Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terrorist group, al-Qaida in Iraq formerly Tawhid and Jihad, has claimed credit for the failed assassination attempt on top Shiite leader Abdel Aziz al-Hakim that killed 15 and wounded 50. The statement was posted to an internet website.

Yahoo/AP

The group of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility Tuesday for the assassination attempt against the leader of Iraq's largest Shiite Muslim party that killed and wounded dozens of people.

"On Monday morning, one of the lions of the martyrdom seekers brigades, belonging to the military wing of al-Qaida in Iraq launched an attack in order to wipe out one of the symbols of treason for the Americans," the statement said.

It added that "We tell you Hakim that if one arrow missed you we have many more arrows."

Tipped by: Chad at In The Bullpen (Crossposted to The Jawa Report). Chad has more to say on this.

Originally posted at Diggers Realm

"

In Command Post: Irak



IRAQI SECURITY FORCES DEFEAT INSURGENT COORDINATED ATTACKS, MNF DETAINS 18 in CENTCOM: News Release



RESETTLEMENT UPDATE FOR FALLUJAH in CENTCOM: News Release

From Reuters via the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :

US marines say they have captured two leaders of a militant group linked to Al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraqâ??s restive city of Ramadi.

They say the men, Saleh Arugayan Khalil, also known as Abu Obaida, and Bassem Mohammad Hazim, also known as Abu Khattab, were captured on December 8 and December 12.

The pair were picked up during sweeps of the mainly Sunni Muslim province west of the capital.

â??These individuals were cell leaders for a local Zarqawi-affiliated terrorist group that is operating in Ramadi and western Anbar province,â?? the marines said in a statement.

â??This group is responsible for intimidating, attacking and murdering innocent Iraqi civilians, police, security forces and business and political leaders throughout the Anbar province.â??
[â?¦]
The marines say the men detained in Ramadi led a group that had kidnapped and killed 11 Iraqi National Guards in recent months as well as planting bombs and smuggling foreign militants into Iraq to fight US-led forces.

Information from local residents had helped the marines capture several members of the group, which the statement named as the hitherto unknown â??Harun terrorist networkâ??.

â??Many foreign fighters were also detained,â?? it said.

â??The detainees have provided information regarding the involvement of other individuals who are actively recruiting and smuggling foreign terrorists.â??

Including at least one â??own goalâ??. From the AFP via the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :

â?¦five Iraqis have been killed and another five wounded when a makeshift bomb exploded on a road frequented by US convoys in the volatile bastion of Samarra.

The Death toll described in a previous post has now been revised to 3.

A doctor at a clinic in Khan al-Nus, north of Najaf, says three Iraqis died and two have been wounded when a car bomb exploded in the path of a US military convoy, which escaped unscathed.

In a clutch of targeted assassinations, an Iraqi working as an interpreter for the US military and his wife were shot dead by gunmen near the northern city of Mosul.

Just north of the capital, gunmen mowed down a local council member and his friend, while another man died when the bomb he was planting on the side of a road near Balad exploded prematurely.

From Reuters via the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :

Gunmen shot dead the dean of Baghdad Universityâ??s School of Dentistry on Saturday, the latest victim of post-war violence that has forced thousands of professionals to flee the country.

Hassan Al Rubaiei was driving along the western bank of the Tigris when gunmen pulled alongside and sprayed his car with automatic gunfire, a police official said.

Mr Rubaieiâ??s wife was injured in the attack.

The motive for the attack was unknown but violence has become a hallmark of academic life in Iraq with professors killed or threatened for their political views or administrative decisions.

The attacks have included professors who attempted to uphold the countryâ??s secular tradition and managers of universities and state companies who replaced former ruling Baath Party members.