Friday, August 24, 2007
Iraqi Kurds warn Iran about shelling
Region
(RFE/RL) - Responding to reports that the Iranian military is shelling Iraqi Kurdish villages, Jabbar Yawir, the undersecretary of the autonomous Kurdistan region's Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs, said, "I cannot believe that the Islamic Republic of Iran would lead its forces to commit such a mistake, since shelling the territories of another state is a violation of international conventions," the Peyamner news agency reported on August 22.
Referring to media reports that Iranian helicopters dropped leaflets warning Iraqi Kurds to abandon their villages ahead of a planned bombing campaign against Kurdish separatists, Yawir said: "If these leaflets were really distributed by an official Iranian Army source, then Iran is accusing itself of bombarding the territories of the [Iraqi] Kurdistan region".
Al-Sharqiyah television reported on August 22 that the political bureaus of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party held an emergency meeting in Baghdad to discuss the shelling, among other issues. They called on the Iraqi government to send a letter of protest to Iran, the news channel reported.
Spokesman Jamal Abdallah said the Kurdistan regional government has sent a letter of protest to Iran, "Awene" reported on August 22. Meanwhile, "Kurdistan Nuwe" quoted a source as saying that tanks, armored vehicles, and long-range artillery have been deployed along the Iranian border. The source contended that Turkish soldiers were also seen in the area, prompting fears of a joint Turkish-Iranian operation.
Labels: Iran, KDP, Kurdistan, Major General Jabbar Yawir, PUK, Turkey
Friday, August 17, 2007
Four major political parties sign agreement to revive Iraqi political process as Sunni party leader warns of setting up "counter coalitions"
Politics
(Voices of Iraq) - A leading figure from the Sunni Islamic Party expressed on Thursday reservation over a new Kurdish-Shiite alliance that announced earlier today in Baghdad, warning of setting up what he described as "counter coalitions." "We, the Islamic Party, express our reservation on the new alliance and we see that it is too early to confirm whether it will work out or not," Omar Abdul Sattar told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) by telephone.
The politician said "yesterday (Wednesday) we had a meeting with the two Kurdish parties (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and Kurdistan Democratic Party) to discuss the political situation and the possible means to rescue the country from the current impasse and we told them the time is premature to form such an alliance."
The leading figure whose party is a main component of the Sunni Accordance Front said "We were in need of many steps to take and more common visions to share before we could reach the compromise of a six-way alliance that would also include (former Iraqi PM) Allawi's Iraqi National List and the Islamic party, but the differences caused the alliance to be announced by four components only."
"The new alliance may lead to the formation of new counter-coalitions, which I expect will cause more deterioration in the country," said Abdul Sattar noting that "we could not correct a mistake by committing another one." Abdul Sattar, who declined to reply to a question by VOI as to whether the new alliance was meant to declare a parliamentary majority's government if Accordance ministers who quit the cabinet refused to return, commented "it is a step towards prolonging the life of al-Maliki's government."
The politician said "yesterday (Wednesday) we had a meeting with the two Kurdish parties (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and Kurdistan Democratic Party) to discuss the political situation and the possible means to rescue the country from the current impasse and we told them the time is premature to form such an alliance."
The leading figure whose party is a main component of the Sunni Accordance Front said "We were in need of many steps to take and more common visions to share before we could reach the compromise of a six-way alliance that would also include (former Iraqi PM) Allawi's Iraqi National List and the Islamic party, but the differences caused the alliance to be announced by four components only."
"The new alliance may lead to the formation of new counter-coalitions, which I expect will cause more deterioration in the country," said Abdul Sattar noting that "we could not correct a mistake by committing another one." Abdul Sattar, who declined to reply to a question by VOI as to whether the new alliance was meant to declare a parliamentary majority's government if Accordance ministers who quit the cabinet refused to return, commented "it is a step towards prolonging the life of al-Maliki's government."
Four major Iraqi political parties signed on Thursday an agreement, aired by al-Iraqiya satellite television, to revive the political process in Iraq. The agreement was signed by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the Islamic Daawa party and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC). The four parties were represented by President Jalal Talabani, President of Kurdistan region Massoud Barazani, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi.
President Talabani refused to use the word “quartet” or “moderates’ bloc,” noting that they had signed an initiative to revive the political process. “We cannot call it a bloc, but rather an agreement between four parties committed to former agreements for reviving the political process,” Talabani said in a press conference attended by Nouri al-Maliki, Barazani and Abdul Mahdi.
“We tried to made contact with the Iraqi Islamic Party in an attempt to involve it in the agreement, but it said that the circumstances were not appropriate,” he added. “The bloc consists of four parties now but it is open for all parties to take part in it,” Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said. “We will try to revive the stagnant political process; we will not accept it to be hampered. The agreement is not a replacement of the political blocs, the door is open for all to participate,” the premier explained.
President Talabani refused to use the word “quartet” or “moderates’ bloc,” noting that they had signed an initiative to revive the political process. “We cannot call it a bloc, but rather an agreement between four parties committed to former agreements for reviving the political process,” Talabani said in a press conference attended by Nouri al-Maliki, Barazani and Abdul Mahdi.
“We tried to made contact with the Iraqi Islamic Party in an attempt to involve it in the agreement, but it said that the circumstances were not appropriate,” he added. “The bloc consists of four parties now but it is open for all parties to take part in it,” Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said. “We will try to revive the stagnant political process; we will not accept it to be hampered. The agreement is not a replacement of the political blocs, the door is open for all to participate,” the premier explained.
Labels: Dawa party, Iraqi Islamic Party, KDP, Omar Abdul Sattar, PUK, SIIC
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Kurdistan Region Would Like Allawi’s Bloc To Join The “Four Party” Front
Politics
(Azzaman Newspaper) - 7 AUG - The Kurdistan region’s President, and KDP leader, Massoud Barzani, met (recently) with Ayad Allawi and they discussed the recent developments in the Iraqi political process, especially, the crisis which confronts the Al Maliki government, since the Accord Front decided to withdraw from this government.
Sources close to the Kurdistan President’s office said, “Barzani discussed the subject of Allawi joining the ‘four party front’.” [He was referring to the new political front which includes the KDP, PUK, SICI, and Dawa parties.] Fouad Hussein, spokesman for the Kurdistan region’s government, said, “The two sides (Allawi and Barzani) discussed the forming of this ‘fourth front’… which will remain open to fronts from all sides of the political process.”
The sources continued, “Kurdistan’s regional command (group) is working to (convince) Allawi to join this ‘fourth front’.” The ‘fourth front’, which is also known as “The Moderate Front”, is a new political bloc which is ‘supposed to’ include: the two main Kurdish parties (KDP and PUK) plus the SICI and Dawa Parties. This (new) Front is open to accepting other groups, into the Front, if those groups believe in the political process.
Yesterday, an Iraqi List source announced: former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, the leader of the Iraqi List, has ‘requested’ his List’s five Ministers (in Maliki’s Cabinet) to boycott the meetings of the Ministers’ Council… (This boycott is called for) as a condemnation of the ‘workings of this government’ (the Al Maliki Administration) which Allawi described as “sectarian”.
