Friday, September 14, 2007
Anbar tribes vow to avenge killing of Abu Risha as new leader elected
Security
(Al Jazeera) - Sunni Arab tribes in Anbar, the western Iraqi province, have vowed to avenge the killing of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, their leader. He died in a roadside-bomb attack near his home in Ramadi, the provincial capital, on Thursday. Abdul Sattar Abu Risha was leader of the Anbar Salvation Council, an alliance of clans that supported the Iraqi government and US forces in fighting al-Qaeda in the province. Thousands of people gathered in Ramadi to attend Friday's funeral.
"We blame al-Qaeda and we are going to continue our fight and avenge his death," Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha, brother of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, said on Friday. Ahmed Abu Risha was elected the new leader of the Anbar Salvation Conference just hours after his brother's killing. Pallbearers carried Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's body from Ramadi to the cemetery 10km outside the city, while the funeral procession shouted "revenge, revenge on al-Qaeda." Others mourners chanted "there is no God but Allah and al-Qaeda is the enemy of Allah" and "Abdul Sattar is the pride of Ramadi".
Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, was represented by Muwaffaq al-Rubaie, his national security adviser, who condemned the killing. "It is a national Iraqi disaster. What Abu Risha did for Iraq, no single man has done in the country's history," al-Rubaie told the mourners gathered in the sheikh's house. "We will support Anbar much more than before. Abu Risha is a national hero."
"This is a man who has had a controversial past, but in recent months he has become a very prominent figure, even meeting George Bush [the US president]," Al Jazeera's James Bays said. Abdul Sattar Abu Risha had urged the tribal leaders in other Iraqi provinces to follow Anbar's lead in co-operating with the central government against al-Qaeda
"He was returning home when his convoy was hit by a roadside bomb planted by insurgents," Colonel Tareq al-Dulaimi, Anbar security chief, said. "His car was hit directly." No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. Sheikh Jubeir Rashid, a senior member of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's group, told the Associated Press: "It is a major blow to the council, but we are determined to strike back and continue our work. "Such an attack was expected, but it will not deter us." Two of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's bodyguards were also killed by the roadside bomb, Colonel Tareq Youssef, supervisor of Anbar police, said. Police announced a state of emergency in Ramadi after the bombing and set up additional checkpoints throughout the city, Rashid said. Anbar success
General David Petraeus, the senior US commander in Iraq, repeatedly pointed to successes in tackling a-Qaeda in Anbar during his testimony before the US congress. Omar Abdul Sattar from the Islamic Party of Iraq told Al Jazeera that Abdul Sattar Abu Rishar had become a national symbol of the "national war against al-Qaeda". "His programme now against al-Qaeda has become a national programme. Diyala province, Salahuddin province, Baghdad province are following now his programme," he said. The White House condemned Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's "assassination".
"His death also reminds us that the struggle will require continued perseverance, and the Iraqis are increasingly turning away from al-Qaeda, as a result of such extreme acts of violence," Kate Starr, White House national security council spokeswoman, said. Bush mentioned the killing in a speech on Thursday in which he announced that he may pull some 30,000 US troops out of Iraq by mid-2008 effectively ending the so-called surge.
Hoda Abdel Hamid, Al Jazeera's Iraq correspondent, said Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's death could derail some of the US successes. "Anbar province was really the capital of al-Qaeda in Iraq ... he managed to convince the tribes to give up their young people to make up the police and armed forces in the province," she said. Within hours of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's death, some Islamist websites posted messages praising his killing, the Associated Press news agency reported. One called him "one of the biggest pigs of the Crusaders", while another said he would spend Ramadan "in the pits of hell".
"We blame al-Qaeda and we are going to continue our fight and avenge his death," Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha, brother of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, said on Friday. Ahmed Abu Risha was elected the new leader of the Anbar Salvation Conference just hours after his brother's killing. Pallbearers carried Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's body from Ramadi to the cemetery 10km outside the city, while the funeral procession shouted "revenge, revenge on al-Qaeda." Others mourners chanted "there is no God but Allah and al-Qaeda is the enemy of Allah" and "Abdul Sattar is the pride of Ramadi".
Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, was represented by Muwaffaq al-Rubaie, his national security adviser, who condemned the killing. "It is a national Iraqi disaster. What Abu Risha did for Iraq, no single man has done in the country's history," al-Rubaie told the mourners gathered in the sheikh's house. "We will support Anbar much more than before. Abu Risha is a national hero."
"This is a man who has had a controversial past, but in recent months he has become a very prominent figure, even meeting George Bush [the US president]," Al Jazeera's James Bays said. Abdul Sattar Abu Risha had urged the tribal leaders in other Iraqi provinces to follow Anbar's lead in co-operating with the central government against al-Qaeda
"He was returning home when his convoy was hit by a roadside bomb planted by insurgents," Colonel Tareq al-Dulaimi, Anbar security chief, said. "His car was hit directly." No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. Sheikh Jubeir Rashid, a senior member of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's group, told the Associated Press: "It is a major blow to the council, but we are determined to strike back and continue our work. "Such an attack was expected, but it will not deter us." Two of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's bodyguards were also killed by the roadside bomb, Colonel Tareq Youssef, supervisor of Anbar police, said. Police announced a state of emergency in Ramadi after the bombing and set up additional checkpoints throughout the city, Rashid said. Anbar success
General David Petraeus, the senior US commander in Iraq, repeatedly pointed to successes in tackling a-Qaeda in Anbar during his testimony before the US congress. Omar Abdul Sattar from the Islamic Party of Iraq told Al Jazeera that Abdul Sattar Abu Rishar had become a national symbol of the "national war against al-Qaeda". "His programme now against al-Qaeda has become a national programme. Diyala province, Salahuddin province, Baghdad province are following now his programme," he said. The White House condemned Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's "assassination".
"His death also reminds us that the struggle will require continued perseverance, and the Iraqis are increasingly turning away from al-Qaeda, as a result of such extreme acts of violence," Kate Starr, White House national security council spokeswoman, said. Bush mentioned the killing in a speech on Thursday in which he announced that he may pull some 30,000 US troops out of Iraq by mid-2008 effectively ending the so-called surge.
Hoda Abdel Hamid, Al Jazeera's Iraq correspondent, said Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's death could derail some of the US successes. "Anbar province was really the capital of al-Qaeda in Iraq ... he managed to convince the tribes to give up their young people to make up the police and armed forces in the province," she said. Within hours of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's death, some Islamist websites posted messages praising his killing, the Associated Press news agency reported. One called him "one of the biggest pigs of the Crusaders", while another said he would spend Ramadan "in the pits of hell".
