advertisement
Al Qaeda Claims Raid on Iraq's Abu Ghraib Prison
The U.S. military said dozens of insurgents carried out Saturday's attack on the notorious prison outside Baghdad, detonating two suicide car bombs and firing rocket-propelled grenades at U.S. forces before the assault was repelled.
"Your brothers in the al Qaeda Organization (for Holy War) in Iraq launched a well-planned attack on Abu Ghraib prison, where Muslim women and men are held," said the statement posted on a Web site used by Islamists.
It said suicide car bombs and missile strikes on U.S. forces preceded a gunbattle that lasted most of the night.
"Columns of smoke were seen rising from the crusaders' bases," the statement said. "This battle is part of a series of raids ... which began yesterday across the land of Mesopotamia."
The group said it would provide a film of the attack soon.
Besides the 44 U.S. troops wounded, 12 detainees were hurt, one seriously. The U.S. military said at least one insurgent was killed.
It was believed to be the largest and most determined attack on Abu Ghraib, a prison where more than 3,000 suspected insurgents are held in U.S. detention and which was at the center of a prisoner abuse scandal last year.
Um grupo da Al Qaeda diz ser responsável pelo ataque de sábado contra a prisão de Abu Ghraib no Iraque. Os militares dos Estados Unidos da América divulgaram relatórios que dizem que 44 soldados americanos e 12 prisioneiros iraquianos foram feridos, alguns com muita gravidade.

O ataque ocorreu no fim do dia e início da noite. Outros ataques violentos também têm ocorrido nos últimos dias em outros pontos do país.

Uma declaração colocada num sítio da internet por extremistas islâmicos no domingo, diz:"Seus irmãos da organização Al Qaeda, pela Guerra Santa, lançaram no Iraque um ataque bem planejado contra a prisão de Abu Ghraib, onde estão detidos muçulmanos, homens e mulheres." 

Jornalistas da GNN dizem que o comandante do exército americano primeiro-tenente Adam Rondeau disse "Este foi obviamente um ataque muito bem organizado e bastante grande."