In related news, on Saturday, US President George Bush phoned (Kurdistan’s) President Barzani…they (the two men) shared their points of view regarding the current situation in Iraq. Barzani confirmed, to Bush, that he (Barzani) is working with Iraq’s leader in order to bring out of its current crisis. Barzani was expected to go to Baghdad, on Sunday, in order to participate in a meeting of ‘top-level’ political leaders.
Sources close to the Kurdistan President’s office said, “Barzani discussed the subject of Allawi joining the ‘four party front’.” [He was referring to the new political front which includes the KDP, PUK, SICI, and Dawa parties.] Fouad Hussein, spokesman for the Kurdistan region’s government, said, “The two sides (Allawi and Barzani) discussed the forming of this ‘fourth front’… which will remain open to fronts from all sides of the political process.”
The sources continued, “Kurdistan’s regional command (group) is working to (convince) Allawi to join this ‘fourth front’.” The ‘fourth front’, which is also known as “The Moderate Front”, is a new political bloc which is ‘supposed to’ include: the two main Kurdish parties (KDP and PUK) plus the SICI and Dawa Parties. This (new) Front is open to accepting other groups, into the Front, if those groups believe in the political process.
Yesterday, an Iraqi List source announced: former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, the leader of the Iraqi List, has ‘requested’ his List’s five Ministers (in Maliki’s Cabinet) to boycott the meetings of the Ministers’ Council… (This boycott is called for) as a condemnation of the ‘workings of this government’ (the Al Maliki Administration) which Allawi described as “sectarian”.
In related news, on Saturday, US President George Bush phoned (Kurdistan’s) President Barzani…they (the two men) shared their points of view regarding the current situation in Iraq. Barzani confirmed, to Bush, that he (Barzani) is working with Iraq’s leader in order to bring out of its current crisis. Barzani was expected to go to Baghdad, on Sunday, in order to participate in a meeting of ‘top-level’ political leaders.
Labels: Ayad Allawi, Dawa party, Four party front, Iraqi Accord Front, KDP, Massoud Barzani, PUK, SICI, The Moderate Front
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
KRG passes draft oil and gas law
Oil, Kurdistan
(Voices of Iraq) - Iraq's Kurdistan parliament passed on Monday the draft law of oil and gas concerning the northern Iraqi region after more than a month of debate. "Kurdistan parliament adopted today all articles concerning the region's oil and gas draft law after a debate that continued for eight extraordinary sessions," Kurdistan MP Ariz Abdullah told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
The 62-article-bill was endorsed after amendments were made to some articles, Abdullah said. Meanwhile, the media spokesman for the Kurdistan parliament Tareq Jawhar told VOI "following extensive discussions and crossing out five articles from the oil and gas draft law, the bill was passed in today's session."
The media spokesman added "the House also added two more articles to the adopted draft law concerning allocating part of the oil revenues to save environment and to families of victims killed under the previous regime." The 111-seat-Kurdistan parliament is composed of two major blocs, the Green represented by members of the Talabani-led Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Yellow represented by members of the Barazani-led Kurdistan Democratic Party.
The blocs were named after the colors they adopted during the first general election held in Kurdistan region in 1992. There is also another draft law on oil and gas in the whole country, which expected to be discussed in the Federal parliament in September after it will be back from recess. According to the presented oil draft law to the central parliament, there should be no contradiction between the oil law, if passed by the central parliament, and that adopted by regions, otherwise the law adopted by the Iraqi House will be the effective.
The draft oil and gas law for the management of oil resources is considered one of the most controversial issues in Iraq, and there are differences among political blocs on the law regarding the equitable distribution of revenue. The law, if approved by parliament, will give Iraqi and foreign investors the right to set up establishments and oil refineries and use them for 50 years.
Most of Iraq's known oil reserves are located in the Shiite-dominated south and the Kurdish north. Iraq sits on the world's third-largest oil reserves and officials have sought, since last year, to finalize the draft law. The law is vital for attracting foreign investment to Iraq, to boost its oil output and rebuild its economy. The Kurdistan regional government has signed several agreements with foreign companies regarding investments in the oil sector.
The 62-article-bill was endorsed after amendments were made to some articles, Abdullah said. Meanwhile, the media spokesman for the Kurdistan parliament Tareq Jawhar told VOI "following extensive discussions and crossing out five articles from the oil and gas draft law, the bill was passed in today's session."
The media spokesman added "the House also added two more articles to the adopted draft law concerning allocating part of the oil revenues to save environment and to families of victims killed under the previous regime." The 111-seat-Kurdistan parliament is composed of two major blocs, the Green represented by members of the Talabani-led Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Yellow represented by members of the Barazani-led Kurdistan Democratic Party.
The blocs were named after the colors they adopted during the first general election held in Kurdistan region in 1992. There is also another draft law on oil and gas in the whole country, which expected to be discussed in the Federal parliament in September after it will be back from recess. According to the presented oil draft law to the central parliament, there should be no contradiction between the oil law, if passed by the central parliament, and that adopted by regions, otherwise the law adopted by the Iraqi House will be the effective.
The draft oil and gas law for the management of oil resources is considered one of the most controversial issues in Iraq, and there are differences among political blocs on the law regarding the equitable distribution of revenue. The law, if approved by parliament, will give Iraqi and foreign investors the right to set up establishments and oil refineries and use them for 50 years.
Most of Iraq's known oil reserves are located in the Shiite-dominated south and the Kurdish north. Iraq sits on the world's third-largest oil reserves and officials have sought, since last year, to finalize the draft law. The law is vital for attracting foreign investment to Iraq, to boost its oil output and rebuild its economy. The Kurdistan regional government has signed several agreements with foreign companies regarding investments in the oil sector.
Labels: draft oil law, KDP, KRG, PUK
Friday, August 03, 2007
Islamic Group of Kurdistan suggest Sunnis participate in political alliance
Politics
(Kurdish Globe) - The head of the Islamic Group of Kurdistan (IGK) asks that Sunnis participate in any alliance among Kurds and Shiites. Ali Bapir, head of the IGK, said that the Council of Political Parties of Kurdistan does not agree that the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) should establish a moderate alliance only with the Shiites.
The reason, according to Bapir, is that "the Shiites' situation is not good and other parties may be suspect of this alliance." The Council of Political Parties of Kurdistan consists of six members, but it still doesn't contain any Turkmen or Kaldo-Assyrian parties. A member of Kurdistan Parliament, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that due to internal problems, the Turkmen and Kaldo-Assyrians have failed to elect their representatives for the council.
Dr. Fuad Hussein, head of Kurdistan Region's Presidency Office, stated that there is a plan to invite the Iraqi Islamic Party in case any new alliance is established. Meanwhile, Mohammed Faraj, a member of the political bureau of Kurdistan Islamic Union, whose party is a member of the Council of Political Parties, showed his unawareness about the content of the plan and said that they haven't seen the project yet.
A few months ago, Massoud Barzani, regional president of Kurdistan, headed a delegation to Baghdad, where he met with some parties that participate in the Iraqi government alongside Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi President. According to Hussein, the history of the issue dates back to that series of meetings and that has resumed.