Labels: Al Anbar, Al Qaeda, Anbar Salvation Council, assassination, Ramadi, Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Anbar Salvation Council leader killed
Security, Tribal
(Al Jazeera) - A prominent Iraqi Sunni tribal leader, who has been working with the US against al-Qaeda in Iraq in al-Anbar province since last year, has been killed, state television reported. Sattar Abu Risha was reportedly killed by a roadside bomb outside his home in the city of Ramadi on Thursday. Sheikh Abu Risha was leader of the Anbar Salvation Council, an alliance of clans that supported the Iraqi government and US forces in fighting al-Qaeda.
"This is a man who has had a controversial past, but in recent months he has become a very prominent figure, even meeting George Bush," Al Jazeera's James Bays said. Abu Risha had urged the tribal leaders in other Iraqi provinces to follow al-Anbar's lead in co-operating with the central government against al-Qaeda. "He was returning home when his convoy was hit by a roadside bomb planted by insurgents," Colonel Tareq al-Dulaimi, al-Anbar security chief said. "His car was hit directly."
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. Sheikh Jubeir Rashid, a senior member of Abu Risha's group, told the Associated Press: "It is a major blow to the council, but we are determined to strike back and continue our work. "Such an attack was expected, but it will not deter us." Two of Abu Risha's bodyguards were also killed by the roadside bomb, Colonel Tareq Youssef, supervisor of Anbar police, said.
"This is a man who has had a controversial past, but in recent months he has become a very prominent figure, even meeting George Bush," Al Jazeera's James Bays said. Abu Risha had urged the tribal leaders in other Iraqi provinces to follow al-Anbar's lead in co-operating with the central government against al-Qaeda. "He was returning home when his convoy was hit by a roadside bomb planted by insurgents," Colonel Tareq al-Dulaimi, al-Anbar security chief said. "His car was hit directly."
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. Sheikh Jubeir Rashid, a senior member of Abu Risha's group, told the Associated Press: "It is a major blow to the council, but we are determined to strike back and continue our work. "Such an attack was expected, but it will not deter us." Two of Abu Risha's bodyguards were also killed by the roadside bomb, Colonel Tareq Youssef, supervisor of Anbar police, said.
Police announced a state of emergency in Ramadi after the bombing and set up additional checkpoints throughout the city, Rashid said. General David Petraeus, the senior US commander in Iraq, repeatedly pointed to successes in tackling al-Qaeda in al-Anbar province during his testimony before the US congress. Omar Abdul Satar from the Islamic Party of Iraq told Al Jazeera Abu Rishar had become a national symbol of the "national war against al-Qaeda".
"It is a major blow to the council, but we are determined to strike back and continue our work." "His programme now against al-Qaeda has become a national programme. Diyala province, Salahuddin province, Baghdad province are following now his programme," he said. Bush is set to deliver a 15-minute address to the nation on Thursday evening (0100 GMT on Friday) is expected to announce that he may pull some 30,000 US troops out of Iraq by mid-2008 effectively ending the so-called "surge".
"It is a major blow to the council, but we are determined to strike back and continue our work." "His programme now against al-Qaeda has become a national programme. Diyala province, Salahuddin province, Baghdad province are following now his programme," he said. Bush is set to deliver a 15-minute address to the nation on Thursday evening (0100 GMT on Friday) is expected to announce that he may pull some 30,000 US troops out of Iraq by mid-2008 effectively ending the so-called "surge".
But Hoda Abdel Hamid, Al Jazeera's Iraq correspondent, said the killing could derail some of the US successes. "Al-Anbar province was really the capital of al-Qaeda in Iraq ... he manage to convince the tribes to give up there young people to make up the police and armed forces in the province," she said. Within hours of Abu Risha's death, Islamic websites posted messages praising the Abu Risha's killing, the Associated Press news agency reported. One called him "one of the biggest pigs of the Crusaders," while another said he would spend Ramadan "in the pits of hell".
Labels: Anbar Salvation Council, Iraqi Islamic Party, Omar Abdul Satar, Ramadi, Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, Sheikh Jubeir Rashid, state of emergency, Sunni tribal leader
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Al Dulaimi Wants To Learn Ramadi Resident’s Opinions About Returning To The Government
Politics
(Azzaman Newspaper) - 7 AUG - Accord Front Chief – Adnan Al Dulaimi has called for Anbar’s residents to submit their “conditions and suggestions” for returning to the government. Yesterday, Al Dulaimi visited Ramadi City and met with a number of citizens, in order to learn their opinions about the Accord Front’s decision to withdraw from the government.
During this meeting, Al Dulaimi said, “The Accord Front calls for you to submit: your suggestions regarding the subject of (the Front’s) returning to the government and your ‘conditions’ which you want the Front to attach to this return. The Prime Minister is working to remove the Accord Front (isolate the front, or remove it from Iraq’s political process). This is what led to the Accord Front’s decision to withdraw from the government. The Front refuses to return to the government, unless we receive our full rights which they (the Al Maliki government) should guarantee.”
This is the first time Al Dulaimi has visited Ramadi since he accepted the position as Chief of the Accord Front. This visit came about due to the Accord Front’s desire to ‘return its people to the Front’ (bring its ‘base’ supporters back into the Accord Front). Ramadi citizens said, “Accord Front has lost many supporters due to the Front joining the political process which resulted in: poor levels of security and public services, increased sectarian problems, and increased displacements.”
During this visit, Al Dulaimi met with: Anbar’s Governor Mahmoun Rashid, (Anbar’s) Police Chief, District Council Members, Tribal Sheikhs, and Anbar Salvation Council Members who are supporting the security forces in the fight against Al Qaeda members in the city (Ramadi). Al Dulaimi visited the cities of Fallujah and Khalidya. He met with a number of former Iraqi Army (Saddam’s Regime) officers. Their meeting included discussions regarding the DeBaathification Law and, how this government has abused/misused this law in order to isolate (Sunni) groups.
During this meeting, Al Dulaimi said, “The Accord Front calls for you to submit: your suggestions regarding the subject of (the Front’s) returning to the government and your ‘conditions’ which you want the Front to attach to this return. The Prime Minister is working to remove the Accord Front (isolate the front, or remove it from Iraq’s political process). This is what led to the Accord Front’s decision to withdraw from the government. The Front refuses to return to the government, unless we receive our full rights which they (the Al Maliki government) should guarantee.”
This is the first time Al Dulaimi has visited Ramadi since he accepted the position as Chief of the Accord Front. This visit came about due to the Accord Front’s desire to ‘return its people to the Front’ (bring its ‘base’ supporters back into the Accord Front). Ramadi citizens said, “Accord Front has lost many supporters due to the Front joining the political process which resulted in: poor levels of security and public services, increased sectarian problems, and increased displacements.”
