Rebels Scam U.S. Troops with Tips on Roadside Bombs

American and Iraqi forces lack reliable information on imminent attacks by insurgents and armed groups.

“I think they are in the dark and that most of their operations target the wrong people and areas,” said a Mr. Hamed, who for security reasons didn’t want to give his first name.

Stories of U.S. troops arresting or killing the wrong people and attacking the wrong houses abound in Baghdad. As for Iraqi forces, most of their operations are carried out for purely sectarian reasons.

The reason for the lack of information from the public is not hard to see. Iraqi insurgents are fully prepared to punish any Iraqi believed to have tipped off U.S. or Iraqi forces about rebel operations.

The Iraqi resistance is not the gathering of rag-tag fighters U.S. commanders would like us to believe. The resistance is highly organized with intelligence-gathering systems superior to those at the disposal of American forces.

“Iraqi armed groups have infiltrated the police and the army, and usually kill anyone suspected of informing on their activities,” said A. Abed.

Most of the Iraqis who inform the police about the presence of explosives, car bombs and roadside bombs have been killed. Resistance fighters treat those who collaborate with U.S. troops very harshly. They kidnap translators and either kill them or release them in return for massive ransoms.

U.S. troops pay rewards to Iraqis who inform them about roadside bombs, but there are reports of armed men placing roadside bombs specifically to collect such rewards. Rebels are in need of cash, and it seems as though their tactics of planting bombs with the specific aim of obtaining U.S. rewards have succeeded.

Mr. Saheb says U.S. forces pay for some of the bombs in cash and others in blood.

Iraqi authorities are reluctant to give such rewards in return for tips on explosives or imminent attacks. “If they (the government) paid, they would be flooded with tips,” said Mr. S. Mansour.

Mansour also says there is no lack of explosives or bombs in Iraq. With the prospect of a reward, many are ready to use them in any manner that would help them earn some money, he said.