KEY POINTS:
BAGHDAD - A Sunni Arab tribal leader instrumental in driving al Qaeda out of Iraq's Anbar province was killed by a bomb yesterday, hours before US President George W. Bush was expected to announce limited US troop cuts in the country.
Abdul Sattar Abu Risha died in an attack on his car near his home in Ramadi, capital of Anbar. He led an alliance of Sunni Arab tribes called the Anbar Salvation Council that joined forces with US troops to push al Qaeda from much of the western area.
The bombing served as a stark warning to other tribal leaders and those cooperating with US forces in Iraq, especially since Abu Risha was heavily guarded. He had met with Bush in the desert region less than two weeks ago.
Iraq's government and the White House condemned the attack. Iraqi officials blamed Sunni Islamist al Qaeda.
The US military commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, called the killing of Abu Risha "a terrible loss for Anbar province and all of Iraq."
"It shows how significant his importance was and it shows al Qaeda in Iraq remains a very dangerous and barbaric enemy," Petraeus said in an interview with The Washington Post published on its website.
Bush met Abu Risha and other tribal leaders during a highly symbolic trip to Anbar on September 3, where the American leader declared that improved security in the vast desert province was an example of what could happen elsewhere in Iraq.
Seeking to rally support amid growing Democratic opposition to his Iraq strategy, Bush will deliver a televised speech at 1pm NZT in which he plans to "lay out a vision" for future US involvement in Iraq 4 1/2 years after the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
A senior administration official said on Thursday Bush intended to withdraw 5,700 troops from Iraq by December.
Bush will also embrace Petraeus' recommendation to gradually withdraw up to 30,000 of the 169,000 troops currently in Iraq, reducing US forces to their level before he ordered a buildup in January, the official said.
The proposed reduction would not be as fast or as large as Democrats in the US Congress have demanded, but could buy time for the president to pursue the war by undermining a push for a wider withdrawal.
Police sources said Abu Risha was killed by a roadside bomb that targeted his armour-plated car, discounting earlier suggestions a bomb had been planted in the vehicle.
Three bodyguards and an aide to Abu Risha were also killed in the attack on the day Iraq's Sunni Muslims marked the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
"The sheikh's car was totally destroyed by the explosion. Abu Risha was killed," Ramadi police officer Ahmed Mahmoud al-Alwani told Reuters.
Residents said a state of emergency had been declared in Ramadi and that American and Iraqi troops had poured into the streets in a heavy show of force.
"Abu Risha played a prominent role in confronting the extremists who tried to hijack the province of Anbar and set up an oppressive and backward entity in the land of Iraq," said a statement from the prime minister's office.
Abu Risha, who was believed to be in his early 40s, set up the Anbar Salvation Council last year to fight al Qaeda, an effort held up by US leaders as one of the biggest success stories in improving security.
His brother, Ahmed Abu Risha, would take over as head of the council, a source in the body said.
Bush's trip last week to Anbar would have been unthinkable just months ago when it was the most dangerous province in Iraq for US troops and the heart of the Sunni Arab insurgency.
"It was once written off as lost. It is now one of the safest places in Iraq," Bush had said.
In Washington, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell called Abu Risha "a brave warrior."
"It's certainly our hope and our belief that he has spawned a movement that will outlive him," Morrell said.
Al Qaeda once controlled large swaths of Anbar but it angered local tribal leaders with its indiscriminate killing of civilians and harsh interpretation of Islam.
Abu Risha was instrumental in getting young men to start joining local police forces, a development that has sharply reduced levels of violence and forced many al Qaeda fighters to flee to other provinces.
Despite the better security in Anbar, the tribal alliance had shown signs of splintering over dissatisfaction with Abu Risha's leadership and infighting between tribal leaders.
- REUTERS
