Monday, September 10, 2007
Prominent Sadr Movement Member Assassinated
Security
(Al Mashriq Newspaper) - 9 SEP - On Saturday, IPs said that an explosion in Kufa Market killed five and injured eight. The local hospital mentioned that four were killed and six were injured. A police source said that a bomb was placed on the road and that caused the explosion, while other sources said that the bomb was thrown. Kufa is one of three holy cities for Shiites in Iraq. It is located south of Baghdad.
On the other hand, the IPs announced that unidentified gunmen assassinated one of Muqtada Al Sadr’s assistants in Najaf. Najaf Police Chief, Brigadier General Abdul Karim Mustafa said unidentified gunmen assassinated Sheikh Mohammed Al Karawi [Iraqi dialect- Garawi], the manager of Najaf Tribal Relations Office in the Sadr Movement, in front of his house in Najaf. Gen. Mustafa added that the assassination was conducted Friday afternoon in front of Al Karawi’s house in the Al Jamiaa area in northern Najaf. The gunmen escaped. Mustafa added, “We have surrounded the entire neighborhood and the search continues to pursue, and we will arrest the criminals.”
A source in the Sadr Office confirmed the incident and demanded an investigation as to who was behind this incident. Al Karawi was responsible for tribal affairs in the Sadr office. Najaf has recently witnessed many assassinations of religious authority’s aides and political movement members. The three latest assassinations were of senior religious cleric Ali Sistani’s aides during the past three months.
On the other hand, the IPs announced that unidentified gunmen assassinated one of Muqtada Al Sadr’s assistants in Najaf. Najaf Police Chief, Brigadier General Abdul Karim Mustafa said unidentified gunmen assassinated Sheikh Mohammed Al Karawi [Iraqi dialect- Garawi], the manager of Najaf Tribal Relations Office in the Sadr Movement, in front of his house in Najaf. Gen. Mustafa added that the assassination was conducted Friday afternoon in front of Al Karawi’s house in the Al Jamiaa area in northern Najaf. The gunmen escaped. Mustafa added, “We have surrounded the entire neighborhood and the search continues to pursue, and we will arrest the criminals.”
A source in the Sadr Office confirmed the incident and demanded an investigation as to who was behind this incident. Al Karawi was responsible for tribal affairs in the Sadr office. Najaf has recently witnessed many assassinations of religious authority’s aides and political movement members. The three latest assassinations were of senior religious cleric Ali Sistani’s aides during the past three months.
COMMENT: Several SIIC key figures in the south have been assassinated in the last few months. SIIC and the Sadr movement are vying for control of the south. SIIC and it's militia, the Badr Corps, have suspected the Mahdi Army of being behind the assassinations, so it is possible this incident is in retaliation. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: assassination, Kufa, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Najaf, Najaf Tribal Relations Office, Sadr movement, Sheikh Mohammed Al Karawi
National Dialogue Front rejons parliament
Politics
(CNN) -- A small Sunni Arab bloc ended its boycott of Iraq's parliament Saturday, boosting the appearance of national unity just days before key reports are due in Washington on Iraq's progress. Saleh al-Mutlaq, who leads the National Dialogue Front, told CNN that the Sunni Arab group's 11 members of parliament returned to the 275-seat legislature after their demands were met.
"The government has agreed to allocate funds to displaced families ... and it has agreed to delay negotiations on the oil law until after Ramadan," he said in a telephone interview from Amman, Jordan. Ramadan is the Muslim month of fasting, which begins next week. "We are therefore today heeding the call of the speaker to end our boycott."
Al-Mutlaq said the decision also was based in part on some U.S. policy changes in Iraq. "Americans were only talking with the Kurdish bloc and the Shiite bloc. Now, they are starting to be somehow fair," he said. "They are working with tribes to get rid of al Qaeda and putting pressure on the militias."
"The government has agreed to allocate funds to displaced families ... and it has agreed to delay negotiations on the oil law until after Ramadan," he said in a telephone interview from Amman, Jordan. Ramadan is the Muslim month of fasting, which begins next week. "We are therefore today heeding the call of the speaker to end our boycott."
Al-Mutlaq said the decision also was based in part on some U.S. policy changes in Iraq. "Americans were only talking with the Kurdish bloc and the Shiite bloc. Now, they are starting to be somehow fair," he said. "They are working with tribes to get rid of al Qaeda and putting pressure on the militias."
