Saturday, April 28, 2007
Sunnis celebrate Saddam's birthday
(Gulf News) - A crowd of at least 200 Iraqi Sunnis gathered in parts of northern Iraq on Saturday to celebrate Saddam Hussain’s birthday. Residents, mostly children, gathered at Saddam’s tomb in Awja where he was buried after being hanged on December 30 for crimes against humanity. "They regard him as their father," said Fatin Abdul Qadir, the head of a children's organisation in the province. The children placed a wreath on the tomb and adorned it with unlit candles. Ali Al Nida, the chief of the Baijat tribe to which Saddam belonged, attended the ceremony after initially urging his people to keep the celebrations small.
Labels: Ali Al Nida, Awja, Baijat tribe, Saddam Hussein
Prince Harry prime target for insurgents in Iraq
Security
(The Guardian) - Prince Harry will be a prime kidnap target for insurgents in Iraq, a commander in the Mahdi army, the Shia militia loyal to the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, has told the Guardian. "One of our aims is to capture Harry, we have people inside the British bases to inform us on when he will arrive," claimed Abu Mujtaba, who commands a unit of around 50 men active in the Mahdi army in Basra.
In comments denounced by British defence sources as "blatant propaganda", Abu Mujtaba told the Guardian: "We have a special unit that would work to track him down, with informants inside the bases. "Not only us, the Mahdi army, that will try to capture him, but every person who hates the British and the Americans will try to get him, all the mujahideens in Iraq, the al-Qaida, the Iranians all will try to get him."
The Guardian has seen evidence that Abu Mujtaba has a number of men under his command as well as weaponry including rockets, but there is no independent evidence to substantiate his claims that militias have infiltrated British bases, or established a unit to target Prince Harry. Abu Mujtaba continued: "For me he is just a British soldier and he should be killed if comes to Iraq, but let's be realistic, we can kill hundreds of British soldiers before forcing them to withdraw - like what's happening with Americans now - but Harry is a bigger catch and we will force the British to come on their knees and talk to us."
A senior Iraqi defence ministry official said that militias could overrun Basra relatively easily because they had successfully infiltrated local security forces. "When the Brits formed these forces they depended on these militias for lists of recruits," he said. The Ministry of Defence yesterday maintained its previous official line, that Prince Harry's deployment on a six-month tour to south-eastern Iraq with his regiment, the Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry, was under "constant consideration". It added: "It remains our intention that Prince Harry will be deployed as a troop leader."
The Blues and Royals are part of a mechanised brigade to be deployed next month. They will carry out reconnaissance using armoured cars. Reports that an attack by a roadside bomb on an armoured vehicle in Maysan province last week that killed two British soldiers was a "dry run" for an attempt on the prince's life were treated with scepticism yesterday by senior defence sources. However, it was the first time British soldiers have been killed in that type of vehicle in south-eastern Iraq by hostile action and security has been stepped up in the areas where the Blues and Royals will be based.
A final decision whether or not to deploy the prince will be taken by General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the army. While in Iraq, the prince - known as Cornet Wales - would carry out a troop commander's role, involving leading a troop of 12 men in four armoured reconnaissance vehicles, each with a crew of three.
April has been the bloodiest month for British service personnel in south-eastern Iraq since the invasion four years ago with 11 killed so far.
In comments denounced by British defence sources as "blatant propaganda", Abu Mujtaba told the Guardian: "We have a special unit that would work to track him down, with informants inside the bases. "Not only us, the Mahdi army, that will try to capture him, but every person who hates the British and the Americans will try to get him, all the mujahideens in Iraq, the al-Qaida, the Iranians all will try to get him."
The Guardian has seen evidence that Abu Mujtaba has a number of men under his command as well as weaponry including rockets, but there is no independent evidence to substantiate his claims that militias have infiltrated British bases, or established a unit to target Prince Harry. Abu Mujtaba continued: "For me he is just a British soldier and he should be killed if comes to Iraq, but let's be realistic, we can kill hundreds of British soldiers before forcing them to withdraw - like what's happening with Americans now - but Harry is a bigger catch and we will force the British to come on their knees and talk to us."
A senior Iraqi defence ministry official said that militias could overrun Basra relatively easily because they had successfully infiltrated local security forces. "When the Brits formed these forces they depended on these militias for lists of recruits," he said. The Ministry of Defence yesterday maintained its previous official line, that Prince Harry's deployment on a six-month tour to south-eastern Iraq with his regiment, the Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry, was under "constant consideration". It added: "It remains our intention that Prince Harry will be deployed as a troop leader."
The Blues and Royals are part of a mechanised brigade to be deployed next month. They will carry out reconnaissance using armoured cars. Reports that an attack by a roadside bomb on an armoured vehicle in Maysan province last week that killed two British soldiers was a "dry run" for an attempt on the prince's life were treated with scepticism yesterday by senior defence sources. However, it was the first time British soldiers have been killed in that type of vehicle in south-eastern Iraq by hostile action and security has been stepped up in the areas where the Blues and Royals will be based.
A final decision whether or not to deploy the prince will be taken by General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the army. While in Iraq, the prince - known as Cornet Wales - would carry out a troop commander's role, involving leading a troop of 12 men in four armoured reconnaissance vehicles, each with a crew of three.
April has been the bloodiest month for British service personnel in south-eastern Iraq since the invasion four years ago with 11 killed so far.
Labels: Abu Mujtaba, Basra, Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry, Cornet Wales, General Sir Richard Dannatt, insurgents, Iraq, kidnap, Mahdi Army, Prince Harry
Tribal leaders push for diplomacy and dialogue
Tribal, Security
(Azzaman) - Tribal leaders in Salahiddeen Province have urged the government to replace the use of military force with diplomacy and dialogue. The meeting held in Tikrit, the provincial capital, reviewed four major issues: national reconciliation, the policy of debaathification, amending the constitution and the former army.
The leaders hold a lot of sway in areas north of Baghdad and many have pledged to flush out insurgents and terrorists from their tribal areas. The meeting was attended by a U.S. embassy representative before whom the tribal chiefs put their demands. But Stephen Butler told the gathering that there was little the U.S. could do to help due to the latest upsurge in violence across the country.
However, he said, the U.S. believed Iraqi tribes had a crucial role to play in reinstating law and order. Many tribal leaders left the meeting disappointed as most of their demands were turned down. They wanted the U.S. to transfer prisoners from the province to jails where their relatives could visit them easily. They demanded the U.S. to pressure the government to recruit members of the former army into its current military operations.
But the leaders were most critical of the policy of debaathification under which members of the former ruling Baath party are not allowed to hold positions in government and state. “Debaathification has adversely affected all aspects of life in the province, at the forefront security,” Salahiddeen Governor Hamad al-Shakti said. He said national reconciliation as a target “should be reached through dialogue, amendment of the constitution and tolerance and not through the use of military force.”
However, he said, the U.S. believed Iraqi tribes had a crucial role to play in reinstating law and order. Many tribal leaders left the meeting disappointed as most of their demands were turned down. They wanted the U.S. to transfer prisoners from the province to jails where their relatives could visit them easily. They demanded the U.S. to pressure the government to recruit members of the former army into its current military operations.
But the leaders were most critical of the policy of debaathification under which members of the former ruling Baath party are not allowed to hold positions in government and state. “Debaathification has adversely affected all aspects of life in the province, at the forefront security,” Salahiddeen Governor Hamad al-Shakti said. He said national reconciliation as a target “should be reached through dialogue, amendment of the constitution and tolerance and not through the use of military force.”
Labels: debaathification, Hamad al-Shakti, Salahiddeen, Stephen Butler, tribal leaders
Christians being forced into exile after facing threats to convert
Religion, Politics, Security
(AKI) -- Christians in Iraqi are facing a mounting number of threats forcing them into exile, a Christian parliamentarian in Iraq's Kurdistan region says. "Thousands of Christian families are being told to leave the country or convert to Islam or pay the jizyah (a tax traditionally imposed on non-Muslim men in Islamic states," the parliamentarian, Romeo Hakkari told Adnkronos International (AKI). An ethnic Assyrian of the Chaldean Church - a Roman Catholic oriental rite denomination - Hakkari heads the House of the Two Rivers Democratic Party, which promotes the rights of Assyrian-Chaldeans.
According to Hakkari, many Christians living in Mosul and Baghdad have fled those cities and sought refuge either in remote parts of Iraqi Kurdistan or abroad after receiving threats from Islamists. He cited the example of pamphlets, purportedly distributed by the al-Qaeda-linked "Islamic State of Iraq" group that threatened to kill Christians if they did not abandon the city.
The Muslim extremists have also tried to revive the jizyah practice, which forced non-Muslism people "of the Book" (Christians and Jews) to buy protection from the authorities by paying the tax. "Since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime Christians in Iraq, and in particular Baghdad have faced persecution for the first time in the history of this country," Hakkari told AKI.
"Hundreds of Christians have been abducted and murdered and their churches have been destroyed as part of a detailed plan implemented by Muslim extremists," he said. Hakkari has appealed to all moderate political groups in Iraq to "work together to defeat the terrorists and ensure that all Iraqis live in harmony as they have done for centuries."
Iraq's Christian community was estimated to number nearly half a million or about 5 percent of the country's population on the eve of the 2003 US-led war that toppled Saddam. Thousands of Iraqi Christians who comprise a variety of churches - Assyrian Orthodox and Assyrian Catholic; Syrian Orthodox and Syrian Catholic; Armenian Orthodox and Armenian Catholic; Greek Orthodox, Latin Catholic, and Protestant denominations - have since fled the strife-torn country.
According to Hakkari, many Christians living in Mosul and Baghdad have fled those cities and sought refuge either in remote parts of Iraqi Kurdistan or abroad after receiving threats from Islamists. He cited the example of pamphlets, purportedly distributed by the al-Qaeda-linked "Islamic State of Iraq" group that threatened to kill Christians if they did not abandon the city.
The Muslim extremists have also tried to revive the jizyah practice, which forced non-Muslism people "of the Book" (Christians and Jews) to buy protection from the authorities by paying the tax. "Since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime Christians in Iraq, and in particular Baghdad have faced persecution for the first time in the history of this country," Hakkari told AKI.
"Hundreds of Christians have been abducted and murdered and their churches have been destroyed as part of a detailed plan implemented by Muslim extremists," he said. Hakkari has appealed to all moderate political groups in Iraq to "work together to defeat the terrorists and ensure that all Iraqis live in harmony as they have done for centuries."
Iraq's Christian community was estimated to number nearly half a million or about 5 percent of the country's population on the eve of the 2003 US-led war that toppled Saddam. Thousands of Iraqi Christians who comprise a variety of churches - Assyrian Orthodox and Assyrian Catholic; Syrian Orthodox and Syrian Catholic; Armenian Orthodox and Armenian Catholic; Greek Orthodox, Latin Catholic, and Protestant denominations - have since fled the strife-torn country.
Labels: Adnkronos International, AKI, Iraqi Christians, Islamic State of Iraq, jizyah, Romeo Hakkari
U.S. forces detain men suspected of smuggling EFPs from Iran
Security
(AP) - US forces have detained seven men suspected of smuggling or aiding the transport of explosives from Iran to Iraq. A statement from the US military command in Iraq said on Friday that the men were detained during an operation in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital. Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Garver, a military spokesman, said: "The individuals targeted during the raid are suspected members of a secret cell terrorist network known for facilitating the transport of weapons and explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, from Iran to Iraq. "Individuals coming into Iraq from other countries for the purpose of endangering Iraqi civilians and disrupting security won't be tolerated." In January, US officials said at least 170 US soldiers had been killed by EFPs since 2004.
Labels: EFP, explosively formed projectiles, explosives, Iran, Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Garver, Sadr City, smuggling
Al-Maliki in Oman, rebuffed by Saudi king
Politics, Region
(RFE/RL) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki held talks with Omani leader Sultan Qabus in Muscat on April 26, international media reported the same day. Iraqi government spokesman al-Dabbagh told reporters that the two discussed "the political and security situation in Iraq, as well as national-reconciliation" efforts. Oman was the final leg of al-Maliki's regional Arab tour in preparation for an international conference on Iraq to be held at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on May 3-4.
On April 22, al-Maliki held talks with the Egyptian leadership in Cairo "Al-Zaman" reported on April 26 that Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki was told repeatedly by Saudi authorities that he could not meet with Saudi King Abdallah Abd al-Aziz during his regional Arab tour because the monarch's schedule is too full. An unidentified Saudi diplomat told dpa that the real reason why al-Maliki was not able to meet the Saudi monarch is because of "his negative position toward some groups [in Iraq], his bias toward other groups, and his actions in allowing Iran to have a greater role in Iraq."
When asked about the incident, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih tersely answered that the situation may have been due to a logistical problem, state-run Al-Iraqiyah television reported on April 26. "Maybe some technical or logistic requirements did not allow the prime minister to pay a visit [to Saudi Arabia] during his Arab tour. However, there is nothing other than what I said," Salih said.
Labels: Abdallah Abd al-Aziz, Egypt, Nuri al-Maliki, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sultan Qabus
Iran to consider taking part in Sharm el-Sheikh conference after speaking to Iraq
Politics, Iran
(ISNA) - The foreign ministers of Iran and Iraq, Manuchehr Mottaki and Hoshyar Zebari, met in Tehran on April 25, ISNA reported. Mottaki said afterward that Iran will consider taking part in an Iraq-related summit at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, scheduled for May 3-4, ISNA reported. The conference is to be attended by Iraq's neighbors and Egypt, Bahrain, and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Mottaki said Iran's presence would show its "serious resolve" to help bring "stability and security" to Iraq. He said Zebari gave him explanations about certain "decisions" that had provoked "doubts" on earlier agreements between Iran and Iraq over an unspecified "course of affairs." He did not elaborate. Iran, he added, will announce its decision in light of Zebari's explanations, ISNA reported. Zebari said he brought Iran a "message" and that Iraq understands Iran's position on the conference. He stressed that "Iraq needs the participation of all neighboring states, especially Iran, in this conference." He said "we are optimistic" that five Iranians arrested in Irbil last January by U.S. forces will be released "soon."
Labels: Hoshyar Zibari, Iran, Manouchehr Mottaki, Sharm el-Sheikh
Friday, April 27, 2007
INM daily summary – 27 April 2007
Scroll down for full articles.
- Under the umbrella of the Anbar Salvation Council, the leader, Sheikh Abu Risha, says his initiative is showing early signs of success, with recruitment putting some 20,000 police on the streets of the Sunni-dominated province.
- An Iraqi government spokesman criticized the U.S. Senate vote to begin withdrawing U.S. troops by Oct. 1.