During this visit, Al Dulaimi met with: Anbar’s Governor Mahmoun Rashid, (Anbar’s) Police Chief, District Council Members, Tribal Sheikhs, and Anbar Salvation Council Members who are supporting the security forces in the fight against Al Qaeda members in the city (Ramadi). Al Dulaimi visited the cities of Fallujah and Khalidya. He met with a number of former Iraqi Army (Saddam’s Regime) officers. Their meeting included discussions regarding the DeBaathification Law and, how this government has abused/misused this law in order to isolate (Sunni) groups.
Labels: Adnan Dulaimi, Al Anbar, Anbar Salvation Council, debaathification, Iraqi Accord Front, Mahmoun Rashid, Ramadi, tribal leaders
Friday, June 01, 2007
Anti-Qaeda alliance gathers momentum
Insurgency
(AKI) -- A fierce battle between local Sunni residents and al-Qaeda insurgents in an outlying Baghdad neighbourhood this week is evidence that moves to isolate the terror group by other Sunnis are taking hold even in the capital. According to a detailed report on the Washington Post on Friday a battle this week in the western Amiriyah area has claimed at least 28 lives. It quoted the local mayor Mohammed Abdul Khaliq as saying that residents, alienated by the indiscriminate violence of its fellow Sunnis, rose up to force al-Qaeda out.
The microcosm mirrors what is happening in the western provinces, especially al-Anbar and Diyala, where Sunni tribes have united in an anti-Qaeda alliance. "I think this is going to be the end of the al-Qaeda presence here," mayor Abdul Khaliq told the Washington Post in a phone interview. He said that the fierce fighting Wednesday and Thursday began over accusations that al-Qaeda in Iraq had executed Sunnis without reason.
It appears to be the first time that a dynamic of isolation, which has been at work in the mainly Sunni and restive western province of al-Anbar, has spread to the capital.
Sunni tribal leaders recently formed an umbrella group, the Anbar Salvation Council, to join with U.S. and Iraqi troops in a common fight against al-Qaeda in Iraq, which used to dominate the province. They resent what they see as indiscriminate violence against civilians, including women and children, and also the presence of foreign fighters in al-Qaeda ranks.
According to the US coalition, 12,000 al-Anbar residents have joined the Iraqi security forces so far this year, compared with 1,000 in all of last year. In an attack clearly meant to intimidate the tribes, a suicide bomber blew himself up Thursday among 150 recruits waiting to enter a police compound in Fallujah. Later that day, six people were killed, including three policemen, in a carbomb blast in Ramadi.
Close to the international airport, Amiriyah has seen a mass exodus of Shiites and ongoing violence, and is considered a virtual no mans land.
Trouble arose on Tuesday, the Washington Post reports, when the Islamic Army, a powerful Sunni insurgent group, posted a statement at a local mosque criticizing al-Qaeda in Iraq for killing dozens of other Sunnis in Fallujah and Baghdad "on suspicion only," and warned them to stop the practice. "Down with al-Qaeda, long live the honest resistance." was graffitied on a wall on Wednesday and when al-Qaeda in Iraq members came to wipe the slogan off, a roadside bomb exploded killing three of them.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq's reprisal came in the form of an attack on a mosque killing the Islamic Army's leader, Razi al-Zobai, and complaining that the Islamic Army had become involved in the political process in Iraq, residents said. The Islamic Army retaliated in kind, striking a mosque and killing one of the group's leaders. As the fighting intensified, al-Qaeda in Iraq called in reinforcements arrived from other areas of the capital residents said. A four hour long battle left at least 15 fighters dead.
The microcosm mirrors what is happening in the western provinces, especially al-Anbar and Diyala, where Sunni tribes have united in an anti-Qaeda alliance. "I think this is going to be the end of the al-Qaeda presence here," mayor Abdul Khaliq told the Washington Post in a phone interview. He said that the fierce fighting Wednesday and Thursday began over accusations that al-Qaeda in Iraq had executed Sunnis without reason.
It appears to be the first time that a dynamic of isolation, which has been at work in the mainly Sunni and restive western province of al-Anbar, has spread to the capital.
Sunni tribal leaders recently formed an umbrella group, the Anbar Salvation Council, to join with U.S. and Iraqi troops in a common fight against al-Qaeda in Iraq, which used to dominate the province. They resent what they see as indiscriminate violence against civilians, including women and children, and also the presence of foreign fighters in al-Qaeda ranks.
According to the US coalition, 12,000 al-Anbar residents have joined the Iraqi security forces so far this year, compared with 1,000 in all of last year. In an attack clearly meant to intimidate the tribes, a suicide bomber blew himself up Thursday among 150 recruits waiting to enter a police compound in Fallujah. Later that day, six people were killed, including three policemen, in a carbomb blast in Ramadi.
Close to the international airport, Amiriyah has seen a mass exodus of Shiites and ongoing violence, and is considered a virtual no mans land.
Trouble arose on Tuesday, the Washington Post reports, when the Islamic Army, a powerful Sunni insurgent group, posted a statement at a local mosque criticizing al-Qaeda in Iraq for killing dozens of other Sunnis in Fallujah and Baghdad "on suspicion only," and warned them to stop the practice. "Down with al-Qaeda, long live the honest resistance." was graffitied on a wall on Wednesday and when al-Qaeda in Iraq members came to wipe the slogan off, a roadside bomb exploded killing three of them.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq's reprisal came in the form of an attack on a mosque killing the Islamic Army's leader, Razi al-Zobai, and complaining that the Islamic Army had become involved in the political process in Iraq, residents said. The Islamic Army retaliated in kind, striking a mosque and killing one of the group's leaders. As the fighting intensified, al-Qaeda in Iraq called in reinforcements arrived from other areas of the capital residents said. A four hour long battle left at least 15 fighters dead.
Labels: abduction, Al Qaeda in Iraq, Al-Anbar, Amariyah, Anbar Salvation Council, Diyala, Fallujah, Islamic Army, Ramadi, Razi al-Zobai, suicide bomber
Monday, May 28, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
Roundup of violence in Iraq - 5/27/2007 05:33 PM EDT
By Jenan Hussein, McClatchy Newspapers
The daily Iraq violence report is compiled by McClatchy Newspapers in Baghdad from police, military and medical reports. This is not a comprehensive list of all violence in Iraq, much of which goes unreported. All times are Iraq local times.
(Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq at 1030 GMT on Monday:
* denotes new or updated item.
* BAGHDAD - A car bomb killed two people and wounded five others near al-Khilani square in central Baghdad, police said.
* BAGHDAD - Gunmen ambushed a police patrol and killed three policemen and wounded seven in the Fadhil district of central Baghdad, police said.