Iraq's parliament is preparing to tackle key legislation in response to U.S. benchmarks aimed at measuring Iraq's progress toward national unity. Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker are to appear before Congress this week to present their assessments. "We are hoping that the Americans are realizing that the sectarian parties or Islamic parties cannot govern Iraq, and they should support the national liberal trend in Iraq," al-Mutlaq said.
In spite of the political progress, at least 15 civilians were killed in separate explosions around Iraq, officials said Saturday. At least 10 people were killed and 30 wounded when a suicide car bomb exploded Saturday evening outside a police station in the Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City, an Interior Ministry official said. The bomb went off at 6:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. ET) in the densely populated and predominantly Shiite district.
A hand grenade exploded in a market south of the capital in Kufa, killing at least three Iraqi civilians and wounding six others Saturday afternoon, Najaf police said. Following the blast, police said Kufa and Najaf -- both major Shiite cities -- were shut down for two hours.
In spite of the political progress, at least 15 civilians were killed in separate explosions around Iraq, officials said Saturday. At least 10 people were killed and 30 wounded when a suicide car bomb exploded Saturday evening outside a police station in the Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City, an Interior Ministry official said. The bomb went off at 6:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. ET) in the densely populated and predominantly Shiite district.
A hand grenade exploded in a market south of the capital in Kufa, killing at least three Iraqi civilians and wounding six others Saturday afternoon, Najaf police said. Following the blast, police said Kufa and Najaf -- both major Shiite cities -- were shut down for two hours.
Labels: Kufa, lockdown, National Dialogue Front, Sadr City, Saleh al-Mutlaq, suicide car bomber
Monday, August 20, 2007
Al-Sadr pledges to work with the U.N.
Politics
(AFP) - Radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has pledged to commit his forces and followers to help the United Nations were it to replace American and British troops in Iraq, in an interview published on Monday. Speaking to The Independent newspaper from his movement's headquarters in Kufa, south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Sadr said that he would "support the UN if it comes and replaces the American and British occupiers."
"If the UN comes here to truly help the Iraqi people, they will receive our help in their work. I would ask my followers to support the UN as long as it is here to help us rebuild our country. "They must not just be another face of the American occupation." Sadr, who enjoys popular grassroot support among Iraqi Shiites, is a powerful political player in Iraq's embattled government led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
His anti-American views have frequently seen his Mahdi Army militia clashing with US soldiers since the US-led March 2003 invasion to topple Saddam Hussein. Sadr told the daily that the British army's downscaling in Iraq was a sign that it had given up and was defeated, saying: "They are retreating because of the resistance they have faced. Without that, they would have stayed for much longer, there is no doubt."
He also warned that Britain's involvement in Iraq had endangered its citizens at home: "The British put their soldiers in a dangerous position by sending them here but they also put the people in their own country in danger. They have made enemies among all Muslims and they now face attacks at home because of their war. That was their mistake." Britain has about 5,500 troops in Iraq, most of whom are based in the southern city of Basra. Sadr said that Basra would become a safer place after the British military left.
On domestic Iraqi politics, Sadr said that Maliki's days as Iraqi leader were coming to a close: "Al-Maliki's government will not survive because he has proven that he will not work with important elements of the Iraqi people ... The prime minister is a tool for the Americans and people see that clearly. It will probably be the Americans who decide to change him when they realise he has failed. We don't have a democracy here, we have a foreign occupation." Sadr also denied American claims that he was being armed by Iran.
"If the UN comes here to truly help the Iraqi people, they will receive our help in their work. I would ask my followers to support the UN as long as it is here to help us rebuild our country. "They must not just be another face of the American occupation." Sadr, who enjoys popular grassroot support among Iraqi Shiites, is a powerful political player in Iraq's embattled government led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
His anti-American views have frequently seen his Mahdi Army militia clashing with US soldiers since the US-led March 2003 invasion to topple Saddam Hussein. Sadr told the daily that the British army's downscaling in Iraq was a sign that it had given up and was defeated, saying: "They are retreating because of the resistance they have faced. Without that, they would have stayed for much longer, there is no doubt."
He also warned that Britain's involvement in Iraq had endangered its citizens at home: "The British put their soldiers in a dangerous position by sending them here but they also put the people in their own country in danger. They have made enemies among all Muslims and they now face attacks at home because of their war. That was their mistake." Britain has about 5,500 troops in Iraq, most of whom are based in the southern city of Basra. Sadr said that Basra would become a safer place after the British military left.
