Thursday, September 06, 2007
The armies of Iraq
Security
(Al Jazeera) - Four years ago the fighting in Iraq was just beginning. The armed group al-Qaeda in Iraq did not even exist and Sunni and Shia groups were working together against the US-led forces. Three years ago, sectarian divisions escalated into a battle some believe has reached civil war proportions.
Now the fighters have turned against each other. This year has seen Shia infighting on the streets of Iraqi cities such as Karbala and Sunni armed groups fighting to keep al-Qaeda out of their regions. In a series of reports, Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel Hamid looks at the new reality of Iraq's many armies.
Part One - Sunni armed groups
Sunni armed groups are a complicated web of alliances of Iraqi nationalists, Islamists, former Iraqi army officers and a few Baathists. For the past four years, the groups have become better organised and more popular among disaffected Sunnis. They see them as a legitimate resistance which also protects civilians from foreign troops and Shia militia death squads. These days most of the Sunni fighters are Iraqis, and that means the US and Iraqi governments have no choice but to talk to them. Sources say negotiations are under way, but until Sunni fighters feel their role in the future is recognised they are unlikely to give up their arms.
Click here to watch Part One
Part Two - Shia militias
The Mahdi Army is said to have morethan 60,000 militiamen [AFP]The conflict between Iraq's Shia rivals has been ongoing since 2003. The Jaish al-Mahdi, or Mahdi Army, is loyal to Shia leader Muqtada al Sadr. Said to have 60,000 men in its ranks, it is by far the biggest militia in Iraq. Its rival, the Badr organisation, is the military wing of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, previously known as the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. This influential Shia party was formed in Iran during the presidency of Saddam Hussein and its leaders were exultant after the US invasion.
Click here to watch Part Two
Part Three - Iraq's security forces
In the remote desert areas of Iraq, US soldiers are training Iraqi recruits to form the nation's new army and police force. But outside the cocoon of a training camp, the newly graduated security forces must tackle one of the most challenging environments in the world. The US is currently allied with some tribes in its fight against al-Qaeda. Incorporating Sunnis would ease some of the sectarian tensions. But the main question remains: When will the security forces be really able to deal with the challenges of Iraq?
Click here to watch Part Three
Part Four - The US army
They were supposedly welcomed as liberators who would bring freedom and democracy to Iraq. But the most powerful army in the world was not ready for handmade road-side bombs that have killed hundreds of soldiers so far and maimed thousands more. It blamed all the attacks in these early stages on al-Qaeda and disgruntled members of Saddam's former government. But now, on the eve of the report by General David Petraeus, head of US forces in Iraq, into the success of the recent troop "surge", the US presence in Iraq is already at the heart of the presidential debate in the US and withdrawing or staying has become a national debate.
Click here to watch Part Four
Part Five - Al-Qaeda
The Bush administration is building its new case to stay in Iraq as a war against al-Qaeda. However, it is not the largest group fighting today, nor is it the one that carries out most attacks - only 15 per cent in the first half of 2007 according to the US military. However, it is behind the vast majority of devastating car bombs and suicide attacks which fuel the sectarian war.
Now the fighters have turned against each other. This year has seen Shia infighting on the streets of Iraqi cities such as Karbala and Sunni armed groups fighting to keep al-Qaeda out of their regions. In a series of reports, Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel Hamid looks at the new reality of Iraq's many armies.
Part One - Sunni armed groups
Sunni armed groups are a complicated web of alliances of Iraqi nationalists, Islamists, former Iraqi army officers and a few Baathists. For the past four years, the groups have become better organised and more popular among disaffected Sunnis. They see them as a legitimate resistance which also protects civilians from foreign troops and Shia militia death squads. These days most of the Sunni fighters are Iraqis, and that means the US and Iraqi governments have no choice but to talk to them. Sources say negotiations are under way, but until Sunni fighters feel their role in the future is recognised they are unlikely to give up their arms.