BAQUBA - The U.S. military said U.S. and Iraqi troops had raided a suspected al Qaeda prison camp near Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad, on Sunday and freed 41 men, some of whom had been held for four months.
* NEAR BAIJI - Hamad al-Jouburi, the head of a regional "salvation council" set up to fight al-Qaeda, said that gunmen attacked his brother's two houses and abducted four of his sons and set the houses on fire in a village near Baiji, 180 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad. Earlier, local officials said gunmen killed the four sons of Jouburi's sister.
BAGHDAD - A security detainee died on Saturday in Camp Cropper, a U.S. detention facility in southern Baghdad, the U.S. military said. It said the likely cause of death was complications from diabetes.
ANBAR - U.S. forces detained nine suspected insurgents in raids against suspected al Qaeda insurgents in northern Mosul and western Anbar province, the U.S. military said.
RAMADI - A car bomb in a busy market killed seven people and wounded 12 on Sunday in the western outskirts of Ramadi, 110 km (70 miles) west of Baghdad, a hospital source said. Police said a suicide car bomber rammed his car into their checkpoint, wounding three policemen and a child.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb killed one person and wounded nine others in eastern Baghdad on Sunday, police said.
NAHRAWAN - Two people were killed and one other was wounded in a mortar attack on Sunday in Nahrawan, 30 km (20 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
Labels: Al Anbar, al-Khilani square, Anbar Salvation Council, Baiji, Baquba, car bomb, Fadhil, Hamad al-Jouburi, mortar attacks, Nahrawan, Ramadi, roadside bombs
Monday, May 07, 2007
Suicide bombers in Ramadi kill 20
Security
(Reuters) - Two suicide car bombers killed 20 people and wounded more than 40 in separate attacks near Iraq's city of Ramadi on Monday, police said. The first car bomb went off in a busy market in a town called Albu-Thiyab, east of Ramadi, said Tareq al-Thiyab, a police colonel and a government security adviser in western Anbar province.
The second car bomb targeted a police checkpoint in a town called al-Jazeera, he said. Sunni Islamist al Qaeda is engaged in a fierce power struggle with local Sunni Arab tribesmen in Anbar province, who oppose the group's campaign of indiscriminate attacks and its efforts to impose a harsh interpretation of Islam. Recent big suicide attacks in Anbar, an overwhelmingly Sunni province west of Baghdad, have been blamed on al Qaeda.
The second car bomb targeted a police checkpoint in a town called al-Jazeera, he said. Sunni Islamist al Qaeda is engaged in a fierce power struggle with local Sunni Arab tribesmen in Anbar province, who oppose the group's campaign of indiscriminate attacks and its efforts to impose a harsh interpretation of Islam. Recent big suicide attacks in Anbar, an overwhelmingly Sunni province west of Baghdad, have been blamed on al Qaeda.
COMMENT: This will only strengthen the tribes' resolve and will lead to retaliation attacks againts Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). The more AQI targets the Anbar Salvation Council, the more likely it is that the tribal coalition will grow in strength and support. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, al-Jazeera, Albu-Thiyab, Anbar Salvation Council, Ramadi, suicide car bomber, Tareq al-Thiyab
Monday, April 30, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
April 30 (Reuters) - Key security developments in Iraq at 1500 GMT on Monday, follow the link for further information:
* denotes new or updated item.
* KHALIS - A suicide bomber wearing a vest packed with explosives killed 32 people when he blew himself up among mourners at a Shi'ite funeral in the town of Khalis, north of Baghdad. The attack took place inside a crowded mourning tent. More than 52 people had been wounded, police said.
RAMADI - A tanker laden with chlorine gas exploded near a restaurant west of the Iraqi city of Ramadi, killing up to six people and wounding 10, police and hospital sources said.
BAGHDAD - Mortar rounds killed one civilian and wounded six when they landed on a residential area of northern Baghdad's mainly Shi'ite district, police said.
SUWAYRA - The bodies of six people were retrieved from two rivers in Suwayra, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - The Iraqi army arrested 138 insurgents in the last 24 hours in different parts of Iraq, the Defence Ministry said.
BAGHDAD - At least two people were killed and 15 wounded when a bus bomb exploded in a tunnel, police said. The explosion badly damaged the tunnel, on a main artery in western Baghdad.
SAMARRA - U.S. forces detained 11 suspected insurgents during raids in Baghdad and in the city of Samarra targeting al Qaeda in Iraq, the U.S. military said.
BAGHDAD - Eight gunmen were killed in a U.S.-Iraqi operation in Baghdad on Sunday, the U.S. military said, in what some witnesses described as a clash with the Mehdi Army militia loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The U.S. military said one Iraqi soldier was killed in the incident in the Shi'ite Kadhimiya district.
MOSUL - Six gunmen were killed and two wounded when they attacked a police station in the northern city of Mosul, police said. A car bomb exploded near the police station targeting a patrol heading to the scene of the attack, killing a policeman and wounded two others, the source added.
* denotes new or updated item.
* KHALIS - A suicide bomber wearing a vest packed with explosives killed 32 people when he blew himself up among mourners at a Shi'ite funeral in the town of Khalis, north of Baghdad. The attack took place inside a crowded mourning tent. More than 52 people had been wounded, police said.
RAMADI - A tanker laden with chlorine gas exploded near a restaurant west of the Iraqi city of Ramadi, killing up to six people and wounding 10, police and hospital sources said.
BAGHDAD - Mortar rounds killed one civilian and wounded six when they landed on a residential area of northern Baghdad's mainly Shi'ite district, police said.
SUWAYRA - The bodies of six people were retrieved from two rivers in Suwayra, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - The Iraqi army arrested 138 insurgents in the last 24 hours in different parts of Iraq, the Defence Ministry said.
BAGHDAD - At least two people were killed and 15 wounded when a bus bomb exploded in a tunnel, police said. The explosion badly damaged the tunnel, on a main artery in western Baghdad.
SAMARRA - U.S. forces detained 11 suspected insurgents during raids in Baghdad and in the city of Samarra targeting al Qaeda in Iraq, the U.S. military said.
BAGHDAD - Eight gunmen were killed in a U.S.-Iraqi operation in Baghdad on Sunday, the U.S. military said, in what some witnesses described as a clash with the Mehdi Army militia loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The U.S. military said one Iraqi soldier was killed in the incident in the Shi'ite Kadhimiya district.
MOSUL - Six gunmen were killed and two wounded when they attacked a police station in the northern city of Mosul, police said. A car bomb exploded near the police station targeting a patrol heading to the scene of the attack, killing a policeman and wounded two others, the source added.