"For the purpose of establishing this alliance, until now negotiations have been made with the Supreme Council of the Iraqi Revolution, Da'wa Party," Dr. Hussein said. "There are efforts to negotiate with the Islamic Party of Iraq." Stating that these plans have yet to be implemented, Dr. Hussein refuted that the former Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari's recent visit to Kurdistan was for that purpose. Jaafari, who is head of the Da'wa Party, visited Kurdistan Region in mid-July and met the political leadership of the region.
During his post as the Prime Minster of Iraq, Ibrahim Jaafari was accused of hindering the implementation of Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, which is about normalizing the situations in Kirkuk and other Arabized areas of the country and organizing a referendum at the end of this year. Allegedly, this very reason made the Kurds turn their backs on Jaffari.
Kurds attach a great importance to Article 140, since they hope the oil-rich city of Kirkuk again becomes part of Kurdistan Region. The referendum would be to decide whether people of Kirkuk are willing to be part of Kurdistan or not.
The reason, according to Bapir, is that "the Shiites' situation is not good and other parties may be suspect of this alliance." The Council of Political Parties of Kurdistan consists of six members, but it still doesn't contain any Turkmen or Kaldo-Assyrian parties. A member of Kurdistan Parliament, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that due to internal problems, the Turkmen and Kaldo-Assyrians have failed to elect their representatives for the council.
Dr. Fuad Hussein, head of Kurdistan Region's Presidency Office, stated that there is a plan to invite the Iraqi Islamic Party in case any new alliance is established. Meanwhile, Mohammed Faraj, a member of the political bureau of Kurdistan Islamic Union, whose party is a member of the Council of Political Parties, showed his unawareness about the content of the plan and said that they haven't seen the project yet.
A few months ago, Massoud Barzani, regional president of Kurdistan, headed a delegation to Baghdad, where he met with some parties that participate in the Iraqi government alongside Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi President. According to Hussein, the history of the issue dates back to that series of meetings and that has resumed.
"For the purpose of establishing this alliance, until now negotiations have been made with the Supreme Council of the Iraqi Revolution, Da'wa Party," Dr. Hussein said. "There are efforts to negotiate with the Islamic Party of Iraq." Stating that these plans have yet to be implemented, Dr. Hussein refuted that the former Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari's recent visit to Kurdistan was for that purpose. Jaafari, who is head of the Da'wa Party, visited Kurdistan Region in mid-July and met the political leadership of the region.
During his post as the Prime Minster of Iraq, Ibrahim Jaafari was accused of hindering the implementation of Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, which is about normalizing the situations in Kirkuk and other Arabized areas of the country and organizing a referendum at the end of this year. Allegedly, this very reason made the Kurds turn their backs on Jaffari.
Kurds attach a great importance to Article 140, since they hope the oil-rich city of Kirkuk again becomes part of Kurdistan Region. The referendum would be to decide whether people of Kirkuk are willing to be part of Kurdistan or not.
Labels: Ali Bapir, Council of Political Parties of Kurdistan, Dawa party, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, IGK, Islamic Group of Kurdistan, Kaldo-Assyrians, KDP, PUK, Shiite Turkmen
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
KDP, PUK agree on security accord
Politics
(RFE/RL) - Iraq's two main Kurdish parties -- the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan led by President Talabani and the Kurdistan Democratic Party headed by Mas'ud Barzani -- have agreed on a security accord, Al-Sharqiyah television reported on July 28. Talabani said details of the arrangement will be released soon, and stressed that the agreement will not marginalize other, smaller Kurdish parties. He said the agreement will instead help foster stronger relations between various Kurdish forces and parties. Regarding the possibility of a Turkish military incursion into northern Iraq, Barzani said, "We hope that the Turkish Justice and Development party's victory in the latest parliamentary elections will assist in bolstering friendship and good neighborly relations between us and Turkey, and end tensions in the area."
Iraq's Interior Ministry - "a federation of oligarchs"
Government
(Los Angeles Times) - Iraq's Ministry of Interior — the balkanized command center for the nation's police and mirror of the deadly factions that have caused the government here to grind nearly to a halt. The very language that Americans use to describe government — ministries, departments, agencies — belies the reality here of militias that kill under cover of police uniform and remain above the law.
Until recently, one or two Interior Ministry police officers were assassinated each week while arriving or leaving the building, probably by fellow officers, senior police officials say. That killing has been reduced, but Western diplomats still describe the Interior Ministry building as a "federation of oligarchs." Those who work in the building liken departments to hostile countries. Survival depends on keeping abreast of shifting factional alliances and turf.
On the second floor is Gen. Mahdi Gharrawi, a former national police commander. Last year, U.S. and Iraqi troops found 1,400 prisoners, mostly Sunnis, at a base he controlled in east Baghdad. Many showed signs of torture. The interior minister blocked an arrest warrant against the general this year, senior Iraqi officials confirmed.
The third- and fifth-floor administrative departments are the domain of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's Islamic Dawa Party, a Shiite group. The sixth, home to border enforcement and the major crimes unit, belongs to the Badr Organization militia. Its leader, Deputy Minister Ahmed Khafaji, is lauded by some Western officials as an efficient administrator and suspected by others of running secret prisons.
The seventh floor is intelligence, where the Badr Organization and armed Kurdish groups struggle for control. The ninth floor is shared by the department's inspector general and general counsel, religious Shiites. Their offices have been at the center of efforts to purge the department's remaining Sunni employees. The counsel's predecessor, a Sunni, was killed a year ago."They have some bad things on the ninth," says the colonel, a Sunni who, like other ministry officials, spoke on condition of anonymity to guard against retaliation.
The ministry's computer department is on the 10th floor. Two employees were arrested there in February on suspicion of smuggling in explosives, according to police and U.S. military officials. Some Iraqi and U.S. officials say the workers intended to store bombs there. Others say they were plotting to attack the U.S. advisors stationed directly above them on the top floor.
The factionalization of the ministry began quickly after Saddam Hussein's fall. As with most Iraqi government departments, deputy ministers were appointed to represent each of the country's main political parties. Deputies then distributed jobs among party stalwarts. The initial winners were the Kurdish Democratic Party and the two Shiite parties, Dawa and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, which sponsors the Badr Organization. The Kurdish party is one of two factions that control Iraq's northern provinces.
Sadr's Al Mahdi militia started late in the patronage game but has made significant inroads, particularly among the guard force that surrounds the ministry compound.Parties representing the Sunni minority, which controlled Iraq in Hussein's day, have been almost entirely purged from the ministry in the last two years. Three of the ministry's longest-serving Sunni generals have been killed in the last year.
Interior Minister Jawad Bolani, a Shiite leader who took office last summer, has attempted to repair the ministry's reputation. He has removed the leaders of eight of nine national police brigades and 17 of 27 police battalions, which have been accused of killings and mass kidnappings. But change has come slowly. "There is a lot of pressure, there is influence from everywhere, from everyone: political parties, religious groups, the government itself, from familial and tribal influences," said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Dana Pittard, who supervised the U.S. advisors to the national police until last month. "It would be very difficult for anybody to operate as a leader in this environment, and the Iraqis do," Pittard said.
