Militants threaten Dutch and Italian 'bloodbaths'

An online statement purportedly from an Islamic militant group threatened the Netherlands and Italy with “bloodbaths” if they don’t withdraw their troops from Iraq.

The statement appeared late yesterday on a web site known as a clearing house for militant-related material.

“We advise you to withdraw the Dutch troops from Iraq, otherwise we will not be responsible for the retaliation which will not be through the internet, but through our special means,” warned the Jamaat al-Tawhid al-Islamiya group, monitored in Cairo.

“Wait for the hell which will turn your nights into bloodbaths,” the statement said, addressing all European countries, especially the Netherlands and Italy, that have sent troops to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The new statement addressed Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi by name and said: “You have defied the soldiers of Islam so wait for the Islamic quake.”

The statement was signed by the Omar el-Mukhtar Brigade of the Jamaat al-Tawhid al-Islamiya, or Group of Islamic Monotheism. Omar el-Mukhtar was a Libyan nationalist who fought against the Italian occupation and was hanged in 1931.

The Netherlands has approximately 1,350 troops in southern Iraq. Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said the incident should not deter efforts to bring peace and stability to southern Iraq.

The warning to Italy, which has some 3,000 troops in Iraq, was the second in the past 24 hours.

A statement released in the name of Abu-Hafs al-Masri Brigades, an al-Qaida-linked group, said the Italian government has “dug its grave by its own hands” after it ignored a warning to withdraw its troops from Iraq by August 15.