Labels: Baghdad, chlorine gas truck, gunmen, Khalis, mortar rounds, Mosul, Ramadi, suicide bomber, Suwayra
Thursday, April 26, 2007
U.S. forces issue special ID cards to Ramadi residents
Security
(VOI) – U.S forces started issuing special identification cards to residents of Ramadi, 110 km west of Baghdad, a security source in Anbar province said on Wednesday."U.S. forces started this morning issuing identification cards to residents of Ramadi city after taking local residents’ finger prints and making cornea scans to isolate wanted persons and to prevent anyone from entering the city without an ID," the source, who asked not to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) by phone. "U.S. marines established centres in the city with special equipment to issue these IDs, which will be given only to Ramadi's residents," he added. Anbar is a province with a large area. It stretches just west of Baghdad to the borders with Jordan. It is a Sunni province. Its main cities are Falluja, Ramadi, Haditha, Hit, Aana, and Rutbah.
Labels: ID cards, Ramadi, U.S. forces
Monday, April 09, 2007
Ministry of Industry hopes to attract $750 in investment
Business, Reconstruction
(Azzaman) - The Ministry of Industry is seeking investors willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to modernize 12 major Iraqi industries. The investors, whether local or foreign, are required to submit comprehensive plans on how to rehabilitate these firms to make them competitive in the face of foreign imports.
In return for their investments, the entrepreneurs will have a share in the products for up to 20 years. According to Industry Minister Fawzi Hariri, the country hopes to attract $750 million in investments that will cover major industries such as cement, glass, steel and petrochemicals.
The investors will have to adhere to certain conditions, among them a pledge to improve the living standard of workers and raise quality of products. Hariri said the Glass Works Factory in the restive province of Ramadi is in need of at least $50 million to modernize. The country’s petrochemical complex in the southern city of Basra requires up to $120 million, he said. The complex was once one of the largest and technologically most advanced in the Middle East.
Hariri said the steel factory, also in Basra, requires up to $220 million. He said the factory needed new boilers and fresh infrastructure. Iraq’s cement industry was in need of $360 million, Hariri said. The minister said the rehabilitation of these companies and several others was necessary to meet needs of reconstruction once security and stability return. However, he said, security was a necessity for the rehabilitation of these firms as investors, whether foreign or local would only be interested if they knew their entrepreneurial activities will eventually bear fruit.
In return for their investments, the entrepreneurs will have a share in the products for up to 20 years. According to Industry Minister Fawzi Hariri, the country hopes to attract $750 million in investments that will cover major industries such as cement, glass, steel and petrochemicals.
The investors will have to adhere to certain conditions, among them a pledge to improve the living standard of workers and raise quality of products. Hariri said the Glass Works Factory in the restive province of Ramadi is in need of at least $50 million to modernize. The country’s petrochemical complex in the southern city of Basra requires up to $120 million, he said. The complex was once one of the largest and technologically most advanced in the Middle East.
Hariri said the steel factory, also in Basra, requires up to $220 million. He said the factory needed new boilers and fresh infrastructure. Iraq’s cement industry was in need of $360 million, Hariri said. The minister said the rehabilitation of these companies and several others was necessary to meet needs of reconstruction once security and stability return. However, he said, security was a necessity for the rehabilitation of these firms as investors, whether foreign or local would only be interested if they knew their entrepreneurial activities will eventually bear fruit.
Labels: Basra, cement, Fawzi Hariri, glass, investors, Ministry of Industry, petrochemicals, Ramadi, steel
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
(Reuters) - Security developments in Iraq as of 1130 GMT on Saturday:
* denotes new or updated item. Follow link for further information.
* SAMARRA - A suicide bomber targeting an Iraqi army checkpoint killed five Iraqi soldiers in Samarra, 100 km (62 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
RAMADI - The death toll from a chlorine truck bomb attack on a police checkpoint in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi on Friday rose to 12 civilians, the U.S. military said. The blast wounded 43, including eight women and five children.
BAGHDAD - An explosively formed projectile (EFP) killed one U.S. soldier and wounded four when it blew up next to a U.S. patrol in eastern Baghdad on Friday, the U.S. military said.
HIMREEN - Gunmen kidnapped 10 people who were travelling in a minivan near Himreen, 100 km (60 miles) south of Kirkuk, police said. The identity of the victims and the motivation for the kidnapping were not immediately clear.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 11 people were found dumped across Baghdad in the past 24 hours, police said.
SUWAYRA - Insurgents killed an Iraqi soldier and wounded six others when they attacked an Iraqi army base on Friday evening near Suwayra, just south of Baghdad, police said.
* denotes new or updated item. Follow link for further information.
* SAMARRA - A suicide bomber targeting an Iraqi army checkpoint killed five Iraqi soldiers in Samarra, 100 km (62 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
RAMADI - The death toll from a chlorine truck bomb attack on a police checkpoint in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi on Friday rose to 12 civilians, the U.S. military said. The blast wounded 43, including eight women and five children.
BAGHDAD - An explosively formed projectile (EFP) killed one U.S. soldier and wounded four when it blew up next to a U.S. patrol in eastern Baghdad on Friday, the U.S. military said.
HIMREEN - Gunmen kidnapped 10 people who were travelling in a minivan near Himreen, 100 km (60 miles) south of Kirkuk, police said. The identity of the victims and the motivation for the kidnapping were not immediately clear.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 11 people were found dumped across Baghdad in the past 24 hours, police said.
SUWAYRA - Insurgents killed an Iraqi soldier and wounded six others when they attacked an Iraqi army base on Friday evening near Suwayra, just south of Baghdad, police said.
Labels: abduction, Baghdad, EFP, Himreen, Iraqi Army, Iraqi Army base, Ramadi, Samrra, suicide bomber, Suwayra
Friday, April 06, 2007
Chlorine bomb kills 15 people in Ramadi
Security
(Reuters) - A truck bomb exploded in the volatile Iraqi city of Ramadi on Friday, killing at least 15 people and releasing chlorine gas into the air, police and security sources said. Police Colonel Tareq Dulaimi from Ramadi said the bomb, which targeted a police patrol, wounded at least 30 people. He said several people were also choking from the gas. There has been a spate of chlorine truck bomb attacks in recent months, mainly in western Anbar province. Ramadi is the capital of Anbar, stronghold of the Sunni Arab insurgency and a haven for al Qaeda. U.S. commanders and Iraqi police have blamed al Qaeda militants for several of the chlorine attacks.
Labels: Al Qaeda, chlorine bombs, Colonel Tareq Dulaimi, Ramadi
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Pentagon does business with Iraqi factories
Business
(AP) - In an Iraq jobs program, the Pentagon has helped reopen three factories shuttered after the 2003 invasion, seeding the ground by buying uniforms and armored vehicles from two of them. Reopening state-owned factories that produced everything from cement to buses for Saddam Hussein's regime is among efforts President Bush hopes will boost the economy and help salvage a violent Iraq. His controversial strategy of increasing troops there to try to calm violence is meant to buy the Iraqi government time to move forward on political reconciliation and reconstruction.
