Saturday, March 24, 2007
INM daily summary – 24th March, 2007
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- Two new pipelines to be built to bypass Strait of Hormuz.
- Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zubayi’s security guards have been detained after an attempt on his life.
- Iranian forces seized 15 British servicemen on Friday in the Shatt al-Arab waterway that separates the two countries, accusing them of illegally entering Iranian territory.
- Sheik Majeed al-Gaood, a prominent Sunni tribal leader, told the U.S. that cracking down on Shia militias could end insurgency.
- 200 insurgents stormed a prison in Mukdadiya and freed 33 prisoners.
- Kurdistan wants to drastically increase the presence of foreign oil companies operating in the region by the end of the year.
- A suicide truck bomber with explosives hidden under a load of bricks struck a police station in Dora, a mainly Sunni area in southern Baghdad on Saturday, killing at least 11.
- U.S. and Iraqi troops sealed off the Karrada district in the heart of Baghdad on Saturday, stopping all vehicles and pedestrians from entering the area.
Karrada sealed off in security crackdown
Security
(Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi troops sealed off the Karrada district in the heart of Baghdad on Saturday, stopping all vehicles and pedestrians from entering the area, which has suffered a spate of deadly car bombs in recent weeks. The Karrada operation appeared to be part of a major U.S.- backed security crackdown aimed at quelling the daily bombings and shootings that have killed thousands and sparked fears Iraq is sliding into full-scale civil war.
While the crackdown has succeeded in reducing the number of sectarian shootings car bombs remain a major problem and U.S. officials say they are devoting more resources to curbing them. In the volatile southern Baghdad district of Dora, a suicide bomber driving a truck packed with explosives attacked a police station. Gunmen also attacked army checkpoints in Hay al-Jamiya, a Sunni area, in western Baghdad, on Saturday morning. Residents said they could hear the sound of intense gunfire. At least one woman was arrested in Saturday's operation in Karrada after about 20 weapons, including AK-47 rifles and belt -fed machineguns were found in her house, an Iraqi army officer said, showing Reuters plastic bags filled with the weapons.
The streets of Karrada, whose residents are mainly Shi'ite Muslims and Christians and include several top politicians, were largely empty. Convoys of Humvee armoured vehicles roamed the area, which is close to the international Green Zone. "There is an ongoing operation in the area," U.S. military spokesman Major Steven Lamb said, without elaborating. One American soldier manning a checkpoint told Reuters the operation could last several hours or several days.
While the crackdown has succeeded in reducing the number of sectarian shootings car bombs remain a major problem and U.S. officials say they are devoting more resources to curbing them. In the volatile southern Baghdad district of Dora, a suicide bomber driving a truck packed with explosives attacked a police station. Gunmen also attacked army checkpoints in Hay al-Jamiya, a Sunni area, in western Baghdad, on Saturday morning. Residents said they could hear the sound of intense gunfire. At least one woman was arrested in Saturday's operation in Karrada after about 20 weapons, including AK-47 rifles and belt -fed machineguns were found in her house, an Iraqi army officer said, showing Reuters plastic bags filled with the weapons.
The streets of Karrada, whose residents are mainly Shi'ite Muslims and Christians and include several top politicians, were largely empty. Convoys of Humvee armoured vehicles roamed the area, which is close to the international Green Zone. "There is an ongoing operation in the area," U.S. military spokesman Major Steven Lamb said, without elaborating. One American soldier manning a checkpoint told Reuters the operation could last several hours or several days.
Labels: car bombs, Karrada, security crackdown
Round-up of violence across Iraq
(Reuters) - Security developments in Iraq as of 0900 GMT on Saturday.
Truck bomb hits Dora police station killing many
Security, Insurgency
(AP) - A suicide truck bomber with explosives hidden under a load of bricks struck a police station in a mainly Sunni area in southern Baghdad on Saturday, killing at least 11 people and wounding 23, police said. The blast could be heard across the city and sent up a huge plume of black smoke over the skyline. The attacker detonated his explosives at the concrete blast walls protecting the gate of the Dora police station because he could not go any farther, but the building was heavily damaged, police said.
Those killed included four policemen and seven civilians, including some detainees, while 15 officers and eight civilians were wounded, according to the authorities. Policemen were searching the debris for survivors or more victims, including detainees who were being held in a room inside the station. The 10:45 a.m. explosion occurred nearly three hours after two mortar shells landed on a Shiite enclave elsewhere in Dora, killing at least three people and wounding seven, police said.
Police Cpl. Hussam Ali, who witnessed the blast from a nearby guard post, said the attacker took advantage of construction work being done inside the station and was able to circumvent the tight security to reach the main gate by hiding the explosives under bricks. He said trucks had been coming in and out all day so the attack vehicle did not raise suspicions. The blast caused part of the building to collapse and knocked down blast barriers over a car parked near the gate. "We were very cautious, but this time we were taken by surprise," Ali said. "The insurgents are inventing new methods to hurt us."
Those killed included four policemen and seven civilians, including some detainees, while 15 officers and eight civilians were wounded, according to the authorities. Policemen were searching the debris for survivors or more victims, including detainees who were being held in a room inside the station. The 10:45 a.m. explosion occurred nearly three hours after two mortar shells landed on a Shiite enclave elsewhere in Dora, killing at least three people and wounding seven, police said.
Police Cpl. Hussam Ali, who witnessed the blast from a nearby guard post, said the attacker took advantage of construction work being done inside the station and was able to circumvent the tight security to reach the main gate by hiding the explosives under bricks. He said trucks had been coming in and out all day so the attack vehicle did not raise suspicions. The blast caused part of the building to collapse and knocked down blast barriers over a car parked near the gate. "We were very cautious, but this time we were taken by surprise," Ali said. "The insurgents are inventing new methods to hurt us."
COMMENT: This is a new tactic, showing that the insurgents are increasingly adapting their tactics skillfully. There is so much reconstruction going on that it is impossible to vet every casual worker and check every truck, plus many do not have the resources to do so. If anything, it is somewhat surprising that this hasn't happened before. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Dora police station, suicide truck bomber
Kurdistan to increase the presence of foreign oil companies
Oil, Kurdistan
(AINA) - Iraqi Kurdistan wants to drastically increase the presence of foreign oil companies operating in the region by the end of the year. "We are in discussions with a number of other companies," Kurdish energy minister Ashti Hawrami told the Financial Times.
"It is more likely that the contractors will come (to Kurdistan) to start with and set up a base to hopefully then invest in the rest of Iraq. "Under the terms of a draft oil law expected to go before the Iraqi parliament in the next two months, Iraq's oil industry will be overseen by a Federal Oil Council and an independent national oil firm.
Revenue will be concentrated in a federal account, and redistributed to provinces on the basis of their populations, which would give the Kurds around 18 to 20 percent of the national cake. This represents a concession from the Kurdistan Regional Government, which wanted to retain revenues from newly-developed fields on its territory, but in return they have won the right to oversee development.
"It is more likely that the contractors will come (to Kurdistan) to start with and set up a base to hopefully then invest in the rest of Iraq. "Under the terms of a draft oil law expected to go before the Iraqi parliament in the next two months, Iraq's oil industry will be overseen by a Federal Oil Council and an independent national oil firm.
Revenue will be concentrated in a federal account, and redistributed to provinces on the basis of their populations, which would give the Kurds around 18 to 20 percent of the national cake. This represents a concession from the Kurdistan Regional Government, which wanted to retain revenues from newly-developed fields on its territory, but in return they have won the right to oversee development.
Labels: Ahdab oil field, Ashti Hawrami, foreign oil companies, Kurdistan
Insurgents raid prison, free prisoners
Security, Insurgency
(Gulf Daily News) - Hundreds of insurgents stormed a prison in the town of Al-Miqdadiyah, northeast of Baghdad, on March 21 and freed 33 prisoners, the "Gulf Daily News" reported on March 22. Allawi Farhan, the mayor of Al-Miqdadiyah, said there were approximately 200 insurgents using an array of weapons, and he described the operation as well-planned and highly sophisticated. The insurgents detonated a car bomb to seal off the eastern road to the prison and a roadside bomb to block the southern road, impeding the arrival of reinforcements. When U.S. and Iraqi reinforcements finally arrived, they were ambushed by the insurgents, who then set fire to a police station, courthouse, and 20 police vehicles before escaping. Iraqi officials said 18 policemen and 10 insurgents were killed.
Labels: insurgents, Muqdadiya, prisoners
Sunni tribal leader tells U.S. to tackle Shia militias
Security, Politics
(AP) - A prominent Iraqi Sunni leader said Friday that the insurgency in Iraq could end if the U.S. showed determination to stop the influence of pro-Iranian Shiite militias there. "The Americans must act seriously and abolish those militias, confiscate their weapons, arrest their criminals and at the same time stop the Iranian influence which is penetrating all of Iraq, including the government," said Sheik Majeed al-Gaood, a prominent tribal leader in Anbar province, the heartland of the Sunni insurgency.
Al-Gaood is a leading member of a Sunni family that plays a major role in tribal politics in Anbar. He is believed to have close ties with factions of former dictator Saddam Hussein's disbanded Baath Party. Al-Gaood has previously said a truce with the United States was possible if the Shiite-dominated government of Iraq were "dismissed" and new elections held. He said he was committed to the unity of Iraq and wanted sectarian violence to end.
Al-Gaood is a leading member of a Sunni family that plays a major role in tribal politics in Anbar. He is believed to have close ties with factions of former dictator Saddam Hussein's disbanded Baath Party. Al-Gaood has previously said a truce with the United States was possible if the Shiite-dominated government of Iraq were "dismissed" and new elections held. He said he was committed to the unity of Iraq and wanted sectarian violence to end.
Al-Gaood suggested that the end of the insurgency was contingent, however, on ending Iranian influence in Iraq. "Iran is a worse enemy for Iraq than the United States," he said. Al-Gaood heads a group called "Wahaj el Iraq," or "Flame of Iraq," a Sunni-dominated Iraqi political faction believed to have close ties to the disbanded Baath Party. Al-Gaood said that talks with Shiite militias were out of the question and that his group would side with all "Iraqis who reject the occupation and want to preserve the unity of Iraq."
Labels: Al Anbar, Baath Party, Flame of Iraq, Iran, Sheik Majeed al-Gaood, Shiite militias, tribal leaders, U.S., Wahaj el Iraq
Iran condemns 'illegal' entry of British naval personnel
Security, Region
(Reuters) - Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned what called the illegal entry of British naval personnel into Iranian waters as a "suspicious act," the official IRNA news agency said on Saturday. Iranian forces seized 15 British servicemen on Friday in the mouth of the waterway that separates Iran and Iraq, triggering a diplomatic crisis at a time of heightened tension over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
"The Foreign Ministry's spokesman called the illegal and interfering entry of British forces into Iranian territorial waters a suspicious act and against international laws and rules and has harshly condemned it," IRNA said, revising an earlier report which did not include the word "interfering."
"The Foreign Ministry's spokesman called the illegal and interfering entry of British forces into Iranian territorial waters a suspicious act and against international laws and rules and has harshly condemned it," IRNA said, revising an earlier report which did not include the word "interfering."
It quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini as saying: "Violating the territory of other countries and non-permitted entrance ... show unusual aims and is against international treaties and there are no excuses for ignoring and not accepting the responsibility for that."
Iranian state television said on Friday Iran had summoned the British charge d'affaires to protest over the incident. Britain said the servicemen were seized in Iraqi waters and demanded their release. "We will continue to be in contact with the Iranians here and in London," a British diplomat in Tehran told Reuters, adding Ambassador Geoffrey Adams has returned to Iran.
"The Iranians have not confirmed to us where they are being held yet," another British diplomat said, adding that news reports indicated they were taken to a military base in the southwest Iran. It mirrored a similar event in 2004 when Iran seized eight British servicemen in the Shatt al-Arab and held them for three nights.
Iranian state television said on Friday Iran had summoned the British charge d'affaires to protest over the incident. Britain said the servicemen were seized in Iraqi waters and demanded their release. "We will continue to be in contact with the Iranians here and in London," a British diplomat in Tehran told Reuters, adding Ambassador Geoffrey Adams has returned to Iran.
"The Iranians have not confirmed to us where they are being held yet," another British diplomat said, adding that news reports indicated they were taken to a military base in the southwest Iran. It mirrored a similar event in 2004 when Iran seized eight British servicemen in the Shatt al-Arab and held them for three nights.
Labels: British navy, Iran, Mohammad Ali Hosseini, Shatt al-Arab
Deputy PM's security detail detained after assassination attempt
Security, Politics
(AFP) - Iraq has detained guards of Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zubayi for interrogation after the government's top Sunni Arab official was wounded in a bomb attack, an official said Saturday. Brigadier General Qassim Musawi, spokesman of a massive Baghdad security operation, told AFP that a full investigation had been launched into the suicide attack and car bombing that hit Zubayi on Friday.
He said the authorities had some "clues" that could lead them to the "criminals who carried out this attack." Dhafter al-Ani, a member of parliament for the National Concord Front, the main Sunni bloc to which Zubayi also belongs, said the suicide bomber came from the deputy prime minister's own security detail. "The suicide bomber was one of his bodyguards and he was recruited by the Islamic State of Iraq. he was not related to Zubayi," he told AFP.
A statement posted on the Internet in the name of the Islamic State, a Sunni insurgent coalition led by Al-Qaeda's Iraq branch, said it carried out Friday's twin bombing. Musawi, who visited Zubayi in a US military hospital, said the deputy premier had been admitted to intensive care but was now in a stable condition following surgery to remove shrapnel from his chest.
Zubayi, the most senior Sunni Arab in the Shiite-led government, was wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up while the deputy premier was praying at a mosque inside his residential compound. The suicide bomb attack was followed minutes later by a car bombing in the compound. The double attack killed nine people and wounded 15 others.
He said the authorities had some "clues" that could lead them to the "criminals who carried out this attack." Dhafter al-Ani, a member of parliament for the National Concord Front, the main Sunni bloc to which Zubayi also belongs, said the suicide bomber came from the deputy prime minister's own security detail. "The suicide bomber was one of his bodyguards and he was recruited by the Islamic State of Iraq. he was not related to Zubayi," he told AFP.
A statement posted on the Internet in the name of the Islamic State, a Sunni insurgent coalition led by Al-Qaeda's Iraq branch, said it carried out Friday's twin bombing. Musawi, who visited Zubayi in a US military hospital, said the deputy premier had been admitted to intensive care but was now in a stable condition following surgery to remove shrapnel from his chest.
Zubayi, the most senior Sunni Arab in the Shiite-led government, was wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up while the deputy premier was praying at a mosque inside his residential compound. The suicide bomb attack was followed minutes later by a car bombing in the compound. The double attack killed nine people and wounded 15 others.
