AQI trying to sow seeds of sedition in Talafar- officials

NINEWA / IraqiNews.com: Al-Qaeda-in-Iraq (AQI) is trying to sow the seeds of sedition in Talafar, local officials in the district said on Saturday, revealing plans by the network to assassinate prominent government and tribal figures. “Al-Qaeda Organization failed in triggering sectarian seditions in Talafar (60 km northwest of Mosul) following the tragic incidents in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Now, al-Qaeda operatives are trying once again to achieve their malicious goals,” a spokesperson for the Talafar tribal council, Sheikh Hashem Antar, told IraqiNews.com news agency. Meanwhile, a security source said that intelligence reports have revealed plans by armed groups, particularly al-Qaeda, to step up their activities in the coming period. According to the source, several prominent figures- including the director of the Sunni Waqf (Endowment) in Talafar, the head of the Talafar Tribes Support Council, his spokesperson, the head of the Talafar council, and the mayor, are on the assassination list of al-Qaeda. Mosul, the capital city of Ninewa province, lies 405 km north of Baghdad. SS (P)/SR 1