Iraq Shows Video of Alleged Bomber Confession

Next up Iraq shows video of an alleged bomber confession.
Baghdad security spokesman Qassim al-Moussawi displayed a video to the media of a man saying he orchestrated the truck bombing last week that killed 95 people.

[Wissam Ali Kadhim Ibrahim, Alleged Confessor]:
"A month ago Sattam Farhan ... called from Syria and asked me to conduct a bombing operation to shake the administration. He said that if you can't do it, we have other factions that can."

Many Saddam loyalists fled to Syria after the fall of Saddam in 2003, and Iraqi officials frequently blame neighboring countries for instigating violence in Iraq.

Moussawi had previously announced the arrest of a group of Baathists he alleged were responsible for Wednesday's (August 19) bombings.

Shortly after the taped confession was aired, his office announced that every police officer manning checkpoints on the day of the blasts between Baghdad and Diyala province, where the man said the attack was put together, had been arrested.

The bombings wounded more than 1,000 people, many by shattered window glass from the foreign and finance ministries.

The blasts have also shaken Public confidence in the Iraqi security forces six weeks after U.S. troops pulled out of urban centers.

In the video, the man hints at collusion by someone in the security forces.

[Wissam Ali Kadhim Ibrahim, Alleged Confessor]:
"I called someone in Muqdadiya (in Diyala province) to ease the passage of the car through checkpoints to Baghdad. He asked for 10,000 USD.

The government has often trumpeted the arrests of major suspected terrorists only to be proven wrong.

The announcement that the culprits behind Wednesday's explosions had been arrested on the same day as the bombings, was only made after two days of intense criticism of Iraqi security forces.

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• Qassim al-Moussawi
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