September 8, 2010Iraq: Al-Qaeda demands 'protection money' from northern shopkeepers
Mosul, Al-Qaeda militants are demanding shopkeepers in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul pay extortion money running into hundreds of dollars, the governor of surrounding Nineveh province told pan-Arab daily 'al-Sharq al-Awsat'.
"Many shopkeepers have been threatened and are paying up," Athil al-Najafi told 'al-Sharq al-Awsat'.
Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group for Al-Qaeda fighters, is extorting 'protection money' of between 50 and 150 dollars for each truckload of goods received by the shopkeepers, al-Najafi said.
"The charge is 50 dollars for a part delivery and 150 dollars for a full truckload," he stated.
It was hard to assess how many shopkeepers have been paying up, al-Sharq al-Awsat said.
One who did not, Abu Muhammad, was recently murdered and is his son was wounded after Muhammad refused to pay protection money.
In late August, six Iraqi soldiers and a policeman were killed in an attack in Nineveh province. There has been a recent spike in violence in northern Iraq and elsewhere in the country as insurgents have stepped up assaults.
The United States pulled out its combat troops in August amid a political vacuum as parties failed to form a government in the wake of March elections.
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=3.1.932669245