COMMENT: Al-Zubayi has been part of an effort to convince the tribes to fight against the insurgents. The Islamic State of Iraq announced an assassination campaign some months ago, they even posted a list of targets. Recently there have been many assasssination attempts on key players, but if someone could get this close to a person in an official position of Al-Zubayi's then no-one is safe. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: assassination attempt, Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zubayi, Islamic State of Iraq, security detail, suicide bomb
Two new pipelines planned to bypass Strait of Hormuz
Oil, Region
(AsiaNews) – Gulf governments are planning two oil pipelines that would bypass the Strait of Hormuz, aiming to avoid possible Iranian threats to global oil shipments. In reporting the news the Kuwait Times said that, if built, the two pipelines could move as much as 6.5 million barrels of oil a day around the strait, an amount equal to nearly 40 per cent of the daily exports currently shipped through the narrow channel at the entrance of the Gulf.
Construction of the first, smaller line is forecast to begin this year, the Dubai branch of Britain's Standard Chartered Bank announced this week. A second, more ambitious line carrying some 5 million barrels a day is still under discussion and could take a decade to build.
The attraction of the plan for oil traders is easy to understand. Around two-fifths of the world's traded oil is shipped by tanker through the Hormuz Strait. But the 54-km-wide passage is highly vulnerable to threats from neighbouring Iran. With tensions rising between Iran and the West over its nuclear programme, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned last June that his country could disrupt the world's oil supply if it comes under attack.
Bypassing the Strait of Hormuz could also stabilise oil prices. The new pipelines would reassure traders over the stability of exports and knock down the few dollars per barrel they have to pay in “security premium.” The first, 360-km pipeline that Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Co is planning would carry only UAE oil to the emirate of Fujairah, located outside the strait on the Gulf of Oman. It would involve 1.5 million barrels per day of crude oil, about 55 per cent of the Emirates' production.
Construction of the first, smaller line is forecast to begin this year, the Dubai branch of Britain's Standard Chartered Bank announced this week. A second, more ambitious line carrying some 5 million barrels a day is still under discussion and could take a decade to build.
The attraction of the plan for oil traders is easy to understand. Around two-fifths of the world's traded oil is shipped by tanker through the Hormuz Strait. But the 54-km-wide passage is highly vulnerable to threats from neighbouring Iran. With tensions rising between Iran and the West over its nuclear programme, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned last June that his country could disrupt the world's oil supply if it comes under attack.
Bypassing the Strait of Hormuz could also stabilise oil prices. The new pipelines would reassure traders over the stability of exports and knock down the few dollars per barrel they have to pay in “security premium.” The first, 360-km pipeline that Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Co is planning would carry only UAE oil to the emirate of Fujairah, located outside the strait on the Gulf of Oman. It would involve 1.5 million barrels per day of crude oil, about 55 per cent of the Emirates' production.
Labels: International Petroleum Investment Co, Iran, oil, oil pipelines, Strait of Hormuz
Friday, March 23, 2007
INM daily summary – 23 March 2007
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- The Islamic State of Iraq denied responsibility for the chlorine truck bombs in Fallujah on March 16 and threatened Al-Anbar tribes who have joined the “al-Anbar savior council” in the fight against insurgents.
- Abu Yahia al-Libi , an Al Qaeda militant who escaped from jail in Afghanistan urged Sunni militants to unite and said the security plan had failed in a video tape posted on the internet.
- A Katyusha rocket exploded 50 yards from from the U.N. secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon during a news conference Thursday in Baghdad's Green Zone.
- A senior aide to Moqtada al-Sadr, Qais Khazaali and his brother Laith Khazaali, were arrested by the U.S. military in direct connection to the kidnapping and murder in January of five American soldiers in Kerbala.
- Nichirvan Barzani , prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan raised fresh calls on Thursday for a referendum to decide the future of the country's crucial oil hub of Kirkuk.
- U.N. agencies that a chronic shortage of safe drinking water risks causing more child deaths and an outbreak of waterborne disease such as cholera during the summer.
- About 160,000 Iraqis from outside the mountainous Kurdish north have moved there to flee a growing civil war, according to Refugees International.
- The Ministry of Defense is under immense pressure from political sectarian factions who want to have a bigger say in its recruiting and operating policies.
- The headquarters of the Shiite Fadhila (Virtue) party in Basra was completely burnt down during clashes with armed men besieging the house of the Basra mayor and trying to storm it.
- Iraq has asked Turkey to open a new entry point on their international borders to cope with expanding trade exchange.
- Turkey are prepared for military intervention in northern Iraq against the PKK if the U.S. doesn’t intervene.
- Iranian agents are paying up to 500 dollars a month for young Basrawi men to attack the coalition.
Iranians paying Iraqis to attack coalition
Security, Iran
(AFP) - Iranian agents are paying local Iraqis around the southern city of Basra as much as 500 dollars a month to carry out attacks on coalition forces, a senior British Army officer said Friday. Lieutenant Colonel Justin Maciejewski said contact with locals suggested that the "vast majority" of violence against British troops stationed in the city came from outside Iraq.
"We haven't found any 'smoking gun' but certainly all the circumstantial evidence points to Iranian involvement in the bombings here in Basra, which is disrupting the city to a great extent," he added. Maciejewski, who is the commanding officer at the British base at Basra Palace, went on: "Local sheikhs and tribal leaders here in Basra -- who are desperate to prevent this violence escalating -- are telling us that Iranian agents are paying up to 500 dollars a month for young Basrawi men to attack us.
"We have a lot of very modern and quite sophisticated weaponry being used against us -- weaponry that could only really have been procured from a state," said Maciejewski. "These are not old munitions from the Iran-Iraq war. They are much more modern, some of them produced in 2006 and the locals are telling us that these are coming in from Iran."
"We haven't found any 'smoking gun' but certainly all the circumstantial evidence points to Iranian involvement in the bombings here in Basra, which is disrupting the city to a great extent," he added. Maciejewski, who is the commanding officer at the British base at Basra Palace, went on: "Local sheikhs and tribal leaders here in Basra -- who are desperate to prevent this violence escalating -- are telling us that Iranian agents are paying up to 500 dollars a month for young Basrawi men to attack us.
"We have a lot of very modern and quite sophisticated weaponry being used against us -- weaponry that could only really have been procured from a state," said Maciejewski. "These are not old munitions from the Iran-Iraq war. They are much more modern, some of them produced in 2006 and the locals are telling us that these are coming in from Iran."
Labels: Basrah, Iran, tribal sheiks
Turkey ready to hit back at PKK if U.S. doesn't act
Security, Politics, Region
(The Guardian) - The US is scrambling to head off a "disastrous" Turkish military intervention in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq that threatens to derail the Baghdad security surge and open up a third front in the battle to save Iraq from disintegration. Senior Bush administration officials have assured Turkey in recent days that US forces will increase efforts to root out Kurdistan Workers' party (PKK) guerrillas enjoying safe haven in the Qandil mountains, on the Iraq-Iran-Turkey border.
But Abdullah Gul, Turkey's foreign minister, MPs, military chiefs and diplomats say up to 3,800 PKK fighters are preparing for attacks in south-east Turkey - and Turkey is ready to hit back if the Americans fail to act. Turkish sources said "hot pursuit" special forces operations in Khaftanin and Qanimasi, northern Iraq, were already under way. Murat Karayilan, a PKK leader, said this week that a "mad war" was in prospect unless Ankara backed off.
The firm Turkish belief that the US is playing a double game in northern Iraq is destabilising the relationship between Turkey and the U.S. Officials say the CIA is covertly funding and arming the PKK's sister organisation, the Iran-based Kurdistan Free Life party, to destabilise the Iranian government. Daniel Fried, assistant secretary of state, said last week that the US was acting to assuage Turkish concerns. "We are committed to eliminating the threat of PKK terrorism in northern Iraq," he said.
General Joseph Ralston, the US special envoy dealing with the PKK issue, was less upbeat, admitting that "the potential for Turkish cross-border action" was growing. "We have reached a critical point in which the pressure of continued [PKK] attacks has placed immense public pressure upon the government of Turkey to take some military action. As the snows melt in the mountain passes, we will see if the PKK renews its attacks and how the Turkish government responds ... I hope the Turks will continue to stand by us."
But Abdullah Gul, Turkey's foreign minister, MPs, military chiefs and diplomats say up to 3,800 PKK fighters are preparing for attacks in south-east Turkey - and Turkey is ready to hit back if the Americans fail to act. Turkish sources said "hot pursuit" special forces operations in Khaftanin and Qanimasi, northern Iraq, were already under way. Murat Karayilan, a PKK leader, said this week that a "mad war" was in prospect unless Ankara backed off.
The firm Turkish belief that the US is playing a double game in northern Iraq is destabilising the relationship between Turkey and the U.S. Officials say the CIA is covertly funding and arming the PKK's sister organisation, the Iran-based Kurdistan Free Life party, to destabilise the Iranian government. Daniel Fried, assistant secretary of state, said last week that the US was acting to assuage Turkish concerns. "We are committed to eliminating the threat of PKK terrorism in northern Iraq," he said.
General Joseph Ralston, the US special envoy dealing with the PKK issue, was less upbeat, admitting that "the potential for Turkish cross-border action" was growing. "We have reached a critical point in which the pressure of continued [PKK] attacks has placed immense public pressure upon the government of Turkey to take some military action. As the snows melt in the mountain passes, we will see if the PKK renews its attacks and how the Turkish government responds ... I hope the Turks will continue to stand by us."
Labels: Abdullah Gul, General Joseph Ralston, Kurdistan, Murat Karayilan, PKK, Qandil mountains, Turkey, U.S.
Iraq asks Turkey to open new entry point for trade
Trade
(Azzaman) Iraq has asked Turkey to open a new entry point on their international borders to cope with expanding trade exchange. Most of the exchange is one way with Turkish commodities flowing into Iraq at rates unseen since the 2003 U.S. invasion.
The flow of goods passes through the only border point close to Zakho but the Trade Minister Adbulfalah al-Sudani says the Zakho border crossing cannot handle the increasing trade volume.
Most of Turkish goods go to the provinces in the north as lack of security makes it dangerous for truckers to take highways in the central parts of the country.
Baghdad and the provinces in the south rely mainly on trade with Iran which has emerged as the country’s biggest trade partner. But Sudani said he was keen to see a further boost in Turkish commodities in Iraq and for this reason his ministry is organizing trade fairs in both countries to promote Turkish goods.
The flow of goods passes through the only border point close to Zakho but the Trade Minister Adbulfalah al-Sudani says the Zakho border crossing cannot handle the increasing trade volume.
Most of Turkish goods go to the provinces in the north as lack of security makes it dangerous for truckers to take highways in the central parts of the country.
Baghdad and the provinces in the south rely mainly on trade with Iran which has emerged as the country’s biggest trade partner. But Sudani said he was keen to see a further boost in Turkish commodities in Iraq and for this reason his ministry is organizing trade fairs in both countries to promote Turkish goods.
Labels: Adbulfalah al-Sudani, borders, Turkey
Fadhila Party's HQ in Basra burnt down
Politics, Security
(Voices of Iraq) - The headquarters of the Shiite Fadhila (Virtue) party in Basra was completely burnt down during clashes with armed men besieging the house of the Basra mayor and trying to storm it, a source from the party said on Thursday. “The headquarters of the Shiite Fadhila (Virtue) party was completely burnt down… because of gunmen’s attacks,” the source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) by the phone.
“We are fighting now inside the house of Mayor Mohamed Musbeh al-Waeli to end the siege, as the attackers are trying to storm it,” he added. Local authorities imposed a curfew on Thursday in the southern Iraqi city of Basra after clashes between followers of the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and gunmen from the Shiite Fadhila (Virtue) party, eyewitnesses had said earlier.
“We are fighting now inside the house of Mayor Mohamed Musbeh al-Waeli to end the siege, as the attackers are trying to storm it,” he added. Local authorities imposed a curfew on Thursday in the southern Iraqi city of Basra after clashes between followers of the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and gunmen from the Shiite Fadhila (Virtue) party, eyewitnesses had said earlier.
Labels: Basrah, Fadhela party, Mohamed Musbeh al-Waeli
Political sectarian factions pressurise defense minister
Politics
The Ministry of Defense is under immense pressure from sectarian factions who want to have a bigger say in its recruiting and operating policies. Defense Minister Abdulqader Jassem said the factions would like to build the ministry on sectarian lines that have divided the Iraqi society. “I am under huge pressure from the main political blocs to revise the ministry’s structure on sectarian lines,” Jassem said. But he said he would resist any attempt to build the army in the light of the country’s sectarian divisions.
According to the sectarian allocations of power introduced shortly after the 2003 U.S. invasion, the minister of defense has to be a Sunni Arab Muslim while the minister of interior should be a Shiite Arab Muslim. “I am an independent personality and will not receive orders from (political) parties,” he said. It is not clear how Jassem, a civilian, will eventually manage to keep his ministry ‘independent’ has he claims.
The minister did not deny that sectarian and ethnic affiliations were a real problem the new armed suffered from. He said the ministry’s various army formations were not functioning in a transparent manner and salaries were being paid to soldiers and officers who were not actually in service. He said corruption was rife in his ministry and was trying hard to combat “this phenomenon”.
According to the sectarian allocations of power introduced shortly after the 2003 U.S. invasion, the minister of defense has to be a Sunni Arab Muslim while the minister of interior should be a Shiite Arab Muslim. “I am an independent personality and will not receive orders from (political) parties,” he said. It is not clear how Jassem, a civilian, will eventually manage to keep his ministry ‘independent’ has he claims.
The minister did not deny that sectarian and ethnic affiliations were a real problem the new armed suffered from. He said the ministry’s various army formations were not functioning in a transparent manner and salaries were being paid to soldiers and officers who were not actually in service. He said corruption was rife in his ministry and was trying hard to combat “this phenomenon”.
COMMENT: Abdulqader Jassem was born in Ramadi and is a Sunni Arab former general in the army of Saddam Hussein. In 2003, he joined the new Iraqi army, serving first as the commander of the operations room and then commander of military operations in western Iraq. Prior to his appointment as Minister on 8 June 2006, he was commander of the infantry commando units. He is not affiliated to any political party but his appointment was strongly backed by the Sunni Arab-led Iraqi Accord Front.COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Abdulqader Jassem, Ministry of Defense, sectarianism
Iraqi refugees flee to Kurdistan
Humanitarian
(AINA) About 160,000 Iraqis from outside the mountainous Kurdish north have moved there to flee a growing civil war, according to a draft of a report by an international group that tracks refugees and displaced people. That number is the first comprehensive figure for internal flight to Iraqi Kurdistan that has been released by any organization. It is also far higher than partial estimates previously disclosed by Kurdish officials.
The draft report, by Refugees International, which is based in Washington, says the Iraqis who have fled north face harsh living conditions. Inflation is rampant, and outsiders have few decent job opportunities. Little aid is available for those or other internally displaced Iraqis, because the Iraqi and United States governments, as well as the United Nations, have failed to acknowledge the extent of the crisis, the report said. The report's number of 160,000 displaced Iraqis in Kurdistan is based on estimates by the Iraqi Red Crescent Society.