- A film about the lives of Iraqi and foreign fighters in northern Baghdad has won first prize at the Al Jazeera International Documentary festival in the Qatari capital Doha.
- The US military has said that it will continue building a concrete wall around Adhimiya.
- Iraq's oil ministry said on Thursday foreign firms should sign oil contracts only with the central government until a new oil law is passed, adding that deals outside its jurisdiction would be considered illegal.
- The United States' struggle to stabilize Iraq may get harder before it gets easier and runs the risk of higher U.S. and Iraqi casualties, the top U.S. commander in charge of the war said on Thursday.
- The Iranian military have occupied an Iraqi border post and are planning to explore for oil inside Iraqi territory.
- The Ministry of Interior says the construction of the Adhamiya Wall has led to a substantial drop in sectarian killings, a claim which human rights groups and local press dispute.
- Lingering bitterness from the 1990 Iraqi invasion and distrust of the government of Nouri Al Maliki are making it impossible to convince Kuwaitis and their lawmakers to forgive most of the $15 billion (Dh55 billion) of Iraq's debt.
- The Islamic State of Iraq has claimed the killing of Yazidis near Mosul a few days ago.
- Security round-up.
- DATES: Saturday 28th April is Saddam Hussein’s birthday. There are likely to be demonstrations in areas where he had support such as Tikrit, his home town. The day was an official celebration before Saddam was removed from power.
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
(McClatchy Newspapers) - Key incidents - follow link for in-depth information.
The daily Iraq violence report is compiled by McClatchy Newspapers Special Correspondent Hussein Kadhim 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.
Baghdad
- 4 citizens were killed and 10 were injured in a parked car bomb explosion near the house of Abdul Azeez Al Hakeem, the SCIRI head house in Jadiriyah neighborhood south Baghdad at 3,50 pm.
- 26 anonymous bodies were found in Baghdad today. 24 bodies were found in Karkh, the western part of Baghdad in the following neighborhoods ( 4 bodies in Saidiyah, 4 bodies in Amil, 3 bodies in Bayaa, 3 bodies in Elam, 2 bodies in Topchi, 2 bodies in Hurriyah, 2 bodies in Yarmouk, 2 bodies in Mamoun, 1 body in Harthiyah and 1 body in Risala.) 2 bodies were found in Rusafa, the eastern part of Baghdad, 1 body was found in Sadr city and 1 body was found in Nahrawan.
Diyala province
- A military source in Khalis town 10 KMs north of Baquba city said that unknown insurgents assassinated today an officer in the Iraqi army in Al Ghalibiyah area, a part of Khalis town. The source didn’t mention any more details about the incident.
- A military source said that 4 civilians were wounded in clashes between the residents of Al Mjedid area, a part of Khalis town, and insurgents of Al Qaida organization early morning today.
- Medical sources said that 8 citizens including 5 policemen were killed and 12 others including 7 policemen were injured in a suicide car bomb explosion targeted a check point north Khalios town.
Nainawa Province
- Security sources in Mosul city said that 4 Kurdish security members known as Beshmarga had been killed and 15 citizens including Beshmarga members were injured in two suicide car bomb explosions that targeted one of the centers of the PDK party (the party of Kurdistan region president Masoud Barzani in Zomar district north west of Mosul city.
Salahuddin
- Police sources in Tikrit city said that the wife and the daughter of Hashim Hasan Al Majeed, the cousin of the executed former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, had been killed today when insurgents attacked them inside their house in Al Qadisiyah neighborhood north Tikrit city early morning today. The source said that the insurgents kidnapped another daughter of Hashim Al Majeed.
Baghdad
- 4 citizens were killed and 10 were injured in a parked car bomb explosion near the house of Abdul Azeez Al Hakeem, the SCIRI head house in Jadiriyah neighborhood south Baghdad at 3,50 pm.
- 26 anonymous bodies were found in Baghdad today. 24 bodies were found in Karkh, the western part of Baghdad in the following neighborhoods ( 4 bodies in Saidiyah, 4 bodies in Amil, 3 bodies in Bayaa, 3 bodies in Elam, 2 bodies in Topchi, 2 bodies in Hurriyah, 2 bodies in Yarmouk, 2 bodies in Mamoun, 1 body in Harthiyah and 1 body in Risala.) 2 bodies were found in Rusafa, the eastern part of Baghdad, 1 body was found in Sadr city and 1 body was found in Nahrawan.
Diyala province
- A military source in Khalis town 10 KMs north of Baquba city said that unknown insurgents assassinated today an officer in the Iraqi army in Al Ghalibiyah area, a part of Khalis town. The source didn’t mention any more details about the incident.
- A military source said that 4 civilians were wounded in clashes between the residents of Al Mjedid area, a part of Khalis town, and insurgents of Al Qaida organization early morning today.
- Medical sources said that 8 citizens including 5 policemen were killed and 12 others including 7 policemen were injured in a suicide car bomb explosion targeted a check point north Khalios town.
Nainawa Province
- Security sources in Mosul city said that 4 Kurdish security members known as Beshmarga had been killed and 15 citizens including Beshmarga members were injured in two suicide car bomb explosions that targeted one of the centers of the PDK party (the party of Kurdistan region president Masoud Barzani in Zomar district north west of Mosul city.
Salahuddin
- Police sources in Tikrit city said that the wife and the daughter of Hashim Hasan Al Majeed, the cousin of the executed former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, had been killed today when insurgents attacked them inside their house in Al Qadisiyah neighborhood north Tikrit city early morning today. The source said that the insurgents kidnapped another daughter of Hashim Al Majeed.
Labels: assassination, car bomb, Chemical Ali, Diyala, insurgents, Jadiriyah, KDP, Mosul, Peshmerga, SCIRI, Tikrit
Islamic State of Iraq claims killing of Yazidis
Insurgency
The Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella insurgency group consisting of various jihadi factions including al-Qaeda in Iraq, issued several communiqués to jihadist forums between on Wednesday, April 25, 2007, and Thursday 26th, claiming a litany of operations and denying claims by the enemy military. In four of these messages, one of which contains a 1:36 minute video produced by the group’s al-Furqan Foundation for Media Production, the Islamic State claims the destruction of an American minesweeper of the type-RG-13 Nayala in Baghdad, a suicide bombing striking an Iraqi police checkpoint in the area of al-Bufraj in al-Ramadi, and killing 26 Yazidi people from the area of Bashika responsible for stoning to death a woman who converted to Islam.
Also, the group’s Ministry of War, which is head by the Emir of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, clarifies that a commander from their group was indeed killed by enemy forces in al-Anbar, but he was merely an emir of one of their brigades, not the Emir of the Western region as was claimed.
The attack on the people of the Yazidi religion in Bashika, near al-Mosul, is based on the stoning death of a woman from these people who converted to Islam. The text of the message provides a rendition of the murder, and threatens all “worshippers of Satan” to committed the act. The group’s killing of 26 Yazidis is indicated to be only part of the revenge operations for the Muslim woman. Also, the Islamic State further attempts to claim legitimacy as a governing and security entity by calling upon all converts from the Yazidi religion to seek its protection and care, reminding that the police in Bashika did not keep the safety of the woman; rather, they delivered her to her executioners.
The attack on the people of the Yazidi religion in Bashika, near al-Mosul, is based on the stoning death of a woman from these people who converted to Islam. The text of the message provides a rendition of the murder, and threatens all “worshippers of Satan” to committed the act. The group’s killing of 26 Yazidis is indicated to be only part of the revenge operations for the Muslim woman. Also, the Islamic State further attempts to claim legitimacy as a governing and security entity by calling upon all converts from the Yazidi religion to seek its protection and care, reminding that the police in Bashika did not keep the safety of the woman; rather, they delivered her to her executioners.
Labels: Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, Al Qaeda in Iraq, Al-Furqan Foundation, Bashika, Islamic State of Iraq, Yazidis
Kuwait reluctant to forgive Iraq's debt
Economy, Kuwait
(Associated Press) - Lingering bitterness from the 1990 Iraqi invasion and distrust of the government of Nouri Al Maliki are making it impossible to convince Kuwaitis and their lawmakers to forgive most of the $15 billion (Dh55 billion) of Iraq's debt. But the struggling Iraqi premier was hoping to do just that as he ended a two-day visit to this country on Wednesday, with appeals to Kuwaiti leaders and statements to editors of local dailies that he hoped their parliament was going to be "generous" and write off some of the debt.
Al Maliki said he believed Kuwait was "no less generous" than fellow Gulf country Saudi Arabia, which was writing off 80 per cent of a similar sum in debts. But Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, has no legislature. Kuwait, a constitutional democracy with a ruling royal family, cannot make such a decision without its elected parliament. And while Kuwait's government itself may be willing to oblige Al Maliki and Washington requests, the decision rests with parliament, where strong sentiments prevail.
"Most Kuwaitis and parliament members believe that Iraq must pay," lawmaker Mohammad Al Mutairi said. "A commitment is a commitment; we have suffered enough from that neighbour." The UN panel overseeing compensation for victims of Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait said yesterday it has paid out a $280 million instalment from Iraqi oil funds to cover claims for losses and damages. The latest transfer brings the total amount paid in compensation to more than $22.1 billion. Most of the payments - about $229.5 million - went to 35 claimants in Kuwait, the United Nations Compensation Commission said.
Al Maliki said he believed Kuwait was "no less generous" than fellow Gulf country Saudi Arabia, which was writing off 80 per cent of a similar sum in debts. But Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, has no legislature. Kuwait, a constitutional democracy with a ruling royal family, cannot make such a decision without its elected parliament. And while Kuwait's government itself may be willing to oblige Al Maliki and Washington requests, the decision rests with parliament, where strong sentiments prevail.
"Most Kuwaitis and parliament members believe that Iraq must pay," lawmaker Mohammad Al Mutairi said. "A commitment is a commitment; we have suffered enough from that neighbour." The UN panel overseeing compensation for victims of Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait said yesterday it has paid out a $280 million instalment from Iraqi oil funds to cover claims for losses and damages. The latest transfer brings the total amount paid in compensation to more than $22.1 billion. Most of the payments - about $229.5 million - went to 35 claimants in Kuwait, the United Nations Compensation Commission said.
Labels: debt relief, Iraq, Kuwait, Mohammad Al Mutairi, U.N., United Nations Compensation Commission
Ministry of Interior says sectarian killings down due to Adhamiya Wall
Security
(Azzaman) - The Ministry of Interior says the construction of the Adhamiya Wall has led to a substantial drop in sectarian killings, a claim which human rights groups and local press dispute. It said the killings dropped to 4-8 per day from 100-120, according to a ministry spokesman. The spokesman’s claim could not be independently confirmed at the time by human rights organizations, including the United Nations say the ministry hides civilian casualty figures.
It is the first time the ministry confirms that more than 100 people were victims of violence every day in Baghdad. The earlier figure was around 30. Simple calculations would put the figure of civilian Iraqis killed through sectarian violence only in Baghdad at more than 3,000 a month. Local press has disputed the spokesman statement that the wall, which has sparked wide criticism in the country, has led to a slash in killings. Journalists who attended the spokesman’s press conference in which he made the remarks wondered whether the ministry was not doctoring the figures again in order to justify the construction of the wall.
It is the first time the ministry confirms that more than 100 people were victims of violence every day in Baghdad. The earlier figure was around 30. Simple calculations would put the figure of civilian Iraqis killed through sectarian violence only in Baghdad at more than 3,000 a month. Local press has disputed the spokesman statement that the wall, which has sparked wide criticism in the country, has led to a slash in killings. Journalists who attended the spokesman’s press conference in which he made the remarks wondered whether the ministry was not doctoring the figures again in order to justify the construction of the wall.
Labels: Adhamiyah, Azamiyah wall, Ministry of Interior, sectarian violence
Iranian military occupy border post to explore for Iraqi oil
Oil, Iran
(Azzaman) - The Iranian military have occupied an Iraqi border post and are planning to explore for oil inside Iraqi territory. The Iranians first ordered Iraqi border guards to leave the post before storming it. The Iranians claim that they have already notified the Iraqi authorities of the move, according to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The border post is situated west of the southern city of Kut and Iraqi police in the city declined to comment. Meantime, Iraqi politicians and groups have pressed ahead with their harsh criticism of the current U.S.-Iraqi military operation in Baghdad and U.S. troops’ construction of ‘separation walls’ in the city.
The first portion of the wall is to involve the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Adhamiya in Baghdad. The high concrete slabs, currently encircling part of the neighborhood, are said to be erected to separate more districts. Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Alawi said the policy of ‘walls and military operations’ was doomed to failure. “Such measures being implemented by U.S. and Iraqi forces are a recipe for a failed strategy. The only alternative is national reconciliation,” he said.
The border post is situated west of the southern city of Kut and Iraqi police in the city declined to comment. Meantime, Iraqi politicians and groups have pressed ahead with their harsh criticism of the current U.S.-Iraqi military operation in Baghdad and U.S. troops’ construction of ‘separation walls’ in the city.
The first portion of the wall is to involve the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Adhamiya in Baghdad. The high concrete slabs, currently encircling part of the neighborhood, are said to be erected to separate more districts. Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Alawi said the policy of ‘walls and military operations’ was doomed to failure. “Such measures being implemented by U.S. and Iraqi forces are a recipe for a failed strategy. The only alternative is national reconciliation,” he said.
Labels: Adhamiyah, border post, Iran, Iraq Oil, Iyad Allawi, Kut
Petraeus warns violence will get worse before it improves
Security
(Reuters) - The United States' struggle to stabilize Iraq may get harder before it gets easier and runs the risk of higher U.S. and Iraqi casualties, the top U.S. commander in charge of the war said on Thursday. Army Gen. David Petraeus provided his assessment the day after the Democratic majority in the U.S. House of Representatives pushed through legislation calling for U.S. troops to begin withdrawing from Iraq by Oct. 1.
President George W. Bush has pledged to veto the bill, passed by the Senate on Thursday, and Petraeus said sectarian violence in Iraq would likely rise if his troops pulled back from securing Baghdad in the fall. "My sense is that there would be an increase in sectarian violence, a resumption of sectarian violence, were the presence of our forces and Iraqi forces, at that time, to be reduced," Petraeus told reporters at the Pentagon.
He said the new effort to curb violence with more troops, ordered by Bush in January, meant going into neighborhoods where extremists had been able to operate freely. "Because we are operating in new areas and challenging elements in those areas, this effort may get harder before it gets easier," said Petraeus, who has briefed Bush and members of Congress on the war during his visit to Washington.
"I think there is the very real possibility that there's going to be more combat action and that, therefore, there could be more casualties," he said. Petraeus said ultimate success in Iraq would be down to the Iraqis and their ability to reconcile. "We can provide the Iraqis an opportunity but they will have to exploit it," he said.