In a program started nearly a year ago, the Defense Department has reopened a large textile factory in Najaf by buying uniforms for Iraqi soldiers and police that the U.S. has been training, and has reopened a vehicle factory south of Baghdad by buying armored vehicles, said Paul Brinkley. He is deputy undersecretary of defense in charge of Pentagon business modernization efforts and has been running the program.
Officials helped find other customers for the third restarted factory, in Ramadi, which makes ceramic products the U.S. has no need for in Iraq. An American company has agreed to buy 120 trucks from the transport company and another is expected to buy clothing from the textile factory that Brinkley said could be on American shelves by fall. Brinkley declined to name the companies, saying they are still negotiating.
Brinkley said the program will reopen private as well as government factories. Military commanders have long seen employment as one of the keys to slowing the violence. Of some 200 large factories that made up Iraq's former industrial base, Brinkley said the Pentagon believes 140 are potentially viable and has identified ways to get 56 of them running again, hopefully this year.
In a program started nearly a year ago, the Defense Department has reopened a large textile factory in Najaf by buying uniforms for Iraqi soldiers and police that the U.S. has been training, and has reopened a vehicle factory south of Baghdad by buying armored vehicles, said Paul Brinkley. He is deputy undersecretary of defense in charge of Pentagon business modernization efforts and has been running the program.
Officials helped find other customers for the third restarted factory, in Ramadi, which makes ceramic products the U.S. has no need for in Iraq. An American company has agreed to buy 120 trucks from the transport company and another is expected to buy clothing from the textile factory that Brinkley said could be on American shelves by fall. Brinkley declined to name the companies, saying they are still negotiating.
Brinkley said the program will reopen private as well as government factories. Military commanders have long seen employment as one of the keys to slowing the violence. Of some 200 large factories that made up Iraq's former industrial base, Brinkley said the Pentagon believes 140 are potentially viable and has identified ways to get 56 of them running again, hopefully this year.
Labels: Iraqi factories, Najaf, Paul Brinkley, Pentagon, Ramadi
Monday, March 26, 2007
Al-Anbar tribal coalition now counts 41 tribes
Tribal, Insurgency
(AP) - Not long ago it would have been unthinkable: a Sunni sheik allying himself publicly with American forces in a xenophobic city at the epicenter of Iraq's Sunni insurgency. Today, there is a change. Sheik Abdul Sattar al-Rishawi is leading a growing movement of Sunni tribesmen who have turned against al-Qaeda-linked insurgents in Anbar province.
The dramatic shift in alliances may have done more in a few months to ease daily street battles and undercut the insurgency here than American forces have achieved in years with arms. The American commander responsible for Ramadi, Col. John W. Charlton, said the newly friendly sheiks, combined with an aggressive counterinsurgency strategy and the presence of thousands of new Sunni police on the streets, have helped cut attacks in the city by half in recent months.
Al-Rishawi, whose father and three brothers were killed by al-Qaeda assassins, said insurgents were "killing innocent people, anyone suspected of opposing them. They brought us nothing but destruction and we finally said, enough is enough." Al-Rishawi founded the Anbar Salvation Council in September with dozens of Sunni tribes. Many of the new newly friendly leaders are believed to have at least tacitly supported the insurgency in the past, though al-Rishawi said he never did.
His movement, also known as the Anbar Awakening, now counts 41 tribes or sub-tribes from Anbar, though al-Rishawi acknowledges that some groups in the province have yet to join. It's unclear how many that is, or much support the movement really has.
And there is opposition. In November, a top Sunni leader who heads the Association of Muslim Scholars, Sheik Harith al-Dhari, described al-Rishawi's movement as "thieves and bandits." And for at least a year, U.S. forces have also witnessed sporadic firefights between Sunni militias and insurgents in Ramadi, reflecting the growing split among Sunnis. They used to describe such skirmishes as "red on red" fighting -- battles between enemies. Now they call it "red on green."
U.S. Lt. Nathan Strickland, also of the 1-77th, said the sheiks were influenced by the realization that Shiite Iran's regional influence was rising, and "the presence of (Sunni) foreign fighters here was disrupting the traditional local tribal structure." Al-Rishawi and other sheiks urged their tribesmen to join the police force, and 4,500 Sunnis heeded the call in Ramadi alone -- a remarkable feat in a city that had almost no police a year ago.
Local Sunnis have deeply resented the overwhelmingly Shiite Iraqi army units the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad has deployed here. Sunni tribes have begun to realize that if anybody is going to secure the city, it might as well be the sons of Ramadi, Strickland said.
Also pouring through the streets in police trucks fixed with heavy machine-guns are 2,500 Sunni tribesmen who have joined newly created SWAT team-like paramilitary units. Paid by the Interior Ministry with the blessing of U.S. commanders, the so-called Emergency Response Units are clearly loyal to local sheiks. The ERU members were screened and sent either on 45-day police training courses in Jordan or seven-day courses at a military base in Ramadi -- part of an effort to capitalize on the Awakening movement and make use of them as quickly as possible.
Al-Rishawi, whose father and three brothers were killed by al-Qaeda assassins, said insurgents were "killing innocent people, anyone suspected of opposing them. They brought us nothing but destruction and we finally said, enough is enough." Al-Rishawi founded the Anbar Salvation Council in September with dozens of Sunni tribes. Many of the new newly friendly leaders are believed to have at least tacitly supported the insurgency in the past, though al-Rishawi said he never did.
His movement, also known as the Anbar Awakening, now counts 41 tribes or sub-tribes from Anbar, though al-Rishawi acknowledges that some groups in the province have yet to join. It's unclear how many that is, or much support the movement really has.
And there is opposition. In November, a top Sunni leader who heads the Association of Muslim Scholars, Sheik Harith al-Dhari, described al-Rishawi's movement as "thieves and bandits." And for at least a year, U.S. forces have also witnessed sporadic firefights between Sunni militias and insurgents in Ramadi, reflecting the growing split among Sunnis. They used to describe such skirmishes as "red on red" fighting -- battles between enemies. Now they call it "red on green."
U.S. Lt. Nathan Strickland, also of the 1-77th, said the sheiks were influenced by the realization that Shiite Iran's regional influence was rising, and "the presence of (Sunni) foreign fighters here was disrupting the traditional local tribal structure." Al-Rishawi and other sheiks urged their tribesmen to join the police force, and 4,500 Sunnis heeded the call in Ramadi alone -- a remarkable feat in a city that had almost no police a year ago.