Two researchers for Refugees International recently conducted a two-week survey of conditions in Iraqi Kurdistan and found that "many of the internally displaced are struggling to survive, the victims of inattention, inadequate resources, regional politics and bureaucratic obstacles," the report said.
The movement of Iraqis within and outside their homeland has produced the world's fastest-growing populations of refugees and internally displaced people. The United Nations estimates that two million Iraqis have fled the country, which has a population of 26 million.
According to United Nations figures, 727,000 have been displaced within the country since the bombing of a revered Shiite shrine in February 2006 set off waves of sectarian violence. The Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration says about 470,000 displaced people have been officially registered with the government since the fall of Saddam Hussein, though that figure is almost certainly an undercount.
Iraqis moving to the north must pass through security checkpoints and provide the name of a Kurdish guarantor. Arab Muslims generally have a tougher time getting in than Kurds or Christians. Single Arab men have an especially hard time.
Over all, displaced people "who reach the Kurdish provinces must surmount difficulties in finding housing, shelter, employment and education for their children," the report said. That conclusion was reached based on interviews conducted by the two researchers, Kristele Younes and Nir Rosen.
Families that have moved from their original residences cannot get monthly food rations from the government, under a system started in the 1990s during the United Nations oil-for-food program. The children of displaced families often cannot enroll in schools, and few schools have classes taught in Arabic. Rents in urban areas have skyrocketed.
The report recommends several ways to help alleviate the problems. It said that the United States and the international community should take urgent steps to ease the lives of the displaced and that the Iraqi government should devise a new ration card system that would allow people to receive food and fuel in their new locations.
The draft report, by Refugees International, which is based in Washington, says the Iraqis who have fled north face harsh living conditions. Inflation is rampant, and outsiders have few decent job opportunities. Little aid is available for those or other internally displaced Iraqis, because the Iraqi and United States governments, as well as the United Nations, have failed to acknowledge the extent of the crisis, the report said. The report's number of 160,000 displaced Iraqis in Kurdistan is based on estimates by the Iraqi Red Crescent Society.
Two researchers for Refugees International recently conducted a two-week survey of conditions in Iraqi Kurdistan and found that "many of the internally displaced are struggling to survive, the victims of inattention, inadequate resources, regional politics and bureaucratic obstacles," the report said.
The movement of Iraqis within and outside their homeland has produced the world's fastest-growing populations of refugees and internally displaced people. The United Nations estimates that two million Iraqis have fled the country, which has a population of 26 million.
According to United Nations figures, 727,000 have been displaced within the country since the bombing of a revered Shiite shrine in February 2006 set off waves of sectarian violence. The Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration says about 470,000 displaced people have been officially registered with the government since the fall of Saddam Hussein, though that figure is almost certainly an undercount.
Iraqis moving to the north must pass through security checkpoints and provide the name of a Kurdish guarantor. Arab Muslims generally have a tougher time getting in than Kurds or Christians. Single Arab men have an especially hard time.
Over all, displaced people "who reach the Kurdish provinces must surmount difficulties in finding housing, shelter, employment and education for their children," the report said. That conclusion was reached based on interviews conducted by the two researchers, Kristele Younes and Nir Rosen.
Families that have moved from their original residences cannot get monthly food rations from the government, under a system started in the 1990s during the United Nations oil-for-food program. The children of displaced families often cannot enroll in schools, and few schools have classes taught in Arabic. Rents in urban areas have skyrocketed.
The report recommends several ways to help alleviate the problems. It said that the United States and the international community should take urgent steps to ease the lives of the displaced and that the Iraqi government should devise a new ration card system that would allow people to receive food and fuel in their new locations.
Labels: IDPs, Iraqi Red Crescent Society, Kurdistan, Refugees International
U.N. warns of cholera outbreak
Humanitarian
(Reuters) - United Nations agencies working in Iraq warned on Thursday a chronic shortage of safe drinking water risks causing more child deaths and an outbreak of waterborne disease such as cholera during the summer. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said shortages of drinking water threatened to push up diarrhoea rates, particularly among children. Diarrhoea is already the second highest cause of child illness and death in Iraq, it said. "Latest reports suggest we are already seeing an increase in diarrhoea, even before the usual onset of the diarrhoea season in June," said Roger Wright, UNICEF representative in Iraq. Efforts to repair Iraq's damaged water networks have been hampered by electricity shortages, attacks on technicians, infrastructure and engineering works and underinvestment in the water sector, the agencies said.
The suspension of water tankering services to tens of thousands of people in Baghdad, especially to displaced families and communities hosting them, increased the risk of cholera outbreaks, the agencies warned. "Under the circumstances, Iraq has done extremely well to keep outbreaks of waterborne diseases, especially cholera, largely at bay so far. But this achievement is at risk unless more reliable sources of safe water reach families as soon as possible," the joint statement said. No cholera cases were reported last year and the incidence of typhoid also decreased, according to WHO data.
Labels: cholera, clean water, U.N.
Kurdistan's PM calls for referendum on Kirkuk
Kurdistan,
(AFP) - The prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan raised fresh calls on Thursday for a referendum to decide the future of the country's crucial oil hub of Kirkuk, warning that Kurdish patience had limits. "Our people are committed to Iraq, but their patience is not unlimited. We as leaders are finding it difficult to convince our people as to why our demands are not being met," Nichirvan Barzani told dignitaries in Arbil.
Iraq's Kurds have long dreamed of independence from the Arab-led centre, but agreed to put demands on hold following the US-led invasion of March 2003, which they hoped would lead to improved relations between the regions. Addressing guests at the opening of a new US-financed water treatment plant in the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, Barzani said the central government had yet to meet four key Kurdish demands.
"We demand a fair share of resources of the country, the issue of Kirkuk to be resolved democratically, freedom to share reconstruction funds and freedom to democracy and political rights," he said. "It is our natural right to share resources and we must have access to the budgetary process. The time is now to solve these problems," he said.
Speaking about wealthy and volatile Kirkuk, which the Kurds want to incorporate into their autonomous northern region, Barzani stressed: "Whatever is taken by force should be returned peacefully and democratically." Iraq's constitution stipulates that the status of Kirkuk, which sits atop a third of the country's mammoth oil wealth, be settled by referendum before the end of 2007, despite fears that this could fuel ethnic violence. A fractious ethnic mix of Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen live in Kirkuk and any referendum on its future is likely to provoke increased tensions.
Iraq's Kurds have long dreamed of independence from the Arab-led centre, but agreed to put demands on hold following the US-led invasion of March 2003, which they hoped would lead to improved relations between the regions. Addressing guests at the opening of a new US-financed water treatment plant in the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, Barzani said the central government had yet to meet four key Kurdish demands.
"We demand a fair share of resources of the country, the issue of Kirkuk to be resolved democratically, freedom to share reconstruction funds and freedom to democracy and political rights," he said. "It is our natural right to share resources and we must have access to the budgetary process. The time is now to solve these problems," he said.
Speaking about wealthy and volatile Kirkuk, which the Kurds want to incorporate into their autonomous northern region, Barzani stressed: "Whatever is taken by force should be returned peacefully and democratically." Iraq's constitution stipulates that the status of Kirkuk, which sits atop a third of the country's mammoth oil wealth, be settled by referendum before the end of 2007, despite fears that this could fuel ethnic violence. A fractious ethnic mix of Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen live in Kirkuk and any referendum on its future is likely to provoke increased tensions.
Labels: Arbil, Kirkuk, Kurdistan, Nichirvan Barzani
Al-Sadr aides arrested over deaths of U.S. soldiers
Security
(Reuters) - U.S. forces have captured a senior aide to anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr over the killing of five U.S. soldiers in the Iraqi holy city of Kerbala in January, the U.S. military said on Thursday. "Over the past several days, coalition forces in Basra and Hilla captured Qais Khazaali, his brother Laith Khazaali, and several other members of the Khazaali network, an organization directly connected to the kidnapping and murder in January of five American soldiers in Kerbala," the military said in a statement. Qais Khazaali is a former spokesman for Sadr and now a senior aide to the cleric.
Four U.S. soldiers were abducted from an Iraqi local government compound during an apparently complex assault by guerrillas posing as Americans in Kerbala on January 20. The military said at the time that three of the four were found dead by Iraqi police and one died on his way to hospital. In all, five soldiers were killed in what the U.S. military described as a sophisticated, well-rehearsed attack. One soldier was killed during the attack, then the attackers carried off four captured soldiers and later shot them to death about 25 miles from Karbala.
The brazen assault was conducted by nine to 12 gunmen posing as an American security team, the military confirmed. The attackers traveled in black GMC Suburbans — the type of SUV used by U.S. government convoys. They spoke English, wore American-looking uniforms and carried U.S.-type weapons, which got them through Iraqi checkpoints to reach the provincial compound.
The arrest announcement came a day after the AP reported that two senior commanders from the Mahdi Army militia had identified one of the brothers, Qais al-Khazaali, as leader of up to 3,000 fighters who defected from the Mahdi Army. They said the defectors were now financed directly by Iran and no longer loyal to the militia's leader, firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
The brazen assault was conducted by nine to 12 gunmen posing as an American security team, the military confirmed. The attackers traveled in black GMC Suburbans — the type of SUV used by U.S. government convoys. They spoke English, wore American-looking uniforms and carried U.S.-type weapons, which got them through Iraqi checkpoints to reach the provincial compound.
The arrest announcement came a day after the AP reported that two senior commanders from the Mahdi Army militia had identified one of the brothers, Qais al-Khazaali, as leader of up to 3,000 fighters who defected from the Mahdi Army. They said the defectors were now financed directly by Iran and no longer loyal to the militia's leader, firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Labels: abduction, Karbala, Laith Khazaali, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Qais Khazaali, U.S. soldiers
Rocket explodes near U.N. Secretary General
Security, U.N.
(AP) A rocket exploded 50 yards from the U.N. secretary-general during a news conference Thursday in Baghdad's Green Zone, causing him to cringe and duck just minutes after Iraq's prime minister said the visit showed the city was "on the road to stability." The Katyusha rocket that hit near Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was fired from a mainly Shiite area on the east bank of the Tigris River, not far from The Associated Press office. The heavily guarded Green Zone on the opposite bank is home to the U.S. Embassy, Iraq's government and the parliament.
Ban's unannounced stop in the Iraqi capital was the first visit by a U.N. secretary-general since Kofi Annan, his predecessor, came to Baghdad in November 2005. The U.N. Security Council issued a statement strongly condemning the rocket firing as an "abhorrent terrorist attack." The U.N. presence in Iraq has been much smaller than planned since militants bombed the organization's Baghdad headquarters on Aug. 19, 2003, and killed 22 people, including the top U.N. envoy, Sergio Vieira de Mello.
That was one of the first major attacks as Sunni Arab insurgents began rallying against American forces and other foreign troops after the U.S.-led invasion. Foreign U.N. staff withdrew from Iraq in October 2003 after a second assault on its offices and other attacks on humanitarian workers. A small staff has gradually been allowed to return since August 2004.
Iraq's Shiite-dominated government has been quietly pushing for a greater U.N. role and was banking on decreased violence in the capital to show that it was returning to normal six weeks into a joint security crackdown with American forces.
Ban's unannounced stop in the Iraqi capital was the first visit by a U.N. secretary-general since Kofi Annan, his predecessor, came to Baghdad in November 2005. The U.N. Security Council issued a statement strongly condemning the rocket firing as an "abhorrent terrorist attack." The U.N. presence in Iraq has been much smaller than planned since militants bombed the organization's Baghdad headquarters on Aug. 19, 2003, and killed 22 people, including the top U.N. envoy, Sergio Vieira de Mello.
That was one of the first major attacks as Sunni Arab insurgents began rallying against American forces and other foreign troops after the U.S.-led invasion. Foreign U.N. staff withdrew from Iraq in October 2003 after a second assault on its offices and other attacks on humanitarian workers. A small staff has gradually been allowed to return since August 2004.
Iraq's Shiite-dominated government has been quietly pushing for a greater U.N. role and was banking on decreased violence in the capital to show that it was returning to normal six weeks into a joint security crackdown with American forces.
Labels: Katyusha rocket, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, U.N.
Al-Qaeda militant urges unification, says security plan has failed
Insurgency
(AP) In a new video posted Thursday on the Internet, an al-Qaida militant who escaped from a U.S. prison in
Afghanistan urged Sunni militants in Iraq to join the terror group and claimed the U.S. military's security plan for Baghdad has failed. Abu Yahia al-Libi, who broke out of the U.S. prison at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul in 2005, said it was the sacred duty of all mujahedeen, or holy warriors, to "stand steadfast together."
He called on militant groups known as Ansar al-Sunnah, the Islamic Army in Iraq and the Army of the Mujahedeen to "hurry up and respond to the call of the Quran to become one and ... join the Islamic State in Iraq," an al-Qaida affiliate in the country. The 28-minute video, posted on a Web site commonly used by Islamist militants, shows al-Libi, whose nom de guerre means 'the Libyan' in Arabic, with a beard and wearing a camouflage uniform seated next to a Kalashnikov rifle.
The videotape's authenticity could not be independently verified. It carried the logo of al-Qaida's media production wing, al-Sahab. The video was also released by IntelCenter, a U.S. government contractor that monitors al-Qaida messaging. IntelCenter said the earliest the video could have been made is Feb. 20, based on comments al-Libi makes on the decision by British Prime Minister Tony Blair to withdraw a portion of Britain's troops from Iraq. Blair's decision was first reported on Feb. 20.
Al-Libi also urged them not to "fall into the trap of enemies reaching out to Sunnis in Iraq" and claimed Saudi Arabia's calls for the support of Iraq's beleaguered Sunni minority were a sham. Al-Libi has recorded several tapes since he escaped from Bagram. Afghan police said at the time that his real name is Abulbakar Mohammed Hassan and that he is a Libyan.
Afghanistan urged Sunni militants in Iraq to join the terror group and claimed the U.S. military's security plan for Baghdad has failed. Abu Yahia al-Libi, who broke out of the U.S. prison at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul in 2005, said it was the sacred duty of all mujahedeen, or holy warriors, to "stand steadfast together."
He called on militant groups known as Ansar al-Sunnah, the Islamic Army in Iraq and the Army of the Mujahedeen to "hurry up and respond to the call of the Quran to become one and ... join the Islamic State in Iraq," an al-Qaida affiliate in the country. The 28-minute video, posted on a Web site commonly used by Islamist militants, shows al-Libi, whose nom de guerre means 'the Libyan' in Arabic, with a beard and wearing a camouflage uniform seated next to a Kalashnikov rifle.
The videotape's authenticity could not be independently verified. It carried the logo of al-Qaida's media production wing, al-Sahab. The video was also released by IntelCenter, a U.S. government contractor that monitors al-Qaida messaging. IntelCenter said the earliest the video could have been made is Feb. 20, based on comments al-Libi makes on the decision by British Prime Minister Tony Blair to withdraw a portion of Britain's troops from Iraq. Blair's decision was first reported on Feb. 20.