President George W. Bush has pledged to veto the bill, passed by the Senate on Thursday, and Petraeus said sectarian violence in Iraq would likely rise if his troops pulled back from securing Baghdad in the fall. "My sense is that there would be an increase in sectarian violence, a resumption of sectarian violence, were the presence of our forces and Iraqi forces, at that time, to be reduced," Petraeus told reporters at the Pentagon.
He said the new effort to curb violence with more troops, ordered by Bush in January, meant going into neighborhoods where extremists had been able to operate freely. "Because we are operating in new areas and challenging elements in those areas, this effort may get harder before it gets easier," said Petraeus, who has briefed Bush and members of Congress on the war during his visit to Washington.
"I think there is the very real possibility that there's going to be more combat action and that, therefore, there could be more casualties," he said. Petraeus said ultimate success in Iraq would be down to the Iraqis and their ability to reconcile. "We can provide the Iraqis an opportunity but they will have to exploit it," he said.
Labels: General David Petraeus, Iraq, Iraqi Army, U.S. military, U.S. troop withdrawal, violence
Iraqi oil ministry says oil contracts not signed with central govt. will be considered illegal
Oil
(Reuters) - Iraq's oil ministry said on Thursday foreign firms should sign oil contracts only with the central government until a new oil law is passed, adding that deals outside its jurisdiction would be considered illegal.
An oil industry source told Reuters the warning, made in a ministry statement after Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani met the Russian envoy to Baghdad, referred to contracts signed recently without the approval of the central government.
"Foreign companies should only sign contracts through the central government and the oil ministry. The ministry warns companies who violate Iraqi law of the consequences of their actions and any contract that is signed outside the jurisdiction of the central Iraqi government is considered illegal." Iraq's Kurdistan regional government has signed several agreements with foreign companies, including a service contract last week with United Arab Emirate's Dana Gas.
While Kurds favour agreements that would share production with foreign firms, such deals have drawn criticism from some Shi'ite and Sunni Arab nationalists. Ashti Hawrami, the Kurdish region's minister of natural resources, said it could clinch deals with any company it chose. "If they do not want to agree on the remaining contentious points we will implement our own laws for the Kurdistan region according to the constitution," he told Reuters.
Iraq's central government and Kurdish officials are currently trying to resolve disputes over the draft oil law, which would determine control of the world's third-largest oil reserves. The law has yet to be approved by parliament. Hawrami has said annexes to the draft law that would wrest oilfields from regional governments and place them under a new state-oil company are unconstitutional.
Shares of Norway's DNO, an independent producer about to start drilling for oil at its Tawke field in the Kurdish-controlled north, fell as much as 4.5 percent after the oil ministry comments appeared to cast doubt on its production agreement with the Kurdish region. Shares later pared their losses. An oil industry source told Reuters in Baghdad that the Iraqi government had no problem with a "Norwegian firm" that had signed a deal with the Kurds, without specifying DNO by name. In Olso, DNO said it was confident about the validity of its oil production deal with Iraq's regional Kurdish authorities.
Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih, an architect of the draft oil law, told Reuters after the cabinet passed it in February that it would allow the Kurdish regional government to review existing contracts it has signed with foreign firms to ensure consistency with the terms of the new law. Salih said a commission of independent experts would ratify consistency in case of contention and that regional authorities would be able to negotiate oil contracts with foreign companies based on "maximising revenues for Iraqi people."
An oil industry source told Reuters the warning, made in a ministry statement after Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani met the Russian envoy to Baghdad, referred to contracts signed recently without the approval of the central government.
"Foreign companies should only sign contracts through the central government and the oil ministry. The ministry warns companies who violate Iraqi law of the consequences of their actions and any contract that is signed outside the jurisdiction of the central Iraqi government is considered illegal." Iraq's Kurdistan regional government has signed several agreements with foreign companies, including a service contract last week with United Arab Emirate's Dana Gas.
While Kurds favour agreements that would share production with foreign firms, such deals have drawn criticism from some Shi'ite and Sunni Arab nationalists. Ashti Hawrami, the Kurdish region's minister of natural resources, said it could clinch deals with any company it chose. "If they do not want to agree on the remaining contentious points we will implement our own laws for the Kurdistan region according to the constitution," he told Reuters.
Iraq's central government and Kurdish officials are currently trying to resolve disputes over the draft oil law, which would determine control of the world's third-largest oil reserves. The law has yet to be approved by parliament. Hawrami has said annexes to the draft law that would wrest oilfields from regional governments and place them under a new state-oil company are unconstitutional.
Shares of Norway's DNO, an independent producer about to start drilling for oil at its Tawke field in the Kurdish-controlled north, fell as much as 4.5 percent after the oil ministry comments appeared to cast doubt on its production agreement with the Kurdish region. Shares later pared their losses. An oil industry source told Reuters in Baghdad that the Iraqi government had no problem with a "Norwegian firm" that had signed a deal with the Kurds, without specifying DNO by name. In Olso, DNO said it was confident about the validity of its oil production deal with Iraq's regional Kurdish authorities.
Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih, an architect of the draft oil law, told Reuters after the cabinet passed it in February that it would allow the Kurdish regional government to review existing contracts it has signed with foreign firms to ensure consistency with the terms of the new law. Salih said a commission of independent experts would ratify consistency in case of contention and that regional authorities would be able to negotiate oil contracts with foreign companies based on "maximising revenues for Iraqi people."
Labels: Ashti Hawrami, Baghdad government, Barham Salih, Dana gas, DNO, draft oil law, Hussain al-Shahristani, Norway, Oil Ministry, UAE
U.S. military says it will continue to build the Adhimiya wall
Security
(Al Jazeera) - The US military has said that it will continue building a concrete wall around Adhimiya, a mainly-Sunni district of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital. Colonel Don Farris, of the US army, said that after briefly halting construction of the barrier, the Iraqi government had now ordered the building of the wall to continue.
"We were asked to stop placing the barriers," Farris said on Thursday. "Since then, it has been communicated to me through the chain of command that the prime minister and Iraqi security officials have authorised work to continue." Residents had protested against the wall. Farris said that construction of the barrier would continue in the near future - although he did not specify an exact date.
"We will begin placing the barriers shortly, assisting the Iraqi security forces in placing the barrier along the Adhimiya," he said. The US army and the Iraqi security services said in mid-April they had begun constructing the wall around Adhimiya to stop Sunni car-bombers leaving the area and to stop Shia death squads from getting in.
(Al Jazeera) - The US military has said that it will continue building a concrete wall around Adhimiya, a mainly-Sunni district of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital. Colonel Don Farris, of the US army, said that after briefly halting construction of the barrier, the Iraqi government had now ordered the building of the wall to continue.
"We were asked to stop placing the barriers," Farris said on Thursday. "Since then, it has been communicated to me through the chain of command that the prime minister and Iraqi security officials have authorised work to continue." Residents had protested against the wall. Farris said that construction of the barrier would continue in the near future - although he did not specify an exact date.
"We will begin placing the barriers shortly, assisting the Iraqi security forces in placing the barrier along the Adhimiya," he said. The US army and the Iraqi security services said in mid-April they had begun constructing the wall around Adhimiya to stop Sunni car-bombers leaving the area and to stop Shia death squads from getting in.
Col Farris said on Thursday that the intention of the wall was still to stop vehicle movement into and out of the area, rather than to prevent the passage of people on foot. The Iraqi government plans to build walls around several Baghdad districts. "It's not a wall - if you will - the intent is that there's no limitation of pedestrian traffic," he said.
After the Iraqi government began building the wall, heavy criticism forced Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, to order a stop to the construction - an order which he has now apparently reversed. The barrier - composed of upright concrete blocks several metres high - is part of a wider effort by the Iraqi government to halt violence in the capital.
After the Iraqi government began building the wall, heavy criticism forced Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, to order a stop to the construction - an order which he has now apparently reversed. The barrier - composed of upright concrete blocks several metres high - is part of a wider effort by the Iraqi government to halt violence in the capital.
Labels: Adhamiyah, Azamiyah wall, Colonel Don Farris, Nuri al-Maliki
Film about Iraqi and foreign fighters wins award
Media
(Al Jazeera) - A film about the lives of Iraqi and foreign fighters in northern Baghdad has won first prize at the Al Jazeera International Documentary festival in the Qatari capital Doha. Meeting Resistance - directed by the UK/US team of Steve Connors and Molly Bingham - won the award, including a 50,000 Riyal ($13,737) prize, for the best long film.
Meeting Resistance focuses on eight fighters based in the northern Baghdad suburb of Adhamiya and details their personal and political reasons for their involvement in attacks on US forces. The fighters come from a range of backgrounds. Most are Iraqi, but one man is a Syrian who says he came to Iraq after an appeal from his local mosque to "join the jihad".
Adhamiya is now reported to be a largely Sunni part of the Iraqi capital but the film - made between June 2003 and May 2004 - depicts the area's mixed nature before months of bloody sectarian conflict began. Three of the fighters are Shia, another is a former Iraqi Republican Guard officer who was married to a Shia woman. Some are motivated by a desire to end the US occupation of Iraq at that time while others draw on their religious beliefs and one is an imam at an Adhamiya mosque. All, however, are united by a desire to drive foreign forces from Iraq.
Meeting Resistance focuses on eight fighters based in the northern Baghdad suburb of Adhamiya and details their personal and political reasons for their involvement in attacks on US forces. The fighters come from a range of backgrounds. Most are Iraqi, but one man is a Syrian who says he came to Iraq after an appeal from his local mosque to "join the jihad".
Adhamiya is now reported to be a largely Sunni part of the Iraqi capital but the film - made between June 2003 and May 2004 - depicts the area's mixed nature before months of bloody sectarian conflict began. Three of the fighters are Shia, another is a former Iraqi Republican Guard officer who was married to a Shia woman. Some are motivated by a desire to end the US occupation of Iraq at that time while others draw on their religious beliefs and one is an imam at an Adhamiya mosque. All, however, are united by a desire to drive foreign forces from Iraq.
The film beat off competition from 32 other features to win the award at the third Al Jazeera documentary festival. First prize in the short film category went to a Chinese film, My Treasure. Another Chinese film, Butterflies, won the Jury's Award and a prize of 25,000 Riyals. Palestinian, Italian and Iranian films also picked up awards in some of the festival's other categories.
Labels: Adhamiyah, award, Doha, film, Iraq, Meeting Resistance, Molly Bingham, Steve Connors
Iraqi govt. spokesman criticises senate decision on troop withdrawal
Politics, Security
(AP) - An Iraqi government spokesman criticized the U.S. Senate vote to begin withdrawing U.S. troops by Oct. 1. "We see some negative signs in the decision because it sends wrong signals to some sides that might think of alternatives to the political process," Ali al-Dabbagh told The Associated Press.
He spoke after the Senate passed legislation Thursday that would require the start of troop withdrawals from Iraq by Oct. 1. The House passed the same bill a day earlier, and President Bush has promised a veto. The legislation is the first binding challenge on the war that Democrats have managed to send to Bush since they reclaimed control of both houses of Congress in January. "Coalition forces gave lots of sacrifices and they should continue their mission, which is building Iraqi security forces to take over," al-Dabbagh said. "We see (it) as a loss of four years of sacrifices."
He spoke after the Senate passed legislation Thursday that would require the start of troop withdrawals from Iraq by Oct. 1. The House passed the same bill a day earlier, and President Bush has promised a veto. The legislation is the first binding challenge on the war that Democrats have managed to send to Bush since they reclaimed control of both houses of Congress in January. "Coalition forces gave lots of sacrifices and they should continue their mission, which is building Iraqi security forces to take over," al-Dabbagh said. "We see (it) as a loss of four years of sacrifices."
Labels: Ali al-Dabbagh, U.S. senate, U.S. troop withdrawal
Tribal union in Anbar showing signs of success
Tribal, Insurgency
(Reuters) - A year ago, Iraq's Anbar was the most dangerous province for U.S. troops. Al Qaeda had dug in across the vast desert region. Iraqis were afraid to leave their homes in the local capital Ramadi, where insurgents held sway. Then last summer Sunni tribal leader Sheikh Abdulsattar Abu Risha gathered his fellow tribal chiefs together and created a police force to try to restore security.
Under the umbrella of the Anbar Salvation Council, Abu Risha says his initiative is showing early signs of success, with recruitment putting some 20,000 police on the streets of the Sunni-dominated province. "The situation (in Anbar) was unbearable before, people were tortured, shot dead, bodies littered the streets. We couldn't even leave our homes to bury the dead," Abu Risha told Reuters from Ramadi by a crackly satellite phone.
Abu Risha's initiative -- partly in response to Sunni Islamist al Qaeda's indiscriminate killing of civilians in Anbar -- has revived 15 large police stations that now come under the control of the provincial police chief. Now, while car bombings still plague Anbar, and especially Ramadi, their number has fallen, U.S. military officials said.
And for the first time in three years, U.S. military deaths in the insurgent stronghold stretching across western Iraq number fewer than in Baghdad, where a new security crackdown began in February with additional troops. This week police arrested 30 insurgents, including members of al Qaeda, and seized three cars rigged with bombs near Ramadi, 110 km (68 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.
Under the umbrella of the Anbar Salvation Council, Abu Risha says his initiative is showing early signs of success, with recruitment putting some 20,000 police on the streets of the Sunni-dominated province. "The situation (in Anbar) was unbearable before, people were tortured, shot dead, bodies littered the streets. We couldn't even leave our homes to bury the dead," Abu Risha told Reuters from Ramadi by a crackly satellite phone.
Abu Risha's initiative -- partly in response to Sunni Islamist al Qaeda's indiscriminate killing of civilians in Anbar -- has revived 15 large police stations that now come under the control of the provincial police chief. Now, while car bombings still plague Anbar, and especially Ramadi, their number has fallen, U.S. military officials said.
And for the first time in three years, U.S. military deaths in the insurgent stronghold stretching across western Iraq number fewer than in Baghdad, where a new security crackdown began in February with additional troops. This week police arrested 30 insurgents, including members of al Qaeda, and seized three cars rigged with bombs near Ramadi, 110 km (68 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.
"The number of attacks and incidents across the entire province has dropped significantly," said Brigadier-General Mark Gurganus, the U.S. Marine commander in charge of ground operations in Anbar, without giving details. At a news conference in Washington on Thursday, the U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, hailed Abu Risha and other Sunni tribal leaders. He said the Sunni Arab tribes were "helping transform Anbar province and other areas from being assessed as lost as little as six months ago to being relatively heartening".
Labels: Al Anbar, Al Qaeda in Iraq, Anbar Salvation Council, Brigadier-General Mark Gurganus, Sheikh Abdulsattar Abu Risha
Thursday, April 26, 2007
INM daily summary – 26 April 2007
Scroll down for full articles.