Local Sunnis have deeply resented the overwhelmingly Shiite Iraqi army units the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad has deployed here. Sunni tribes have begun to realize that if anybody is going to secure the city, it might as well be the sons of Ramadi, Strickland said.
Also pouring through the streets in police trucks fixed with heavy machine-guns are 2,500 Sunni tribesmen who have joined newly created SWAT team-like paramilitary units. Paid by the Interior Ministry with the blessing of U.S. commanders, the so-called Emergency Response Units are clearly loyal to local sheiks. The ERU members were screened and sent either on 45-day police training courses in Jordan or seven-day courses at a military base in Ramadi -- part of an effort to capitalize on the Awakening movement and make use of them as quickly as possible.
Labels: Al-Qaeda, Anbar Awakening, Anbar Salvation Council, Muslim Scholars Association, Ramadi, Sheik Abdul Sattar al-Rishawi, Sheik Harith al-Dhari, Sunni tribes
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Police detain suspected chlorine bomber in Ramadi
Security
(AP) - Iraqi police detained a man as he was trying to detonate an explosives-laden truck filled with chlorine in Ramadi, the military said Sunday. The incident occurred Friday afternoon when a white cargo truck stopped near the entrance to a police station, about 150 yards from a water treatment plant in the Sunni city, according to a statement.
Police detained the driver after discovering the truck was rigged with more than two tons of explosives. Five, 1,000-gallon barrels filled with chlorine also were hidden under several 55-gallon drums, the military said.
The driver was being held for questioning and the explosives were destroyed by demolition experts, the statement added.
There have been seven chlorine attacks launched since Jan. 28, when a suicide bomber driving a dump truck filled with explosives and a chlorine tank struck a quick-reaction force and Iraqi police in Ramadi, killing 16 people. The use of the toxic gas in attacks has prompted the U.S. military to warn that insurgents are adopting new tactics in a campaign to spread panic.
Police detained the driver after discovering the truck was rigged with more than two tons of explosives. Five, 1,000-gallon barrels filled with chlorine also were hidden under several 55-gallon drums, the military said.
The driver was being held for questioning and the explosives were destroyed by demolition experts, the statement added.
There have been seven chlorine attacks launched since Jan. 28, when a suicide bomber driving a dump truck filled with explosives and a chlorine tank struck a quick-reaction force and Iraqi police in Ramadi, killing 16 people. The use of the toxic gas in attacks has prompted the U.S. military to warn that insurgents are adopting new tactics in a campaign to spread panic.
Labels: chlorine bombs, Ramadi
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Al-Maliki visits Ramadi as more troops arrive in Diyala
Security, Politics
(CNN) Iraq's Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki journeyed to the insurgent-wracked province of Anbar on Tuesday, to meet with Sunni tribal chiefs helping U.S. forces, said an official with the prime minister's office.
Al-Maliki's unannounced trip to Anbar's capital of Ramadi comes as U.S. commanders prepare to send some 4,000 Marines to the province, which has long been a flash point for insurgent violence. The prime minister is set to meet with citizens and government officials.
The new chief of U.S.-led forces in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, praised Ramadi leaders last week for their support against insurgents, including al Qaeda in Iraq. "Tribes in Ramadi have one after the other after another volunteered to join the local police and have all of a sudden become a very, very serious force for al Qaeda in Iraq to reckon with," Petraeus said. "There's really only a small portion of eastern Ramadi that is still viewed as having some extremist elements in it."
Al-Maliki's visit includes some symbolism, as the Shiite leader reaches out to tribal leaders in the Sunni-dominated region, amid months of sectarian killings in Baghdad and elsewhere. Minority Sunnis ruled under Saddam Hussein and his regime often oppressed Iraqis who belonged to the Shiite majority. Now, members of both sects share power with ethnic Kurds in Iraq's fledgling government.
Al-Maliki's unannounced trip to Anbar's capital of Ramadi comes as U.S. commanders prepare to send some 4,000 Marines to the province, which has long been a flash point for insurgent violence. The prime minister is set to meet with citizens and government officials.
The new chief of U.S.-led forces in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, praised Ramadi leaders last week for their support against insurgents, including al Qaeda in Iraq. "Tribes in Ramadi have one after the other after another volunteered to join the local police and have all of a sudden become a very, very serious force for al Qaeda in Iraq to reckon with," Petraeus said. "There's really only a small portion of eastern Ramadi that is still viewed as having some extremist elements in it."
Al-Maliki's visit includes some symbolism, as the Shiite leader reaches out to tribal leaders in the Sunni-dominated region, amid months of sectarian killings in Baghdad and elsewhere. Minority Sunnis ruled under Saddam Hussein and his regime often oppressed Iraqis who belonged to the Shiite majority. Now, members of both sects share power with ethnic Kurds in Iraq's fledgling government.
COMMENT: Al-Maliki is raising his profile and leading by example. He is trying to demonstrate to Iraqis that the government has the security situation enough under control for him to travel around. He also visited an area in Baghdad on Friday. He also needs to appear accommodating to the Sunnis because he is losing support in his own block as Fadhela has left the UIA and the Kurds are showing interest in Allawi's newly formed Iraqi National Front.
The local tribes are an important factor and a force to be reckoned with. People listen to them, and if they don't support the security effort, they will be supporting the insurgency as many of them have done. However, Al Qaeda in Iraq killed too many civilians for the liking of many of the tribes, who have now turned against the insurgents and bring their local knowledge and private militias to contribute to the larger national security effort. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: al-Maliki, Diyala, Ramadi, tribal leaders, troop surge
Thursday, March 01, 2007
U.S. military spokesman disputes killing of 18 children
Security
(AP) A report that 18 boys were killed this week in a car bombing in Ramadi is "false," a senior U.S. military official said Wednesday. Iraqi state television reported Tuesday that the attack occurred that day in the Sunni insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad. Iraqi police and military confirmed the account, but later said the bombing took place Monday. The offices of the president and prime minister had also denounced the reported attack.
The report brought denunciations from top Iraqi officials and international groups about violence targeting children. But Rear Adm. Mark Fox, a U.S. military spokesman, said "the allegation was false" and suggested that rumors began circulating after a controlled detonation by U.S. forces caused injuries in Ramadi.
On Tuesday, a military statement said 30 civilians and one Iraqi soldier were injured by flying debris when troops destroyed 15 bags of explosives. None of the injuries was life-threatening, it added. "There was no second blast," Fox told reporters, "and there was no 18 children killed."
The report brought denunciations from top Iraqi officials and international groups about violence targeting children. But Rear Adm. Mark Fox, a U.S. military spokesman, said "the allegation was false" and suggested that rumors began circulating after a controlled detonation by U.S. forces caused injuries in Ramadi.