Al-Libi also urged them not to "fall into the trap of enemies reaching out to Sunnis in Iraq" and claimed Saudi Arabia's calls for the support of Iraq's beleaguered Sunni minority were a sham. Al-Libi has recorded several tapes since he escaped from Bagram. Afghan police said at the time that his real name is Abulbakar Mohammed Hassan and that he is a Libyan.
Labels: Abu Yahia al-Libi, Abulbakar Mohammed Hassan, Al Qaeda, al-Sahab, Ansar al-Sunnah, mujahedeen, the Army of the Mujahedeen, the Islamic Army in Iraq, video
Islamic State of Iraq denies Fallujah chlorine bombs, threatens tribes
Insurgency, Tribal
(SITE) The Islamic State of Iraq issued a statement on March 22, 2007, denying responsibility for targeting “the general people with poison gas” and claiming military operations against an Iraqi police station in Amiriyat al-Fallujah, Anbar province, on March 20. In what is likely a reference to the detonation of three chlorine-filled trucks in Anbar province March 16, the group calls accusations of their involvement in the attack part of an information campaign aimed at tarnishing the jihad of the Islamic State, and more broadly, the image of the “blessed global jihad.” The group asks how any “sane” person can believe that the Islamic State is targeting its own people as so many move to join their military ranks.
The statement also details the raid of an Iraqi police station in Amiriyat al-Fallujah on March 20, in which “no less than 35” policemen were killed. The group claims to be coordinating operations with the “al-Bu Eisa al-Asila” tribe. Though the tribe is praised for offering their best young men to “the fields of jihad” since the beginning of the occupation, it is noted that some have joined government forces in opposing the Islamic State. One member of the tribe, the late Commander Abu al-Harith al-Eisawi, is honored in the statement; his role as a “lion” in the second battle of Fallujah is noted. The statement reminds “defectors,” namely the “al-Anbar savior council,” a coalition of tribes opposing the Islamic State in Anbar province, that their fate will be the same as the “betrayers” at Amiriyat al-Fallujah.
The statement also details the raid of an Iraqi police station in Amiriyat al-Fallujah on March 20, in which “no less than 35” policemen were killed. The group claims to be coordinating operations with the “al-Bu Eisa al-Asila” tribe. Though the tribe is praised for offering their best young men to “the fields of jihad” since the beginning of the occupation, it is noted that some have joined government forces in opposing the Islamic State. One member of the tribe, the late Commander Abu al-Harith al-Eisawi, is honored in the statement; his role as a “lion” in the second battle of Fallujah is noted. The statement reminds “defectors,” namely the “al-Anbar savior council,” a coalition of tribes opposing the Islamic State in Anbar province, that their fate will be the same as the “betrayers” at Amiriyat al-Fallujah.
Labels: al-Anbar savior council, al-Bu Eisa al-Asila, Albu Issa tribe, chlorine bombs, Fallujah, Islamic State of Iraq, tribes
Thursday, March 22, 2007
INM daily summary – 22 March 2007
Scroll down for full articles.
- Ahmed Shibani, a senior aide to Moqtada Sadr, met with Nouri al-Maliki after being freed from two years in US custody.
- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon heads to Baghdad for one-day visit for talks with Nouri al-Maliki.
- The government has been indirectly talking to several Sunni insurgent groups over the past three months in a bid to persuade them to lay down their arms and join the political process, said Saad Yousif al-Muttalibi of the Ministry of National Dialogue and Reconciliation.
- The Mahdi Army is breaking into splinter groups, the main one allegedly led by Qais al-Khazaali, previously a close aid to al-Sadr. The militants are purportedly being trained in Iran and paid by the Quds Force.
- The PUK office in Mosul was attacked by a VBIED killing three and wounding 20.
- Some Iraqi Shias banned from entering Jordan due to concern of Shia missionary activities.
- Sunni Arab leaders will meet on March 28-29 in Saudi Arabia to persuade al-Maliki to drastically change his tactics and policies to achieve stability.
- Iraqi Deputy Planning Minister Faik Abdul Rasool said on Wednesday foreign investors in Iraq would be exempted from all taxes and customs for 10 or 15 years on the condition that they have Iraqi shareholders.
- Iraqi forces detained 20 suspects and US troops another 11, while two weapons caches were seized with containers of nitric acid and chlorine in Mansour.
- Gas pipeline to be built to link gas networks between Iraq and Syria.
- Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi warned on Thursday that his country could be thrown into chaos if U.S.-led coalition forces withdrew before his national troops were ready to handle security on their own.
- A curfew was imposed in Basrah as clashes erupted. It was unclear whether it was a tribal issue or the Fadhela Party and the Mahdi Army fighting.
- Armed groups started to ban satellite dishes in Muqdadiyah and warned residents against using them.
Armed groups ban residents from using satellite dishes
Security
(VOI) – Armed groups started to ban satellite dishes in Muqdadiyah district, 45 km northeast of Baaquba, Diala province, while fierce clashes erupted between tribal forces and gunmen loyal to al-Qaeda, eyewitnesses said on Wednesday. “A number of armed groups started on Tuesday night to bring down satellite dishes in Muqdadiyah district,” eyewitnesses told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
They also warned residents against using the dishes. Meanwhile, a group of tribal forces in the district engaged in clashes with al-Qaeda-linked armed groups in Diala province, a source said, noting that the clashes were aimed to drive out the groups. Diala province is located in central Iraq, just northeast of Baghdad. Its capital city is Baaquba, 57 km northeast of Baghdad.
Labels: Baqouba, Diyala, satellite dishes, tribal forces
Curfew imposed in Basrah as clashes erupt
Security, Politics
(Reuters) - Gunmen clashed on Thursday in the port city of Basra, the hub of Iraq's great southern oil field that is the source of most of the country's wealth. Police patrols warned residents to stay inside and said an indefinite curfew had been imposed. Gunmen attacked the headquarters of Fadhila, a small but powerful party that controls the provincial governorate and withdrew from the ruling Shi'ite alliance earlier this month, witnesses said.
The fighting erupted just two days after British forces pulled out of their base in the centre of Basra, Iraq's second city, and handed it over to the Iraqi 10th division in what a British general called an important step towards Iraqis taking control of their own security. Hospital sources said seven people had been wounded in the clashes, which residents said lasted nearly an hour. Shortly after midday the intense gunfire dwindled to sporadic shooting.
Police Brigadier Ali al-Ibrahim said police and soldiers were being deployed in the area of the clashes. British military spokesman Major David Gell said: "We are aware something is happening but we don't have any more information," adding that multinational forces were standing by.
Details of the fighting were sketchy but Ali al-Hamadi, the head of Basra's emergency security committee, blamed it on a "misunderstanding" between Fadhila and the Mehdi Army militia of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. A Shi'ite official in Baghdad said the two groups were fighting over one of the buildings vacated by the British troops on Tuesday, although this could not be immediately confirmed. Officials of Sadr's movement and the Fadhila party sought to play down the violence.
"Whatever is happening, there is no problem between us and the Sadrists. There is no way we would clash with them," said Nadim al-Jabiri, a senior official of Fadhila. Salaam al-Maliki, a Sadrist and former transport minister, blamed the fighting on a personal dispute between the director general of the electricity directorate and an engineer. "The picture is not clear. It seems the engineer has brought members of his tribe. It is a tribal thing, not political. We have asked the governor to send the police to stop the fighting," he told Reuters.
The fighting erupted just two days after British forces pulled out of their base in the centre of Basra, Iraq's second city, and handed it over to the Iraqi 10th division in what a British general called an important step towards Iraqis taking control of their own security. Hospital sources said seven people had been wounded in the clashes, which residents said lasted nearly an hour. Shortly after midday the intense gunfire dwindled to sporadic shooting.
Police Brigadier Ali al-Ibrahim said police and soldiers were being deployed in the area of the clashes. British military spokesman Major David Gell said: "We are aware something is happening but we don't have any more information," adding that multinational forces were standing by.
Details of the fighting were sketchy but Ali al-Hamadi, the head of Basra's emergency security committee, blamed it on a "misunderstanding" between Fadhila and the Mehdi Army militia of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. A Shi'ite official in Baghdad said the two groups were fighting over one of the buildings vacated by the British troops on Tuesday, although this could not be immediately confirmed. Officials of Sadr's movement and the Fadhila party sought to play down the violence.
"Whatever is happening, there is no problem between us and the Sadrists. There is no way we would clash with them," said Nadim al-Jabiri, a senior official of Fadhila. Salaam al-Maliki, a Sadrist and former transport minister, blamed the fighting on a personal dispute between the director general of the electricity directorate and an engineer. "The picture is not clear. It seems the engineer has brought members of his tribe. It is a tribal thing, not political. We have asked the governor to send the police to stop the fighting," he told Reuters.
Labels: Ali al-Hamadi, Basrah, Fadhela party, Mahdi Army, Nadim al-Jabiri, Salaam al-Maliki
Al-Hashemi says Iraqi troops not ready for U.S. withdrawal
Security
(Reuters) - Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi warned on Thursday that his country could be thrown into chaos if U.S.-led coalition forces withdrew before his national troops were ready to handle security on their own. "We need the coalition forces to stay in Iraq until our national troops are qualified enough to look after security," Hashemi told a think tank seminar in Tokyo, where he is on a four-day official visit. "They are, at the time being, not."
His comments come as U.S. Democratic leaders predicted that the House of Representatives would pass a war-funding bill that sets a strict timetable for withdrawing American combat troops from Iraq. Under the House Democrats' bill, U.S. combat troops would have to be out of Iraq by Sept. 1, 2008. The White House has warned that President George W. Bush would veto any bill with deadlines for withdrawal, but Democrats are anticipating that and are already eyeing other bills to which they could attach similar language, while building pressure for an end to the war. Hashemi, speaking in English, welcomed a timetable for a withdrawal of U.S. forces but said it needed to be coupled with a clear reform plan of Iraqi national forces.
His comments come as U.S. Democratic leaders predicted that the House of Representatives would pass a war-funding bill that sets a strict timetable for withdrawing American combat troops from Iraq. Under the House Democrats' bill, U.S. combat troops would have to be out of Iraq by Sept. 1, 2008. The White House has warned that President George W. Bush would veto any bill with deadlines for withdrawal, but Democrats are anticipating that and are already eyeing other bills to which they could attach similar language, while building pressure for an end to the war. Hashemi, speaking in English, welcomed a timetable for a withdrawal of U.S. forces but said it needed to be coupled with a clear reform plan of Iraqi national forces.
Labels: Iraqi Army, Tareq al-Hashemi, troop withdrawal
Gas pipeline to be built to link gas networks in Syria and Iraq
Gas, Syria
(Iraq Directory) Ali Abbas, director general of the Syrian Gas Company affiliated to the Syrian Ministry of Oil, said that there is coordination with Iraq for the establishment of a central gas pipeline, at a length of 500 kilometers in order to link gas networks in Syria and Iraq. Abbas pointed out that "Iraq and Syria will cooperate to develop gas fields discovered in Iraq and the transfer of raw gas to be processed in the Syrian labs in Deir Al-Zour area on the border between the two countries in order to be transported across the Syrian network to Syrian consumers or exported towards Turkey and Europe".
Labels: Deir Al-Zour, natural gas, Syria, Syrian Gas Company
Nitric acid and chlorine containers impounded in search
Security
(Middle East Online) - Hundreds of Iraqi and US troops have pushed into troubled areas of western Baghdad, arresting 31 suspects and impounding containers of nitric acid and chlorine, the US military said Thursday. Around 1,100 US soldiers and 500 Iraqi troops swept into the Mansur district on Wednesday, conducting house to house searches. Iraqi forces detained 20 suspects and US troops another 11, while two weapons caches were seized with containers of nitric acid and chlorine, the military said in a statement.
Labels: chlorine, Mansour, nitric acid, raid
Foreign investors in Iraq to be exempted from taxes and customs
Business
(Anatolia News) - Visiting Iraqi Deputy Planning Minister Faik Abdul Rasool said on Wednesday foreign investors in Iraq would be exempted from all taxes and customs for 10 or 15 years on the condition that they have Iraqi shareholders. Rasool made the remarks at the Turkish-Iraqi Business Council meeting in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, noting that the privilege would be applicable to foreign investors in all sectors except those of oil, banking and insurance, Turkey's semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.
Iraq is open to foreign investors, especially in such fields of infrastructure, Rasool said, noting that the country needs 18 billion U.S. dollars for infrastructure for the next 5 years as 1. 5 million houses are to be built in the war-torn country. A National Investment Commission, which is directly connected with the Prime Ministry was newly established to facilitate a rapid and effective decision-making process so that all procedures can be completed within 4-5 days, Rasool said.
Trade relation between Turkey and Iraq still has great room for improvement, as bilateral trade volume dropped from 7 billion dollars in 2004 to 2.8 billion in 2006, the report quoted Turkish-Iraqi Business Council Deputy Chairman Mehmet Habbab as saying.
Iraq is open to foreign investors, especially in such fields of infrastructure, Rasool said, noting that the country needs 18 billion U.S. dollars for infrastructure for the next 5 years as 1. 5 million houses are to be built in the war-torn country. A National Investment Commission, which is directly connected with the Prime Ministry was newly established to facilitate a rapid and effective decision-making process so that all procedures can be completed within 4-5 days, Rasool said.
Trade relation between Turkey and Iraq still has great room for improvement, as bilateral trade volume dropped from 7 billion dollars in 2004 to 2.8 billion in 2006, the report quoted Turkish-Iraqi Business Council Deputy Chairman Mehmet Habbab as saying.
Labels: Faik Abdul Rasool, foreign investors, tax exemption, Turkey
Sunni Arab leaders see al-Maliki's government as an obstacle to stability
Politics, Region
(Azzaman) - Arab leaders see Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government as an obstacle on the path of reconciliation and return of security, officials say. The officials, refusing to be named, said the leaders, who are to convene for a summit in Saudi Arabia on March 28-29 may not be able to come up with a unified stand regarding Iraq unless Maliki drastically changes tact and policies.
The prime minister apparently still enjoys the backing of Washington and so far U.S. leaders seem to be rather happy with the progress of their military operations to subdue Baghdad. But the sources said the Arabs, led by Saudi Arabia and Jordan, were keen to alter the current balance of power in Baghdad which tilts towards Shiite factions.
The Shiite coalition has the largest bloc in parliament but cannot rule on its own as it lacks the necessary two-thirds majority. The fate of Maliki’s government depends on its alliance with Kurds who enjoy substantial autonomy in northern Iraq. But the Kurds are reported to be furious with Maliki’s policies and fear the current uncertainty and high levels of violence in most parts of the country might destabilize their relatively quiet enclave.
