Bin Laden under attack in Iraqi paper

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: An Iraqi newspaper on Monday launched a strong attack on al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden and other “nutcases” who assigned themselves positions of authority in the Iraqi state. The independent daily al-Sumariya newspaper published an article by its editor-in-chief, Bassem al-Fadili, in which he described the recent bombings and assassinations that hit the areas of al-Karada, al-Zafaraaniya and Mosul as “messages from nutcases.” The self-styled ministers of interior and information and others (in the so-called Islamic State of Iraq) believe that it is easy to dominate Iraq and to take its money, the author said. Describing Bin Laden as “the old devil,” the author said that al-Qaeda’s leader should have read about Iraq’s history and the epic struggle of its people. Meanwhile, Kol al-Iraq, another independent daily, devoted one of its articles to the assassination of Sadrist MP Saleh al-Okeili. Wondering whether moderation is a fault, the author of the article, Ghaleb al-Rakabi, praised Okeili for his tolerance and patriotic attitude. “Did moderation lead to his killing?” Rakabi wondered, raising more questions about who is going to be next in the current wave of assassinations. On Thursday, Sadrist MP Saleh al-Okaili died in hospital of wounds he sustained from an explosion that targeted his car in eastern Baghdad, a spokesperson for the Sadrist bloc said. The parliamentarian died before undergoing a surgery to stop bleeding in his brain. A medical source said earlier that the Shiite lawmaker had fallen into a coma because of bleeding in his brain and would undergo a surgery. SS (S) 1