- During a meeting in Kuwait on April 24, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told David Satterfield, a senior adviser to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Iraq, that the United States should start talking to Syria and Iran.
- Former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi reportedly met with radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr recently in the holy city of Al-Najaf, to convince al-Sadr's political movement to join Allawi's newly announced political bloc, the Iraq National Front.
- Suicide bombers attacked an Iraqi Army check-point and a KDP office in northern Iraq on Thursday.
- At the Sharm el-Sheikh May 3-4 meeting, Arab countries will demand that Iraq do more to reach out to its own disgruntled Sunni Arabs, before they pledge substantial aid to the troubled nation.
- The United Nations has rebuked Kurdish authorities over their treatment of journalists and detainees in a rare critical assessment of the human rights situation in Kurdistan.
- Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zibari on Wednesday left Baghdad heading for Tehran to urge Iranians participate in the ministerial meeting on Iraq scheduled in Sharm al-Sheikh, Egypt, in early May.
- Iraq's Kurdistan’s Ministry of Electricity on Wednesday signed a US$ 40 mn contract with the Italian company ELC, guaranteeing consultations about the restoration of the Darbendikhan and Doukan dams, which supply the Kurdistan region with electricity.
- Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said that the Kirkuk issue will be solved according to the Iraqi constitution.
- U.S forces have started issuing special identification cards to residents of Ramadi.
- The United States will continue to work with other countries on debt relief for Iraq as the International Compact with Iraq prepares to meet next week.
- A sharply divided House of Representatives ignored the threat of a presidential veto last night and passed legislation that would order George Bush to begin withdrawing US troops from Iraq in October.
- Iraq must lure between $2 billion and $2.5 billion per year in international aid and investment if it is to rebuild its devastated power sector.
- Moves in the US Congress to demand a timetable for military withdrawal from Iraq brought mixed reviews from Iraqi members of parliament.
- Turkish officials say meetings with Iraqi leaders last week included new oil export deals with Baghdad, bypassing Iraqi Kurds.
- Security round-up.
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
(Reuters) - Security developments in Iraq at 1315 GMT on Thursday:
* denotes new or updated item.
KHALIS - Ten Iraqi soldiers were killed and 15 wounded, including civilians, when a suicide bomber rammed his car into an Iraqi army checkpoint in the town of Khalis, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - At least six people were killed and 15 wounded in a car bomb blast near Baghdad University and the Al-Hamra Hotel in the Jadriya district of southern Baghdad, police and Interior Ministry sources said.
TIKRIT - Gunmen killed the sister-in-law and niece of Ali Hassan al-Majid, Saddam Hussein's cousin who was dubbed "Chemical Ali", in Tikrit, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
NEAR MOSUL - At least three people were killed and 59 wounded in three separate blasts in a town near Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, a local official. Two truck bombs and a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt targeted local offices for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 18 people were found shot in different districts of Baghdad on Wednesday, police said.
BAGHDAD - Gunmen in Hurriya, car bombs in Bayaa, mortar rounds in Abu Dshir, a roadside bomb near the Shorja market killed several and wounded many.
* denotes new or updated item.
KHALIS - Ten Iraqi soldiers were killed and 15 wounded, including civilians, when a suicide bomber rammed his car into an Iraqi army checkpoint in the town of Khalis, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - At least six people were killed and 15 wounded in a car bomb blast near Baghdad University and the Al-Hamra Hotel in the Jadriya district of southern Baghdad, police and Interior Ministry sources said.
TIKRIT - Gunmen killed the sister-in-law and niece of Ali Hassan al-Majid, Saddam Hussein's cousin who was dubbed "Chemical Ali", in Tikrit, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
NEAR MOSUL - At least three people were killed and 59 wounded in three separate blasts in a town near Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, a local official. Two truck bombs and a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt targeted local offices for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 18 people were found shot in different districts of Baghdad on Wednesday, police said.
BAGHDAD - Gunmen in Hurriya, car bombs in Bayaa, mortar rounds in Abu Dshir, a roadside bomb near the Shorja market killed several and wounded many.
BAGHDAD - U.S. forces said they killed three insurgents in an operation in the Sadr City district of Baghdad. Residents said three people were killed, including a pregnant woman and a 70 year-old man, and seven wounded during the operation.
NEAR TAJI - U.S. forces killed four insurgents in an air strike during an operation targeting al Qaeda in Iraq west of Taji, the U.S. military said. It said that two women and two children were also believed to have been killed.
BASRA - Yousif al-Moussawi, the general-secretary of the Shi'ite Tharallah Islamic Party in Basra, said he had escaped unhurt from a grenade attack on his house in Basra, 550 km (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, on Wednesday. One of his guards was seriously wounded.
NEAR TAJI - U.S. forces killed four insurgents in an air strike during an operation targeting al Qaeda in Iraq west of Taji, the U.S. military said. It said that two women and two children were also believed to have been killed.
BASRA - Yousif al-Moussawi, the general-secretary of the Shi'ite Tharallah Islamic Party in Basra, said he had escaped unhurt from a grenade attack on his house in Basra, 550 km (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, on Wednesday. One of his guards was seriously wounded.
Labels: Baghdad, Basra, car bomb, KDP, Khalis, Kirkuk, Mosul, suicide bomber, Taji
Turks strike oil export deals with Baghdad
Oil, Turkey
(kurdistan Observer) - Turkish officials say meetings with Iraqi leaders last week included new oil export deals with Baghdad, bypassing Iraqi Kurds. Turkey threatened to stop exporting needed fuel products to Iraq after Baghdad told Ankara it would have to deal with the Kurdistan Regional Government regarding shipments. Kurdistan, like the rest of Iraq, faces a shortage of transportation, cooking and heating fuels. "Iraqis clearly understood that it is not possible for them to meet their needs of oil products without Turkey," Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen said after the Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organization said it would retake control over shipment negotiations.
Tuzmen said the two sides struck a tentative one-year deal to exchange crude for oil products. The northern Iraq pipeline no longer works, having been bombed each time it begins operation, and Ankara would retrieve the oil via tanker. "The Iraqi delegation said they can export 20,000 barrels a day of crude oil from Kirkuk but that they first have to ask Baghdad," Tuzmen said. "We have reviewed our bilateral relations during the meetings. Iraqis said they want to make a one-year-long oil trade deal with Turkish companies. We have agreed on that."
The meeting took place as tensions between Iraq and Turkey escalated. Turkey insists the oil-rich Iraqi city of Kirkuk should not be added to the control of the KRG. And Ankara says it may enter Kurdish Iraq if the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, continues to launch attacks. The PKK is labeled a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union and wants an independent Kurdish state carved out of the Iraqi, Turkish, Syrian and Iranian Kurdish regions. In response, KRG officials said they would meet any Turkish troops with their own, casting a shadow of violence on the oil-rich and relatively calm Kurdistan region.
Labels: Iraq, Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organization, Kirkuk, KRG, Kursad Tuzmen, oil, PKK, Turkey
Iraqi politicians divided on timed U.S. troop withdrawal
Politics
(AFP) - Moves in the US Congress to demand a timetable for military withdrawal from Iraq brought mixed reviews from Iraqi members of parliament, some of whom doubted the government’s ability to meet US demands for faster political reconciliation. “The United States is thus admitting it was defeated in Iraq and must withdraw. This should be attributed to the effort and patience of Iraqis,” said Saleh Hassan Issa al-Igaili, an MP loyal to Shiite radical leader Moqtada Al Sadr.
Mahmud Othman, a Kurdish MP, was philosophical about the decision by the Democrats who control Congress: “They have to abide by public opinion. They are preparing the ground for the next election and that is normal in a democracy.” US Democrats have argued that the proposed withdrawal timetable would prod Iraq’s leaders towards political reconciliation, specifically the passage of an equitable oil law and the return of former Baathists to public life.
The House of Representatives approved the bill on Wednesday and the Senate was expected to follow suit in a vote later Thursday. But President George W. Bush has vowed to veto the draft legislation, which would order a pullout of US forces from Iraq to begin from as early as October, and in Baghdad many Iraqi politicians remained sceptical.
“After four years, these things have become much more difficult and our problems are much more complicated,” Othman said. “So I don’t expect these things to be done as fast as the Americans want.” Others saw the legislative wrangling in the United States as a purely domestic matter. “It’s for local consumption” said Omar Abdul-Sattar Mahmud, a Sunni MP from the Iraqi Islamic Party. “However they agree or disagree is their business, not that of the Iraqis,” he said. “What we are concerned with is that there should be real national reconciliation to break the sectarianism.”
Mahmud Othman, a Kurdish MP, was philosophical about the decision by the Democrats who control Congress: “They have to abide by public opinion. They are preparing the ground for the next election and that is normal in a democracy.” US Democrats have argued that the proposed withdrawal timetable would prod Iraq’s leaders towards political reconciliation, specifically the passage of an equitable oil law and the return of former Baathists to public life.
The House of Representatives approved the bill on Wednesday and the Senate was expected to follow suit in a vote later Thursday. But President George W. Bush has vowed to veto the draft legislation, which would order a pullout of US forces from Iraq to begin from as early as October, and in Baghdad many Iraqi politicians remained sceptical.
“After four years, these things have become much more difficult and our problems are much more complicated,” Othman said. “So I don’t expect these things to be done as fast as the Americans want.” Others saw the legislative wrangling in the United States as a purely domestic matter. “It’s for local consumption” said Omar Abdul-Sattar Mahmud, a Sunni MP from the Iraqi Islamic Party. “However they agree or disagree is their business, not that of the Iraqis,” he said. “What we are concerned with is that there should be real national reconciliation to break the sectarianism.”
Labels: Iraqi Islamic Party, Iraqi MPs, Mahmud Othman, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Omar Abdul-Sattar Mahmud, Saleh Hassan Issa al-Igaili, troop withdrawal, U.S.
Iraq needs $2.5 bn to rebuild power sector
Electricity
(Reuters) - Iraq must lure between $2 billion and $2.5 billion per year in international aid and investment if it is to rebuild its devastated power sector, the country's electricity minister said on Wednesday.The minister, Karim Hasan, was in London to enlist the help of energy companies including BP. Power cuts are a daily occurrence, especially in the capital Baghdad, as a result of nearly three decades of war damage, poor maintenance because of sanctions and due to sabotage. "We rebuild and they destroy every day," Hasan said, referring to the sabotage attacks.
He said he was seeking to protect the country's power plants with security forces, including around 7,000 "power police," but added: "I can't secure the power transmission.""Many people have died because of the lack of electricity. Most of the hospitals are not working because of a shortage of electricity," he told reporters. Oil refineries and oil production have also been affected by unreliable electricity supplies. Iraq's oil output is stuck at around two million barrels per day (bpd), compared with the nearly three million bpd just before the U.S.-led invasion began in March 2003.
To try to improve power generation, a 10-year plan was agreed in 2006, with the support of the international community, to add about 2,000 megawatts to current generating capacity of around 5,000 megawatts. Funding will come from $2 billion per year of government money, but the overall cost will be around $4 billion to $4.5 billion, leaving a gap of $2 billion to $2.5 billion, Hasan said. "We urge donors to fulfil the commitments they made at the Madrid conference (on reconstruction in Iraq)," Hasan said. "We also need to ask the power industries to contribute."
In Britain, he said he was holding meetings with all the big power generators and with BP about a gas project in the south of the country. "We also discussed with them a gas master plan," Hasan said. BP was not immediately available for comment. Iraq's vast energy reserves offer a big incentive for oil and gas companies considering investment in Iraq. But analysts said financial incentives for power firms willing to work in Iraq might not outweigh the dangers. "You could command a security premimum, but most people involved in electricity networks are reasonably risk averse people," said Sebastian Eyre of John Hall Associates. "The chances are there are other places you can go."
Labels: aid, BP, electricity, Iraq, Karim Hasan
U.S. House passes legislation to set withdrawal date
Security, U.S.
(The Guardian) - A sharply divided House of Representatives ignored the threat of a presidential veto last night and passed legislation that would order George Bush to begin withdrawing US troops from Iraq in October. The 218-208 vote came as the top US commander in Iraq said that the country remained gripped by violence but was showing some signs of improvement.
The bill is now on track to clear Congress by the weekend and arrive on the president's desk as the first binding congressional challenge to Mr Bush's handling of the conflict, which is now in its fifth year. "Our troops are mired in a civil war with no clear enemy and no clear strategy for success," said the House majority leader, Democrat Steny Hoyer.
Republicans promised to stand squarely behind the president in rejecting what they called a "surrender date".
The legislation approves a further $124.2bn (£61.9bn) to fund the war but demands troop withdrawals begin on October 1, or sooner if the Iraqi government fails to fulfil certain conditions. It sets a non-binding goal of completing the pullout by April 1 2008, while allowing for forces conducting certain missions, such as pursuing terrorist networks or training Iraqi forces, to remain.
The Senate is expected to clear the measure today, sending it to the president. While Mr Bush remains confident the bill will ultimately fail because the Democrats lack the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto, he kept up pressure on Congress. To coincide with the vote, the president dispatched his Iraq commander, General David Petraeus, and other senior defence officials to make his case.
Republicans and Democrats alike emerged from their private briefing with Gen Petraeus further entrenched in their positions. Speaking to the BBC while on a visit to Iran, Hoshyar Zebari said the effort to set a date of October for US troops to start leaving his country would not help his country's security or political development.
The bill is now on track to clear Congress by the weekend and arrive on the president's desk as the first binding congressional challenge to Mr Bush's handling of the conflict, which is now in its fifth year. "Our troops are mired in a civil war with no clear enemy and no clear strategy for success," said the House majority leader, Democrat Steny Hoyer.
Republicans promised to stand squarely behind the president in rejecting what they called a "surrender date".
The legislation approves a further $124.2bn (£61.9bn) to fund the war but demands troop withdrawals begin on October 1, or sooner if the Iraqi government fails to fulfil certain conditions. It sets a non-binding goal of completing the pullout by April 1 2008, while allowing for forces conducting certain missions, such as pursuing terrorist networks or training Iraqi forces, to remain.
The Senate is expected to clear the measure today, sending it to the president. While Mr Bush remains confident the bill will ultimately fail because the Democrats lack the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto, he kept up pressure on Congress. To coincide with the vote, the president dispatched his Iraq commander, General David Petraeus, and other senior defence officials to make his case.
Republicans and Democrats alike emerged from their private briefing with Gen Petraeus further entrenched in their positions. Speaking to the BBC while on a visit to Iran, Hoshyar Zebari said the effort to set a date of October for US troops to start leaving his country would not help his country's security or political development.
