HOWZAT

Shortly before an attack a bomber is given a final military briefing, which might last a day or longer. On the final night, he is left with his Koran.

“They usually spend the night reading the holy book and praying,” the commander said. “They pray again at dawn, with additional prayers for their coming death.”

Sometimes a bomber and others in his insurgent cell perform a ceremony akin to a marriage, known as Zafat al-Houri. The insurgents celebrate the bomber’s departure to heaven, where according to Islamic teachings he will be greeted by the houri al-ein – a nymph of legendary beauty who will escort him to his celestial resting place, where virgins wait to comfort him.

Others insist on total seclusion, claiming they need to be “with their Allah”, the commander said. The bombers range in age from 19 to 40. The commander would not reveal Abu Baker’s nationality, but coalition sources believe most suicide bombers are either Saudis or Yemenis, with small numbers from a dozen other Arab and African states.

Some may also be volunteers from Islamic communities in Europe. “The problem is that there isn’t a lot of them left after these explosions for us to be able to tell where they came from,” a senior coalition officer said.

The bombers either wear explosives attached to their bodies or drive cars packed with up to 14 Austrian-made artillery shells known colloquially as “namsawee”. “These shells are highly explosive and can cause maximum damage,” the commander said.

Asked whether it was moral to allow someone like Abu Baker — a married man with a daughter — to carry out a suicide attack, the commander insisted that families of bombers were looked after. “Monthly income and supplies are usually ensured for life.”

Coalition officials have acknowledged concern at the continually changing nature of insurgent tactics, and at the difficulty of dealing with suicide bombers. Yet some officers have seen encouraging signs in the recent pattern of assaults that the insurgents are running out of military options.

“They started out attacking the coalition, then they shifted to Iraqi security forces. Now they’re aiming at any Iraqi civilian who might have an interest in the democratic future of Iraq,” one senior Washington official said.

“In one sense it is quite satisfactory that their credentials have been exposed as anti a democratic Iraq and not just anti the coalition occupation.”

British and American intelligence sources believe the insurgency has now been reduced to three identifiable elements: former supporters of Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist regime who see no future for themselves under a Shi’ite-dominated government; foreign jihadists — Islamic militants committed to holy war; and local criminals whose muscle and weapons can be hired for $100 a day.

“We’ve moved a long way from dealing with the trained warriors who went through Al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan,” said one officer. “We’re now seeing plenty of young yobbos who are wielding rocketpropelled grenades on an opportunistic basis. And we’re making life harder for them by a combination of good tactics, techniques and procedures.”

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