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North of Capital, A Tale of Two Iraqs
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"The situation in Baqubah is controlled," said Maj. Gen. Ghassan Adnan Awad al-Bawi, the provincial police chief, adding that rumors to the contrary should be ignored. "The purpose of these rumors is to hit the will of our citizens."
In Baqubah, meanwhile, the armed men arrived at the municipal building waving guns, said Abu Sajjad, the council member, who declined to give his full name for security reasons. The attackers targeted only the mayor, who runs the city of roughly 280,000 people.
"They did not take any one of his guards," Abu Sajjad said. "They didn't kill or wound anyone."
He wondered whether the mayor had been set up. Some high-ranking city officials who should have been at work had left unexpectedly, he said, adding that the parking lot behind the building was unusually deserted. The mayor's one-story building was destroyed.
"We don't know yet why he was targeted," said Hussein al-Zubaydi, a member of the provincial council and head of its security committee. "We don't know whether it was personal."
As the news conference ended, reporters who had assembled in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone were handed press kits with photographs, maps and biographical information about the American commanders. They also were given a DVD with raw footage of parts of the operation, called Turki Bowl because it happened close to the village of Turki.
About 30 minutes after the kidnapping, U.S. military and Iraqi security forces arrived at the scene, cordoned it off and inspected the damage as military helicopters hovered overhead, officials said.
Shammari reported from Baqubah. Special correspondents Saad al-Izzi, Naseer Nouri and Waleed Saffar in Baghdad contributed to this report.