On domestic Iraqi politics, Sadr said that Maliki's days as Iraqi leader were coming to a close: "Al-Maliki's government will not survive because he has proven that he will not work with important elements of the Iraqi people ... The prime minister is a tool for the Americans and people see that clearly. It will probably be the Americans who decide to change him when they realise he has failed. We don't have a democracy here, we have a foreign occupation." Sadr also denied American claims that he was being armed by Iran.
Labels: Kufa, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Nouri Al-Maliki, U.N.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Al-Sadr re-appears in public
Politics
(AP) - Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr appeared in public for the first time in months on Friday and delivered a fiery anti-American sermon in the holy Shiite city of Kufa. "No, no for the devil. No, no for America. No, no for the occupation. No, no for Israel," he chanted at the start of his speech. The roughly 6,000 worshippers in the mosque repeated after him. Al-Sadr told the worshippers that "the occupation forces should leave Iraq," and condemned fighting between his Mahdi Army militia and Iraqi security forces, saying it "served the interests of the occupiers."
Al-Sadr had gone into hiding in Iran four months ago at the start of the Baghdad security crackdown, but U.S. military officials said early Friday that he had returned to the holy city of Najaf, where he has a house. Residents in Najaf said they saw his motorcade leaving the city and heading toward Kufa on Friday morning. The black-turbaned leader then entered the revered mosque for prayers.
The 33-year-old leader, who has had an antagonistic relationship with the United States, is believed to be honing plans to consolidate political gains and foster ties with Iran. His Mahdi Army fought U.S. troops to a virtual standstill in 2004, but he ordered his militants off the streets when the U.S. began its security crackdown in the Baghdad area to avoid confrontation.
His associates say his strategy is based in part on a belief that Washington will soon start reducing troop strength, leaving behind a huge hole in Iraq's security and political power structure that he can fill. It was not clear why al-Sadr chose to return to Iraq now, although a major rival, Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq leader Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim was recently diagnosed with lung cancer and went to Iran for treatment.
Al-Sadr also believes that Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government may soon collapse amid its failure to improve security, services and the economy, al-Sadr's aides say. A political reshuffle would give the Sadrist movement, with its 30 seats in the 275-member parliament, a good chance of becoming a major player.
Al-Sadr had gone into hiding in Iran four months ago at the start of the Baghdad security crackdown, but U.S. military officials said early Friday that he had returned to the holy city of Najaf, where he has a house. Residents in Najaf said they saw his motorcade leaving the city and heading toward Kufa on Friday morning. The black-turbaned leader then entered the revered mosque for prayers.
The 33-year-old leader, who has had an antagonistic relationship with the United States, is believed to be honing plans to consolidate political gains and foster ties with Iran. His Mahdi Army fought U.S. troops to a virtual standstill in 2004, but he ordered his militants off the streets when the U.S. began its security crackdown in the Baghdad area to avoid confrontation.
His associates say his strategy is based in part on a belief that Washington will soon start reducing troop strength, leaving behind a huge hole in Iraq's security and political power structure that he can fill. It was not clear why al-Sadr chose to return to Iraq now, although a major rival, Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq leader Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim was recently diagnosed with lung cancer and went to Iran for treatment.
Al-Sadr also believes that Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government may soon collapse amid its failure to improve security, services and the economy, al-Sadr's aides say. A political reshuffle would give the Sadrist movement, with its 30 seats in the 275-member parliament, a good chance of becoming a major player.
Labels: Abdul Aziz Al Hakim, Iran, Kufa, Mahdi Army, Moqtada Al-Sadr, politics
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
Roundup of violence in Iraq - 7 May 2007
(McClatchy Newspapers) - The daily Iraq violence report is compiled by McClatchy Newspapers Special Correspondent Laith Hammoudi in Baghdad from police, military and medical reports. This is not a comprehensive list of all violence in Iraq, much of which goes unreported. It’s posted without editing as transmitted to McClatchy’s Washington Bureau.
(McClatchy Newspapers) - The daily Iraq violence report is compiled by McClatchy Newspapers Special Correspondent Laith Hammoudi in Baghdad from police, military and medical reports. This is not a comprehensive list of all violence in Iraq, much of which goes unreported. It’s posted without editing as transmitted to McClatchy’s Washington Bureau.
May 8 (Reuters) - Following are key security developments in Iraq at 1200 GMT on Monday:
* denotes new or updated item.
