A bumbling bomb builder killed himself and 21 of his fellow terrorists Monday in Iraq when a device he was showing them how to make ignited and exploded in a fiery blast.
According to Iraqi officials, the wannabe terrorists were gathered around the instructor learning how to make car bombs and explosive belts when one of the belts malfunctioned and blew them to hell.
The blundering tutor was not identified by name, but an Iraqi Army officer told the New York Times he was known as a recruiter of young militants who was “able to kill the bad guys for once.”
Security forces found a terror trove of seven car bombs, explosive belts and roadside bombs at the camp tucked away in an orchard in a rural farming area that has been a stronghold of Al Qaeda.
The group is behind a recent uptick in violence in Iraq that began last April. That was when Iraqi security forces cracked down on a Sunni protest camp and the fighting killed 45 people.
Many Iraqi Sunnis are angered over what they perceive as mistreatment at the hands of the Shiite-led government that took power after the U.S. invasion. Saddam Hussein’s regime favored the minority Sunnis.
ISIS is believed to have been emboldened by the success that Sunni fighters have had in the ongoing civil war in neighboring Syria.
Car bombs have proven to be the most effective — and deadliest — weapons in the Sunni terror organization’s arsenal.
The cache of terror tools found after Monday’s explosion were stored in two houses and a garage near the camp.
The bombs are sometimes assembled in farm compounds or in mechanic shops in industrial areas.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s parliamentary speaker, Osama al-Nujaifi, one of the country’s most prominent Sunni officials, escaped an assassination attempt in the northern city of Mosul.
One bodyguard was wounded when a roadside bomb struck al-Nujaifi’s motorcade, according to police officials.
The U.S. quickly reacted.
“Today’s attack exemplifies the danger terrorist groups pose to all Iraqis, and the importance of Iraqi leaders from all communities working together to isolate militant groups from the broader population,” U.S. Department of State deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement.
via@NYDaily