Labels: General David Petraeus, George Bush, House of Representatives, U.S., U.S. troop withdrawal
U.S. continues to work on Iraq debt relief in run-up to International Compact
International
(KUNA) - The United States will continue to work with other countries on debt relief for Iraq as the International Compact with Iraq prepares to meet next week, State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said on Wednesday. The government of Iraq and the United Nations co-chair the International Compact. During a regular State Department briefing, Casey noted that debt relief has been part of the effort to help Iraq move forward since 2004.
"The Paris Club made a decision to ask for 80 percent as a minimum level of debt forgiveness for Iraq among its members, and that is something that a number of countries have already acted upon," Casey said. "But it is certainly an issue that we continue to discuss with many countries in the Paris Club, and certainly something that we do want to see people live up to that Paris Club commitment on."
"The Paris Club made a decision to ask for 80 percent as a minimum level of debt forgiveness for Iraq among its members, and that is something that a number of countries have already acted upon," Casey said. "But it is certainly an issue that we continue to discuss with many countries in the Paris Club, and certainly something that we do want to see people live up to that Paris Club commitment on."
The Saudis have made some announcements in that regard, "and we are very pleased to see that," Casey said. "And we will certainly be continuing to work with other countries as we move closer to next week's compact date, as well as beyond that, to see that they carry out those agreements." The compact is not simply a debt relief agreement, but is designed to provide a variety of different kinds of support "in part in response to the Iraqis' own ability to meet the commitments they have set out for themselves in terms of economic reform," he said.
Labels: debt relief, International Compact with Iraq, Paris Club, U.S.
U.S. forces issue special ID cards to Ramadi residents
Security
(VOI) – U.S forces started issuing special identification cards to residents of Ramadi, 110 km west of Baghdad, a security source in Anbar province said on Wednesday."U.S. forces started this morning issuing identification cards to residents of Ramadi city after taking local residents’ finger prints and making cornea scans to isolate wanted persons and to prevent anyone from entering the city without an ID," the source, who asked not to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) by phone. "U.S. marines established centres in the city with special equipment to issue these IDs, which will be given only to Ramadi's residents," he added. Anbar is a province with a large area. It stretches just west of Baghdad to the borders with Jordan. It is a Sunni province. Its main cities are Falluja, Ramadi, Haditha, Hit, Aana, and Rutbah.
Labels: ID cards, Ramadi, U.S. forces
Talabani - Kirkuk issue to be solved according to Iraqi constitution
Politics
(VOI) – Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said that the Kirkuk issue will be solved according to the Iraqi constitution, considering Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to be one of the best leaders to deal with the cause. "The Kirkuk issue will be solved according to the constitution," the president said at a press conference upon his arrival at the Sulaimaniya International Airport on Wednesday, referring to a statement made by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who said that "we should normalize the situation in Kirkuk before carrying out a referendum.
"The province of Kirkuk, 250 km northeast of Baghdad, is home to Kurds, Arabs, Turkmans and ChaldoAssyrians, and is one of the most heated topics on the Iraqi political scene. The province is waiting for the establishment of procedures to normalize the situation through implementation of article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, returning displaced Arabs to their homes and offering them 20 million dinars in compensation. A census will follow the referendum, during which the people of Kirkuk will decide whether to stay part of the Iraqi federal government or to join Iraq's Kurdistan region.
"We expect that the Sharm el-Sheikh conference will provide us with economic and political support and strongly condemn terrorism," the president said in response to a question from a correspondent from the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). Regarding the building of a concrete wall in Azamiya in Baghdad, the president said "I'm against building barriers." Talabani, who is also the head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), arrived in Iraq at 2:00 pm on Wednesday.
Labels: Article 140, Iraqi constitution, Jalal Talabani, Kirkuk, Kirkuk referendum, Kurdistan, Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Italians sign US$ 40 mn contract with Kurdistan to supply electricity
Reconstruction, Kurdistan
(VOI) - Iraq's Kurdistan’s Ministry of Electricity on Wednesday signed a contract with the Italian company ELC, guaranteeing consultations about the restoration of the Darbendikhan and Doukan dams, which supply the Kurdistan region with electricity. "Kurdistan region's Minister of Electricity Hoshyar Siwaily signed a contract with representatives of ELC, an Italian company, to obtain consultations for the restoration of the Darbendikhan and Doukan dams," the ministry announced in a statement that the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) obtained a copy of. According to the statement, the restoration work will cost around U.S. $40 million, funded by the World Bank. The Darbendikhan and Doukan dams are two of the most ancient dams in the city, built across the Lesser Zab and Sirwan rivers in Sulaymaniya in the 1950s and 1960s to supply the region with electricity.
Labels: Darbendikhan dam, Doukan dam, ELC, Hoshyar Siwaily, Italy Kurdistan electricity, Sulaymaniyah, World Bank
Iraqi foreign minister leaves for Tehran to persuade Iranians to participate in Sharm el-Sheikh conference
Politics, Iran
(VOI) – Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zibari on Wednesday left Baghdad heading for Tehran to urge Iranians participate in the ministerial meeting on Iraq scheduled in Sharm al-Sheikh, Egypt, in early May, the foreign ministry said. "Zibari left Baghdad to Tehran where he is expected to meet the Iranian president and foreign minister on the participation of Iran in the upcoming international conference on Iraq in early May," the ministry said in a statement received by the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). The statement added "Zibari will also visit Turkey as soon as he would wrap up his visit to Iran to acquaint his Turkish counterpart on Sharm al-Sheikh conference on Iraq." The Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh will host the international conference on Iraq from May 4-5.
Labels: Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Iran, Sharm el-Sheikh, Turkey
Kurdistan criticised by UNAMI for human rights abuse
Human Rights
(AP) - The United Nations has rebuked Kurdish authorities over their treatment of journalists and detainees in a rare critical assessment of the human rights situation in the oil-rich northern autonomous region that has been hailed as a success story in Iraq.
The U.N. Assistance Mission in Iraq singled out Kurdistan in its 10th human rights report on Iraq, expressing concern over infringements on freedom of expression by the regional government. "Authorities continued to subject journalists to harassment, arrest and legal actions for their reporting on government corruption, poor public services or other issues of public interest," the report said.
The report, which was released Wednesday, also criticized Kurdish security forces, saying hundreds of detainees have been held for prolonged periods, "some for several years", without charge or due process. The report added that the mission has received allegations of the torture or ill-treatment of detainees. Fouad Mohammad, the regional human rights minister, said the report exaggerated the violations and he complained that he was not contacted about the cases.
The human rights report acknowledged the stable security situation but noted abuses in other areas. The report said most arrests of journalists were carried out by a unit that has jurisdiction over economic crimes such as smuggling, espionage and terrorism. The report also expressed concern about the situation of detainees in the area, saying the majority had been arrested on suspicion of involvement in terrorism and other serious crimes, with many accused of being supporters of Islamist groups.
A prominent Kurdish politician acknowledged shortcomings and said efforts were being made to improve them. Mahmoud Othman said journalists were allowed to criticize government officials but restrictions were aimed at preventing slander.
The U.N. Assistance Mission in Iraq singled out Kurdistan in its 10th human rights report on Iraq, expressing concern over infringements on freedom of expression by the regional government. "Authorities continued to subject journalists to harassment, arrest and legal actions for their reporting on government corruption, poor public services or other issues of public interest," the report said.
The report, which was released Wednesday, also criticized Kurdish security forces, saying hundreds of detainees have been held for prolonged periods, "some for several years", without charge or due process. The report added that the mission has received allegations of the torture or ill-treatment of detainees. Fouad Mohammad, the regional human rights minister, said the report exaggerated the violations and he complained that he was not contacted about the cases.
The human rights report acknowledged the stable security situation but noted abuses in other areas. The report said most arrests of journalists were carried out by a unit that has jurisdiction over economic crimes such as smuggling, espionage and terrorism. The report also expressed concern about the situation of detainees in the area, saying the majority had been arrested on suspicion of involvement in terrorism and other serious crimes, with many accused of being supporters of Islamist groups.
A prominent Kurdish politician acknowledged shortcomings and said efforts were being made to improve them. Mahmoud Othman said journalists were allowed to criticize government officials but restrictions were aimed at preventing slander.
Labels: detainees, Fouad Mohammad, human rights, journalists, Kurdistan, Mahmoud Othman, U.N., UNAMI
Draft document for Sharm el-Sheikh requires Iraq to meet benchmarks
Politics, Region
(AP) - Arab countries will demand that Iraq do more to reach out to its own disgruntled Sunni Arabs, before they pledge substantial aid to the troubled nation, according to a document obtained by The Associated Press. The festering tensions between Iraq and its neighbors are complicating U.S. efforts to round up key aid, including debt relief, before a summit on May 3-4 in Egypt.
Iraq's prime minister, on a Mideast tour, said this week that his country would not tolerate other Arab countries setting conditions on Iraq. He also accused some Arab countries of still harboring extremists who infiltrate Iraq to launch attacks. But according to the draft document at the summit's core, the size and form of international aid to Iraq would be contingent on the Iraqi government's success at reaching certain benchmarks.
"The initiative is based on the pledge of the Iraqi government to implement a patch of political, security and economic commitments," states the document. "The size and the form of the international aid will be decided according to these (steps)." Arab diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks, said al-Maliki had been told during his travels that Arab countries would link their support to a package of demands before they gave substantial help to his government.
U.S. officials would not comment on the document to be presented at the summit. But an Arab official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said there were some disagreements over what it would say and that key participants were meeting to try to resolve them.
The key issue for Arab countries is greater Iraqi government outreach to disgruntled Sunnis in Iraq. The Sunni-led governments of the Arab world have long been suspicious of Iraq's new Shiite leadership, blaming it for fueling violence by discriminating against Sunnis. They also accuse al-Maliki's government of helping Shiite Iran extend its influence in the Middle East. At a meeting last month in Saudi Arabia, Arab states demanded Iraq change its constitution and its military to include more Sunnis and end the program that uprooted former members of Saddam Hussein's regime.
In June, al-Maliki announced a national reconciliation program that offers amnesty to members of the Sunni-led insurgency who are not involved in "terrorist activities," and amends a law that had removed senior members of Saddam's Baath Party from their jobs. But Arab countries say those steps were incomplete and never implemented.
Armed Sunni groups in Iraq and some insurgent groups have said they would not join any Iraqi political process until the current al-Maliki government falls. Other signs of Arab-Iraqi tension have arisen as the summit nears. Kuwait has been unable to muster the support in its parliament to agree to an al-Maliki request to forgive Iraq's $15 billion debt to it. Al-Maliki's claim that Arab countries are harboring extremists is another point of tension.
The Syrian official retorted that countries in the region were worried about the presence of 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, and said those killing Iraqi intellectuals in militant attacks are "not al-Qaida but other political sides." Iran said Wednesday it has still not decided whether to attend, despite urgings from its ally, the Shiite-led Iraqi government.
Iraq's prime minister, on a Mideast tour, said this week that his country would not tolerate other Arab countries setting conditions on Iraq. He also accused some Arab countries of still harboring extremists who infiltrate Iraq to launch attacks. But according to the draft document at the summit's core, the size and form of international aid to Iraq would be contingent on the Iraqi government's success at reaching certain benchmarks.
"The initiative is based on the pledge of the Iraqi government to implement a patch of political, security and economic commitments," states the document. "The size and the form of the international aid will be decided according to these (steps)." Arab diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks, said al-Maliki had been told during his travels that Arab countries would link their support to a package of demands before they gave substantial help to his government.
U.S. officials would not comment on the document to be presented at the summit. But an Arab official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said there were some disagreements over what it would say and that key participants were meeting to try to resolve them.
The key issue for Arab countries is greater Iraqi government outreach to disgruntled Sunnis in Iraq. The Sunni-led governments of the Arab world have long been suspicious of Iraq's new Shiite leadership, blaming it for fueling violence by discriminating against Sunnis. They also accuse al-Maliki's government of helping Shiite Iran extend its influence in the Middle East. At a meeting last month in Saudi Arabia, Arab states demanded Iraq change its constitution and its military to include more Sunnis and end the program that uprooted former members of Saddam Hussein's regime.
In June, al-Maliki announced a national reconciliation program that offers amnesty to members of the Sunni-led insurgency who are not involved in "terrorist activities," and amends a law that had removed senior members of Saddam's Baath Party from their jobs. But Arab countries say those steps were incomplete and never implemented.
Armed Sunni groups in Iraq and some insurgent groups have said they would not join any Iraqi political process until the current al-Maliki government falls. Other signs of Arab-Iraqi tension have arisen as the summit nears. Kuwait has been unable to muster the support in its parliament to agree to an al-Maliki request to forgive Iraq's $15 billion debt to it. Al-Maliki's claim that Arab countries are harboring extremists is another point of tension.
The Syrian official retorted that countries in the region were worried about the presence of 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, and said those killing Iraqi intellectuals in militant attacks are "not al-Qaida but other political sides." Iran said Wednesday it has still not decided whether to attend, despite urgings from its ally, the Shiite-led Iraqi government.
Labels: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Nouri Al-Maliki, region, Sharm el-Sheikh, Syria
Iraqi Army, KDP target of attacks
Security, Politics
(AP) - A suicide car bomb attack on an Iraqi army checkpoint in northern Iraq killed at least nine soldiers Thursday, police said. The attack occurred at about 9 a.m. in Khalis, 50 miles north of Baghdad, a police officer said on condition of anonymity out of concern for his own safety. Ten Iraqi soldiers and five civilians were wounded, the officer said.
The city is located in Diyala province, which has seen some of the worst violence recently as mostly Sunni militants are believed to have fled to the area since U.S. and Iraqi troops launched a security crackdown in Baghdad on Feb. 14. On Wednesday, four Iraqi police officers were killed when a suicide bomber struck a police station in the Diyala city of Balad Ruz, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad.
Two days earlier, a double-suicide bombing struck a paratrooper outpost in the province, killing nine U.S. troops. An al-Qaida-linked group claimed responsibility. In other violence on Thursday, two suicide bombers attacked an office of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Massoud Barzani, leader of the autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq, killing three of its guards and wounding five, police said.
The casualties could have been higher if guards had not opened fire on the two attackers, forcing them to detonate their explosives at least 50 yards from the office, police said. The attack occurred at about 8 a.m. in Zumar, a town that is 45 miles west of Mosul, the capital of Ninevah province. It was the second suicide attack this week aimed at the KDP in that area.
On Monday, a suicide car bomber attacked a KDP office in another town near Mosul, which is 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, killing at least 10 people and wounding 20. In a separate attack in Mosul on Monday, suspected insurgents assassinated a local KDP official in a drive-by-shooting, police said.
