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BATTLE ZONE
Al Qaeda Cigarette Ban Making Enemies
Yon Reports Al Qaeda Leaders Order Cigarette Fingers Chopped Off
06/25/2007 1:34 PM ET
Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty
The foreign Islamists fighting for al Qaeda in Iraq have engendered much resentment from local residents for their radically conservative religious mores and their violent campaigns that do not avoid civilian casualties.
But Michal Yon reports in his latest dispatch from the frontlines in Baqubah that al Qaeda is also creating enemies by sponsoring a ban of one beloved Iraqi pasttime: smoking cigarettes.
Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) had tarnished its name here by publicly attacking and murdering children, videotaping beheadings, all while imposing harsh punishments on Iraqi civilians found guilty of violating morality laws prohibiting activities like smoking....
On the evening of the 24th I spoke with a local Iraqi official, Colonel Faik, who said the Muftis would order the severance of the two fingers used to hold a cigarette for any Iraqis caught smoking. Other reports, from here in Diyala and also in Anbar, allege that smokers are murdered by AQI. Most Iraqis smoke and this particular prohibition appeared to have earned the ire of many locals. After an American unit cleared an apartment complex on the 23rd, LTC Smiley, the battalion commander, reported that residents didnt ask for food and water, but cigarettes. In other parts of Baqubah, people have been celebrating the routing of AQI by lighting up and smoking cigarettes.