KUFA - At least 16 people were killed and 70 wounded when a suicide car bomb exploded at a crowded market in the Shi'ite city of Kufa, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, health and government officials in the province of Najaf said.
* FALLUJA - The bodies of seven people were found shot in and around Falluja, 50 km (35 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.
* NEAR KHANAQIN - A suicide bomber killed two policemen and wounded 23, including 10 civilians, when he targeted a police station in the town of Khanaqin, north of Baghdad, police said.
* BAGHDAD - The bodies of three personal guards of Iraq's minister of Higher Education were found shot dead in Baghdad, an official in the ministry said.
BAGHDAD - Police said they recovered 30 bodies in Baghdad, including 17 in the religiously mixed southern neighbourhood of Amil in the past 24 hours.
BAGHDAD - At least four people were killed and eight wounded by mortar rounds in different districts of Baghdad on Monday, police said.
BAGHDAD - The Iraqi army killed seven insurgents and arrested 115 others during the last 24 hours in different parts of Iraq, the Defence Ministry said.
BAGHDAD - U.S. forces detained 13 suspected insurgents during raids across Iraq targeting al Qaeda, foreign fighters and a chemical car bomb network on Monday and Tuesday, the U.S. military said.
ISKANDARIYA - Gunmen killed two people and wounded three others on Monday in Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
ISKANDARIYA - Two people were killed and 10 wounded by a mortar round attack in Iskandariya on Tuesday, police said.
* denotes new or updated item.
KUFA - At least 16 people were killed and 70 wounded when a suicide car bomb exploded at a crowded market in the Shi'ite city of Kufa, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, health and government officials in the province of Najaf said.
* FALLUJA - The bodies of seven people were found shot in and around Falluja, 50 km (35 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.
* NEAR KHANAQIN - A suicide bomber killed two policemen and wounded 23, including 10 civilians, when he targeted a police station in the town of Khanaqin, north of Baghdad, police said.
* BAGHDAD - The bodies of three personal guards of Iraq's minister of Higher Education were found shot dead in Baghdad, an official in the ministry said.
BAGHDAD - Police said they recovered 30 bodies in Baghdad, including 17 in the religiously mixed southern neighbourhood of Amil in the past 24 hours.
BAGHDAD - At least four people were killed and eight wounded by mortar rounds in different districts of Baghdad on Monday, police said.
BAGHDAD - The Iraqi army killed seven insurgents and arrested 115 others during the last 24 hours in different parts of Iraq, the Defence Ministry said.
BAGHDAD - U.S. forces detained 13 suspected insurgents during raids across Iraq targeting al Qaeda, foreign fighters and a chemical car bomb network on Monday and Tuesday, the U.S. military said.
ISKANDARIYA - Gunmen killed two people and wounded three others on Monday in Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
ISKANDARIYA - Two people were killed and 10 wounded by a mortar round attack in Iskandariya on Tuesday, police said.
Labels: Baghdad, Fallujah, Iskandariyah, Khanaquin, Kufa, suicide car bomber
Vehicle ban in Kufa and Najaf after suicide bomber kills 16
Security
(AP) - A suicide car bomber tore through a busy market in the Shiite holy city of Kufa on Tuesday morning, killing at least 16 people and wounding 70 in an attack sure to further enflame tensions between Iraq's Sunni and Shiite populations. In response, local authorities closed the entrances to Kufa and its sister holy city of Najaf and imposed a vehicle ban around the revered shrines and mosques in the two towns, said Ahmed Duaible, a local government spokesman.
The 550-pound car bomb at Kufa exploded about 10 a.m. in an area that also included a school and the mayor's office, police said. The 16 killed included women and children, said Salim Naima, spokesman of the Najaf health department. Panicked people ran through the corridors searching for their relatives at the Furat al-Awsat hospital in nearby Najaf. Women in black abayas, traditional Islamic cloaks, pounded their chests and faces in grief.
The revered Kufa mosque was about 400 yards from the blast. Millions of Shiite Muslim pilgrims visit the shrines at Kufa and Najaf, home to top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani as well as radical anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The predominantly Shiite southern areas have seen a spike in violence and unrest, blamed in part on militants who have fled a security crackdown in Baghdad.