The city is located in Diyala province, which has seen some of the worst violence recently as mostly Sunni militants are believed to have fled to the area since U.S. and Iraqi troops launched a security crackdown in Baghdad on Feb. 14. On Wednesday, four Iraqi police officers were killed when a suicide bomber struck a police station in the Diyala city of Balad Ruz, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad.
Two days earlier, a double-suicide bombing struck a paratrooper outpost in the province, killing nine U.S. troops. An al-Qaida-linked group claimed responsibility. In other violence on Thursday, two suicide bombers attacked an office of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Massoud Barzani, leader of the autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq, killing three of its guards and wounding five, police said.
The casualties could have been higher if guards had not opened fire on the two attackers, forcing them to detonate their explosives at least 50 yards from the office, police said. The attack occurred at about 8 a.m. in Zumar, a town that is 45 miles west of Mosul, the capital of Ninevah province. It was the second suicide attack this week aimed at the KDP in that area.
On Monday, a suicide car bomber attacked a KDP office in another town near Mosul, which is 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, killing at least 10 people and wounding 20. In a separate attack in Mosul on Monday, suspected insurgents assassinated a local KDP official in a drive-by-shooting, police said.
Labels: Iraqi Army, KDP, Khalis, suicide attacks, Zumar
Allawi meets with al-Sadr to convince him to join Iraq National Front
Politics
(Al Watan) - Former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi reportedly met with radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr recently in the holy city of Al-Najaf, the Saudi daily "Al-Watan" reported on April 22. An informed source said one of the aims of the meeting was to convince al-Sadr's political movement to join Allawi's newly announced political bloc, the Iraq National Front.
"The meeting dealt with the ongoing political process in Iraq after the withdrawal of the al-Sadr trend from Nuri al-Maliki's government, as well as other issues pertaining to improving the security situation and the future of the situation in Iraq. They also discussed the possibility of coordinating positions between the al-Sadr trend and the [new] Iraqi bloc," the source said. In March, Allawi announced that he was moving to form a new broad-based political bloc, in an effort to form a new national-unity government.
Labels: Iraq National Front, Iyad Allawi, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Najaf
Maliki tells Satterfield to speak with Iran, Syria to prevent foreign fighters, weapons
Politics, Region
(RFE/RL) - During a meeting in Kuwait on April 24, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told David Satterfield, a senior adviser to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Iraq, that the United States should start talking to Syria and Iran, international media reported. According to an al-Maliki aide, who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity, Satterfield asked the Iraqi leader what more could be done to prevent foreign fighters and illegal weapons from entering Iraq through Iran and Syria.
The aide quoted al-Maliki as telling Satterfield, "You should open a dialogue with Iran and Syria in the interests of Iraq's security." The Iraqi and U.S. governments have long accused Damascus of allowing foreign fighters to cross into Iraq from Syria to carry out attacks. In addition, U.S. officials have accused Tehran of funneling weapons into Iraq that have been used against U.S. military personnel. Both Iran and Syria have denied these accusations. One of the key recommendations in a report conducted by the U.S. bipartisan Iraq Study Group called for direct U.S. engagement with Iran and Syria in an effort to help stabilize Iraq.
Labels: David Satterfield, foreign fighters, Iran, Kuwait, Nouri Al-Maliki, Syria
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
INM daily summary – 25 April 2007
Scroll down for full article.
- The leader of the Iraqi Constitutional Monarchist Movement, Ali Bin al-Husayn, has warned of a calamity if national reconciliation cannot be achieved before foreign forces withdraw from Iraq.
- The Muslim Scholars Association issued a statement on its website on April 23 blaming Shi'ite death squads for the killing of 23 members of the Yazidi religious minority in Mosul on April 22.
- UNAMI said that for the first time since it began issuing quarterly reports on the human rights situation in Iraq, the new Jan. 1 through March 31 report did not contain overall death figures from Iraq's Ministry of Health because it refused to release them.
- The director of the security ministry for the Sulaimaniya province, Sarkawt Hassan Jalal, said he has no doubt Iran is helping send Sunni jihadists into his territory.
- Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr strongly condemned construction of a wall around a Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad, calling for demonstrations against the plan.
- Officials from Iraq's central government and the Kurdistan region will meet this week to iron out last-minute disputes over a draft oil law.
- Iraqi politicians -- frustrated by violence throughout the country and the glacial pace of parliamentary lawmaking -- say the nearly one-year-old government is failing.
- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki met with top officials from Kuwait and the US yesterday to discuss the $15 billion (Dh55.05 billion) Baghdad owes Kuwait and ways to stop the infiltration of foreign fighters.
- Iraq's Parliament Speaker Mahmud al-Mashhadani said on Tuesday that the parliament signed a contract with a security company to protect the parliament inside the green zone in central Baghdad, but did not reveal its identity.
- The Iraqi Kurdish regional government and a Dubai firm are to build a $400 million (around Dh1.4 billion) "media city" in Arbil, officials said.
- The Russian government is throwing its full support behind Lukoil's ambition to become the first big international energy group to develop a major Iraqi oil field following the 2003 US invasion.
- An Al Qaida-linked group claimed that it used "new methods" in staging a double suicide bombing with dump trucks that blasted a paratrooper outpost in volatile Diyala province.
- Delegates at a new aviation security conference taking place in Dubai next month will hear how the security situation at Baghdad International Airport, one of the world’s most dangerous aviation environments, has been dramatically improved in just three years.
- Security round-up
- NEW ADDITION TO Links: Documents: Iraq Weekly Status Report, April 18, 2007 - Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, US Department of State
- NEW ADDITION TO Links: Documents: Brookings Institute - Brookings Iraq Index 23 April 2007
Iraq Weekly Status Report 18 April 2007
Reconstruction
Compiled by the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs - US Department of State, this is a weekly status report of developments in Iraq in key sectors such as: Security and Law Enforcement, Electricity Sector, Oil, Justice, Public Safety and Civil Society, Democracy, Education, Refugees, Human Rights, Governance, Roads, Bridges and Construction, Health Care, Transportation and
Communications, Water Resources and Sanitation and Private Sector Development.
Communications, Water Resources and Sanitation and Private Sector Development.
This report also provides weekly updates in the eight key areas identified as pillars of US government policy for victory in Iraq.
1. Defeat the Terrorists and Neutralize the Insurgents
2. Transition Iraq to Security Self-Reliance
3. Help Iraqis to Forge a National Compact for Democratic
Government
4. Help Iraq Build Government Capacity and Provide Essential
Services
5. Help Iraq Strengthen Its Economy
6. Help Iraq Strengthen the Rule of Law and Promote Civil Rights
7. Increase International Support for Iraq
8. Strengthen Public Understanding of Coalition Efforts and
Public Isolation of the Insurgents.
1. Defeat the Terrorists and Neutralize the Insurgents
2. Transition Iraq to Security Self-Reliance
3. Help Iraqis to Forge a National Compact for Democratic
Government
4. Help Iraq Build Government Capacity and Provide Essential
Services
5. Help Iraq Strengthen Its Economy
6. Help Iraq Strengthen the Rule of Law and Promote Civil Rights
7. Increase International Support for Iraq
8. Strengthen Public Understanding of Coalition Efforts and
Public Isolation of the Insurgents.
Labels: Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, reconstruction
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
(McClatchy Newspapers) - The daily Iraq violence report is compiled by McClatchy Newspapers Special Correspondent Hussein Kadhim 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.
- Around 7. am, a roadside bomb exploded in Mansour neighborhood (west Baghdad) injuring 2 civilians.
- Around 7.30 am, a roadside bomb targeted an American convoy on Qanat Al-Jaish street ( Army canal) north Baghdad damaging one of the vehicles without knowing the American casualties.
- Around 8.30 am, a bomb was put inside one of the students' lockers at the Dentistry College in Bab Al-Muadham killing one student and injuring 2.
- Around 10.15 a car bomb targeted a park near the Iranian Embassy injuring 4 civilians.
- The multi forces confirmed the attack of yesterday on one of the Australian armed vehicles near Shatra ( 20km north of Nasiriya south of Iraq) injuring 3 soldiers.
- Around 2 pm, a roadside exploded at Maghrib street in Adhamiya neighborhood injuring 2 civilians.
-Around 2.15 pm, a roadside bomb exploded in Palestine street in front of the minister of interior's house without casualties.
- Around 2.40 pm, a bomb was hidden inside a mini bus on Palestine street near Shabaka sqare, it exploded, killing 2 of the civilian passengers and injuring 9 .
- Around 4.30 , three mortar shells targeted the green zone, one fell inside the area . the second fell near the river bank, and both without casualties, while the third hit Al-Jadiriya neighborhood injuring 2 civilians.
- Around 7.45 pm, mortar shelling targeted Jisr Diyala (east of Baghdad) fell on crowded area killing 4 civilians and injuring 10.
- Nineteen (19) corpses were found in all over Baghdad : (16) in west Baghdad( Kharkh bank) ; 3 in (Doura) , 3 in (Amil) , 2 in Ghazaliya , 2 in Bayaa , 2 in ( Amiriya) , 2 in ( Saidiya) , 2 in (Adel), 3 in east Baghdad ( Rusafa bank) ; 1 in (Sadr) , 1 in (Husseinia) , 1 in Adhamiya.
Kerbala
- Yesterday evening , terrorists attack the chairman of Kerbala council and the governor's deputy 's convoy while they were coming back to Kerbala from Baghdad without knowing casualties.
- Around 6.30 pm, a roadside bomb targeted a convoy of the chairman of Kerbala with an official delegation who were on their way home to Kerbala from Baghdad near Husseinia area (25 km north east of Kerbala) injuring 5 civilians without knowing the casualties of the convoy.
Hilla
- Around 9.30 p.m. last night, a car bomb exploded in the city of Hilla near a park killing 3 civilians and injuring 11.
Basra
- Yesterday evening , gunmen stopped three cars belong to the south oil company having clashes with the guards of the convoy, but the gunmen were able to have the (382) millions which were supposed to be the employees salaries, injuring three guards and taking ten of the guards' machineguns.
- Around 7.30 am, a roadside bomb targeted an American convoy on Qanat Al-Jaish street ( Army canal) north Baghdad damaging one of the vehicles without knowing the American casualties.
- Around 8.30 am, a bomb was put inside one of the students' lockers at the Dentistry College in Bab Al-Muadham killing one student and injuring 2.
- Around 10.15 a car bomb targeted a park near the Iranian Embassy injuring 4 civilians.
- The multi forces confirmed the attack of yesterday on one of the Australian armed vehicles near Shatra ( 20km north of Nasiriya south of Iraq) injuring 3 soldiers.
- Around 2 pm, a roadside exploded at Maghrib street in Adhamiya neighborhood injuring 2 civilians.
-Around 2.15 pm, a roadside bomb exploded in Palestine street in front of the minister of interior's house without casualties.
- Around 2.40 pm, a bomb was hidden inside a mini bus on Palestine street near Shabaka sqare, it exploded, killing 2 of the civilian passengers and injuring 9 .
- Around 4.30 , three mortar shells targeted the green zone, one fell inside the area . the second fell near the river bank, and both without casualties, while the third hit Al-Jadiriya neighborhood injuring 2 civilians.
- Around 7.45 pm, mortar shelling targeted Jisr Diyala (east of Baghdad) fell on crowded area killing 4 civilians and injuring 10.
- Nineteen (19) corpses were found in all over Baghdad : (16) in west Baghdad( Kharkh bank) ; 3 in (Doura) , 3 in (Amil) , 2 in Ghazaliya , 2 in Bayaa , 2 in ( Amiriya) , 2 in ( Saidiya) , 2 in (Adel), 3 in east Baghdad ( Rusafa bank) ; 1 in (Sadr) , 1 in (Husseinia) , 1 in Adhamiya.
Kerbala
- Yesterday evening , terrorists attack the chairman of Kerbala council and the governor's deputy 's convoy while they were coming back to Kerbala from Baghdad without knowing casualties.
- Around 6.30 pm, a roadside bomb targeted a convoy of the chairman of Kerbala with an official delegation who were on their way home to Kerbala from Baghdad near Husseinia area (25 km north east of Kerbala) injuring 5 civilians without knowing the casualties of the convoy.
Hilla
- Around 9.30 p.m. last night, a car bomb exploded in the city of Hilla near a park killing 3 civilians and injuring 11.
Basra
- Yesterday evening , gunmen stopped three cars belong to the south oil company having clashes with the guards of the convoy, but the gunmen were able to have the (382) millions which were supposed to be the employees salaries, injuring three guards and taking ten of the guards' machineguns.
Security at BIAP to be addressed at Aviation Security Middle East conference
International, Conference
(BI-ME) - Delegates at a new aviation security conference taking place in Dubai next month will hear how the security situation at Baghdad International Airport, one of the world’s most dangerous aviation environments, has been dramatically improved in just three years. Dale Davis, Managing Director of Global Strategies Group (Middle East), will describe the measures introduced by his company since it took over security at the airport in 2004. Today 540 flights take off each month, compared with virtually zero three years ago, and over 40,000 vehicles enter the airport perimeter.
Davis is speaking at the Aviation Security Middle East conference, organised by Streamline Marketing Group, which takes place for the first time on 30 May. The conference runs alongside the annual Airport Show running from 28-30 May 2007 at the Airport Expo Dubai. Speakers will include aviation security chiefs, specialists and consultants from across Europe, India, Middle East and the US.
The presentation on Baghdad International Airport will outline how Global Strategies Group secured an airport heavily exposed to threat, to enable uninterrupted trade and travel, safeguard passengers, crew, staff and cargo and upgrade the security level, achieving International Civil Aviation Organisation standards. A key part of the company’s plan is the training and development of local Iraqi personnel and currently 450 Iraqis are working on the project.
Other speakers at the conference will include Malcolm Nance, Director of Special Readiness Services International (SRSI) a Washington DC-based counter-terrorism consultancy. He will highlight the vulnerabilities of airports, aircraft and passengers to a wide range of catastrophic terrorist tactics implemented before the aircraft leave the ground. The latest technologies for passenger screening, profiling and in-hold baggage screening will also be discussed by a panel of international aviation security experts.
Davis is speaking at the Aviation Security Middle East conference, organised by Streamline Marketing Group, which takes place for the first time on 30 May. The conference runs alongside the annual Airport Show running from 28-30 May 2007 at the Airport Expo Dubai. Speakers will include aviation security chiefs, specialists and consultants from across Europe, India, Middle East and the US.
The presentation on Baghdad International Airport will outline how Global Strategies Group secured an airport heavily exposed to threat, to enable uninterrupted trade and travel, safeguard passengers, crew, staff and cargo and upgrade the security level, achieving International Civil Aviation Organisation standards. A key part of the company’s plan is the training and development of local Iraqi personnel and currently 450 Iraqis are working on the project.