Click here to watch Part One
Part Two - Shia militias
The Mahdi Army is said to have morethan 60,000 militiamen [AFP]The conflict between Iraq's Shia rivals has been ongoing since 2003. The Jaish al-Mahdi, or Mahdi Army, is loyal to Shia leader Muqtada al Sadr. Said to have 60,000 men in its ranks, it is by far the biggest militia in Iraq. Its rival, the Badr organisation, is the military wing of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, previously known as the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. This influential Shia party was formed in Iran during the presidency of Saddam Hussein and its leaders were exultant after the US invasion.
Click here to watch Part Two
Part Three - Iraq's security forces
In the remote desert areas of Iraq, US soldiers are training Iraqi recruits to form the nation's new army and police force. But outside the cocoon of a training camp, the newly graduated security forces must tackle one of the most challenging environments in the world. The US is currently allied with some tribes in its fight against al-Qaeda. Incorporating Sunnis would ease some of the sectarian tensions. But the main question remains: When will the security forces be really able to deal with the challenges of Iraq?
Click here to watch Part Three
Part Four - The US army
They were supposedly welcomed as liberators who would bring freedom and democracy to Iraq. But the most powerful army in the world was not ready for handmade road-side bombs that have killed hundreds of soldiers so far and maimed thousands more. It blamed all the attacks in these early stages on al-Qaeda and disgruntled members of Saddam's former government. But now, on the eve of the report by General David Petraeus, head of US forces in Iraq, into the success of the recent troop "surge", the US presence in Iraq is already at the heart of the presidential debate in the US and withdrawing or staying has become a national debate.
Click here to watch Part Four
Part Five - Al-Qaeda
The Bush administration is building its new case to stay in Iraq as a war against al-Qaeda. However, it is not the largest group fighting today, nor is it the one that carries out most attacks - only 15 per cent in the first half of 2007 according to the US military. However, it is behind the vast majority of devastating car bombs and suicide attacks which fuel the sectarian war.
Labels: Al Qaeda, Iraq, Iraqi security forces, militants, security, Shia militias, Sunni armed groups, U.S. military
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Tragetting of Baath party members leads to further displacements
Security, Politics
(IRIN) - Militants in southern areas of Iraq are reportedly targeting former members of the Baath Party in a bid to exterminate them, causing new displacements, according to local non-governmental organisations (NGOs). At least 200 ex-members of the Baath Party of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein have been killed so far.
According to local police, hundreds of families have been forced to flee their homes. “Militias are conducting a campaign to exterminate over 4,000 members of the Baath Party,” said Hassan Dureid, spokesperson for Iraqi Brothers Relief, a local NGO working in southern Iraq. “Most of these people didn’t have a choice and were obliged to join the party during the ex-regime.” “Dozens of new widows of ex-members of the Baath Party have reported [the deaths of their husbands] in the past three weeks to southern governorates, and their numbers could increase, according to experts,” Dureid added.
We want to prevent Saddam’s followers from returning to power and the best way is to exterminate them. Militants affiliated with Shia groups refused to give detailed information about the campaign but said their action was to guarantee the “cleansing of any remnants of Saddam Hussein’s regime”. “We want to prevent Saddam’s followers from returning to power and the best way is to exterminate them,” Abu Khalid Alawi, who said he was a senior local Shia militia member but declined to name his organisation, told IRIN.
We want to prevent Saddam’s followers from returning to power and the best way is to exterminate them. Militants affiliated with Shia groups refused to give detailed information about the campaign but said their action was to guarantee the “cleansing of any remnants of Saddam Hussein’s regime”. “We want to prevent Saddam’s followers from returning to power and the best way is to exterminate them,” Abu Khalid Alawi, who said he was a senior local Shia militia member but declined to name his organisation, told IRIN.
“Only Shia families in the southern governorates really know what we suffered in their hands and we don’t want to risk having them back,” he added. The Iraqi Brothers Relief said they were worried about the number of newly displaced families which have been seeking protection in displacement camps in southern areas, mostly on the outskirts of the cities of Najaf, Missan and Basra.
“We have received information from our volunteers that at least 2,000 Iraqis, mostly women and children, have joined displacement camps in the south over the past three weeks,” Farid Abbas, a spokesman for Najaf-based NGO the Muslim Organisation for Peace (MOP), said. “These families are without their husbands or fathers because either they have been killed or were forced to flee to the northern governorates for being ex-Baath Party members,” Abbas said.