No floor has posed more of a challenge than the seventh, which houses the intelligence division. In theory, the intelligence office should be key to tracking and combating the insurgents who bomb Iraq's streets and marketplaces and attack U.S. soldiers. Instead, the division has been hobbled by a power struggle between two of America's nominal allies in Iraq, the Kurds and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council. The fight came to a head earlier this year with a death threat against the Kurdish deputy minister in charge of intelligence, Hussein Ali Kamal.
The Kurdish leader, who controls the eastern wing of the floor, was battling for control of the intelligence apparatus with his deputy, a Badr militia commander who dominates the western side. Several months ago, U.S. advisors warned Kamal that his life was in danger, most probably from the Badr militia, and advised him to stay in the Green Zone, away from the ministry building in east Baghdad. He stayed out of the ministry for several weeks. The Shiite deputy, Basheer Wandi, better known as Engineer Ahmed, was appointed in the spring of 2005. Around the same time, Shiite militias began aggressive efforts to target and kill Sunnis in Baghdad, often using police cover to detain Sunnis in secret prisons and carry out assassinations.
Kamal, the Kurdish deputy minister, says he believes the ministry has started reining in Shiite militias but knows suspect figures still operate openly in the ministry, including Gen. Gharrawi on the second floor. Even the remaining Sunni members of the police force respect Bolani for trying to rein in the ministry. But they know he depends on a web of fragile political alliances and wonder whether any political figure can undo the effects of several years of recruiting hard-line militia members to the ministry. "Even if they brought the prophet Muhammad or Jesus, they couldn't control them," said a senior ministry official. "They have an agenda. They follow their parties."
Labels: Ahmed Khafaji, Badr Corps, Basheer Wandi, Brig. Gen. Dana Pittard, Dawa party, Engineer Ahmed, Gen. Mahdi Gharrawi, Hussein Ali Kamal, Jawad Bolani, KDP, Mahdi Army, Ministry of Interior, SIIC
Friday, July 27, 2007
PUK, KDP fall out over draft oil law
Oil, Politics, Kurdistan
Azzaman - The two main Kurdish factions ruling northern Iraq are on collision course regarding the way to approach the controversial oil draft law. The differences surfaced in a parliamentary session during which deputies representing the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, a faction led by President Jalal Talabani, left the assembly in protest.
The 111-member Kurdish parliament was debating the draft and the legislators of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Massoud Barzan, current head of the Kurdish region, wanted to push for its approval. The draft has yet to be approved by the Iraqi parliament but no date has been set for its debate in Baghdad amid mounting criticism of some of its terms.
PUK deputies and leaders fear the approval of the law while it is still debated by the central government might strain relations with Baghdad. While KDP officials say they need to pass the legislation so that they will not be bound by Iraqi parliament’s amendments to the draft law. But any contradiction between the two versions is certain to plunge in the country into a constitutional crisis.
The row comes as the Iraqi parliament has approved another draft law which permits foreign companies to construct refineries in the country. The Kurds have already defied the central government by letting foreign firms explore for oil and build small-scale refineries in their semi-independent region.
Oil has become a sensitive and divisive issue in Iraq as the country’s various ethnic and sectarian groups vie to have a say in the collection and distribution of royalties as well as exploration. Iraq has massive oil riches, estimated at 115 billion barrels of proven reserves. The country’s most prolific oil fields are situation in the south where more than 60 percent of reserves lies.
Other massive oil fields are to be found in the region of the disputed city of Kirkuk which the Kurds would like to add to their enclave. The central part of the country where the Iraqi Sunnis dominate is among the country’s poorest in reserves. The Sunnis now make the backbone of anti-U.S. resistance in Iraq.
The 111-member Kurdish parliament was debating the draft and the legislators of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Massoud Barzan, current head of the Kurdish region, wanted to push for its approval. The draft has yet to be approved by the Iraqi parliament but no date has been set for its debate in Baghdad amid mounting criticism of some of its terms.
PUK deputies and leaders fear the approval of the law while it is still debated by the central government might strain relations with Baghdad. While KDP officials say they need to pass the legislation so that they will not be bound by Iraqi parliament’s amendments to the draft law. But any contradiction between the two versions is certain to plunge in the country into a constitutional crisis.
The row comes as the Iraqi parliament has approved another draft law which permits foreign companies to construct refineries in the country. The Kurds have already defied the central government by letting foreign firms explore for oil and build small-scale refineries in their semi-independent region.
Oil has become a sensitive and divisive issue in Iraq as the country’s various ethnic and sectarian groups vie to have a say in the collection and distribution of royalties as well as exploration. Iraq has massive oil riches, estimated at 115 billion barrels of proven reserves. The country’s most prolific oil fields are situation in the south where more than 60 percent of reserves lies.
Other massive oil fields are to be found in the region of the disputed city of Kirkuk which the Kurds would like to add to their enclave. The central part of the country where the Iraqi Sunnis dominate is among the country’s poorest in reserves. The Sunnis now make the backbone of anti-U.S. resistance in Iraq.
Labels: draft oil law, Jalal Talabani, KDP, Massoud Barzani, PUK
Monday, July 02, 2007
Sadr Movement Rejects New Political Entity
Politics
(Al Mashriq Newspaper) - 1 JUL - The Sadr Movement has rejected the new political front project that consists of SICI, Dawa Party, PUK, and the KDP. The Sadr Movement Parliament chief, Nassar Al Rubaie said, “This alliance will fail due to the objection of many entities and Parliament members. The current Iraqi situation is not the right time for marginalization. This marginalization will damage the political process. These alliances are based on narrow and private interests. There are old alliances that should be respected by others. These new alliances intend to divide the old alliances and start new alliances by marginalizing others.”
Labels: Dawa party, KDP, Nassar Al Rubaie, new political front, PUK, Sadr movement, SICI
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Kurds call for adoption of their national reconciliation plan for other parts of Iraq
Security
(Voices of Iraq) - A member of the Kurdistan Coalition parliamentary bloc called on Monday political parties and blocs to adopt Kurdistan's national reconciliation experiment, considering it valid for application in other parts of Iraq. "It was an initiative from the two main parties in Kurdistan: Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (PDK), which showed flexibility and presented different kind of concessions," legislator Nouzad Refaat Saleh told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
"The initiative succeeded in Kurdistan thanks to the effort made by the two major parties in the region," he added. The Iraqi government will hold a special conference for political parties and blocs within the national reconciliation project next month.
The government had held two conferences related to the national reconciliation, the first was for the national forces and political movements and the second for the former Iraqi army's senior officers."The reconciliation conference, to be held in June, is a good initiative, but we hope to be fruitful and positive," Saleh also said.
"We hope that all participants would determine their actual position regarding the Iraqi cause and cooperate to provide the best for Iraqis," the Kurdish lawmaker noted. "All parties have to mild their positions and to be more flexible for the good of Iraqi people," he emphasized. He described talks between Iran and U.S. regarding the situation in Iraq at the end of the running month as "fragile", noting that disputes between Iran and U.S. are deeply rooted and agreement between two sides vis-à-vis the Iraqi issue is difficult.