Other speakers at the conference will include Malcolm Nance, Director of Special Readiness Services International (SRSI) a Washington DC-based counter-terrorism consultancy. He will highlight the vulnerabilities of airports, aircraft and passengers to a wide range of catastrophic terrorist tactics implemented before the aircraft leave the ground. The latest technologies for passenger screening, profiling and in-hold baggage screening will also be discussed by a panel of international aviation security experts.
Labels: Aviation Security Middle East conference, Baghdad International Airport, BIAP, Dale Davis, Global Strategies Group
Al Qaeda claims new methods after death of 9 U.S. soldiers
Security
(Gulf News) - An Al Qaida-linked group claimed that it used "new methods" in staging a double suicide bombing with dump trucks that blasted a paratrooper outpost in volatile Diyala province, killing nine Americans from the 82nd Airborne Division and wounding 20 on Tuesday. The attack, which also wounded an Iraqi civilian, underscored the ability of guerrillas of the Sunni Arab-dominated insurgency to wage war in Iraq four years after the US-led invasion, and it came in a region that has seen violence escalate since US and Iraqi troops launched the security crackdown in Baghdad.
The first truck hit outlying concrete barriers surrounding the outpost at Sadah and exploded after soldiers opened fire. A second truck rammed into the wrecked vehicles, dragging it and other rubble before it exploded 30 yards from two-story building housing the post's troops, said Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly, US military spokesman in north Iraq. Neither vehicle penetrated the patrol base's inner perimeter, but the second powerful blast ruptured the wall of the building, collapsing its second floor and causing most of the soldier casualties, a US military statement said Wednesday.
A civilian house was destroyed and several smaller structures collapsed in a nearby neighborhood, the military said. A civilian hospital and a mosque about 200 meters from the patrol base also were damaged. Fifteen of the 20 wounded US soldiers later returned to duty, the military said.
Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a US military spokesman in Baghdad, said the style of the attack fit the pattern of Al Qaida but he said an investigation was under way into who was to blame and exactly what happened. When asked about the "new methods" claimed by the group, he said the military was on heightened alert for dump trucks as they had been used in several recent high-profile attacks. "The use of dump trucks seems to be a recurring theme recently in the last few weeks," he said.
The first truck hit outlying concrete barriers surrounding the outpost at Sadah and exploded after soldiers opened fire. A second truck rammed into the wrecked vehicles, dragging it and other rubble before it exploded 30 yards from two-story building housing the post's troops, said Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly, US military spokesman in north Iraq. Neither vehicle penetrated the patrol base's inner perimeter, but the second powerful blast ruptured the wall of the building, collapsing its second floor and causing most of the soldier casualties, a US military statement said Wednesday.
A civilian house was destroyed and several smaller structures collapsed in a nearby neighborhood, the military said. A civilian hospital and a mosque about 200 meters from the patrol base also were damaged. Fifteen of the 20 wounded US soldiers later returned to duty, the military said.
Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a US military spokesman in Baghdad, said the style of the attack fit the pattern of Al Qaida but he said an investigation was under way into who was to blame and exactly what happened. When asked about the "new methods" claimed by the group, he said the military was on heightened alert for dump trucks as they had been used in several recent high-profile attacks. "The use of dump trucks seems to be a recurring theme recently in the last few weeks," he said.
Labels: 82nd Airborne Division, Al Qaeda, Diyala, dump trucks, Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly, Sadah, truck bomb
Russian govt. backs LUKoil's bid to develop Iraqi oil field
Oil, Business
(Financial Times) - The Russian government is throwing its full support behind Lukoil's ambition to become the first big international energy group to develop a major Iraqi oil field following the 2003 US invasion.
Vagit Alekperov, Lukoil's chief executive, said in an interview on Tuesday: "The Russian government supports us, the foreign ministry supports us, the president of the federation supports us. They support the idea of putting those Iraqi fields [into production] as soon as possible. In all these areas we have the support of the Russian government."
He added that Lukoil would be able to develop the West Qurna field two to three times more quickly than any other company. "We are ready to move really fast," he said. "The situation in South Iraq is pretty stable and we have no problem starting operations right after the passage of the hydrocarbon law and once we have the necessary approvals," he said. Iraq's parliament aims to pass the law by the end of next month.
West Qurna is believed to hold as many as 11bn-15bn barrels of recoverable oil reserves and has a potential to produce as many as 1m barrels a day, making it one of the world's biggest fields. International energy companies such as ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell and BP have been waiting for the security situation in Iraq to improve before developing fields, and analysts believe the situation in the Shia-dominated region close to the southern port of Basra where West Qurna is located is far from predictable.
But at least one US company would benefit if Iraq's oil ministry assigned the development of West Qurna to Lukoil. In 2004 ConocoPhillips, the US's third largest energy group, formed a strategic partnership with Lukoil in which the US company gradually expanded its stake to just shy of 20 per cent. At the time of the announcement, the companies noted the eventually development of West Qurna as one of their motives for the deal.
Lukoil has spent more than a decade angling for West Qurna. In spite of United Nations sanctions, the company signed a deal with Saddam Hussein, Iraq's deposed president, in 1997 to develop the field. But in 2002, shortly before the US invasion, Baghdad rescinded the deal, saying it was angered by Lukoil's attempts to get assurances from the opposition that it would keep the contract in case Mr Hussein's regime fell. In the past two years Lukoil has spent $20m to train 1000-2000 Iraqi oil field engineers in Russian fields, put another 100 through Russian universities and provide equipment for Iraq's oil industry.
Vagit Alekperov, Lukoil's chief executive, said in an interview on Tuesday: "The Russian government supports us, the foreign ministry supports us, the president of the federation supports us. They support the idea of putting those Iraqi fields [into production] as soon as possible. In all these areas we have the support of the Russian government."
He added that Lukoil would be able to develop the West Qurna field two to three times more quickly than any other company. "We are ready to move really fast," he said. "The situation in South Iraq is pretty stable and we have no problem starting operations right after the passage of the hydrocarbon law and once we have the necessary approvals," he said. Iraq's parliament aims to pass the law by the end of next month.
West Qurna is believed to hold as many as 11bn-15bn barrels of recoverable oil reserves and has a potential to produce as many as 1m barrels a day, making it one of the world's biggest fields. International energy companies such as ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell and BP have been waiting for the security situation in Iraq to improve before developing fields, and analysts believe the situation in the Shia-dominated region close to the southern port of Basra where West Qurna is located is far from predictable.
But at least one US company would benefit if Iraq's oil ministry assigned the development of West Qurna to Lukoil. In 2004 ConocoPhillips, the US's third largest energy group, formed a strategic partnership with Lukoil in which the US company gradually expanded its stake to just shy of 20 per cent. At the time of the announcement, the companies noted the eventually development of West Qurna as one of their motives for the deal.
Lukoil has spent more than a decade angling for West Qurna. In spite of United Nations sanctions, the company signed a deal with Saddam Hussein, Iraq's deposed president, in 1997 to develop the field. But in 2002, shortly before the US invasion, Baghdad rescinded the deal, saying it was angered by Lukoil's attempts to get assurances from the opposition that it would keep the contract in case Mr Hussein's regime fell. In the past two years Lukoil has spent $20m to train 1000-2000 Iraqi oil field engineers in Russian fields, put another 100 through Russian universities and provide equipment for Iraq's oil industry.
Labels: ConocoPhillips, Iraq Oil, LUKoil, Vagit Alekperov, West Qurna
KRg and Dubai company to build $400 mn 'media city'
Kurdistan, Commerce, Media, Construction
(Reuters) - The Iraqi Kurdish regional government and a Dubai firm are to build a $400 million (around Dh1.4 billion) "media city" in Arbil, officials said. International television networks will be attracted to the stable Kurdistan region because worsening violence stopped them having offices in Baghdad, they said.
Under the deal to create the Arbil City Media Company, the regional government will have a 60 per cent stake and the Dubai sound TV and Cinema Production company a 40 per cent stake. Start-up capital will be $40 million (around Dh147 million). The company, which will oversee the creation of a complex of television studios, hotels, shops and housing, will then be open to shareholders. Anwar Al Yasiri, an Iraqi who runs the Dubai company, said his firm and a British company would build the complex in a northern Arbil suburb within two years.
Opportunities
"The philosophy of the government to support such a project is to create job opportunities for the sons of the area and to support and develop the tourism and media city sectors," Civil Society Affairs minister George Mansour said. Mansour helped establish Iraq's media network after Saddam Hussain's fall in 2003. The project will include a television transmission and re-transmission centre with a capacity for up to 120 stations.
Under the deal to create the Arbil City Media Company, the regional government will have a 60 per cent stake and the Dubai sound TV and Cinema Production company a 40 per cent stake. Start-up capital will be $40 million (around Dh147 million). The company, which will oversee the creation of a complex of television studios, hotels, shops and housing, will then be open to shareholders. Anwar Al Yasiri, an Iraqi who runs the Dubai company, said his firm and a British company would build the complex in a northern Arbil suburb within two years.
Opportunities
"The philosophy of the government to support such a project is to create job opportunities for the sons of the area and to support and develop the tourism and media city sectors," Civil Society Affairs minister George Mansour said. Mansour helped establish Iraq's media network after Saddam Hussain's fall in 2003. The project will include a television transmission and re-transmission centre with a capacity for up to 120 stations.
Labels: Anwar Al Yasiri, Arbil, Arbil City Media Company, construction, Dubai sound TV and Cinema Production company, KRG, media
Parliament signs contract with new security company
Security, Politics
(Voices of Iraq) - Iraq's Parliament Speaker Mahmud al-Mashhadani said on Tuesday that the parliament signed a contract with a security company to protect the parliament inside the green zone in central Baghdad, but did not reveal its identity.
A strong blast took place in the cafeteria annexed to the parliament on April 12, killing a Parliament Member Mohammed Awad along with 20 employees. Today's parliament session witnessed a controversy between al-Mashhadani and legislator Qasem Dawoud, of the Iraqi National List, on the outcome of the blast investigation. The deputy asked on the reason behind neglecting a former suggestion to assign a security company to protect the parliament four months ago.
"Protecting the parliament is now assigned to the interior ministry according to instructions by Iraq's premier and this will continue till the end of the investigation, as new measures could be taken," al-Mashhadani responded. Qasem Dawoud also demanded to stop parliament's sessions till the end of the investigations, a demand rejected by legislators attending the session. The speaker of the parliament warned the legislators in today's session against gathering in groups near certain places to avoid casualties in case of future attacks.
Parliamentarian Fouad Masoum, of the Kurdistan Coalition, also called for unveiling the outcome the investigation and to put an end to restrictions and searching procedures imposed on lawmakers, threatening to boycott the sessions. Al-Mashhadani asserted that the investigation was due to end and the outcome will be presented to all members in a closed session, vowing to call to account all those responsible for the attack.
A strong blast took place in the cafeteria annexed to the parliament on April 12, killing a Parliament Member Mohammed Awad along with 20 employees. Today's parliament session witnessed a controversy between al-Mashhadani and legislator Qasem Dawoud, of the Iraqi National List, on the outcome of the blast investigation. The deputy asked on the reason behind neglecting a former suggestion to assign a security company to protect the parliament four months ago.
"Protecting the parliament is now assigned to the interior ministry according to instructions by Iraq's premier and this will continue till the end of the investigation, as new measures could be taken," al-Mashhadani responded. Qasem Dawoud also demanded to stop parliament's sessions till the end of the investigations, a demand rejected by legislators attending the session. The speaker of the parliament warned the legislators in today's session against gathering in groups near certain places to avoid casualties in case of future attacks.
Parliamentarian Fouad Masoum, of the Kurdistan Coalition, also called for unveiling the outcome the investigation and to put an end to restrictions and searching procedures imposed on lawmakers, threatening to boycott the sessions. Al-Mashhadani asserted that the investigation was due to end and the outcome will be presented to all members in a closed session, vowing to call to account all those responsible for the attack.
Labels: investigation, Ministry of Interior, parliament bombing, security
Maliki goes to Kuwait to discuss $15 bn debt
Kuwait
(Associated Press) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki met with top officials from Kuwait and the US yesterday to discuss the $15 billion (Dh55.05 billion) Baghdad owes Kuwait and ways to stop the infiltration of foreign fighters, officials said. Al Maliki, on his second visit to this country as prime minister, met with Emir Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah for about an hour and later held a separate meeting with David Satterfield, an adviser to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Iraq.
Satterfield, who was on a regional tour to encourage financial support for the Iraqi government, told Al Maliki that Saudi Arabia has agreed to write off most of the more than $15 billion Iraq owes the country, but Kuwait has not made a final decision, according to an aide to Al Maliki. During his visit, Al Maliki is expected to ask Kuwait to forgive the $15 billion that his country owes the nation dating back to Saddam Hussain's former regime.
The Kuwaiti government has pledged to forgive 80 per cent of the debt, but the decision is subject to parliamentary approval. Many lawmakers oppose the move, arguing that Iraq also is an oil-rich country and should pay back the money. Satterfield said on Monday that the American and the Iraqi governments are "working closely" with Gulf countries and other major creditors to write off Baghdad's debts.
The US official asked the prime minister on Tuesday about what should be done to stop the infiltration of foreign fighters and weapons into Iraq from neighbouring Iran and Syria, the aide to Al Maliki said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Satterfield, who was on a regional tour to encourage financial support for the Iraqi government, told Al Maliki that Saudi Arabia has agreed to write off most of the more than $15 billion Iraq owes the country, but Kuwait has not made a final decision, according to an aide to Al Maliki. During his visit, Al Maliki is expected to ask Kuwait to forgive the $15 billion that his country owes the nation dating back to Saddam Hussain's former regime.
The Kuwaiti government has pledged to forgive 80 per cent of the debt, but the decision is subject to parliamentary approval. Many lawmakers oppose the move, arguing that Iraq also is an oil-rich country and should pay back the money. Satterfield said on Monday that the American and the Iraqi governments are "working closely" with Gulf countries and other major creditors to write off Baghdad's debts.
The US official asked the prime minister on Tuesday about what should be done to stop the infiltration of foreign fighters and weapons into Iraq from neighbouring Iran and Syria, the aide to Al Maliki said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Labels: David Satterfield, debt, Kuwait, Nouri Al-Maliki
Iraqi politicians say the government is failing
Security, Politics
(CNN) -- Iraqi politicians -- frustrated by violence throughout the country and the glacial pace of parliamentary lawmaking -- say the nearly one-year-old government is failing. Iraqi lawmakers told CNN the government's impotence and inability to bring peace to the chaotic environment is basically structural, and not the product of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish legislator, was quoted in the USA Today newspaper as describing al-Maliki as weak, but in an interview with CNN, he said, "It's not Maliki, it's the whole government." That government, he said, is failing on many fronts, such as providing security, fostering reconciliation and offering public services. He believes Iraq, not the U.S. government, should set deadlines for goals, and the government must "deliver" them or resign.