Change of policy Current government policy, supported by the US, is to reinstate some former Baath party members in government posts to bolster the government’s effectiveness. This is believed to be one of the reasons for the current campaign by Shia militants in the south. “In 2003, the temporary Iraqi government set up by Paul Bremer started firing all Baath Party members from government posts,” Professor Abdel-Qader Azize, a displacement analyst at Baghdad University, said. “The problem is that most of these people didn’t have a choice and were forced by Saddam’s regime to follow orders or would have been killed.” “This move failed and the US government is now forcing the Iraqi parliament to reverse the law and accept ex-Baath Party members back into government jobs,” Azize said, adding that this was causing local resentment.
The Iraqi government couldn’t be reached for comment but the governing council of Basra said they had started negotiations with militant leaders to get them to stop such attacks.
The Iraqi government couldn’t be reached for comment but the governing council of Basra said they had started negotiations with militant leaders to get them to stop such attacks.
Labels: Baathists, Basra, IDPs, Iraqi Brothers Relief, Maysan, Muslim Organisation for Peace, Najaf, Shia militias
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Campaign to liquidate 3,000 Baathists in southern Iraq
Security, Politics, Employment
(Azzaman) - Militias belonging to Shiite religious factions in southern Iraq have embarked on a murderous campaign to liquidate 3,000 members of the Baath party of former leader Saddam Hussein. The campaign is reported to have terrorized residential quarters in several cities in the south since scores of former Baathists have been killed recently in the area.
Informed sources refusing to be named said the militias have 3,000 more names on their ‘liquidation lists’ and many former Baathists are reported to have gone into hiding. The so-called policy of debaathification, started by the first U.S. Iraq consul Paul Bremer, is believed to be one of the reasons behind current violence and instability in the country.
Former Baathists were banned from assuming posts in the government or employment in the public sector. Many had their property and belongings expropriated. As a result hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs and means of living, fueling resentment and anger at U.S. occupation troops and the government.
Analysts say the militias are keen to liquidate as many former Baathists as possible before the parliament, under pressure from the U.S., reverses measures that have led to their dismissal from government jobs.
Informed sources refusing to be named said the militias have 3,000 more names on their ‘liquidation lists’ and many former Baathists are reported to have gone into hiding. The so-called policy of debaathification, started by the first U.S. Iraq consul Paul Bremer, is believed to be one of the reasons behind current violence and instability in the country.
Former Baathists were banned from assuming posts in the government or employment in the public sector. Many had their property and belongings expropriated. As a result hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs and means of living, fueling resentment and anger at U.S. occupation troops and the government.
Analysts say the militias are keen to liquidate as many former Baathists as possible before the parliament, under pressure from the U.S., reverses measures that have led to their dismissal from government jobs.
Labels: Baathists, Shia militias, southern Iraq
Iranian, U.S. officials meet for security talks on Iraq
International
(RFE/RL) - U.S. and Iranian officials met in Baghdad on July 24 for a second round of talks aimed at supporting the Iraqi government, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq reported. The meeting, hosted by the Iraqi government, was attended by U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and his Iranian counterpart, Hasan Kazemi-Qomi.
Iraqi state-television channel Al-Iraqiyah cited Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's address to the two sides at the start of the talks. Al-Maliki reportedly told both sides Iraq is keen on good relations with all parties. He added that Iraq does not want to interfere in the affairs of others, just as it does not want others to interfere in Iraq's internal affairs.
Meanwhile, an Iraqi source attending the meeting told AP that an argument broke out early on between Crocker and Qomi after the U.S. ambassador claimed Iran is training and supplying Shi'ite militiamen to target coalition forces. Qomi reportedly responded by saying the United States has no proof to back up the claim. Iranian sources have said the status of five Iranian diplomats detained by U.S. forces in Iraq since January will also be high on the meeting's agenda.
