Fears Growing as Syrians Wait for U.S. Attack.

Fears Growing as Syrians Wait for U.S. Attack.

BEIRUT | Lebanon  | 30 Aug 2013 ::  In a narrow alley in the old city of Damascus, a shopkeeper who opposes the Syrian government spent Thursday as usual, drinking coffee with the other merchants who keep him company in place of long-vanished tourists. But the calm on the cobblestone street, he said, could hardly mask the fear and ambivalence over an American military strike.

“Disorder, revenge. Sectarian violence,” he said in a text message, ticking off what he sees as the worst potential consequences of the missile strikes that American officials have threatened against President Bashar al-Assad’s government, which they blame for a deadly chemical attack last week.

In Damascus, as people stock up on food and water and the government closes central streets and moves troops and matériel into residential areas and schools, even staunch supporters of the uprising against Mr. Assad are divided on the looming attack.

Many here feel even a limited strike threatens to inject a new, unpredictable dynamic into a civil war that has largely spared their storied city. And some opponents of the government are loath to see direct American military intervention in their fight, fearful it will hijack and discredit the uprising they have waged for more than two years at great cost.

Though some called early on for NATO intervention, others said they wanted support and arms from Washington — not an attack by the American military.(Copy from:The New York Times)

Al-Qaeda claims attacks on Iraq jails, says 500 inmates freed.

Al-Qaeda claims attacks on Iraq jails, says 500 inmates freed.

A picture shows a fighter from Syrian al-Qaeda-linked group
 Jabhat al-Nusra. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant was
 formed earlier this year through a merger between al Qaeda's
 affiliates in Syria and Iraq. (File photo: Reuters)

Al Arabia | 23 Jul 2013 :: An Al-Qaeda front group on Tuesday claimed responsibility for simultaneous raids on two Iraqi prisons and said more than 500 inmates had been set free, including senior militant leaders.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which was formed earlier this year through a merger between Al-Qaeda's affiliates in Syria and Iraq, said it had carried out the attacks on Abu Ghraib and Taji jails after months of preparation.

“The mujahideen (holy warriors), after months of preparation and planning, targeted two of the largest prisons of the Safavid government,” said the statement, using a pejorative term for Shiites. 

The statement, posted on jihadist forums, comes as security forces were Tuesday hunting for the escapees. 

The attacks struck Abu Ghraib prison, west of Baghdad, and a prison in Taji, north of the capital, on Sunday night, though accounts differed as to whether inmates escaped from both sites, or just from Abu Ghraib.

A high-ranking security official told AFP on condition of anonymity that the escapees included high-ranking Al-Qaeda members, and that they will likely attempt to launch revenge attacks. 

“Dark days are waiting for Iraq. Some of those who escaped are senior leaders of Al-Qaeda and the operation was executed for this group of leaders,” the official said. 

“Those who escaped will work on committing acts of revenge, most of which might be suicide attacks,” he added.(Courtesy:Al Arabia)