The 550-pound car bomb at Kufa exploded about 10 a.m. in an area that also included a school and the mayor's office, police said. The 16 killed included women and children, said Salim Naima, spokesman of the Najaf health department. Panicked people ran through the corridors searching for their relatives at the Furat al-Awsat hospital in nearby Najaf. Women in black abayas, traditional Islamic cloaks, pounded their chests and faces in grief.
The revered Kufa mosque was about 400 yards from the blast. Millions of Shiite Muslim pilgrims visit the shrines at Kufa and Najaf, home to top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani as well as radical anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The predominantly Shiite southern areas have seen a spike in violence and unrest, blamed in part on militants who have fled a security crackdown in Baghdad.
Labels: Kufa, Najaf, suicide car bomber, vehicle ban
Monday, April 09, 2007
Thousands of Shiites march on Najaf while burning U.S. flags
Security
(AP) - Tens of thousands marched through the streets of two Shiite holy cities Monday to mark the fourth anniversary of Baghdad's fall. A day earlier, the renegade cleric issued a statement ordering his militiamen to redouble their battle to oust American forces and argued that Iraq's army and police should join him in defeating "your archenemy."
On Monday, thousands of Shiite demonstrators are marching from Kufa to Najaf's central Sadrain Square where top aides of Sadr -- regarded by the Americans as the most dangerous threat to stability in Iraq -- are expected to address the crowds. Hundreds of banners saying "Down with Bush, Down with America" were carried by protestors as Iraqi police and soldiers guarded checkpoints in and around Najaf and Kufa. Many people, draped in Iraqi flags, set US flags ablaze and some trampled on and struck US and Israeli flags painted on the ground with their shoes, an act considered one of the worst insults in Arab culture. Some Sunni religious groups were also seen participating in the rally.
Two cordons of Iraqi police are lining the route. Some at the rally waved small Iraqi flags; others hoisted up a giant flag 10 yards long. Leaflets fluttered through the breeze reading: "Yes, Yes to Iraq" and "Yes, Yes to Muqtada. Occupiers should leave Iraq." Iraqi soldiers in uniform joined the crowd, which was led by at least a dozen turbaned clerics — including one Sunni. Many marchers danced as they moved through the streets.
The demonstration was peaceful, but two ambulances could be seen moving slowly with the marching crowd, poised to help if violence or stampedes broke out. Cars were banned from Najaf for 24 hours starting from 8 p.m. Sunday, said police spokesman Col. Ali Jiryo. Buses idled at all entrances of the city to transport arriving demonstrators or other visitors to the city center. Najaf residents would be allowed to drive, he said.
Security was tight across Iraq, with a 24-hour ban on all vehicles in Baghdad starting from 5 a.m. Monday. The government quickly reinstated Monday as a holiday, just a day after it had decreed that April 9 no longer would be a day off. Monday's demonstration marks four years since U.S. Marines and the Army's 3rd Infantry Division swept into the Iraqi capital 20 days into the American invasion.
Two cordons of Iraqi police are lining the route. Some at the rally waved small Iraqi flags; others hoisted up a giant flag 10 yards long. Leaflets fluttered through the breeze reading: "Yes, Yes to Iraq" and "Yes, Yes to Muqtada. Occupiers should leave Iraq." Iraqi soldiers in uniform joined the crowd, which was led by at least a dozen turbaned clerics — including one Sunni. Many marchers danced as they moved through the streets.
The demonstration was peaceful, but two ambulances could be seen moving slowly with the marching crowd, poised to help if violence or stampedes broke out. Cars were banned from Najaf for 24 hours starting from 8 p.m. Sunday, said police spokesman Col. Ali Jiryo. Buses idled at all entrances of the city to transport arriving demonstrators or other visitors to the city center. Najaf residents would be allowed to drive, he said.
Security was tight across Iraq, with a 24-hour ban on all vehicles in Baghdad starting from 5 a.m. Monday. The government quickly reinstated Monday as a holiday, just a day after it had decreed that April 9 no longer would be a day off. Monday's demonstration marks four years since U.S. Marines and the Army's 3rd Infantry Division swept into the Iraqi capital 20 days into the American invasion.
On Sunday, thousands of residents in Baghdad's largest Shiite slum, Sadr City, boarded buses and minivans bound for Najaf. Iraqi flags flew from most houses and shops in Sadr City. Drivers and motorcyclists affixed them to their vehicles. Police escorted convoys of pickup trucks overflowing with young boys waving Iraqi flags, en route to Najaf.
Labels: demonstration, Kufa, Mahdi Army, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Najaf, Sadrain Square
