It was Thursday afternoon on another scorching Summer day in the Middle East, and a heavily armored convoy had just entered Baghdad's 'Green Zone'. After passing through the main checkpoint, which was heavily fortified against VBIEDs, the convoy of two armored cars and three black, bullet-resistant 4x4s pulled up outside the French embassy building. After a few seconds, several European men stepped out of the 4x4s brandishing FAMAS assault rifles. All the men who exited the car were 'casually' dressed, wearing light body armor, except for a man of short stature dressed in a beige suit, he was Denys Gauer, the French ambassador.
"Vous procurer un peu de repos!" the ambassador told his men in French, telling them to get some rest. He then walked into the building, followed by his personal assistant Leila
Blanchard, a 34-year old French national who was half Arab (on her mother's side).
Suddenly...one of the French Marines up in a watchtower began to spasm, but nobody noticed him. And the spasming stopped as quickly as it had begun and the Marine held his hands up in front of him for a moment...before peering down into the embassy grounds. "ALLAH-U-AKBAR!" the Marine suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs...as he aimed his assault rifle at Gauer's bodyguards and opened fire, hitting several of them. The bodyguards started to return fire...and after 30 seconds the assailant took a bullet to the head, slumping down dead in the tower.
By this time, pandamonium had set in, and other French Marines were rushing to help the wounded guards. Just to the right of the wounded men, another French serviceman suddenly stopped in his tracks and backstepped, holding his head. Then he too started shooting at his fellow countrymen, killing a number at point blank range before he was also gunned down by other frightened and confused soldiers.
A minute then passed without incident, and a couple of other embassy guards began to emerge from the building to help the casualties. The Iraqi soldiers stationed outside the compound were also allowed into the grounds to provide support, as the French soldiers inside the embassy secured the entrance and the ambassador. Just when it seemed the situation was being brought under control, one of the Iraqi soldiers pulled the pins on two grenades...held them to his chest and charged into the midst of the French service personnel. When the smoke had cleared, body parts and blood were everywhere, and several Iraqi soldiers had also become casualties.
By now bewildered, the raw Iraqi recruits were looking around, trying to make sense of what had happened. A half hour passed without any further incident, and more Iraqi soldiers soon arrived on the scene to secure the outside of the embassy. Inside the building, a distraught and worried Gauer was sat with a glass of whiskey. He had been told of how many casualties there were, and he was thinking what he could possibly tell to his superiors in Paris.
"Do you think you're safe infidel? None of you are safe from us now!" his red-headed assistant Leila suddenly said in Arabic, as she approached him behind. Gauer looked up...just in time to see a knife plunging downwards. The glass of spirits dropped from Gauer's hand as he jerked a little, the paper knife buried up to its handle in the top of his skull. As the ambassador silently fell dead, Leila's face contorted into a wicked smile. "Allah-u-akbar!" she muttered, her eyes then rolled up into the back of her head for a moment before returning back to normal. Then suddenly...Leila looked down and let out an earsplitting scream when she saw the body in front of her and the blood on her hands.
****
"Terror and bloodshed again returned to Baghdad today, when several gunmen, including at least two enlisted members of the French military, opened fire outside the French embassy. According to reports, 14 French nationals, including 8 soldiers, were killed in the brazen attack, and Paris has confirmed that their ambassador to Iraq, Denys Gauer is among the fatalities. At least two Iraqi soldiers were also reported killed and several wounded. The Iraqi President has sent his condolences to the people of France and has promised to cooperate fully with any investigation. CNN sources have already found out that one arrest has been made, and that person is believed to be the ambassador's personal assistant....
This is Lara Logan, CNN, Bagdad...
****
Meanwhile, in one of the suburbs of the Iraqi capital, a lone individual was watching the breaking news...and smiling. He was known simply as Abu Sida, a mid-level operative of an active militant group, the Al-Faruq Brigades. Abu Sida seemed a little dazed, and beside him on a small table in his little apartment...was en empty plastic bag with traces of a certain drug inside.
And 547 miles away in the Israeli capital Jerusalem, others eyes were also watching the news. Several veteran members of Mossad were those watching the TV, and discussing what had happened in Iraq. "You think they used it?" Isaac asked his colleagues, who just looked at him and remained silent. Isaac then just nodded and his eyes drifted to the television once more. The Israelis knew how the attack had taken place, and just why two ordinary French soldiers, from quiet towns of no consequence...had suddenly turned into terrorists and opened fire on their own compatriots.
All they could do for the moment was wait until the next incident, which they knew would happen soon.
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