There were two administrations since 1991 until 2006 in Iraq's Kurdistan region. The first administration was based in Arbil under the present Iraq's Kurdistan region while the other was in Sulaimaniya under the present Iraq President Jalal al-Talabani. Last year, the two major Kurdish parties agreed to unite the two administrations under one government with Arbil be the capital of the region. Iraq's Kurdistan region comprises provinces of Arbil, Sulaimaniya and Duhuk in northern Iraq.
"The initiative succeeded in Kurdistan thanks to the effort made by the two major parties in the region," he added. The Iraqi government will hold a special conference for political parties and blocs within the national reconciliation project next month.
The government had held two conferences related to the national reconciliation, the first was for the national forces and political movements and the second for the former Iraqi army's senior officers."The reconciliation conference, to be held in June, is a good initiative, but we hope to be fruitful and positive," Saleh also said.
"We hope that all participants would determine their actual position regarding the Iraqi cause and cooperate to provide the best for Iraqis," the Kurdish lawmaker noted. "All parties have to mild their positions and to be more flexible for the good of Iraqi people," he emphasized. He described talks between Iran and U.S. regarding the situation in Iraq at the end of the running month as "fragile", noting that disputes between Iran and U.S. are deeply rooted and agreement between two sides vis-à-vis the Iraqi issue is difficult.
There were two administrations since 1991 until 2006 in Iraq's Kurdistan region. The first administration was based in Arbil under the present Iraq's Kurdistan region while the other was in Sulaimaniya under the present Iraq President Jalal al-Talabani. Last year, the two major Kurdish parties agreed to unite the two administrations under one government with Arbil be the capital of the region. Iraq's Kurdistan region comprises provinces of Arbil, Sulaimaniya and Duhuk in northern Iraq.
Labels: KDP, national reconciliation project, PUK
Thursday, May 17, 2007
The growing threat facing Kurdistan
Kurdistan, Security
(RFE/RL) - Two high-profile bomb attacks targeting Kurdish institutions this month have drawn attention to security in the region, which had escaped much of the violence plaguing other areas in Iraq. But threats against the Kurds from Al-Qaeda and other insurgent groups have been growing.
The Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility for both attacks in Internet postings. In a statement on the May 9 attack, the Al-Qaeda-affiliated group said the attack came "in response to the participation of the apostate peshmerga forces with the Safawi [a reference to the Shi'ite-led government in Iraq] government of [Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri] al-Maliki in the so-called 'Baghdad law enforcement plan.'"
Addressing Kurdistan region President Mas'ud Barzani and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, the group promised more attacks, adding, "We will not stop attacking you until you withdraw your mercenaries from the Baghdad province and cease to support the Crusaders [U.S.-led coalition forces] and the Safawis."
The Islamic State of Iraq first warned Kurdish soldiers against taking part in the Baghdad security plan in January. "We tell you that the martyrs brigades of the Islamic State of Iraq, particularly the Ansar martyrs [a reference to the terrorist group Ansar Al-Islam, whose bases in Kurdistan were crushed by a U.S. bombing campaign in the opening days of the war] cannot wait to confront you as to speed your arrival in hell," an Internet statement said.
The Kata'ib Kurdistan (Kurdistan Brigades), a group that pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda in March, also claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted to the Ansar Al-Islam website, the news website Kurdish Aspect reported on May 10. The brigades are reportedly part of Ansar Al-Islam, which is aligned with Al-Qaeda.
According to Kurdish Aspect, a source from within the Kurdish peshmerga said that Ansar Al-Islam and the Ansar Al-Sunnah Army are reorganizing their ranks and deploying their forces along the Iran-Iraq border. Kurdish leaders have also attributed recent attacks against Kurdish forces in the town of Penjwin to Ansar Al-Islam, saying the group moves freely across the Iran-Iraq border. Kurdish security sources told local media that the KRG was on alert for a terrorist attack in the days preceding the two incidents, based on intelligence that included detained terrorists' confessions, as well as the discovery of weapons caches.
Observations of websites and forums frequented by insurgents in Iraq and their supporters suggest that indeed, the Islamic State of Iraq and Ansar Al-Islam/Sunnah are attempting to gain a foothold on areas in the north. Apart from their stated claim of seeking retribution against the Kurds, their presence in the north would provide them with a valuable gateway for foreign fighters and supplies through the porous Iran-Iraq border.
The resurgence of insurgent activity in Kurdistan can be seen in the plethora of statements appearing on insurgent websites and forums in recent weeks, and Kata'ib Kurdistan has issued at least one video documenting its attacks. Moreover, Kurdish-language statements have appeared on forum websites with increasing frequency, suggesting insurgents may be trying to recruit Kurdish fighters to join their cause.
The frequency of attacks against Kurdish targets both in the Kurdish region and neighboring governorates to the south suggest that Kurds will remain under fire for some time to come. The potential consequences of an Al-Qaeda/Ansar campaign would be devastating to the region's economy, stability and governance. It could prompt Turkey to carry out plans for a large-scale incursion into Iraqi Kurdistan to hunt down PKK militants based there. Or worse yet, Turkey might take steps to secure Turkoman control over Kirkuk, a move that would evoke a violent reaction from Iraqi Kurds.
The Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility for both attacks in Internet postings. In a statement on the May 9 attack, the Al-Qaeda-affiliated group said the attack came "in response to the participation of the apostate peshmerga forces with the Safawi [a reference to the Shi'ite-led government in Iraq] government of [Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri] al-Maliki in the so-called 'Baghdad law enforcement plan.'"
Addressing Kurdistan region President Mas'ud Barzani and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, the group promised more attacks, adding, "We will not stop attacking you until you withdraw your mercenaries from the Baghdad province and cease to support the Crusaders [U.S.-led coalition forces] and the Safawis."
The Islamic State of Iraq first warned Kurdish soldiers against taking part in the Baghdad security plan in January. "We tell you that the martyrs brigades of the Islamic State of Iraq, particularly the Ansar martyrs [a reference to the terrorist group Ansar Al-Islam, whose bases in Kurdistan were crushed by a U.S. bombing campaign in the opening days of the war] cannot wait to confront you as to speed your arrival in hell," an Internet statement said.
The Kata'ib Kurdistan (Kurdistan Brigades), a group that pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda in March, also claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted to the Ansar Al-Islam website, the news website Kurdish Aspect reported on May 10. The brigades are reportedly part of Ansar Al-Islam, which is aligned with Al-Qaeda.
According to Kurdish Aspect, a source from within the Kurdish peshmerga said that Ansar Al-Islam and the Ansar Al-Sunnah Army are reorganizing their ranks and deploying their forces along the Iran-Iraq border. Kurdish leaders have also attributed recent attacks against Kurdish forces in the town of Penjwin to Ansar Al-Islam, saying the group moves freely across the Iran-Iraq border. Kurdish security sources told local media that the KRG was on alert for a terrorist attack in the days preceding the two incidents, based on intelligence that included detained terrorists' confessions, as well as the discovery of weapons caches.
