Monday, June 04, 2007
Rising tensions between Sunnis insurgents and Kurds as second bridge is bombed
Security
(New York Times) - Bomb blasts severely damaged a bridge linking a highway from Baghdad with the northern city of Kirkuk on Saturday, the police and witnesses said, heightening tensions between Arabs and Kurds and forcing traffic to detour through some of the most dangerous areas of Diyala Province.
An American tank firing at insurgents near Falluja also killed three Iraqi children on Saturday, according to a military statement, and an American helicopter was damaged by gunfire north of Baghdad and forced to land.
In Baghdad, a barrage of mortar shells killed at least seven people.
The destruction of the Sarha bridge, about 100 miles north of Baghdad and one of the busiest crossings for vehicles moving between the capital and Kirkuk, appeared to be part of an effort by Sunni insurgents to isolate Kirkuk and limit interaction between residents of different areas and sects.
Salah al-Mufaraji, a prominent tribal leader who lives near the Sarha bridge, said groups aligned with Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia were responsible for the bombing. “Gunmen move through the area freely amid the absence of the government and because the security forces can’t control the area,” he said. “All the people living here have announced allegiance to Al Qaeda out of fear and because they can’t confront it.”
Abbas Hilmi, a taxi driver who travels between Baghdad and Kirkuk, said that damage to the bridge would hurt the already hobbled local economy. “It’s miserable,” he said. “We’re taxi drivers. We need the roads.” It was the second bridge leading to Kirkuk bombed this week, local leaders said, and it came on a day when a prominent Sunni tribal leader was found dead south of the city after being kidnapped Friday.
The killing and the bridge bombing reflected rising tensions in the oil-rich area between Kurds and Sunni insurgents who oppose Kurdish plans to make the area part of the north’s Kurdish-controlled region. The Iraqi Constitution calls for a referendum on the issue this year and Iraqi and American officials have predicted that violence will increase before the vote.
Residents said that frustration with the violence committed by Sunni extremists appeared to be rising in the province, but its impact is questionable. On Friday, in southern Baquba, a Sunni cleric called for joint Sunni-Shiite prayers. Only four Shiites attended, but according to several witnesses, who declined to be named, the cleric spoke harshly of Al Qaeda and called upon all of the area’s armed groups to unite against it.
Gunmen standing outside the mosque said they were preparing to fight back and had asked the American military for help. Despite the recent decision by American commanders to funnel additional troops into the area, and initial signs of local resistance, there have been few signs of improvement.
An American tank firing at insurgents near Falluja also killed three Iraqi children on Saturday, according to a military statement, and an American helicopter was damaged by gunfire north of Baghdad and forced to land.
In Baghdad, a barrage of mortar shells killed at least seven people.
The destruction of the Sarha bridge, about 100 miles north of Baghdad and one of the busiest crossings for vehicles moving between the capital and Kirkuk, appeared to be part of an effort by Sunni insurgents to isolate Kirkuk and limit interaction between residents of different areas and sects.
Salah al-Mufaraji, a prominent tribal leader who lives near the Sarha bridge, said groups aligned with Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia were responsible for the bombing. “Gunmen move through the area freely amid the absence of the government and because the security forces can’t control the area,” he said. “All the people living here have announced allegiance to Al Qaeda out of fear and because they can’t confront it.”
Abbas Hilmi, a taxi driver who travels between Baghdad and Kirkuk, said that damage to the bridge would hurt the already hobbled local economy. “It’s miserable,” he said. “We’re taxi drivers. We need the roads.” It was the second bridge leading to Kirkuk bombed this week, local leaders said, and it came on a day when a prominent Sunni tribal leader was found dead south of the city after being kidnapped Friday.
The killing and the bridge bombing reflected rising tensions in the oil-rich area between Kurds and Sunni insurgents who oppose Kurdish plans to make the area part of the north’s Kurdish-controlled region. The Iraqi Constitution calls for a referendum on the issue this year and Iraqi and American officials have predicted that violence will increase before the vote.
Residents said that frustration with the violence committed by Sunni extremists appeared to be rising in the province, but its impact is questionable. On Friday, in southern Baquba, a Sunni cleric called for joint Sunni-Shiite prayers. Only four Shiites attended, but according to several witnesses, who declined to be named, the cleric spoke harshly of Al Qaeda and called upon all of the area’s armed groups to unite against it.
Gunmen standing outside the mosque said they were preparing to fight back and had asked the American military for help. Despite the recent decision by American commanders to funnel additional troops into the area, and initial signs of local resistance, there have been few signs of improvement.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, Iraqi constitution, Kirkuk, Salah al-Mufaraji, Sarha Bridge, Sunni tribal leaders, violence