Saudi Arabia and Jordan, two key players in Iraq, are warming up to Kurds in a move designed to persuade them to give up their current alliance with Maliki. The Kurds joined Maliki’s government in the hope that the new government would normalize conditions in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk by holding a referendum and forcing the Arabs who were brought there under former leader Saddam Hussein to leave.
But Maliki is reluctant to take such measures, angering his Kurdish allies. The officials said the recent visit by Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdish region, to Saudi Arabia and his meeting with King Abdullah was part of a Saudi campaign to further weaken Maliki. Barzani also visited Amman where he met King Abdullah of Jordan. Both countries are predominantly Sunnis and so are majority Kurds in Iraq. The official said Kurds would be ready to change alliances if guaranteed they will add Kirkuk to their semi-independent territory. But the opposition bloc in Iraqi parliament, mainly comprising Sunni MPs, is a strong opponent of relinquishing Kirkuk and its prolific oil fields to Kurds.
The prime minister apparently still enjoys the backing of Washington and so far U.S. leaders seem to be rather happy with the progress of their military operations to subdue Baghdad. But the sources said the Arabs, led by Saudi Arabia and Jordan, were keen to alter the current balance of power in Baghdad which tilts towards Shiite factions.
The Shiite coalition has the largest bloc in parliament but cannot rule on its own as it lacks the necessary two-thirds majority. The fate of Maliki’s government depends on its alliance with Kurds who enjoy substantial autonomy in northern Iraq. But the Kurds are reported to be furious with Maliki’s policies and fear the current uncertainty and high levels of violence in most parts of the country might destabilize their relatively quiet enclave.
Saudi Arabia and Jordan, two key players in Iraq, are warming up to Kurds in a move designed to persuade them to give up their current alliance with Maliki. The Kurds joined Maliki’s government in the hope that the new government would normalize conditions in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk by holding a referendum and forcing the Arabs who were brought there under former leader Saddam Hussein to leave.
But Maliki is reluctant to take such measures, angering his Kurdish allies. The officials said the recent visit by Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdish region, to Saudi Arabia and his meeting with King Abdullah was part of a Saudi campaign to further weaken Maliki. Barzani also visited Amman where he met King Abdullah of Jordan. Both countries are predominantly Sunnis and so are majority Kurds in Iraq. The official said Kurds would be ready to change alliances if guaranteed they will add Kirkuk to their semi-independent territory. But the opposition bloc in Iraqi parliament, mainly comprising Sunni MPs, is a strong opponent of relinquishing Kirkuk and its prolific oil fields to Kurds.
Labels: Jordan, Kurds, Massoud Barzani, Nouri Al-Maliki, Saudi Arabia
Iraqi Shias turned away from Jordan
Region
(Al Jazeera) - The Iranian influence on Shia communities in Iraq, Lebanon and other parts of the Muslim world has become a serious concern of the governments and people of Arab and Muslim countries. Accusations against Iran, of meddling in Arab countries' internal affairs using its influence among Shia Arabs, have been surging in the light of increasing indications that Shia Iran is promoting its sect among Sunni Arabs to boost its regional role.
In Jordan, a predominantly Sunni Muslim country, members of parliament have voiced their fears of some active Shia agents working on convincing poor Jordanian families to embrace the Shia sect. Khalid al-Bazaiya, a Jordanian MP, told Aljazeera.net: "We informed the prime minister. I cannot say we have the material evidence yet, however, we cannot say the Shia missionary activities do not exist in Jordan."
According to the Iraqi ministry of foreign affairs, many Iraqis were banned from entering Jordan in the past two weeks because they were Shia. Labid Abbawi, deputy minister of foreign affairs, said on Tuesday: "Iraqi nationals have been asked whether they were Sunni or Shia by Jordanian borders agents. We had dealt with this issue some months ago, and the Jordanian authorities responded quickly; we do not know why the same thing is happening again."
In Jordan, a predominantly Sunni Muslim country, members of parliament have voiced their fears of some active Shia agents working on convincing poor Jordanian families to embrace the Shia sect. Khalid al-Bazaiya, a Jordanian MP, told Aljazeera.net: "We informed the prime minister. I cannot say we have the material evidence yet, however, we cannot say the Shia missionary activities do not exist in Jordan."
According to the Iraqi ministry of foreign affairs, many Iraqis were banned from entering Jordan in the past two weeks because they were Shia. Labid Abbawi, deputy minister of foreign affairs, said on Tuesday: "Iraqi nationals have been asked whether they were Sunni or Shia by Jordanian borders agents. We had dealt with this issue some months ago, and the Jordanian authorities responded quickly; we do not know why the same thing is happening again."
Labels: Iran, Jordan, Khalid al-Bazaiya, Shias
PUK office in Mosul attacked
Security, Politics
(Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed three and wounded 20 on Wednesday when he blew his truck up at the headquarters of a Kurdish party in the northern city of Mosul, police said. Witnesses said the bomber drove his truck into the headquarters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by the Kurdish leader Masoud Barazani, as Kurds were celebrating the spring festival of Nawruz.
Labels: Massoud Barzani, Mosul, PUK, VBIED
Mahdi Army breaking into splinter groups
Security, Iran
(AP) - The violent Shiite militia known as the Mahdi Army is breaking into splinter groups, with up to 3,000 gunmen now financed directly by Iran and no longer loyal to the firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, adding a potentially even more deadly element to Iraq's violent mix. At the Pentagon, a military official confirmed there were signs the Mahdi Army was splintering. Some were breaking away to attempt a more conciliatory approach to the Americans and the Iraqi government, others moving in a more extremist direction, the official said.
However, the official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name on the topic, was not aware of direct Iranian recruitment and financing of Mahdi Army members. The outlines of the fracture inside the Mahdi Army were confirmed by senior Iraqi government officials with access to intelligence reports prepared for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The information indicates a disintegrating organization yet a potentially even more dangerous foe, they revealed, on condition that their names not be used.
The militia commanders and al-Maliki's reports identify the leader of the breakaway faction as Qais al-Khazaali, a young Iraqi cleric who was a close al-Sadr aide in 2003 and 2004. Another U.S. official, who declined to be identified because of the information's sensitivity, said it was true that some gunmen had gone to Iran for training and that al-Khazaali has a following. However, the official could not confirm the number of his followers or whether Iran was financing them.
The Mahdi Army commanders, who said they would be endangered if their names were revealed, said Iran's Revolutionary Guards were funding and arming the defectors from their force, and that several hundred over the last 18 months had slipped across the Iranian border for training by the Quds force. In recent weeks, Mahdi Army fighters who escaped possible arrest in the Baghdad security push have received $600 each upon reaching Iran. The former Mahdi Army militiamen working for the Revolutionary Guards operate under the cover a relief agency for Iraqi refugees, they said. Once fighters defect, they receive a monthly stipend of $200, said the commanders.
Inside Iraq, the breakaway troops are using the cover of the Mahdi Army itself, the commanders said. The defectors are in secret, small, but well-funded cells. Little else has emerged about the structure of their organization, but most of their cadres are thought to have maintained the pretense of continued Mahdi Army membership, possibly to escape reprisals. Estimates of the number of Mahdi Army fighters vary wildly, with some putting the figure at 10,000 and others as many as 60,000.
Mahdi Army militiamen also could be attracted by the cash promises of the splinter group. They don't receive wages or weapons from al-Sadr, but are allowed to generate income by charging government contractors protection money when they work in Shiite neighborhoods. The two Mahdi Army commanders blamed several recent attacks on U.S. forces in eastern Baghdad on the splinter group. The commanders also said they believed the breakaway force had organized the attempt last week to kill Rahim al-Darraji, the mayor of Sadr City.
The commanders said recruitment of Mahdi Army gunmen by Iran began as early as 2005. But it was dramatically stepped up in recent months, especially with the approach of the U.S.-Iraqi security operation which was highly advertised before it began Feb. 14. Many Mahdi Army fighters are believed to have crossed the border to escape arrest. Calls by the AP to seek comment from the Iranian Foreign Ministry have not been returned.
However, the official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name on the topic, was not aware of direct Iranian recruitment and financing of Mahdi Army members. The outlines of the fracture inside the Mahdi Army were confirmed by senior Iraqi government officials with access to intelligence reports prepared for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The information indicates a disintegrating organization yet a potentially even more dangerous foe, they revealed, on condition that their names not be used.
The militia commanders and al-Maliki's reports identify the leader of the breakaway faction as Qais al-Khazaali, a young Iraqi cleric who was a close al-Sadr aide in 2003 and 2004. Another U.S. official, who declined to be identified because of the information's sensitivity, said it was true that some gunmen had gone to Iran for training and that al-Khazaali has a following. However, the official could not confirm the number of his followers or whether Iran was financing them.
The Mahdi Army commanders, who said they would be endangered if their names were revealed, said Iran's Revolutionary Guards were funding and arming the defectors from their force, and that several hundred over the last 18 months had slipped across the Iranian border for training by the Quds force. In recent weeks, Mahdi Army fighters who escaped possible arrest in the Baghdad security push have received $600 each upon reaching Iran. The former Mahdi Army militiamen working for the Revolutionary Guards operate under the cover a relief agency for Iraqi refugees, they said. Once fighters defect, they receive a monthly stipend of $200, said the commanders.
Inside Iraq, the breakaway troops are using the cover of the Mahdi Army itself, the commanders said. The defectors are in secret, small, but well-funded cells. Little else has emerged about the structure of their organization, but most of their cadres are thought to have maintained the pretense of continued Mahdi Army membership, possibly to escape reprisals. Estimates of the number of Mahdi Army fighters vary wildly, with some putting the figure at 10,000 and others as many as 60,000.
Mahdi Army militiamen also could be attracted by the cash promises of the splinter group. They don't receive wages or weapons from al-Sadr, but are allowed to generate income by charging government contractors protection money when they work in Shiite neighborhoods. The two Mahdi Army commanders blamed several recent attacks on U.S. forces in eastern Baghdad on the splinter group. The commanders also said they believed the breakaway force had organized the attempt last week to kill Rahim al-Darraji, the mayor of Sadr City.
The commanders said recruitment of Mahdi Army gunmen by Iran began as early as 2005. But it was dramatically stepped up in recent months, especially with the approach of the U.S.-Iraqi security operation which was highly advertised before it began Feb. 14. Many Mahdi Army fighters are believed to have crossed the border to escape arrest. Calls by the AP to seek comment from the Iranian Foreign Ministry have not been returned.
Labels: Iran, Mahdi Army, Qais al-Khazaali, Quds Force, splinter group
Government in talks with Sunni insurgents to lay down arms
Security, Politics, Insurgency
(AP) - The government has been indirectly talking to several Sunni insurgent groups over the past three months in a bid to persuade them to lay down their arms and join the political process, a senior government official said Thursday. Saad Yousif al-Muttalibi of the Ministry of National Dialogue and Reconciliation said the talks were initiated at the request of the insurgents and have been taking place inside and outside Iraq.
He refused to identify the groups, but said they did not include al-Qaida in Iraq or Saddam Hussein loyalists. Members of the former president's outlawed Baath party took part, he added. Speaking to The Associated Press in a telephone interview, al-Muttalibi said the negotiations were deadlocked over the insurgent groups' insistence that they would lay down their arms only when a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition troops in Iraq is announced.
The government's response was that such a move could only be taken when security is restored. Future rounds of negotiations are planned, he said, but did not elaborate. Al-Muttalibi's comments came one day after he expressed optimism in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government was making progress in talks with insurgent groups, predicting some factions might be close to laying down their arms. "One of the aims is to join with them in the fight against al-Qaida (in Iraq)," he told the BBC.
He refused to identify the groups, but said they did not include al-Qaida in Iraq or Saddam Hussein loyalists. Members of the former president's outlawed Baath party took part, he added. Speaking to The Associated Press in a telephone interview, al-Muttalibi said the negotiations were deadlocked over the insurgent groups' insistence that they would lay down their arms only when a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition troops in Iraq is announced.
The government's response was that such a move could only be taken when security is restored. Future rounds of negotiations are planned, he said, but did not elaborate. Al-Muttalibi's comments came one day after he expressed optimism in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government was making progress in talks with insurgent groups, predicting some factions might be close to laying down their arms. "One of the aims is to join with them in the fight against al-Qaida (in Iraq)," he told the BBC.
Labels: Baathists, Iraq's Ministry of National Dialogue and Reconciliation, Saad Yousif al-Muttalibi, Sunni insurgents
U.N. Secretary-General in Baghdad for talks with al-Maliki
U.N.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was headed to Baghdad on Thursday for a meeting with the Iraqi prime minister, the first visit by the top United Nations official in nearly a year and a half, U.N. officials said. Ban will be in the Iraqi capital for only one day of meetings with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose forces are working with the U.S. military in a major operation to curb violence in Baghdad and the surrounding territory. The U.N. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information, would give no other details about the visit. The top U.N. official was last in Baghdad when Ban's predecessor, Kofi Annan, visited the capital in November 2005.
Labels: Baghdad, Nouri Al-Maliki, oon, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, U.N.
Released Mahdi Army leader in talks with al-Maliki
Politics, Security
(BBC) - An Iraqi militia leader once branded a major security threat has appeared in public alongside Iraq's prime minister after being freed from US custody. Ahmed Shibani is a senior aide to radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr, whose political movement plays a key role in Iraq's power-sharing coalition. Mr Shibani met Nouri Maliki hours after Iraqi government officials said they were talking with insurgent groups. The US-led coalition said Mr Shibani could help moderate extremism in Iraq. In a statement, the coalition said leaders judged that Mr Shibani "could play a potentially important role in helping to moderate extremism and foster reconciliation in Iraq."
Mr Shibani was seen being photographed with the prime minister and was also interviewed on Iraqi TV. Iraqi news reports say negotiations for his release appear to have been carried out by the Iraqi government. The US military jailed Mr Shibani at a military prison more than two years ago after detaining him during an uprising against the occupation in the Shia town of Najaf.
On Wednesday Saad Yousif al-Muttalibi, of Iraq's Ministry of National Dialogue and Reconciliation, said the government was talking to a range of insurgent groups. And Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi told the BBC there was no option but to hold talks with all armed groups, with the exception of Iraq's al-Qaeda movement.
Mr Shibani was seen being photographed with the prime minister and was also interviewed on Iraqi TV. Iraqi news reports say negotiations for his release appear to have been carried out by the Iraqi government. The US military jailed Mr Shibani at a military prison more than two years ago after detaining him during an uprising against the occupation in the Shia town of Najaf.
On Wednesday Saad Yousif al-Muttalibi, of Iraq's Ministry of National Dialogue and Reconciliation, said the government was talking to a range of insurgent groups. And Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi told the BBC there was no option but to hold talks with all armed groups, with the exception of Iraq's al-Qaeda movement.
Labels: Ahmed Shibani, Iraq's Ministry of National Dialogue and Reconciliation, Mahdi Army, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Nouri Al-Maliki, Saad Yousif al-Muttalibi
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
INM daily summary – 21 March 2007
Scroll down for full articles.