Observations of websites and forums frequented by insurgents in Iraq and their supporters suggest that indeed, the Islamic State of Iraq and Ansar Al-Islam/Sunnah are attempting to gain a foothold on areas in the north. Apart from their stated claim of seeking retribution against the Kurds, their presence in the north would provide them with a valuable gateway for foreign fighters and supplies through the porous Iran-Iraq border.
The resurgence of insurgent activity in Kurdistan can be seen in the plethora of statements appearing on insurgent websites and forums in recent weeks, and Kata'ib Kurdistan has issued at least one video documenting its attacks. Moreover, Kurdish-language statements have appeared on forum websites with increasing frequency, suggesting insurgents may be trying to recruit Kurdish fighters to join their cause.
The frequency of attacks against Kurdish targets both in the Kurdish region and neighboring governorates to the south suggest that Kurds will remain under fire for some time to come. The potential consequences of an Al-Qaeda/Ansar campaign would be devastating to the region's economy, stability and governance. It could prompt Turkey to carry out plans for a large-scale incursion into Iraqi Kurdistan to hunt down PKK militants based there. Or worse yet, Turkey might take steps to secure Turkoman control over Kirkuk, a move that would evoke a violent reaction from Iraqi Kurds.
Labels: Ansar al-Islam, Ansar al-Sunnah, bomb attacks, Iran, Islamic State of Iraq, Jalal Talabani, Kata'ib Kurdistan, KDP, KRG, Kurdistan, Kurdistan Brigades, Massoud Barzani, Peshmerga
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Sunni armed groups flee from Anbar to Mosul
Insurgency
(Kurdish Globe) - As tribal leaders and Sheiks in Anbar Province declare war on Al-Qaeda and other Iraqi Sunni armed groups battle them, Al-Qaeda is heading to Mosul Province, as witnessed by the increasing level of violence in the northern Iraq region. A member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party's (KDP) headquarters in Mosul city stated that insurgents distributed threatening leaflets there on Saturday, May 5, stating that they will launch attacks on Kurdish political party offices in the city.
"They (insurgents) said they will attack the offices belonging to Kurdish political parties, assassinate Kurdish officials, and launch suicide attacks on Kurdish checkpoints in the city," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the subject. Massoud Barzani, the President of Kurdistan Region, leads the KDP. According to the source, the same day the threatening leaflets were distributed an unknown gunmen killed a Kurdish citizen in the Arbaji neighborhood in Mosul, and the body of a Kurdish citizen was found after unknown gunmen in Shangal district kidnapped him.
Ali Karim, a Kurd, who fled from Mosul city three months ago due to attacks and threats against Kurdish people in the city, accuses former members of Baath Party and Arabs from other countries of attacking Kurds in the city. "Former Members of Baath Party and Arabs from other countries are responsible for most of the majority horrific attacks; they don't have any faith for the city and Iraq," said Karim in an angry tone.
Last month, on April 26, double suicide car bombs and an insurgent wearing a suicide belt attacked two KDP offices in the Zumar area, 50 km northwest of Mosul city, killing 3 and wounding 13 Peshmergas (Kurdish fighters).
An official at the Joint Coordination Office in Mosul Province stated that, during the last week, a suicide car bomb exploded, 64 unidentified bodies were found, 29 roadside bombs exploded, 23 mortar shells reigned mostly on security centers in the city, and 23 clashes erupted between Iraqi forces and unknown gunmen. The source did not mention the number of statistical dead and wounded and assassination operations by acts of violence in the city during the current week and last week.
Additionally in April, said the source, 241 unidentified bodies were found in Mosul Province, 137 roadside bomb exploded, 123 armed accidents occurred, 93 clashes erupted between Iraqi forces and armed groups, 14 car bombs exploded, and 9 kidnapping cases were reported.
Brigadier Salim al Hajj, head of Mosul City Council, said that the level of violence in Mosul Province has risen because tribal leaders in Anbar Province have declared war against terrorist groups, particularly Al-Qaeda, causing most of the terrorists to flee Anbar Province and head to Mosul Province. Insurgents accuse the Kurds, particularly Kurdish political parties and Peshmerga forces, of being American allies.
"They (insurgents) said they will attack the offices belonging to Kurdish political parties, assassinate Kurdish officials, and launch suicide attacks on Kurdish checkpoints in the city," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the subject. Massoud Barzani, the President of Kurdistan Region, leads the KDP. According to the source, the same day the threatening leaflets were distributed an unknown gunmen killed a Kurdish citizen in the Arbaji neighborhood in Mosul, and the body of a Kurdish citizen was found after unknown gunmen in Shangal district kidnapped him.
Ali Karim, a Kurd, who fled from Mosul city three months ago due to attacks and threats against Kurdish people in the city, accuses former members of Baath Party and Arabs from other countries of attacking Kurds in the city. "Former Members of Baath Party and Arabs from other countries are responsible for most of the majority horrific attacks; they don't have any faith for the city and Iraq," said Karim in an angry tone.
Last month, on April 26, double suicide car bombs and an insurgent wearing a suicide belt attacked two KDP offices in the Zumar area, 50 km northwest of Mosul city, killing 3 and wounding 13 Peshmergas (Kurdish fighters).
An official at the Joint Coordination Office in Mosul Province stated that, during the last week, a suicide car bomb exploded, 64 unidentified bodies were found, 29 roadside bombs exploded, 23 mortar shells reigned mostly on security centers in the city, and 23 clashes erupted between Iraqi forces and unknown gunmen. The source did not mention the number of statistical dead and wounded and assassination operations by acts of violence in the city during the current week and last week.
Additionally in April, said the source, 241 unidentified bodies were found in Mosul Province, 137 roadside bomb exploded, 123 armed accidents occurred, 93 clashes erupted between Iraqi forces and armed groups, 14 car bombs exploded, and 9 kidnapping cases were reported.
Brigadier Salim al Hajj, head of Mosul City Council, said that the level of violence in Mosul Province has risen because tribal leaders in Anbar Province have declared war against terrorist groups, particularly Al-Qaeda, causing most of the terrorists to flee Anbar Province and head to Mosul Province. Insurgents accuse the Kurds, particularly Kurdish political parties and Peshmerga forces, of being American allies.
Labels: Al Anbar, Baathists, Brigadier Salim al Hajj, KDP, Mosul, Sunni militants
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Political parties in Kurdistan targeted by insurgent groups
Security, Politics
(Azzaman) - Kurdish political factions operating in the Sunni Arab-dominated Province of Nineveh have become a main target for attacks by insurgent groups in the area. In the past few weeks, offices of Kurdish parties which are heavily protected by Kurdish peshmerga or militias were hit by a series of car bomb attacks in which scores of Kurdish fighters were killed and many injured.
The insurgents have so far destroyed three main offices of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of the Massoud Barazin, the president of the Kurdish region. The Kurds have extended their influence and control to the peripheries of Mosul, the provincial capital. Kurdish militias patrol the city’s outlying towns and villages and set up checkpoint on main roads leading to it. Mosul is a major insurgent stronghold and insurgent leaders fear Kurdish practices might choke their supply routes.
