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February 11th, 2004
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Bush Vows To Bring Suicide Bombers To Justice |
President Says Perpetrators Are Wanted, Dead Or Alive
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President George W. Bush, the man who makes suicide bombers tremble |
World - In the wake of suicide bombings that have killed over 100 Iraqis and threatened to interfere with the transition to an independent Iraq, President Bush today vowed to "track down those who committed these cowardly acts of terror, and make them pay for their wicked deeds."
Two car bomb attacks occurred in the Baghdad area this week. On Tuesday, 55 were killed in an attack against an Iraqi police station where applicants were lined up outside. Then on Wednesday, an explosion at the Iraqi Army Recruiting Center killed 47, most of them potential recruits.
Military authorities said that similar tactics were used in the two attacks, but stopped short of suggesting that they were carried out by the same individual.
The President said that the attacks were performed with such skill that "the bombers have clearly done this type of attack before. Our intelligence suggests that these same individuals have carried out at least eight or ten previous suicide bombings."
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| An Iraqi informant said he could pinpoint the whereabouts of the bombers to within a few city blocks. |
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Bush said that the perpetrators, once found, would be subject to "swift and severe" punishment. Under interim regulations established by the Coalition Provisional Authority, he explained, suicide attacks are punishable by imprisonment or even death.
Authorities may be close to apprehending the suspects. According to a senior White House official, U.S. intelligence sources have identified an Iraqi informant who can provide a detailed physical description of the bombers, and pinpoint their whereabouts to within a few city blocks.
Iraqi Civil Administrator Paul Bremer appears confident that the perpetrators will be caught. "One thing is for certain," he said, "these men will never again threaten the lives of innocent Iraqis or Americans."
Although this week's bombings were the among deadliest yet, Bush insisted that security was improving in Iraq and that attacks like these would soon cease. "The next person who carries out a suicide attack in Iraq will incur the wrath of the U.S. military and the Iraqi security forces," he said. "And when that happens - you can mark my words - they're going to wish they were dead."
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