- The vice-president of Iraq, Tareq al-Hashemi, has called for talks to be opened with the country's insurgents in an attempt to bring peace, with the exception of Al Qaeda.
- Hundreds of mourners attended the burial of Saddam Hussein’s former vice president, Taha Yassin Ramadan in Ouja where Saddam Hussein, his sons and two other executed deputies were buried.
- The U.S department for Foreign Affairs is considering creating a safe haven or self-administrative zone for Iraq’s minorities, such as Assyrians, in Ninevah.
- Iraqi expats are stranded as in 2005 the new Iraqi government issued instructions to all immigration authorities that passports issued under the Saddam government, known as the N-series, and passports issued after the war, known as the S-series, would no longer be recognised. These were to be replaced by a new document, carrying a letter 'G', and would be the only officially recognized travel document, but these never reached Iraq's consulates abroad.
- Work has started on a US$ 11 million dam to be built in Al-Anbar for nomads.
- ArmorGroup's profit fell sharply last year after the armed security provider failed to win new contracts for the Camp Ghassan training camp facility.
- An affiliate of MEK, Alireza Jafarzadeh, and head of a Washington-based think tank called Strategic Policy Consulting Inc. says Iraqi Shiite death squads are being trained in more than half a dozen secret camps in Iran with the blessing of top Tehran government leaders and at least three senior Iraqi political figures.
- UNHCR will hold an international conference on addressing the humanitarian needs of refugees and Internally Displaced Persons inside Iraq and in neighbouring countries on 17-18 April, 2007 in Palais des Nations, Geneva.
- Israeli Elbit Systems said their small pilotless planes, “Skylarks”, are gathering intelligence for US-led forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Round-up of violence across Iraq
(McClatchy Newspapers) The daily Iraq violence report is compiled by McClatchy Newspapers Special Correspondent Laith Hammoudi in Baghdad from police, military and medical reports. This is not a comprehensive list of all violence in Iraq, much of which goes unreported. It’s posted without editing as transmitted to McClatchy’s Washington Bureau.
Labels: Iraq violence
Israeli pilotless planes gathering intelligence for U.S. in Iraq
Security
(News24) Small Israeli pilotless planes are gathering intelligence for US-led forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, said the manufacturer in a statement on Monday. Elbit Systems, one of Israel's leading defence electronics companies, said the little "Skylark" can be carried and operated by a single soldier, covering an area within a range of 10km day or night, said the company.
The statement described the Skylark as suited for "close range, beyond-the-next hill, counter-terror missions". There was no immediate comment from US military officials. Elbit said the Skylark would be unveiled to the public at the March 20-25 Australian International Airshow.
The Skylark is just one of several items of Israeli defence hardware deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Earlier this month, state-owned arms-maker Rafael said it had won a contract to supply the US marine corps with state-of the-art armoured vehicles for use there. Military analysts said Israeli firms had long been supplying and maintaining equipment for American ground and naval forces in Iraq, although both buyers and sellers generally preferred to keep a low profile.
The statement described the Skylark as suited for "close range, beyond-the-next hill, counter-terror missions". There was no immediate comment from US military officials. Elbit said the Skylark would be unveiled to the public at the March 20-25 Australian International Airshow.
The Skylark is just one of several items of Israeli defence hardware deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Earlier this month, state-owned arms-maker Rafael said it had won a contract to supply the US marine corps with state-of the-art armoured vehicles for use there. Military analysts said Israeli firms had long been supplying and maintaining equipment for American ground and naval forces in Iraq, although both buyers and sellers generally preferred to keep a low profile.
Labels: Australian International Airshow, Elbit Systems, Israel, Rafael, Skylark
UNHCR to hold international conference on Iraqi IDPs, refugees
Humanitarian, International
(UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency said a major conference in Geneva in April is aimed at increasing awareness of the humanitarian scale of the Iraq conflict and winning international support for tackling the problems. Participants at the April 17-18 ministerial-level meeting in Geneva's Palais des Nations would also try to identify more targeted responses to specific problems, UNHCR's chief spokesman, Ron Redmond, told reporters, while adding that it was not specifically a pledging or donor conference. "The conference will bring together Iraqi authorities and those of neighbouring countries, major refugee-hosting states, major donor countries, resettlement countries, concerned regional governmental organisations, NGOs, UN and non-UN partners and others," Redmond said.
MEK spokesman - Iran training Shiite militias
Security, Iran
(AP Worldstream) A spokesman for an Iranian dissident group says Iraqi Shiite guerrillas and death squads are being trained in more than half a dozen secret camps in Iran with the blessing of top Tehran government leaders and at least three senior Iraqi political figures including Abdel Aziz Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). Iraqi Shiite fighters are sent to Iran in the guise of religious pilgrims or wounded veterans seeking medical treatment, schooled in the camps for up to a month in everything from sniper techniques to explosive devices and shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, and sent back to Iraq, Alireza Jafarzadeh told a news conference on Tuesday.
Jafarzadeh now heads a Washington-based think tank called Strategic Policy Consulting Inc., which deals with issues relating to Iran's nuclear and military activities and claims to obtain its information from a network of resistance informants inside that country. U.S. officials have taken a wary view of Jafarzadeh's affiliation in the past with the National Council of Resistance of Iran, whose military arm, the Mujahedeen Khalq, or MEK, was listed as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department. Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein allowed the group to operate camps in Iraq from which it launched attacks inside Iran.
Jafarzadeh said Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, are closely connected to the training program, and he named Abu Ahmad Al-Ramisi, governor of southern Iraq's Muthanna province, and two members of Iraq's National Assembly as being secretly involved. A spokesman for Iran's U.N. Mission, Mohammad Mir Ali Mohammadi, said Jafarzadeh was an "official representative of MEK, which is a terrorist group, and even on the terrorist list of the U.S. State Department."
The U.S. Mission to the United Nations had no immediate comment on Jafarzadeh's latest claims about clandestine training of Iraqi fighters in Iran.
Jafarzadeh displayed maps and satellite photos showing some of the purported camps' locations, including two near the former shah's palace in Tehran, another south of the capital in Jalil Abad, and another, the Bahonar base in Karaj, where he said techniques of guerrilla warfare, including deception and intelligence-gathering are on the curriculum. Other camps, he said, are in Qom, in Isfahan and in Iraq-Iran border areas near Kermanshah, Kurdistan, Ilam and Khuzestan. The information, provided in bits and pieces by spies and informants, was sketchy on some aspects and detailed on others.
The camps are run by several top commanders of the Qods Force, the most highly trained branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, with some members of Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah militia also taking part, he said. He said the camps are under the command of Brig. Gen. Mohammad Shahlaei, a Revolutionary Guards officer who has been "involved in the Iranian regime's intervention in Iraqi affairs."
Jafarzadeh now heads a Washington-based think tank called Strategic Policy Consulting Inc., which deals with issues relating to Iran's nuclear and military activities and claims to obtain its information from a network of resistance informants inside that country. U.S. officials have taken a wary view of Jafarzadeh's affiliation in the past with the National Council of Resistance of Iran, whose military arm, the Mujahedeen Khalq, or MEK, was listed as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department. Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein allowed the group to operate camps in Iraq from which it launched attacks inside Iran.
Jafarzadeh said Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, are closely connected to the training program, and he named Abu Ahmad Al-Ramisi, governor of southern Iraq's Muthanna province, and two members of Iraq's National Assembly as being secretly involved. A spokesman for Iran's U.N. Mission, Mohammad Mir Ali Mohammadi, said Jafarzadeh was an "official representative of MEK, which is a terrorist group, and even on the terrorist list of the U.S. State Department."
The U.S. Mission to the United Nations had no immediate comment on Jafarzadeh's latest claims about clandestine training of Iraqi fighters in Iran.
Jafarzadeh displayed maps and satellite photos showing some of the purported camps' locations, including two near the former shah's palace in Tehran, another south of the capital in Jalil Abad, and another, the Bahonar base in Karaj, where he said techniques of guerrilla warfare, including deception and intelligence-gathering are on the curriculum. Other camps, he said, are in Qom, in Isfahan and in Iraq-Iran border areas near Kermanshah, Kurdistan, Ilam and Khuzestan. The information, provided in bits and pieces by spies and informants, was sketchy on some aspects and detailed on others.
The camps are run by several top commanders of the Qods Force, the most highly trained branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, with some members of Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah militia also taking part, he said. He said the camps are under the command of Brig. Gen. Mohammad Shahlaei, a Revolutionary Guards officer who has been "involved in the Iranian regime's intervention in Iraqi affairs."
Labels: Alireza Jafarzadeh, Iran, Quds Force, Shiite militias, training camps
ArmorGroups' profits fall after failure to win more Iraq contracts
Business, Security
(Financial Times) ArmorGroup's profit fell sharply last year after the armed security provider failed to win new contracts for its Iraqi training camp. David Seaton, chief executive at the Westminster-based company, blamed the lack of business at the Camp Ghassan facility on a "slowdown in coalition-funded training of Iraqi security forces and a continued lack of funds for training from Iraq's ministries".
In 2005, profit was boosted by a contract to train close protection officers for the Iraqi judiciary. However, this was not replaced with new business. As a result, pre-tax profit fell in the year to December 31 to $9.5m (£4.85m), down from $12.1m the previous year. The training problems overshadowed an improvement in Armor's protective security division, which accounts for most of its sales.
The company reduced its reliance on Iraq, cutting revenues from 59 per cent of group sales to 49 per cent after winning new contracts in the Middle East, Afghanistan and Africa. It also managed to improve margins in Iraq by reducing costs, hiring more locals and lowering capital investment.
Sales rose 17 per cent to $273.5m ($233m) on the back of growing business in protective security in Iraq, Afghanistan and Nigeria. Earnings per share were 13.35 cents (16.24 cents) and the recommended final dividend is 1.5p, giving a yearly total of 2.75p, the same as 2005. Its shares, which have rallied 43 per cent in the past three months because of the improved Iraq performance, fell 3p to 87p yesterday.
In 2005, profit was boosted by a contract to train close protection officers for the Iraqi judiciary. However, this was not replaced with new business. As a result, pre-tax profit fell in the year to December 31 to $9.5m (£4.85m), down from $12.1m the previous year. The training problems overshadowed an improvement in Armor's protective security division, which accounts for most of its sales.
The company reduced its reliance on Iraq, cutting revenues from 59 per cent of group sales to 49 per cent after winning new contracts in the Middle East, Afghanistan and Africa. It also managed to improve margins in Iraq by reducing costs, hiring more locals and lowering capital investment.
Sales rose 17 per cent to $273.5m ($233m) on the back of growing business in protective security in Iraq, Afghanistan and Nigeria. Earnings per share were 13.35 cents (16.24 cents) and the recommended final dividend is 1.5p, giving a yearly total of 2.75p, the same as 2005. Its shares, which have rallied 43 per cent in the past three months because of the improved Iraq performance, fell 3p to 87p yesterday.
The private security market has expanded from $900m in 2003 to $2.6bn last year, with about half of that outside Iraq, showing that the industry is maturing. However, operating margins of 4.7 per cent in the armed guard business, while good for the industry, are slim, especially for a company that experienced 450 "hostile actions" against staff last year. Armor's future attractiveness will lie in higher margin training work and consulting services, similar to those of Control Risks, its non-listed rival.
Labels: Armorgroup, Camp Ghassan, contracts, David Seaton, private security companies
New $11 million dam to be built in Al-Anbar for nomads
Reconstruction, Humanitarian
(Azzaman) Work is progressing on the construction of a new dam in the restive Province of Anbar to help nomads find enough pasture and water for their herds. Anbar is the largest Iraqi province in area. Though River Euphrates passes through its territory most of the province is barren desert. The dam will cost 14 billion dinars (US$ 10,969,207.866) and rise to a height of 17.5 meters, according to Raad Abduljaleel, head of the state-run Directorate for Dams and Reservoirs.
Abduljaleel said on completion the dam will store 6.82 million cubic meters of water collected mainly from rain water. The plan is to have the nomads settle in the area close to the dam, Abduljaleel said. It is not clear whether the authorities will help Iraqi nomads with housing. But Abduljaleel said a housing complex is being built for the engineers and workers constructing the dam which is expected to finish in 2008. Ramadi, a major stronghold for anti-U.S. insurgents, is the capital of Anbar Province which also includes Falluja, another rebel bastion in western Iraq.
Abduljaleel said on completion the dam will store 6.82 million cubic meters of water collected mainly from rain water. The plan is to have the nomads settle in the area close to the dam, Abduljaleel said. It is not clear whether the authorities will help Iraqi nomads with housing. But Abduljaleel said a housing complex is being built for the engineers and workers constructing the dam which is expected to finish in 2008. Ramadi, a major stronghold for anti-U.S. insurgents, is the capital of Anbar Province which also includes Falluja, another rebel bastion in western Iraq.
Iraqi expats stranded in passport confusion
Travel
(Al Jazeera) Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi expatriates have been left stranded after their passports were declared invalid. The decision to declare some passports issued by the government of Saddam Hussein and after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, has caused problems for Iraqis around the world. The situation has been made more difficult because the first set of replacement passports have also been declared invalid and the new, legal version has not been sent to Iraq's consulates.
The problem began in 2005 when the new Iraqi government issued instructions to all immigration authorities that passports issued under the Saddam government, known as the N-series, and passports issued after the war, known as the S-series, would no longer be recognised. These were to be replaced by a new document, carrying a letter 'G', and would be the only officially recognised travel document, but these never reached Iraq's consulates abroad.
Iraqi expatriates are grateful to be outside their war-torn country, and away from death squads, but they now find themselves unable to travel freely. Thousands of Iraqis are stranded and are being denied access to the US, UK, and Canada, because they are either carrying S-series passports, or old but valid Iraqi passports issued under Saddam.
The three countries host Iraqis who either acquired passports, became refugees, or who hold residency permits; the UK is estimated to be home to 250,000 expatriates, the US and Canada hundreds of thousands more. Iraqi consulates are still issuing the S-type passports despite the fact that the Iraqi authorities cancelled it in 2005. Yasir al-Muaiad, the diplomatic attaché at the Iraqi embassy in Doha, Qatar, said he did not expect the problem to be solved in the near future.
"When the authorities realised there were technical problems that would prevent us from issuing the G-type passports, they tried to call off the cancellation of S-type passports, but some countries did not take the latest instructions on board and still insist on accepting only the G-type passports, like the US, UK, and Canada," he told Al Jazeera. Al-Muaiad expected the G-series passport to reach Iraqi consulates in Dubai, Jordan and Yemen.
He said: "The new passports will be sent first to the Arab countries which host large Iraqi communities, and the quantity is not expected to be much in the beginning. In Jordan, for example, they will start to issue 10 passports a week only." Walid Khalid, an Iraqi journalist in Baghdad, says the G-series is being issued in Baghdad. He said: "The G-type passport is available in Baghdad, people are getting it every day. We do not know why it is not being supplied to our embassies abroad."
