in both countries.
At the same time, US, Western, and even other Arab countries will have to be on the lookout for more terror plots as the al Qaeda regroups and reforms into new cells.