Hasan al-Shimmari, a Shiite member of the United Iraqi Alliance's Fadhila party, said the government is weak because the political process and the government's structure are "based on partisan allocation of ministries."
"The Maliki government should be strengthened by correcting the political process and allocating ministries democratically," he said.
Hasan al-Sneid, a UIA parliament member who is close to al-Maliki, blamed political forces and parliament for problems, but he praised al-Maliki's efforts to foster reconciliation among Sunnis and Shiites. Another legislator pointed to Baghdad's two-month-old security plan as evidence of the government's inefficiency. The plan is "not working," according to Maysoon al-Damalouji, a secular Sunni lawmaker.
She said many people believed that services would be restored to neighborhoods "cleansed" by U.S. and Iraqi troops. However, once troops leave a cleansed region, militias move back in and take revenge on people who have cooperated with the troops. Al-Damalouji believes that the essential problem is the division of parties by sectarian affiliation.
Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish legislator, was quoted in the USA Today newspaper as describing al-Maliki as weak, but in an interview with CNN, he said, "It's not Maliki, it's the whole government." That government, he said, is failing on many fronts, such as providing security, fostering reconciliation and offering public services. He believes Iraq, not the U.S. government, should set deadlines for goals, and the government must "deliver" them or resign.
Hasan al-Shimmari, a Shiite member of the United Iraqi Alliance's Fadhila party, said the government is weak because the political process and the government's structure are "based on partisan allocation of ministries."
"The Maliki government should be strengthened by correcting the political process and allocating ministries democratically," he said.
Hasan al-Sneid, a UIA parliament member who is close to al-Maliki, blamed political forces and parliament for problems, but he praised al-Maliki's efforts to foster reconciliation among Sunnis and Shiites. Another legislator pointed to Baghdad's two-month-old security plan as evidence of the government's inefficiency. The plan is "not working," according to Maysoon al-Damalouji, a secular Sunni lawmaker.
She said many people believed that services would be restored to neighborhoods "cleansed" by U.S. and Iraqi troops. However, once troops leave a cleansed region, militias move back in and take revenge on people who have cooperated with the troops. Al-Damalouji believes that the essential problem is the division of parties by sectarian affiliation.
Labels: Hasan al-Shimmari, Iraqi government, Mahmoud Othman, Nouri Al-Maliki, politics
Iraqi, Kurdish officials to meet on draft oil law
Oil
(Reuters) - Officials from Iraq's central government and the Kurdistan region will meet this week to iron out last-minute disputes over a draft oil law that will decide control of the world's third largest oil reserves. Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said last week the law would be ready for submission this week to parliament, and he expected lawmakers to make no major amendments.
But Kurdish energy officials have called the draft's annexes unconstitutional, raising the prospect of more disagreements and delays that dogged the lengthy law-writing process. Ashti Hawrami, minister of natural resources in the autonomous Kurdistan region, told Reuters his objections centered on annexes of the law that would wrest oilfields from regional governments and place them under a new state-oil company.
Nechirvan Barzani, the Kurdish regional prime minister, said Kurds wanted to include a separate law on oil revenue management that would set up a Kurdish fund as part of a "package deal" with the oil law. "The oil draft law and the oil revenues distribution law should be passed together in parliament. Without the revenues law the oil draft law would be incomplete, " Barzani told Reuters. "The oil revenues should be deposited in a special account and the share of the Kurdish region must be defined clearly and we have no objection if this account is run by Iraq or an international committee".
The central government wants revenues put in a central account and distributed according to Iraq's population. Shahristani, who has said he will listen to the Kurdish government's opinions this week, said in January that the national oil company will be given control of the country's most prized oilfields, and fields on their periphery.
Hawrami said draft annexes would give the state oil company control of an unacceptably high 80 percent of Iraq's oil reserves. He said an Iraq National Oil Company (INOC) should maintain control of producing fields, but did not have the expertise or capital for discovered but undeveloped fields. The annexes under dispute include: current productive oil fields; discovered and undeveloped oil fields; discovered and undeveloped oil fields; and expeditionary areas.
But Kurdish energy officials have called the draft's annexes unconstitutional, raising the prospect of more disagreements and delays that dogged the lengthy law-writing process. Ashti Hawrami, minister of natural resources in the autonomous Kurdistan region, told Reuters his objections centered on annexes of the law that would wrest oilfields from regional governments and place them under a new state-oil company.
Nechirvan Barzani, the Kurdish regional prime minister, said Kurds wanted to include a separate law on oil revenue management that would set up a Kurdish fund as part of a "package deal" with the oil law. "The oil draft law and the oil revenues distribution law should be passed together in parliament. Without the revenues law the oil draft law would be incomplete, " Barzani told Reuters. "The oil revenues should be deposited in a special account and the share of the Kurdish region must be defined clearly and we have no objection if this account is run by Iraq or an international committee".
The central government wants revenues put in a central account and distributed according to Iraq's population. Shahristani, who has said he will listen to the Kurdish government's opinions this week, said in January that the national oil company will be given control of the country's most prized oilfields, and fields on their periphery.
Hawrami said draft annexes would give the state oil company control of an unacceptably high 80 percent of Iraq's oil reserves. He said an Iraq National Oil Company (INOC) should maintain control of producing fields, but did not have the expertise or capital for discovered but undeveloped fields. The annexes under dispute include: current productive oil fields; discovered and undeveloped oil fields; discovered and undeveloped oil fields; and expeditionary areas.
Labels: Ashti Hawrami, draft oil law, Hussain al-Shahristani, INOC, Iraq National Oil Co., Kurdistan, Nechirvan Barzani
Al-Sadr calls for demonstrations against Adhamiyah wall
Security, Politics
(AP) - Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr strongly condemned construction of a wall around a Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad, calling for demonstrations against the plan as a sign of "the evil will" of American "occupiers." The remarks, in a statement read by an aide, were the first by the anti-American cleric since the U.S. military announced last week that it was building a three-mile long 12-foot high concrete wall in Azamiyah, a Sunni stronghold that has been targeted by mortar and rocket attacks by Shiite militiamen.
Many Sunnis also protested the plan, saying they felt like they were being herded into a prison. Protesters in Azamiyah carried banners Monday with slogans such as "No to the sectarian wall" and "Azamiyah children want to see Baghdad without walls." In the statement, al-Sadr said the protests showed that Iraqis reject "the sectarian, racist and unjust wall that seeks to divide" Sunnis and Shiites. "I am confident that such honorable voices will bring down the wall," he said.
Al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militia was blamed for much of the sectarian killings of Sunnis, has been trying to make overtures to the Sunni minority and draw a difference between ordinary Sunnis and extremists who target Shiites. "This wall shows the evil will of the occupier and its sectarian and terrorist projects against our people," al-Sadr said in the statement. "We the people of Iraq will defend Azamiyah and other neighborhoods that you (Americans) want to segregate from us. We will stand hand in hand with you (Sunnis) to demonstrate and protect our holy land."
The U.S. and Iraqi military said they plan to construct barriers in other neighborhoods too to protect people from sectarian death squads. On Sunday, however, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he would not allow "a separation wall," but then he said that the subject would be discussed. He said he would not rule out all barriers, such as barbed wire. Iraq's chief military spokesman indicated that some type of barrier would go up, saying al-Maliki was responding to exaggerated reports about the wall.
An aide to al-Sadr, Sheik Salah al-Obaidi, told reporters in the holy Shiite city of Najaf that they plan two demonstrations in eastern and western Baghdad to condemn the wall. He did not give a date for the demonstrations but said that if the security situation permits, al-Sadr's followers will be happy to join demonstrators in Azamiyah.
The U.S. military has said that al-Sadr is currently in neighboring Iran, a claim that his aides denied in the past week saying he is in Iraq. Al-Obaidi said al-Sadr's disappearance "is for security reasons and ... it is not necessary to know where he is.
Many Sunnis also protested the plan, saying they felt like they were being herded into a prison. Protesters in Azamiyah carried banners Monday with slogans such as "No to the sectarian wall" and "Azamiyah children want to see Baghdad without walls." In the statement, al-Sadr said the protests showed that Iraqis reject "the sectarian, racist and unjust wall that seeks to divide" Sunnis and Shiites. "I am confident that such honorable voices will bring down the wall," he said.
Al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militia was blamed for much of the sectarian killings of Sunnis, has been trying to make overtures to the Sunni minority and draw a difference between ordinary Sunnis and extremists who target Shiites. "This wall shows the evil will of the occupier and its sectarian and terrorist projects against our people," al-Sadr said in the statement. "We the people of Iraq will defend Azamiyah and other neighborhoods that you (Americans) want to segregate from us. We will stand hand in hand with you (Sunnis) to demonstrate and protect our holy land."
The U.S. and Iraqi military said they plan to construct barriers in other neighborhoods too to protect people from sectarian death squads. On Sunday, however, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he would not allow "a separation wall," but then he said that the subject would be discussed. He said he would not rule out all barriers, such as barbed wire. Iraq's chief military spokesman indicated that some type of barrier would go up, saying al-Maliki was responding to exaggerated reports about the wall.
An aide to al-Sadr, Sheik Salah al-Obaidi, told reporters in the holy Shiite city of Najaf that they plan two demonstrations in eastern and western Baghdad to condemn the wall. He did not give a date for the demonstrations but said that if the security situation permits, al-Sadr's followers will be happy to join demonstrators in Azamiyah.
The U.S. military has said that al-Sadr is currently in neighboring Iran, a claim that his aides denied in the past week saying he is in Iraq. Al-Obaidi said al-Sadr's disappearance "is for security reasons and ... it is not necessary to know where he is.
Labels: Adhamiyah, Azamiyah wall, demonstration, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Sheik Salah al-Obaidi
Kurdish official says Iran is sending terrorists into Kurdistan
Security, Insurgency
(AINA) - While Iran's connection to Sunni Islamist terrorism is hotly debated in Washington, it is not disputed in Iraqi Kurdistan, about 60 miles from the border with the Islamic Republic. In an interview yesterday inside his headquarters, the director of the security ministry for the Sulaimaniya province, Sarkawt Hassan Jalal, said he has no doubt Iran is helping send Sunni jihadists into his territory. He listed the five border towns on the Iranian side where he says they are based: Mariwan, Pejwan, Bokan, Sina, and Serdai.
For General Jalal, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's original group, known as Tawhid and Jihad, was sent by the Iranians and Al Qaeda to attack the Kurds and Americans. At the end of a 90-minute interview, he summed up his view of Iran as follows: "Iran is at the top of the terrorism in all the world. There will be peace in the world when you change the authorities in Iran." He is in a position to know; Kurdish Islamist groups, by his count, tried to assassinate him on three separate occasions.
Those direct public remarks are almost singularly rare for a senior Kurdish official. When American forces on January 10 seized five Iranians it claimed were members of Iran's elite Quds Force in the Kurdistan provincial capital of Irbil, Iraq's foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd, publicly urged the Americans to return the men he claimed were acting as diplomats. Privately, Kurdish officials say the supposed diplomats were supporting terrorists, providing maps and training, but that the raid failed to net any senior Iranian operatives despite initial intelligence suggesting the no. 3 man in the Quds Force was there.
The main threat for Iraq's Kurds here is the next generation of Ansar al-Islam, an Islamist group initially affiliated with the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab Zarqawi, who has since been slain. In 2002, Ansar al-Islam tried to assassinate the current deputy prime minister, Barham Salih. The organization has also attacked Kurdish police chiefs. In the first days of the war, the base of the organization was destroyed at their camp in Biara, near the Kurdish town of Halabja, the site of the Iraqi army's infamous poison gas attack in 1988.
The American and Kurdish operation, known as Viking Hammer, wiped out the Ansar al-Islam base, but many of the senior leaders fled to Mariwan and the other towns on the Iranian side of the border. Since 2003, the Kurdish security services have been fighting a campaign to keep the new Islamists, who have regrouped under the banner of Ansar al-Sunna, out of Iraq and out of their territory. Today that group's Web site calls itself Al Qaeda in Kurdistan.
Military intelligence in particular has linked members of Iran's Quds Force in Iraq to supporting operations and individuals in the new Ansar al-Sunna, as The New York Sun first reported in January. On April 10, Major General William Caldwell announced that America had evidence of Iranian support and had found Iranian-produced arms in Sunni terrorist strongholds.
For General Jalal, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's original group, known as Tawhid and Jihad, was sent by the Iranians and Al Qaeda to attack the Kurds and Americans. At the end of a 90-minute interview, he summed up his view of Iran as follows: "Iran is at the top of the terrorism in all the world. There will be peace in the world when you change the authorities in Iran." He is in a position to know; Kurdish Islamist groups, by his count, tried to assassinate him on three separate occasions.
Those direct public remarks are almost singularly rare for a senior Kurdish official. When American forces on January 10 seized five Iranians it claimed were members of Iran's elite Quds Force in the Kurdistan provincial capital of Irbil, Iraq's foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd, publicly urged the Americans to return the men he claimed were acting as diplomats. Privately, Kurdish officials say the supposed diplomats were supporting terrorists, providing maps and training, but that the raid failed to net any senior Iranian operatives despite initial intelligence suggesting the no. 3 man in the Quds Force was there.
The main threat for Iraq's Kurds here is the next generation of Ansar al-Islam, an Islamist group initially affiliated with the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab Zarqawi, who has since been slain. In 2002, Ansar al-Islam tried to assassinate the current deputy prime minister, Barham Salih. The organization has also attacked Kurdish police chiefs. In the first days of the war, the base of the organization was destroyed at their camp in Biara, near the Kurdish town of Halabja, the site of the Iraqi army's infamous poison gas attack in 1988.
The American and Kurdish operation, known as Viking Hammer, wiped out the Ansar al-Islam base, but many of the senior leaders fled to Mariwan and the other towns on the Iranian side of the border. Since 2003, the Kurdish security services have been fighting a campaign to keep the new Islamists, who have regrouped under the banner of Ansar al-Sunna, out of Iraq and out of their territory. Today that group's Web site calls itself Al Qaeda in Kurdistan.
Military intelligence in particular has linked members of Iran's Quds Force in Iraq to supporting operations and individuals in the new Ansar al-Sunna, as The New York Sun first reported in January. On April 10, Major General William Caldwell announced that America had evidence of Iranian support and had found Iranian-produced arms in Sunni terrorist strongholds.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Kurdistan, Ansar al-Islam, Ansar al-Sunnah, Iran, Kurdistan, Sarkawt Hassan Jalal, Tawhid and Jihad, terrorists, Viking Hammer
