US mil: women bombers underwent psychiatric treatment, no indication they had Down syndrome

The Associated Press

BAGHDAD: The U.S. military said Wednesday that two women used as suicide bombers in attacks against two pet markets in Baghdad earlier this month had undergone psychiatric treatment but there's no indication they had Down syndrome, as Iraqi officials had claimed.

Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, a military spokesman, said the women had been positively identified as residents from the northeastern outskirts of Baghdad who were in their late 20s or early 30s.

The Iraqi claim that mentally disabled women were used in the Feb. 1 pet market bombings that killed nearly 100 people was met initially with skepticism. Iraqi authorities said they based the assertion on photos of the bombers' heads that purportedly showed the women had Down syndrome, and did not offer any other proof.

The U.S. military later backed the Iraqi account of the bombings. Smith backed away from the claim about Down syndrome on Wednesday but said the women did suffer from mental issues.

"Both had recently received psychiatric treatment for depression and/or schizophrenia. From what they know now there's no indication that they had Down syndrome," Smith said.

He also said one of the women was married, but neither had criminal backgrounds and it was not clear how they were linked to al-Qaida in Iraq, which the military has said was behind the bombing.

U.S. troops killed a senior intelligence leader involved in the al-Qaida in Iraq network Sunday near Khan Bani Saad, northeast of Baghdad. Smith said Abu Karrar, also known as Arkan Khalaf Khudayyir, was involved in a suicide bombing network that conducts attacks in the capital, including attacks by female suicide bombers.

Smith also blamed Iranian-backed Shiite militias for a series of deadly rocket attacks in Baghdad, the most intense to hit the capital in weeks amid a steep decline in violence since a U.S.-Iraq campaign against Sunni and Shiite extremists began a year ago Feb. 14.

Quantifying the successes, Smith said the number of civilian deaths in Baghdad had dropped from 1,087 men, women and children killed in February 2007 to 178 in the first month of this year.

He also said the number of execution-style killings carried out by so-called sectarian death squads had dropped some 95 percent, from 800 in February 2007 to below 40 so far this month

The number of suicide attacks, meanwhile, went from 12 a month last year to just four in January, and the number of roadside bombings was down more than 45 percent in the year since the U.S.-Iraqi operation began, he said.

"While the progress has been significant, we all know Baghdad is not safe from al-Qaida and other extremists," Smith said.

The U.S. military has accused Tehran of supporting the Shiite extremist violence, although it has said the flow of weapons from Iran has slowed. Iran denies the allegations.

All the attacks this week were launched from areas known to be Shiite militia strongholds.

"The type of munitions used in these events have all been signature Iranian type weapons," Smith said, adding information from detainees also supported the conclusion.

Smith also announced that one American civilian was killed and a number of U.S. troops and civilian personnel were wounded in a previously unreported rocket attack in the southeastern area of Rustamiyah Tuesday night. He did not elaborate, but there is a U.S. base in the predominantly Shiite area.

On Monday, 16 rockets slammed into an Iraqi housing complex near the Baghdad international airport and Camp Victory, the main U.S. military headquarters, killing at least five people and wounding 16, including two U.S. soldiers.

Six Iraqi suspects detained near the launching sites all had explosives residue on their bodies, Smith said, adding that troops also seized 19 launching systems, one 107 mm rocket ready to be fired and other high explosives and munitions.

Rockets also slammed into U.S. outposts in Baghdad Tuesday night and Smith said three U.S. soldiers were wounded, instead of four previously announced.

Iraqi police responding to the attack found an abandoned truck loaded with rockets, but one of them exploded before it could be defused.

Smith said five national police officers were killed and 10 were wounded. But Brig. Gen. Jihad al-Jubouri, head of the anti-bombing squad at the Interior Ministry, said the blast killed 11 bomb experts and three other officers.

"Their selfless bravery no doubt saved the lives of countless innocent Iraqis had the special groups been able to successfully fire from the truck," Smith said.