Iraq considers arming insurgents

Iraq considers arming insurgents

By Rick Jervis, USA TODAY
BAGHDAD — Iraq's government is studying a request from some local insurgent leaders to supply them with weapons so they can turn on the heavily armed foreign fighters who were once their allies, according to two Iraqi lawmakers.

Leaders claiming to represent about 11 insurgent groups asked for weapons to fight foreign al-Qaeda elements in Iraq, said Haider al-Ibadi, a Shiite lawmaker and member of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Dawa Party.

"They want to take part in the war against terrorists," said al-Ibadi, who supports the proposal. "They claim they could wipe out the terrorists and work with the government."

The insurgent request was confirmed by al-Ibadi and Mithal al-Alusi, another lawmaker. Al-Maliki was out of the country, and several officials in his office declined to comment.

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The U.S. military said insurgent talks are an Iraqi matter.

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