A senior Kurdish official is number two in Nineveh provincial council to represent a sizeable Kurdish community in the city. The official, Khisro Koran, a senior KDP member and deputy governor of Nineveh, said the attacks were meant to “embroil the Kurds in the current sectarian fighting” in the country. He said Kurds in Mosul and other areas were being subjected “to a campaign of liquidation,” forcing thousands of them to flee. The insurgents operate conspicuously in Mosul and kidnap or kill officials or residents who do not heed their instructions.
The insurgents have so far destroyed three main offices of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of the Massoud Barazin, the president of the Kurdish region. The Kurds have extended their influence and control to the peripheries of Mosul, the provincial capital. Kurdish militias patrol the city’s outlying towns and villages and set up checkpoint on main roads leading to it. Mosul is a major insurgent stronghold and insurgent leaders fear Kurdish practices might choke their supply routes.
A senior Kurdish official is number two in Nineveh provincial council to represent a sizeable Kurdish community in the city. The official, Khisro Koran, a senior KDP member and deputy governor of Nineveh, said the attacks were meant to “embroil the Kurds in the current sectarian fighting” in the country. He said Kurds in Mosul and other areas were being subjected “to a campaign of liquidation,” forcing thousands of them to flee. The insurgents operate conspicuously in Mosul and kidnap or kill officials or residents who do not heed their instructions.
Labels: car bombs, insurgent groups, KDP, Khisro Koran, Kurdish parties, Ninevah, Peshmerga
Yazidi rioters attack KDP offices
Security
(AINA) - Hundreds of Yazidi rioters attacked the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the towns of Khana Sor and Jazira, west of Mosul, and took down the Kurdish flag and burned it, according to several Kurdish and Yazidi websites. The attacks came during a massive demonstration by the Yazidi community Friday protesting the threats against Yazidi workers in Erbil, Dohuk and Zakho, and recent religious edicts by Kurdish clerics sanctioning attacks against Yazidis, according to eyewitness accounts. Demonstrators pelted guards and Peshmerga forces with stones, and some stormed into the KDP headquarters destroying windows and furniture and setting several vehicles near the building on fire. Peshmerga troops reportedly opened fire and wounded three demonstrators, according to the Ezidi Inqad Movement.
Ninewa Deputy Governor Khisro Guran told the Peyamner News Agency Saturday that members of an armed group called the Yazidi Reform and Progress Movement, which he described a "Ba'athist" group stirring chaos in Yazidi towns, attacked the KDP headquarters in Seba Sheikh Khidr, a village in the Qahtaniya district west of Mosul, and set it on fire late Friday.
Yazidi workers and students residing in the Kurdish autonomous region had received death threats, and angry Kurdish rioters almost broke into a hotel full of Yazidi workers in Erbil before security forces intervened several days ago. The Bahzani website reported that two Yazidi men were killed in Mosul by unknown gunmen.
Ninewa Deputy Governor Khisro Guran told the Peyamner News Agency Saturday that members of an armed group called the Yazidi Reform and Progress Movement, which he described a "Ba'athist" group stirring chaos in Yazidi towns, attacked the KDP headquarters in Seba Sheikh Khidr, a village in the Qahtaniya district west of Mosul, and set it on fire late Friday.
Yazidi workers and students residing in the Kurdish autonomous region had received death threats, and angry Kurdish rioters almost broke into a hotel full of Yazidi workers in Erbil before security forces intervened several days ago. The Bahzani website reported that two Yazidi men were killed in Mosul by unknown gunmen.
Leaders of the Yazidi community, a tiny Gnostic sect in northern Iraq, Turkey and Syria that combines Islamic teachings with ancient Babylonian and Persian religions, had condemned the crime against the young Yazidi woman, and denied that it was in response to her alleged conversion to Islam, as Kurdish websites had reported. Tahsin Beg Sa'eed Ali, the Emir of the Yazidi sect and head of the Higher Yazidi Spiritual Council, had strongly condemned an incident where a Yazidi girl converted to Islam and was killed, and called for restraint in a press statement on April 27. His residence and the Yazidi Cultural Center in Ain Sifni, east of Mosul, were reportedly attacked and burned down by Kurds last week.
Iraqi police in Ba'shiqa said that two people who participated in stoning the young girl were detained and that two of the girls's uncles and four other people had fled the town while investigators continue to search for the rest of the culprits, including the girl's brother, who had appeared in a cell phone video recording of the murder, which was widely circulated on the Internet. Aswad's corpse was exhumed and sent to the Medico-legal Institute in Mosul several days ago before it was returned to the Sheikh Shams cemetery, medical sources told a Kurdish newspaper yesterday, but they did not disclose the results.
Iraqi police in Ba'shiqa said that two people who participated in stoning the young girl were detained and that two of the girls's uncles and four other people had fled the town while investigators continue to search for the rest of the culprits, including the girl's brother, who had appeared in a cell phone video recording of the murder, which was widely circulated on the Internet. Aswad's corpse was exhumed and sent to the Medico-legal Institute in Mosul several days ago before it was returned to the Sheikh Shams cemetery, medical sources told a Kurdish newspaper yesterday, but they did not disclose the results.
Labels: Ezidi Inqad Movement, Jazira, KDP, Khana Sor, Khisro Guran, Tahsin Beg Sa'eed Ali, Yazidi Cultural Center, Yazidi Reform and Progress Movement, Yazidis
Friday, April 27, 2007
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
Thursday, April 26, 2007
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
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
Monday, April 23, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
(Reuters) - Security developments in Iraq as of 1130 GMT on Monday:
* denotes new or updated item.
BAQUBA - A suicide car bomber attacked a gathering of senior police officials in the city of Baquba, killing 10 policemen and wounding 23, police said. Police chief Brigadier-General Safaa al-Timimi was killed in the blast.
NEAR MOSUL - At least 10 people were killed and 20 wounded when a suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into the office of the Democratic Party of Kurdistan (PDK) of Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani near Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - Six people were killed and 14 wounded when a suicide bomber blew up in a restaurant near the entrance to the heavily fortified Green Zone that houses the U.S. embassy and Iraqi government offices, police said.
* BAGHDAD - A car bomb killed one person and wounded four others in a parking lot across the road from the Iranian embassy in Baghdad, police said. The embassy was not damaged.
* MOSUL - Gunmen killed traffic police Colonel Abdul Muhsin Hassan in the northern city of Mosul, police said.
* BAGHDAD - Iraqi army killed seven insurgents during the last 24 hours in different parts of Iraq, the Defence Ministry said.
* NEAR MAHAWEEL - A roadside bomb exploded near a civilian car and wounded three people near the town of Mahaweel, 70 km (50 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
* BAGHDAD - Gunmen opened fire at a U.S. patrol while trying to emplace cement barriers in Ur neighbourhood in northern Baghdad, a Reuters photographer said.
SHIRQAT - The bodies of three police officers were found shot in the town of Shirqat, 80 km (50 miles) south of Mosul, police said. They were kidnapped on Sunday.
