Threats and snipping in Iraq

The office of the Sunni Waqf in Iraq, led by Sheikh Adnan al-Duleimi, deplored in a statement the breaking in of the house if the chairman of the Muslim Scholars Commission, Sheikh Harith al-Dari, on Tuesday by joint America- Iraqi forces.

Meantime, a statement on the Internet attributed to al-Qaida Jihad organization in Mesopotamia threatened to kill 36 Iraqi soldiers it holds as hostages, unless the Iraqi government releases women prisoners during 72 hours.

The group, which kidnapped and killed several officials and soldiers, said that there is one senior army officer among the held soldiers.

In another development, a naval shipping company said that armed snipers attacked a giant oil cargo which has anchored at al-Basra port for oil exports in the early hours of Wednesday. But the snipers could not break into the oil cargo because the guards challenged them and they were forced to escape.