The problem began in 2005 when the new Iraqi government issued instructions to all immigration authorities that passports issued under the Saddam government, known as the N-series, and passports issued after the war, known as the S-series, would no longer be recognised. These were to be replaced by a new document, carrying a letter 'G', and would be the only officially recognised travel document, but these never reached Iraq's consulates abroad.
Iraqi expatriates are grateful to be outside their war-torn country, and away from death squads, but they now find themselves unable to travel freely. Thousands of Iraqis are stranded and are being denied access to the US, UK, and Canada, because they are either carrying S-series passports, or old but valid Iraqi passports issued under Saddam.
The three countries host Iraqis who either acquired passports, became refugees, or who hold residency permits; the UK is estimated to be home to 250,000 expatriates, the US and Canada hundreds of thousands more. Iraqi consulates are still issuing the S-type passports despite the fact that the Iraqi authorities cancelled it in 2005. Yasir al-Muaiad, the diplomatic attaché at the Iraqi embassy in Doha, Qatar, said he did not expect the problem to be solved in the near future.
"When the authorities realised there were technical problems that would prevent us from issuing the G-type passports, they tried to call off the cancellation of S-type passports, but some countries did not take the latest instructions on board and still insist on accepting only the G-type passports, like the US, UK, and Canada," he told Al Jazeera. Al-Muaiad expected the G-series passport to reach Iraqi consulates in Dubai, Jordan and Yemen.
He said: "The new passports will be sent first to the Arab countries which host large Iraqi communities, and the quantity is not expected to be much in the beginning. In Jordan, for example, they will start to issue 10 passports a week only." Walid Khalid, an Iraqi journalist in Baghdad, says the G-series is being issued in Baghdad. He said: "The G-type passport is available in Baghdad, people are getting it every day. We do not know why it is not being supplied to our embassies abroad."
Labels: Iraqi expats, series G passports, series N passports, series S passports
Minorities in Iraq may be given safe haven in Ninevah
Humanitarian
(AINA) Iraq's Christians suffer much from persecution and are fleeing the country. Iraq's non-Muslim minorities, most of them Assyrians (Syriacs and Chaldeans) face systematic cleansing in the shadow of the Iraq war. Now even the U.S department for Foreign Affairs is ringing the alarm bell exclusively for Metro by stating that they regard the situation seriously and that they have taken several measures in order to stop the persecution. One of the solutions can be a safe haven. In talks with Metro the U.S department for Foreign Affairs has opened up for the possibility to give Christians, and other minorities, in Iraq an area of their own, where they will be safe.
In the north of Iraq, just south of Kurdistan, there is an area named Nineveh which is almost entirely populated by Iraq's minorities, most of them Christians. Many are now calling for this area to become an administrative area of its own, a protective zone, where Christian Iraqis can feel safe.
We are working to enhance the consciousness among members of Congress and request from the American Congress to support that Assyrians/Chaldeans/Syriacs and other minorities who live parallel to them in the north part, which is called the Nineveh Plaines, shall have their own administrative area. There is support for this in the Iraqi constitution says Michael Youash from the think-tank called Iraqi Sustainable Democracy Project in Washington.
The President of the Assyrian Federation of Sweden, Simon Barmano, says he supports the proposition and wants the Swedish government to act so the Assyrians may have a sanctuary. That is also the standpoint of Fredrick Malm, spokesman of the Swedish co-governing liberal party, Folkpartiet, on issues of political refugees. "I support autonomy for the Assyrians in Nineveh," he says, "But their safety and security must also be guaranteed."
Another reason for wanting a safe haven is the possibility that the large number of refuges, now living under terrible circumstances in the neighbouring countries, may return. Many Iraqi refugees escape to Sweden.
In the north of Iraq, just south of Kurdistan, there is an area named Nineveh which is almost entirely populated by Iraq's minorities, most of them Christians. Many are now calling for this area to become an administrative area of its own, a protective zone, where Christian Iraqis can feel safe.
We are working to enhance the consciousness among members of Congress and request from the American Congress to support that Assyrians/Chaldeans/Syriacs and other minorities who live parallel to them in the north part, which is called the Nineveh Plaines, shall have their own administrative area. There is support for this in the Iraqi constitution says Michael Youash from the think-tank called Iraqi Sustainable Democracy Project in Washington.
The President of the Assyrian Federation of Sweden, Simon Barmano, says he supports the proposition and wants the Swedish government to act so the Assyrians may have a sanctuary. That is also the standpoint of Fredrick Malm, spokesman of the Swedish co-governing liberal party, Folkpartiet, on issues of political refugees. "I support autonomy for the Assyrians in Nineveh," he says, "But their safety and security must also be guaranteed."
Another reason for wanting a safe haven is the possibility that the large number of refuges, now living under terrible circumstances in the neighbouring countries, may return. Many Iraqi refugees escape to Sweden.
Labels: Assyrians, Iraqi constitution, Ninevah, Sweden, U.S department for Foreign Affairs
Saddam's VP buried next to him in Ouja
(AP) Hundreds of chanting mourners buried Saddam Hussein's former vice president near the ousted dictator, his sons and two other executed deputies Tuesday in a spot that has become the graveyard of the ousted regime. Taha Yassin Ramadan's body, which was covered with the Iraqi flag, was interred in a building courtyard in the Tigris River village of Ouja hours after he was hanged for his part in the killings of 148 Shiite Muslims following a 1982 assassination attempt on Saddam.
Police, meanwhile, found the bullet-riddled bodies of 32 men scattered across Baghdad. The corpses showed signs of torture and were the apparent victims of sectarian death squads, most of which are believed to be operated by Shiite militias. That number was below the average of 50 bodies that were turning up daily on the capital's streets before the U.S.-Iraqi security operation started Feb. 14. Militia fighters have been lying low to avoid a confrontation with American troops. The number of execution-style deaths was notable, however, because the toll had fallen as low as seven a day, prompting American and Iraqi officials to express cautious optimism that sectarian violence was ebbing.
Police, meanwhile, found the bullet-riddled bodies of 32 men scattered across Baghdad. The corpses showed signs of torture and were the apparent victims of sectarian death squads, most of which are believed to be operated by Shiite militias. That number was below the average of 50 bodies that were turning up daily on the capital's streets before the U.S.-Iraqi security operation started Feb. 14. Militia fighters have been lying low to avoid a confrontation with American troops. The number of execution-style deaths was notable, however, because the toll had fallen as low as seven a day, prompting American and Iraqi officials to express cautious optimism that sectarian violence was ebbing.
Ramadan, Saddam's vice president at the start of the war, was hanged before dawn in what was once Iraq's military intelligence headquarters in Baghdad. Police in Tikrit, Saddam's hometown, said the body was flown to the area by the U.S. military, then driven to Ouja to be buried near the flower-covered graves of co-defendants Barzan Ibrahim and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, who were executed in January. Saddam's sons Odai and Qusai and grandson Mustafa also are buried in the courtyard, and the former dictator's grave is inside the building.
Yahya Ibrahim, a Sunni Arab cleric and member of the Association of Muslim Scholars, said Ramadan had asked in his will to be buried at the site, which has become a focal point for loyalists of the former regime. Ouja, just outside Tikrit and about a 90-minute drive north of Baghdad, is near where Saddam was captured by American soldiers in December 2003.
Yahya Ibrahim, a Sunni Arab cleric and member of the Association of Muslim Scholars, said Ramadan had asked in his will to be buried at the site, which has become a focal point for loyalists of the former regime. Ouja, just outside Tikrit and about a 90-minute drive north of Baghdad, is near where Saddam was captured by American soldiers in December 2003.
Labels: death squads, Ouja, Saddam Hussein, Shia militias, Taha Yassin Ramadan
Al-Hashemi calls for talks with insurgents
Security, Insurgency, Politics
(BBC) The vice-president of Iraq, Tareq al-Hashemi, has called for talks to be opened with the country's insurgents in an attempt to bring peace. He told the BBC that militants were "just part of the Iraqi communities". He said that the only way for Iraq to make progress is for negotiations to take place. Apart from al-Qaeda, which he said was "not very much willing in fact to talk to anybody", all parties "should be invited, should be called to sit down around the table to discuss their fears, their reservations".
Sunni politicians have said Iraq's national security forces are deeply infiltrated by, and provide a cover for, the Shia militias. On Tuesday General Abdul Hussein al-Saffe, head of policing in Dhi Qhar province, told the BBC he could not trust a third of his officers because they were loyal to militias. The vice-president said the armed forces needed to be purged of such influence. Mr Hashemi expressed unease that the sectarian nature of the conflict was reflected in the present government in Iraq. "[It] might be that the Iraqis need to be convinced that to break up this polarisation we have to go for, first of all, election system reform and second, to go for early elections," he said.
Regarding the presence of the US-led coalition, he said many people were "annoyed" because foreign troops were "damaging the dignity of the Iraqis". However he added that the forces should stay in Iraq "until further notice". "We're expecting a timetable, conditional withdrawal," he added.
Sunni politicians have said Iraq's national security forces are deeply infiltrated by, and provide a cover for, the Shia militias. On Tuesday General Abdul Hussein al-Saffe, head of policing in Dhi Qhar province, told the BBC he could not trust a third of his officers because they were loyal to militias. The vice-president said the armed forces needed to be purged of such influence. Mr Hashemi expressed unease that the sectarian nature of the conflict was reflected in the present government in Iraq. "[It] might be that the Iraqis need to be convinced that to break up this polarisation we have to go for, first of all, election system reform and second, to go for early elections," he said.
Regarding the presence of the US-led coalition, he said many people were "annoyed" because foreign troops were "damaging the dignity of the Iraqis". However he added that the forces should stay in Iraq "until further notice". "We're expecting a timetable, conditional withdrawal," he added.
Labels: Al Qaeda, insurgents, negotiations, Shia militias, Tareq al-Hashemi
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Baghdadis gripped by fear as absurd rumours spread like wildfire
Security
(The Times) The story of the kidnapped four-year-old was unbelievably shocking. After his parents failed to find the money for a £5,000 ransom, they opened their front door to find a tray with a cover; under the cover was the boy, grilled on a bed of rice in the style of quzi, an Iraqi lamb dish. The story — related by a caller to al-Mustakillah television — proved impossible to verify. But in a land beset by car bombings and murders, stories such as this spread like wildfire. The rumours are fantastical and absurd and are meant to terrify.
Firas Jezani, 18, heard about a body dumped at a park in the Mansour district of Baghdad. Inside the bloated belly was the head of the dead man’s son. Marwan Khalid, a 22-year-old college student, shared a similarly ghastly story. Fellow students told him that two professors at Mustansariyah University in Baghdad were kidnapped. One body was found with a dog’s head stitched on at the neck and the other with a donkey’s. Mr Khalid is well educated and doubted the story but it helped to increase his fear of terrorists, criminals and militias and he decided to get out. He quit university in 2005 and fled to Jordan for a year.
Gripped by fear, people believe the apocryphal tales, accepting that anything could happen in Baghdad after the fall of Saddam Hussein. A few months ago shopowners were frightened to display cucumbers and tomatoes on their stands because they thought that Sunni and Shia militants considered them representative of male and female genitalia.
The US military, wary of the mood on the street, monitors the tall tales circulating and an in-house weekly paper, the Baghdad Mosquito, reports them. “We are looking for incorrect information on the street,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Garver, a US military spokesman. He recalled one recent story that claimed the Iraqi Government had enough electricity for powercut-plagued Baghdad but was hoarding it.
The challenge is to dispel the faulty notion, but the Americans and the Iraqi Government have a tough time. People are credulous about allegations involving abuses committed by the US Army or the Iraqi Government.
“Unfortunately that kind of thing [abuse] has happened and makes the rumour seem more believable,” Lieutenant-Colonel Garver said.
Bodies bearing signs of torture are dumped daily, and with criminal gangs and militants lurking, people lap up the nightmarish visions. Lieutenant-Colonel Garver said that one factor contributing to the stories was the country’s poor communications infrastructure. Irregular land lines and mobile phone networks fuel the evolution of these tales.
Aziz Jabur, a political scientist at Mustansariyah University, said: “There is a dirty war being conducted against our country.” He called the stories a form of psychological war. “To horrify people by rumours is an ancient practice.”
Firas Jezani, 18, heard about a body dumped at a park in the Mansour district of Baghdad. Inside the bloated belly was the head of the dead man’s son. Marwan Khalid, a 22-year-old college student, shared a similarly ghastly story. Fellow students told him that two professors at Mustansariyah University in Baghdad were kidnapped. One body was found with a dog’s head stitched on at the neck and the other with a donkey’s. Mr Khalid is well educated and doubted the story but it helped to increase his fear of terrorists, criminals and militias and he decided to get out. He quit university in 2005 and fled to Jordan for a year.
Gripped by fear, people believe the apocryphal tales, accepting that anything could happen in Baghdad after the fall of Saddam Hussein. A few months ago shopowners were frightened to display cucumbers and tomatoes on their stands because they thought that Sunni and Shia militants considered them representative of male and female genitalia.
The US military, wary of the mood on the street, monitors the tall tales circulating and an in-house weekly paper, the Baghdad Mosquito, reports them. “We are looking for incorrect information on the street,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Garver, a US military spokesman. He recalled one recent story that claimed the Iraqi Government had enough electricity for powercut-plagued Baghdad but was hoarding it.
The challenge is to dispel the faulty notion, but the Americans and the Iraqi Government have a tough time. People are credulous about allegations involving abuses committed by the US Army or the Iraqi Government.
“Unfortunately that kind of thing [abuse] has happened and makes the rumour seem more believable,” Lieutenant-Colonel Garver said.
Bodies bearing signs of torture are dumped daily, and with criminal gangs and militants lurking, people lap up the nightmarish visions. Lieutenant-Colonel Garver said that one factor contributing to the stories was the country’s poor communications infrastructure. Irregular land lines and mobile phone networks fuel the evolution of these tales.
Aziz Jabur, a political scientist at Mustansariyah University, said: “There is a dirty war being conducted against our country.” He called the stories a form of psychological war. “To horrify people by rumours is an ancient practice.”
Labels: Baghdad, fear, rumour, U.S. military
Insurgents use children in new tactic - U.S. General
Security
(Reuters) - A U.S. general on Tuesday said Iraqi insurgents used children in a suicide attack this weekend, raising worries that the insurgency has adopted a new tactic to get through security checkpoints with bombs.
Maj. Gen. Michael Barbero, deputy director for regional operations in the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, said adults in a vehicle with two children in the backseat were allowed through a Baghdad checkpoint. The adults then abandoned the vehicle and detonated it with the children still inside, he said.
"Children in the back seat, lower suspicion, we let it move through," he said. "They parked the vehicle, the adults run out and detonate it with the children in the back. The brutality and ruthless nature of this enemy hasn't changed," Barbero said. The general called that incident a new tactic, but noted U.S. forces had only seen one such occurrence involving children.