On Tuesday, a military statement said 30 civilians and one Iraqi soldier were injured by flying debris when troops destroyed 15 bags of explosives. None of the injuries was life-threatening, it added. "There was no second blast," Fox told reporters, "and there was no 18 children killed."
Labels: children, Mark Fox, Ramadi
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Bombers kill 18 children as U.S. spy chief admits to civil war in Iraq
Security
(AFP) Bombers slaughtered 18 Iraqi children playing football on Tuesday as a relentless bombing spree snuffed out dozens more lives and a US spy chief acknowledged that the crisis amounts to "civil war". The children, aged between 10 and 15, died when a car parked next to a football pitch in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi exploded while they were playing, an Iraqi defence official told AFP. Around 20 more children were wounded in the latest attack in the restive western city, a hotbed of the anti-US insurgency which is fast also becoming a battlefront between rival Sunni factions, the official said.
In another bloody bomb attack, a suicide bomber rammed a truck into the Sheikh Fathi police station in the main northern city of Mosul and detonated explosives, killing at least six policemen, police said. A spate of bomb and mortar attacks in and around Baghdad killed 16 more people, including two civilians who died when a hidden bomb ripped through a budget restaurant frequented by Shiite labourers.
In Washington, Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell told senators that the crisis was "moving in a negative direction" and that "the term 'civil war' accurately describes key elements of the Iraqi conflict. Unless efforts to reverse these conditions gain real traction during the 12-18 month time frame ... we assess that the security situation will continue to deteriorate at rates comparable to the latter half of 2006," he said.
More arrests followed on Tuesday in a separate part of the security plan when Iraqi army special forces and US advisers swooped on suspected Shiite militia hideouts in the east Baghdad suburb of Sadr City.
In another bloody bomb attack, a suicide bomber rammed a truck into the Sheikh Fathi police station in the main northern city of Mosul and detonated explosives, killing at least six policemen, police said. A spate of bomb and mortar attacks in and around Baghdad killed 16 more people, including two civilians who died when a hidden bomb ripped through a budget restaurant frequented by Shiite labourers.
In Washington, Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell told senators that the crisis was "moving in a negative direction" and that "the term 'civil war' accurately describes key elements of the Iraqi conflict. Unless efforts to reverse these conditions gain real traction during the 12-18 month time frame ... we assess that the security situation will continue to deteriorate at rates comparable to the latter half of 2006," he said.
More arrests followed on Tuesday in a separate part of the security plan when Iraqi army special forces and US advisers swooped on suspected Shiite militia hideouts in the east Baghdad suburb of Sadr City.
Labels: civil war, Michael McConnell, Ramadi
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Sunni tribes in Anbar work with U.S. to combat violence
Security
(UPI) Sunni tribes in troubled Anbar province have begun working closely with U.S. and government forces, contributing nearly 2,400 men to the police department and 1,600 to a newly organized tribal security force, authorities say. U.S. troops are training and equipping the new tribal forces, which are called Emergency Response Units (ERUs), and are charged with defending the areas where they live, according to the local U.S. commander.
By a U.S. count, 12 of the Ramadi area's 21 tribes are cooperating in the security effort, six are considered neutral, and three are actively hostile. That is almost the reverse of the tribal posture last June, when three were cooperative and 12 were hostile. For nearly four years, the tribes around Ramadi survived by playing both sides, working with U.S. forces when it suited them, while at the same time helping or tolerating Sunni insurgent groups and al Qaeda in Iraq.
That changed in August, according to U.S. Army Col. Sean MacFarland, commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, which has been responsible for security operations in Ramadi since June. Al Qaeda in Iraq -- which has also turned its intimidation tactics on the tribal leaders -- kidnapped and killed Sheik Khalid of the Albu Ali Jassim tribe and left his body where it could not be found, preventing the family from burying him within 24 hours as prescribed by Muslim tradition. "Al Qaeda overplayed its hand," Col. MacFarland said at his headquarters, a dusty base on the west side of Ramadi.
At a meeting that month, several sheiks drew up an 11-point declaration vowing to fight al Qaeda, within the rule of law, and declaring solidarity with coalition and government security forces. It is a movement referred to by the tribes as "the Awakening" led by Sheik Sitar. Al Qaeda killed several of his family members along with 14 other sheiks from different tribes.
From July 2006 to January 2007, the daily average number of attacks fell by 38 percent and roadside bomb attacks dropped by 57 percent to an 18-month low. The roadside bombs also are getting smaller and less complex, enabling the brigade and the Iraqi police to find more than 80 percent of improvised explosive devices before they detonate.
It is "a very significant indicator that this potent weapon system has become less effective in Ramadi," Col. MacFarland said. More important to the colonel, attacks are occurring farther from the town center and from the main road -- suggesting that residents are not tolerating insurgents the way they once did, and are tipping off police to suspicious activities.
By a U.S. count, 12 of the Ramadi area's 21 tribes are cooperating in the security effort, six are considered neutral, and three are actively hostile. That is almost the reverse of the tribal posture last June, when three were cooperative and 12 were hostile. For nearly four years, the tribes around Ramadi survived by playing both sides, working with U.S. forces when it suited them, while at the same time helping or tolerating Sunni insurgent groups and al Qaeda in Iraq.
That changed in August, according to U.S. Army Col. Sean MacFarland, commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, which has been responsible for security operations in Ramadi since June. Al Qaeda in Iraq -- which has also turned its intimidation tactics on the tribal leaders -- kidnapped and killed Sheik Khalid of the Albu Ali Jassim tribe and left his body where it could not be found, preventing the family from burying him within 24 hours as prescribed by Muslim tradition. "Al Qaeda overplayed its hand," Col. MacFarland said at his headquarters, a dusty base on the west side of Ramadi.
At a meeting that month, several sheiks drew up an 11-point declaration vowing to fight al Qaeda, within the rule of law, and declaring solidarity with coalition and government security forces. It is a movement referred to by the tribes as "the Awakening" led by Sheik Sitar. Al Qaeda killed several of his family members along with 14 other sheiks from different tribes.
From July 2006 to January 2007, the daily average number of attacks fell by 38 percent and roadside bomb attacks dropped by 57 percent to an 18-month low. The roadside bombs also are getting smaller and less complex, enabling the brigade and the Iraqi police to find more than 80 percent of improvised explosive devices before they detonate.
It is "a very significant indicator that this potent weapon system has become less effective in Ramadi," Col. MacFarland said. More important to the colonel, attacks are occurring farther from the town center and from the main road -- suggesting that residents are not tolerating insurgents the way they once did, and are tipping off police to suspicious activities.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, Ramadi, tribal sheiks
