Iraqis show video of teen girl in suicide vest

Rare glimpse
Her exchange with the policemen offered a rare glimpse at a teenager allegedly recruited by insurgents in what the U.S. military has warned is a growing trend. However, it was not clear to what extent her answers were given out of fear and influenced by the presence of reporters.

She insisted at first she did not know the women who gave her the vest.

"I swear to Allah that I do not know them. They were strangers," she is heard saying. However, when pressed whether she knew the woman who put the vest on her, she replied: "Yes."

Police asked if she intended to blow herself up. "No, no, they put it on me and told me to take it off at home," she said. "They did not tell me to explode myself."

Reporters attended part of another interrogation session Monday, in which the girl told police that the explosives were strapped to her by female relatives of her husband. She told police that her husband was unaware she was given the explosives.

Contradicting her previous testimony, she said she was shown the vest's two detonators and told to press the second button if the first one failed to set off the bomb.

Rania's mother was also interrogated and told police she was unaware of the alleged plot, adding that her husband was missing.

Earlier Monday, an Iraqi police officer said the girl's family was known for supporting al-Qaida in Iraq and that her father had carried out a suicide bombing.

The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information, also said a relative is suspected of having recruited her.

The officer said that on Sunday, the girl led police back to where she was given the explosives and that they found a second bomb belt in an empty apartment.

U.S. commanders believe al-Qaida in Iraq is increasingly seeking to exploit women unable to deal with the grief of losing husbands, children and others to the violence.

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