Iraq targets tailors who sell uniforms
Bombers have dressed up as security forces, leading to new rules for Baghdad clothing stalls.
BAGHDAD - Iraq is cracking down on shops and tailors who sell and make police and military uniforms after attackers disguised themselves as security forces to slip through checkpoints and carry out suicide bombings in heavily guarded Baghdad.
Security lapses that allowed bombings at government buildings and hotels in Baghdad in recent months embarrassed the Iraqi government ahead of March parliamentary elections. Security officials are now under pressure to plug as many holes as possible.
Uniforms are widely available at open-air markets, and many tailors make them. The problem is exacerbated because security forces lack enough uniforms to give to all their personnel - so soldiers or police often must turn to the market to buy them.
Over the last month, Iraqi authorities have ordered hundreds of market sellers and tailors to sign pledges not to sell or make uniforms for anyone other than legitimate members of the security forces who present a valid ID card or official letter.
"It is an important step to regulate the work of these shops to have control over the situation, because it happens that bombers used these uniforms to commit their criminal acts," said Maj. Gen. Mohammed al-Askari, a spokesman for the defense minister.
He said violators faced fines, closure of their business, and possible jail time.
Even if sellers abide by the rules, the crackdown isn't foolproof. Some U.S. and Iraqi officials say security forces' ID cards are too easily forged. The U.S. military has been urging Iraq for months to develop better ways to identify its police and troops.
A U.S. military adviser said Iraqi forces were told to focus not on a person's uniform but rather on any suspicious behavior when watching out for possible attackers.
"Most uniforms, police or military, are easy to imitate, so they tell the security forces very little about an individual trying to gain access to an area," said Army Maj. Sylvester O. Wegwu, a U.S. military adviser working with Iraqis at the Baghdad Police College.
Among the various branches of the police and military forces under the Interior and Defense Ministries, there are dozens of styles of uniforms, each with its own insignia and design requirements - and that's not counting separate forces, like the Oil Ministry's force for protecting pipelines and facilities.
Insurgents in Iraq have routinely disguised themselves in uniforms to bypass security checks. The problem was so prevalent in 2006 that the U.S. military redesigned Iraqi federal police uniforms after the old one was copied by insurgents, death squads, and common criminals.
But the use of disguises appears to again be on the rise.
Suicide truck bombings hit Baghdad in August, October, December, and January, killing hundreds in attacks targeting government sites and hotels frequented by Westerners. Some of the attackers were disguised as police or military to slip past checkpoints, security officials said.
Tailors and shopkeepers questioned whether the new regulations could work.
"Terrorists can buy fabric and give it to any tailor, even those who sew civilian clothes," said Hassan Challoub, who owns the Ali Unis Sewing Shop on Baghdad's Rashid Street, where nearly 80 tailor shops and stalls are squeezed into small store fronts.
"It would be difficult to impose such regulations on tailors," he said, "because nowadays even civilians wear camouflage clothing following the fashion trend."