Suicide Bomb Instructor Accidentally Kills Pupils

Facepalm We’ve all had a bad day at work, but this was a really bad day at work:

BAGHDAD — A group of Sunni militants attending a suicide bombing training class at a camp north of Baghdad were killed on Monday when their commander unwittingly conducted a demonstration with a belt that was packed with explosives, army and police officials said. The militants belonged to a group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, which is fighting the Shiite-dominated army of the Iraqi government, mostly in Anbar Province. But they are also linked to bomb attacks elsewhere and other fighting that has thrown Iraq deeper into sectarian violence. Twenty-two ISIS members were killed, and 15 were wounded, in the explosion at the camp, which is in a farming area in the northeastern province of Samara, according to the police and army officials. Stores of other explosive devices and heavy weapons were also kept there, the officials said. Eight militants were arrested when they tried to escape, the officials said. The militant who was conducting the training was not identified by name, but he was described by an Iraqi Army officer as a prolific recruiter who was “able to kill the bad guys for once.”

And they always said going to school couldn’t kill you.

FILED UNDER: Policing, Terrorism, , , , , ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. David in KC says:

    So, a class on car bombs and the bomb goes off and kills people. Does hat mean they all passed the course?

  2. CSK says:

    “Okay, class, pay close attention, because I’m only going to do this once…”

  3. ernieyball says:

    @David in KC: With flying colors…including blood red…

  4. rudderpedals says:

    Should have learned fruits first. Good result, though.

  5. Moosebreath says:

    @rudderpedals:

    “Should have learned fruits first.”

    And then maybe graduate to pointed sticks.

  6. gVOR08 says:

    @CSK: Won the thread.

  7. As the saying goes: those that can, do; those that can’t, blow up their students.

  8. Neil Hudelson says:

    If Archer is any indication, this sounds like a pretty standard SNAFU by ISIS.

  9. al-Ameda says:

    A group of Sunni militants attending a suicide bombing training class on Natural Selection at a camp north of Baghdad were killed on Monday when their commander unwittingly conducted a successful real time demonstration with a belt that was packed with explosives, army and police officials said.

  10. rodney dill says:

    …not sure if he should win the Darwin award or the Nobel Peace prize

  11. Neil Hudelson says:

    Since mainstream respected papers seem to be exceptionally vulnerable to hoaxes recently (see here), I’m going to chalk this up as a hoax until there is greater confirmation.

    Look at how it’s written. The instructor is not identified, it doesn’t state where the event happened, it quotes simply “residents said.” and their quoted authority is “said a military commander.”

    And the only authority that is actually quoted by name relates only to contextual information about the state of suicide bombings in Iraq.

  12. Franklin says:

    Neil, you’re raining on our parade.

  13. Matt Bernius says:

    @Neil Hudelson:
    While I totally agree with every point you raise, I am happy to pretend that this is true (in the same way that I pretend that GWB actually said “there is no word in French for Entrepreneur” – http://www.snopes.com/quotes/bush.asp )

  14. jd says:

    Baghdad School for the Gifted

  15. bill says:

    gotta be running low on virgins wherever these scum wind up. i love a happy ending though.

  16. Neil Hudelson says:

    Also, Santa died 1,671 years ago, and it was really just your parents putting presents under the tree.

  17. OzarkHillbilly says:

    @Neil Hudelson: Neil, you are nothing but a killjoy. Now go away while the big boys play. 😉