ISKANDARIYA - Gunmen attacked a police patrol, killing a policeman and wounded another in Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
ISKANDARIYA - Gunmen killed a man and a girl on Sunday in the town of Iskandariya, police said.
BAGHDAD - Gunmen killed one person and wounded three others in a random shooting on Sunday in the southern Saidiya district of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - Police found 11 bodies across Baghdad on Sunday.
* denotes new or updated item.
BAQUBA - A suicide car bomber attacked a gathering of senior police officials in the city of Baquba, killing 10 policemen and wounding 23, police said. Police chief Brigadier-General Safaa al-Timimi was killed in the blast.
NEAR MOSUL - At least 10 people were killed and 20 wounded when a suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into the office of the Democratic Party of Kurdistan (PDK) of Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani near Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - Six people were killed and 14 wounded when a suicide bomber blew up in a restaurant near the entrance to the heavily fortified Green Zone that houses the U.S. embassy and Iraqi government offices, police said.
* BAGHDAD - A car bomb killed one person and wounded four others in a parking lot across the road from the Iranian embassy in Baghdad, police said. The embassy was not damaged.
* MOSUL - Gunmen killed traffic police Colonel Abdul Muhsin Hassan in the northern city of Mosul, police said.
* BAGHDAD - Iraqi army killed seven insurgents during the last 24 hours in different parts of Iraq, the Defence Ministry said.
* NEAR MAHAWEEL - A roadside bomb exploded near a civilian car and wounded three people near the town of Mahaweel, 70 km (50 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
* BAGHDAD - Gunmen opened fire at a U.S. patrol while trying to emplace cement barriers in Ur neighbourhood in northern Baghdad, a Reuters photographer said.
SHIRQAT - The bodies of three police officers were found shot in the town of Shirqat, 80 km (50 miles) south of Mosul, police said. They were kidnapped on Sunday.
ISKANDARIYA - Gunmen attacked a police patrol, killing a policeman and wounded another in Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
ISKANDARIYA - Gunmen killed a man and a girl on Sunday in the town of Iskandariya, police said.
BAGHDAD - Gunmen killed one person and wounded three others in a random shooting on Sunday in the southern Saidiya district of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - Police found 11 bodies across Baghdad on Sunday.
Labels: Baghdad, Baqouba, Colonel Abdul Muhsin Hassan, gunmen, Iskandariyah, KDP, Mosul, policemen, Shirqat, suicide bombings
Suicide bomb attacks across Iraq kill 27
Security
(AP) - Three suicide bombers launched attacks in different parts of Iraq on Monday, killing at least 27 people and wounding nearly 60 on Monday, police and politicians said. A parked car bomb also exploded outside the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad, killing one civilian, and a drive-by shooting wounded two guards at Tunisia's Embassy in the capital, police said.
Monday's first suicide car bomb attack occurred near the northern city of Mosul at 10:10 a.m. when a suicide attacker detonated his car in front of an office of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Massoud Barzani, leader of the autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq, an official with the group said. At least 10 people were killed and 20 wounded in the attack in Tal Uskuf, a predominantly Christian town 9 miles north of Mosul, said Abdul-Ghani Ali, a KDP official. A witness said residents were in deep shock because it was the first terrorist attack in their tight-knit community since the Iraq war started.
A suicide car bomber also struck a police station in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, at about 11 a.m., killing at least 10 people and wounding 23, police said. In central Baghdad, a bomber wearing an explosives belt blew himself up in an Iraqi restaurant in the mixed Shiite-Sunni neighborhood of Karradah Mariam, killing at least seven people and wounding 16, police said. The attack occurred at about 11 a.m. less than 100 yards outside the heavily fortified Green Zone, home to the U.S. and British embassies and the Iraqi government's headquarters. At the time, Ryan Crocker, who became the new U.S. ambassador in Iraq about a month ago, was giving a news conference in the Green Zone.
The Iranian Embassy also is located in Karradah Mariam, and a parked car bomb exploded in a parking lot near it at about 12 noon, killing one civilian and wounding another, said Iraqi police. At about 11:30 a.m., drive-by shooters opened fire on guards outside the Tunisian Embassy in the mostly Sunni district of Mansour in western Baghdad, wounding two of them, police said.
Monday's first suicide car bomb attack occurred near the northern city of Mosul at 10:10 a.m. when a suicide attacker detonated his car in front of an office of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Massoud Barzani, leader of the autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq, an official with the group said. At least 10 people were killed and 20 wounded in the attack in Tal Uskuf, a predominantly Christian town 9 miles north of Mosul, said Abdul-Ghani Ali, a KDP official. A witness said residents were in deep shock because it was the first terrorist attack in their tight-knit community since the Iraq war started.
A suicide car bomber also struck a police station in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, at about 11 a.m., killing at least 10 people and wounding 23, police said. In central Baghdad, a bomber wearing an explosives belt blew himself up in an Iraqi restaurant in the mixed Shiite-Sunni neighborhood of Karradah Mariam, killing at least seven people and wounding 16, police said. The attack occurred at about 11 a.m. less than 100 yards outside the heavily fortified Green Zone, home to the U.S. and British embassies and the Iraqi government's headquarters. At the time, Ryan Crocker, who became the new U.S. ambassador in Iraq about a month ago, was giving a news conference in the Green Zone.
The Iranian Embassy also is located in Karradah Mariam, and a parked car bomb exploded in a parking lot near it at about 12 noon, killing one civilian and wounding another, said Iraqi police. At about 11:30 a.m., drive-by shooters opened fire on guards outside the Tunisian Embassy in the mostly Sunni district of Mansour in western Baghdad, wounding two of them, police said.
Labels: Abdul-Ghani Ali, Baghdad, Baqouba, Iranian embassy, Iraq, Karradah Mariam, KDP, Mosul, police station, suicide bombings
Monday, April 09, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
(Reuters) - Security developments in Iraq as of 1050 GMT on Monday (follow the link for further information):
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 17 people, some bearing signs of torture, were found across Baghdad during the past 24 hours, police said. Many of the bodies are thought to be victims of sectarian violence.
KHALIS - Gunmen assassinated Jalal al-Daini, a tribal leader, in the town of Khalis, 80 km (60 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
KIRKUK - Police said they found the body of a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) who was stabbed to death near the northern city of Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad.
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
NAJAF - Tens of thousands of Iraqis converged on the city of Najaf to denounce the U.S.-led occupation on the fourth anniversary of the occupation in Iraq.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 17 people, some bearing signs of torture, were found across Baghdad during the past 24 hours, police said. Many of the bodies are thought to be victims of sectarian violence.
KHALIS - Gunmen assassinated Jalal al-Daini, a tribal leader, in the town of Khalis, 80 km (60 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
KIRKUK - Police said they found the body of a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) who was stabbed to death near the northern city of Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad.
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
NAJAF - Tens of thousands of Iraqis converged on the city of Najaf to denounce the U.S.-led occupation on the fourth anniversary of the occupation in Iraq.
Labels: assassination, Baghdad, bodies, Jalal al-Daini, KDP, Khalis, Kirkuk, Najaf, tribal leader