The use of chemical bombings has increased and become a tool of the insurgency, as the three chlorine bombs detonated this past weekend brought the total to six such bombings since January, the general said. "High-profile" suicide and car bomb attacks by Sunnis against Shi'ites also have not abated, Barbero said. But he said increased force in Iraq's capital had yielded some success, such as a reduction in murders and executions of civilians. He also said hundreds of families have returned to Baghdad and the number of tips from Iraqi civilians about insurgent activity hit its highest mark ever in February.
Maj. Gen. Michael Barbero, deputy director for regional operations in the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, said adults in a vehicle with two children in the backseat were allowed through a Baghdad checkpoint. The adults then abandoned the vehicle and detonated it with the children still inside, he said.
"Children in the back seat, lower suspicion, we let it move through," he said. "They parked the vehicle, the adults run out and detonate it with the children in the back. The brutality and ruthless nature of this enemy hasn't changed," Barbero said. The general called that incident a new tactic, but noted U.S. forces had only seen one such occurrence involving children.
The use of chemical bombings has increased and become a tool of the insurgency, as the three chlorine bombs detonated this past weekend brought the total to six such bombings since January, the general said. "High-profile" suicide and car bomb attacks by Sunnis against Shi'ites also have not abated, Barbero said. But he said increased force in Iraq's capital had yielded some success, such as a reduction in murders and executions of civilians. He also said hundreds of families have returned to Baghdad and the number of tips from Iraqi civilians about insurgent activity hit its highest mark ever in February.
Labels: car bombs, children, insurgents, Maj. Gen. Michael Barbero
BIAP-issued visas non-valid for foreign reporters
Travel
(Iraq Slogger) The Iraqi government is deporting non-Iraqi journalists who show up at the Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) without a valid visa for entry. Several have been turned away and put on the next flight out in recent days. Previously, foreign journalists with a letter from their news organization or from the Iraqi Foreign Ministry were able to snag a visa on arrival at the Baghdad airport.
Some journalists without a visa or a letter were able to buy a visa at BIAP at a backsheesh premium. Those days are over, if this edict from the Iraqi Foreign Ministry is enforced. There are creative ways for journalists to get into the country without a visa. Foreigners arriving in Erbil -- there are direct flights from Europe and neighboring countries -- do not require a visa. From Erbil, flying to Baghdad is a cinch, and no visa is needed or checked for those on domestic Iraq flights. But those flying into Erbil must fly out of Erbil unless you want a hassle at the Baghdad airport. Another alternative is to fly into Iraq with US military forces as part of an embeded mission.
Some journalists without a visa or a letter were able to buy a visa at BIAP at a backsheesh premium. Those days are over, if this edict from the Iraqi Foreign Ministry is enforced. There are creative ways for journalists to get into the country without a visa. Foreigners arriving in Erbil -- there are direct flights from Europe and neighboring countries -- do not require a visa. From Erbil, flying to Baghdad is a cinch, and no visa is needed or checked for those on domestic Iraq flights. But those flying into Erbil must fly out of Erbil unless you want a hassle at the Baghdad airport. Another alternative is to fly into Iraq with US military forces as part of an embeded mission.
More information on Iraq's Ministry of Foreign Affairs site: http://www.mofa.gov.iq/english/news/display.aspx?NewsID=2997
Labels: BIAP, Iraq, press, visas
Women and children prisoners freed
Security
(AFP) Dozens of women and children related to fighters of a Shiite cult group were freed Monday, almost two months after a bloody battle near the Iraqi holy city of Najaf, a local official said. January 28, a fierce battle between Shiite fighters and security forces north of Najaf killed 263 militant followers of a cult leader claiming to be a descendant of Prophet Mohammed. More than 500 people were arrested after the battle, many of them women and children - family members of the slain Shiite fighters from the group called "Soldiers of Heaven."
"Many of the detainees, mainly women and children, arrested after the fight were released by the judiciary committee which is looking into this case," said Ahmed Al Fatlawi, a member of Najaf provincial council. The battle in central Iraq that pitted the militants against Iraqi and US forces was one of the deadliest in recent months. The leader of the militia was among those killed, while a US helicopter providing air support to security forces crashed during the battle, killing its two crew members.
COMMENT: Accounts of this incident have varied wildly. Most of the international press pursued the Soldiers of Heaven angle, while elements of the Iraqi press claimed it was the Mahdi Army fighting the BADR Corps (Shia militia wing of the SCIRI), and the Sunni press said that a tribe from Diwaniyah, the Hawatimah, was caught in the cross fire. The NYT reported that the 'leader' was in fact not killed - However, a Shiite cleric who has had contact with the group said the real leader was Ahmad bin al-Hassan al-Basri. The cleric said he believed that Mr. Basri was alive and probably hiding near Karbala. Mr. Basri, while unknown to the average Iraqi, is relatively well known among the clerical hierarchy in Najaf, according to several clerics interviewed for this article. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Hawatimah, Najaf, Soldiers of Heaven
Car bombs continue across Baghdad
Security
(DPA) At least 11 Iraqis were killed and 45 others injured Tuesday in a series of attacks across war-torn Iraq, Iraqi police sources and witnesses said. A suicide bomber blew himself up in a car bomb in the Karada district near the Green Zone, killing three Iraqis and wounding 17 others, an Iraqi police source said. Elsewhere in Baghdad, another suicide bomber detonated a car bomb inside an Iraqi military checkpoint in the Jamaa district in western Baghdad, killing a soldier and wounding another, an Iraqi police source said.
In central Baghdad, a remote-controlled car bomb went off near a police station in the crowded Sheik Omar district, killing at least five Iraqis and wounding 17 others. Also Tuesday, two Iraqis were killed and six others were wounded in a roadside car bomb in a commercial complex in the Karada district. In southern Baghdad, at least four Iraqis were wounded Tuesday when a mortar shell struck the Walid residential district, witnesses said.
In central Baghdad, a remote-controlled car bomb went off near a police station in the crowded Sheik Omar district, killing at least five Iraqis and wounding 17 others. Also Tuesday, two Iraqis were killed and six others were wounded in a roadside car bomb in a commercial complex in the Karada district. In southern Baghdad, at least four Iraqis were wounded Tuesday when a mortar shell struck the Walid residential district, witnesses said.
Labels: Jamaa, Karrada, Sheik Omar, suicide bomber, Walid
Barzani - U.S. troops must leave, but not yet
Security, Politics
(AFP) - Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani conceded Tuesday that security in Iraq was better before the 2003 US-led war but warned an early US troop withdrawal would worsen the situation. "Unfortunately, the situation now in Iraq is tragic and any sudden US troop withdrawal will make things worse," the president of Iraq's Kurdish autonomous region told a news conference in Jordan.
"We are in favour of a US troop withdrawal from Iraq but only when the Iraqi security forces and the government are ready and able to control the situation and guarantee stability in the country," said key US ally Barzani. Asked if the situation in Iraq was better before the US-led war four years ago, he said: "The security situation was better in Iraq in 2003. But in other cases, of course Iraq 2007 is better," Barzani said as Iraq marked four years since US-led forces invaded the country.
"Had we seized the opportunities, Iraq 2007 could have been a prototype (of democracy and stability), but unfortunately, this did not happen," he added as he wrapped up a two-day visit to Jordan. Barzani also acknowledged that a recent US plan to contain sectarian violence in Iraq "has not achieved all its goals," and warned that its failure would have "dangerous repercussions" across the country.
Barzani also denied recent press reports quoting him a saying that the Kurds would declare their independence from the rest of Iraq if all-out civil war between rival Sunni and Shiite forces breaks out in the country. "We would not be party to this struggle or take sides and we will not be a cause of the division of Iraq," Barzani said. He also dismissed "the fears arising from Kurds obtaining their rights. Arab countries must understand that the Kurds are their brothers and their allies. They are not aliens," he said. On Monday Barzani had talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II who reiterated his country's support for efforts to secure reconciliation between rival Iraqis.
"We are in favour of a US troop withdrawal from Iraq but only when the Iraqi security forces and the government are ready and able to control the situation and guarantee stability in the country," said key US ally Barzani. Asked if the situation in Iraq was better before the US-led war four years ago, he said: "The security situation was better in Iraq in 2003. But in other cases, of course Iraq 2007 is better," Barzani said as Iraq marked four years since US-led forces invaded the country.
"Had we seized the opportunities, Iraq 2007 could have been a prototype (of democracy and stability), but unfortunately, this did not happen," he added as he wrapped up a two-day visit to Jordan. Barzani also acknowledged that a recent US plan to contain sectarian violence in Iraq "has not achieved all its goals," and warned that its failure would have "dangerous repercussions" across the country.
Barzani also denied recent press reports quoting him a saying that the Kurds would declare their independence from the rest of Iraq if all-out civil war between rival Sunni and Shiite forces breaks out in the country. "We would not be party to this struggle or take sides and we will not be a cause of the division of Iraq," Barzani said. He also dismissed "the fears arising from Kurds obtaining their rights. Arab countries must understand that the Kurds are their brothers and their allies. They are not aliens," he said. On Monday Barzani had talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II who reiterated his country's support for efforts to secure reconciliation between rival Iraqis.
Labels: foreign troop withdrawal, Kurds, Massoud Barzani
Iraqi security forces, tribes kill terrorists in Al-Anbar
Security, Tribes, Insurgency
(AFP) - Iraqi security forces killed 39 "terrorists" in a fierce battle in the western Sunni province of Al-Anbar on Tuesday, a top Iraqi official told AFP. Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf, director of the operations centre in the interior ministry, said seven other militants were arrested, including some Arab nationals. The clashes broke out early Tuesday in Ameriyah, southwest of the former rebel town of Fallujah and the site of a recent chlorine gas attack.
Khalaf said security forces supported by paramilitary units formed by Sunni tribes fought the militants in a battle that lasted several hours. Two top militants, Shakir Hadi Jassim and Mohammed Khamis, were among the dead. About 25 Sunni tribes from Anbar have formed an coalition -- Anbar Awakening -- to take on the militants, largely from the Al-Qaeda network, who are operating in the western province.
These tribes have been sending thousands of young men to join the government security forces or their paramilitary units to cooperate with US and Iraqi commanders to fight insurgents. In response, the insurgents have launched attacks on them and modified their tactics to add gas bombs to their arsenal. On Friday, bombers detonated three dirty bombs in Anbar province poisoning 350 civilians, six American soldiers and killing two policemen.
Khalaf said security forces supported by paramilitary units formed by Sunni tribes fought the militants in a battle that lasted several hours. Two top militants, Shakir Hadi Jassim and Mohammed Khamis, were among the dead. About 25 Sunni tribes from Anbar have formed an coalition -- Anbar Awakening -- to take on the militants, largely from the Al-Qaeda network, who are operating in the western province.
These tribes have been sending thousands of young men to join the government security forces or their paramilitary units to cooperate with US and Iraqi commanders to fight insurgents. In response, the insurgents have launched attacks on them and modified their tactics to add gas bombs to their arsenal. On Friday, bombers detonated three dirty bombs in Anbar province poisoning 350 civilians, six American soldiers and killing two policemen.
COMMENT: One of the bombs was detonated near the house of the leader of Anbar Awakening which would have resulted in retaliation on the insurgents by the tribes. As long as the insurgents continue to carry out mass casualty attacks, more tribes will turn againts them and help the security forces. This unites the tribes against the insurgency instead of assisting it, and decreases inter-tribal fighting as the focus is shifted onto the insurgents. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Al Anbar, Al Qaeda, Ameriyah, Anbar Awakening, Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf, Sunni tribes
British companies accused of fraud in Iraq deal
Business
(The Guardian) Three British companies are facing accusations that they engaged in large-scale fraud in Iraq after it emerged they were paid for "phantom" armoured vehicles destined to protect Iraqi government employees. The vehicles were never delivered, but the companies were paid anyway. One company, headed by a former deputy assistant commissioner at Scotland Yard and a colourful ex-army officer, received $5.7m (£2.93m), even though the vehicles never left the factory in Russia where they were due to be manufactured.
This is the first time that British companies have been accused of involvement in the widespread fraud which flourished in the chaos following the 2003 invasion. Allegations against the three British companies are known to be detailed in a confidential statement which was lodged with a court in New York earlier this month. In London, meanwhile, officials from the Serious Fraud Office are also examining documents relating to the deal. Whilst the SFO has not yet opened a formal investigation, if it were to do so it would be the first of its kind into allegations of British involvement in fraud in Iraq.
The deal under suspicion was negotiated in late 2004, when Iraq was still governed by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). Amid the growing threat from insurgents against civilian employees working for government ministries, the CPA put out a tender for a fleet of armoured vehicles. Many were bomb-proof trucks and coaches which were intended to protect civil servants from attack as they were being bussed to and from work. A total of 51 vehicles was included in the final tender, including crowd control vehicles, command vehicles, water cannons and armoured buses. The money to pay for the contract came from Iraqi oil revenues held by the Trade Bank of Iraq, but under the control of US officials.
The contract, worth $8.48m, was won by Zeroline, a Norfolk-based armoured car company run by ex-soldier Peter Tarrant. He subcontracted the sourcing of the vehicles to another British company called APTx, a subsidiary of Alchemie Technology Ltd. Alchemie and APTx were formed soon after the invasion of Iraq by Haslen Back, a former junior officer in the Royal Anglian Regiment. The chairman of APTx is Graham James, a former deputy assistant commissioner of Scotland Yard.
This is the first time that British companies have been accused of involvement in the widespread fraud which flourished in the chaos following the 2003 invasion. Allegations against the three British companies are known to be detailed in a confidential statement which was lodged with a court in New York earlier this month. In London, meanwhile, officials from the Serious Fraud Office are also examining documents relating to the deal. Whilst the SFO has not yet opened a formal investigation, if it were to do so it would be the first of its kind into allegations of British involvement in fraud in Iraq.
The deal under suspicion was negotiated in late 2004, when Iraq was still governed by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). Amid the growing threat from insurgents against civilian employees working for government ministries, the CPA put out a tender for a fleet of armoured vehicles. Many were bomb-proof trucks and coaches which were intended to protect civil servants from attack as they were being bussed to and from work. A total of 51 vehicles was included in the final tender, including crowd control vehicles, command vehicles, water cannons and armoured buses. The money to pay for the contract came from Iraqi oil revenues held by the Trade Bank of Iraq, but under the control of US officials.
The contract, worth $8.48m, was won by Zeroline, a Norfolk-based armoured car company run by ex-soldier Peter Tarrant. He subcontracted the sourcing of the vehicles to another British company called APTx, a subsidiary of Alchemie Technology Ltd. Alchemie and APTx were formed soon after the invasion of Iraq by Haslen Back, a former junior officer in the Royal Anglian Regiment. The chairman of APTx is Graham James, a former deputy assistant commissioner of Scotland Yard.
Labels: Alchemie Technology Ltd., APTx, armored vehicles, British companies, fraud, Graham James, Haslen Back, Peter Tarrant, tender, Zeroline
