THE CENTRAL BATTLE IN THE WAR ON TERR... WHOOPS, NEVER MIND

NAJAF, Iraq (AP) — Nine of 25 people arrested in the deadly car bombing that killed a prominent Shiite cleric have links to al-Qaeda, a senior police official said Tuesday.

--USA Today, September 2, 2003

NAJAF, Iraq — U.S.-led occupation forces in this holy city have released four of seven suspects arrested in the car bombing here last month that killed more than 100 people, and they have yet to find any direct evidence linking the blast to Al Qaeda or other foreign terrorist groups, officials said Monday.

The four were released because of a lack of proof against them, said Lt. Col. Chris Woodbridge, who heads the Marine battalion occupying Najaf. They were turned over to Iraqi police, Woodbridge said, but U.S. authorities are convinced they were not involved in the attack.

The three suspects still held by U.S. forces remain in custody while authorities check inconsistencies in their statements, but they too may eventually be cleared, Woodbridge said. All seven detainees appear to be Iraqis, despite initial reports that several foreigners were detained....

Early reports after the bombing said that as many as 19 suspects had been detained by Iraqi police, but U.S. officials now say that number appears to be inflated. At one point, Najaf police said two Saudis had been arrested. Another suspect was described as a Jordanian but turned out to be an Iraqi with business dealings in the neighboring Arab nation, Woodbridge said....

Authorities now say those assertions linking the bombing to Al Qaeda or foreigners appear to have been premature.

"This bombing in Najaf could have been done by any number of groups, or even by people who just want to cause trouble and don't want stability in Iraq," Thomas Fuentes, chief FBI investigator in Baghdad, said Monday.

--L.A. Times, September 9, 2003