The American military has begun training a first batch of Iraqi women spies to work alongside US-led forces in the violence-hit country, it was announced here on Thursday. US intelligence specialists addressed Iraqi women who formed the first class to undergo the Basic Military Intelligence Course, the US military said in a statement.
"You will, along with the men and women of the Iraqi security forces, work with us to take the fight to the enemy," Brigadier General Mary Legere, a director of intelligence for US-led forces in Iraq, told the recruits. The statement did not say how many recruits took part, how long the training would last or where the classes were conducted.
There has been a surge in suicide bombings carried out by Iraqi women, including war widows, in recent months. They are said to be motivated by poverty, desperation or a desire for revenge for the deaths of family members blamed on the US-led military.
"This week marks an important event for the new Iraq as we begin training women in the intelligence speciality," said Steve Bond, director of the Intelligence Transition Team working with US forces.