Juba (sniper)

"Juba" is the nickname that the occupation forces in Iraq have given to a supposed member of the Iraqi insurgency who is alleged to be an accurate sniper, claiming to have killed and wounded up to a hundred United States soldiers. The sniper fires only once before moving from his position, leaving behind little evidence of his whereabouts.

Juba's existence has not been proven by any military source. U.S. soldiers have been led to believe that each sniper attack was carried out by the same individual, which is what gave rise to the idea of "Juba". Every time one of these incidents occurs, a single cartridge case and a note have been found at the location where the sniper was believed to have been. The message says, in Arabic, "What has been taken in blood cannot be regained except by blood. Baghdad Sniper". These items were found after the sniper attack when buildings were searched by U.S. forces. It is not yet known whether "Juba" is a single sniper, or whether "Juba" represents a copycat phenomenon carried out by multiple individuals, or if "Juba" in fact exists at all.

In November 2005 the insurgent group Islamic Army in Iraq released video clips containing images of United States soldiers falling to the ground, allegedly due to Juba's attacks. The content of these clips has in no way been verified as showing the actions of "Juba".

There was also a release of a video clip containing 9 kills of U.S. soldiers. The video starts with "Juba" saying: "I have nine bullets in this gun and I have a present for George Bush, I am going to kill nine people. I am doing this for the viewers to watch. God is great. God is great(Allahu Akhbar)." He then makes his way from the vehicle and a series of scenes begin which show several individuals shot in action.

Rumors of capture

A military commander in Iraq recently hinted that “Juba” may have been captured on June 2, 2005, when an Iraqi sniper, in a van at a distance of 75-100 metres away, shot at American soldier Stephen Tschiderer, who was hit but was not seriously hurt due to his body armor. [1] Soldiers from the unit started searching for the shooter, and spotted two of them(the sniper and the driver who videotapes the attacks). The two men were wounded and captured.

The army located the van from where the sniping took place and discovered a cushioned sniping nest. This nest was lined with numerous bed mattresses to muffle the sound of a Dragunov sniper rifle [2] fired through a hole just big enough for the shooter to engage his target of choice. However, sniper attacks have continued since this date in Baghdad with the same tactics. This probably suggests that there is more than one sniper represented by "Juba".

German television broadcast a mini-documentary on Juba, his victims, and his alleged capture. [3]

References

• Carroll, Rory (2005). "Elusive sniper saps U.S. morale in Baghdad" The Guardian. August 5, 2005.
• "Al-Qaeda, Iraq insurgents mark Muslim holiday", Agence France-Presse. November 3, 2005.

External links

• Baghdad Sniper: Myth or Menace? ABC news article
• Video clip allegedly showing sniper attacks (67 MB) (Alternate location)
• Video clip allegedly showing "Juba" in training
• Video clip from German TV about "Juba"
• Jawa report on "Juba's" activities and alleged links to american "traitors"
• Template:De icon Article in SPIEGELonline (German Newsmag) about Tschiderer and "Juba"
• An alternate location of the sniper video (18MB)
• An article on Juba and his becoming a hero
• An article entitled "The Internet Jihad", describing Juba's videos spreading over the internet