Labels: Hasan Kazemi Qomi, Iran, Iranian detainees, Ryan Crocker, Shia militias, U.S.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Govt replaces top security commission in Basrah
Security
(AP) -- The Iraqi government replaced the top security commission in the country's second-largest city because of suspected links to Shiite militias as authorities prepare for British forces to reduce their presence in southern Iraq, officials said Monday. Basra, the capital of Iraq's oil-rich southern region, has been plagued by feuds between rival Shiite militias - blamed for killings of police officers and civilians as well as rocket and mortar attacks against British troops and Iraqi security forces.
The old security committee was disbanded after being accused of cooperating with some militias and other armed groups, said military and security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The committee directs security efforts by the Iraqi military and police in the province.
Basra province police chief Maj. Gen. Abdul-Jalil Khalaf and Maj. Gen. Habib Taleb Abbas, head of the army's 10th Division, were named as the committee's new commanders, the officials said. The step takes place as Iraqi forces are preparing to take over security responsibility for Basra province in mid-August. Britain has withdrawn hundreds of troops from Iraq, leaving a force of about 5,500 based mainly on the fringes of Basra.
Last week, outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair said his country would withdraw even more troops within weeks, but he did not set a specific timetable. British and Iraqi forces have struggled to bring calm to Basra, about 340 miles southeast of Baghdad and the main route for Iraq's oil exports to the Persian Gulf. Attacks have increased against British troops in the province, killing seven in June.
In June 2006, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared a state of emergency in Basra following a rise in violence among mostly Shiite groups competing for power and infiltrating police and government institutions.
The old security committee was disbanded after being accused of cooperating with some militias and other armed groups, said military and security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The committee directs security efforts by the Iraqi military and police in the province.
Basra province police chief Maj. Gen. Abdul-Jalil Khalaf and Maj. Gen. Habib Taleb Abbas, head of the army's 10th Division, were named as the committee's new commanders, the officials said. The step takes place as Iraqi forces are preparing to take over security responsibility for Basra province in mid-August. Britain has withdrawn hundreds of troops from Iraq, leaving a force of about 5,500 based mainly on the fringes of Basra.
Last week, outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair said his country would withdraw even more troops within weeks, but he did not set a specific timetable. British and Iraqi forces have struggled to bring calm to Basra, about 340 miles southeast of Baghdad and the main route for Iraq's oil exports to the Persian Gulf. Attacks have increased against British troops in the province, killing seven in June.
In June 2006, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared a state of emergency in Basra following a rise in violence among mostly Shiite groups competing for power and infiltrating police and government institutions.
Labels: 10th Iraqi Army division, Basra, Maj. Gen. Abdul-Jalil Khalaf, Maj. Gen. Habib Taleb Abbas, Shia militias
Monday, July 02, 2007
U.S. accuses Iran of masterminding attacks on coalition
Security
(Gulf News) - The US military in Iraq has accused Iran of masterminding attacks aimed at coalition troops in Iraq and for arming and training Shiite militants. Military spokesman Brigadier-General Kevin Bergner said that the information came from a top Hezbollah fighter who was recently captured in Iraq.
Bergner said that senior Iranian leaders know about the operations of Iran’s Qods Force in Iraq. "We also understand that senior Iraqi leaders have expressed their concerns to the Iranian government about the activities," he said. Bergner said the United States had discovered three small camps near Tehran where Iraqi militants were trained by Qods Force and Hezbollah operatives.
He said that the Qods Force was also involved in an attack in Kerbala in January when gunmen, disguised as Americans, entered a government compound and killed a US soldier and abducted four others whom they later killed. He added that the military has detained a Hezbollah veteran, Ali Mussa Daqduq, who was in Iraq to organise secret cells to mirror Hezbollah's structure in Lebanon.
Iran denies involvement in the violence in Iraq and blames the US-led invasion in 2003 for the bloodshed. Iran's Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar dismissed the US claim as a "sheer lie". Iran does not officially acknowledge the existence of the Qods Force. Military experts say it is a wing of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
Bergner said that senior Iranian leaders know about the operations of Iran’s Qods Force in Iraq. "We also understand that senior Iraqi leaders have expressed their concerns to the Iranian government about the activities," he said. Bergner said the United States had discovered three small camps near Tehran where Iraqi militants were trained by Qods Force and Hezbollah operatives.
He said that the Qods Force was also involved in an attack in Kerbala in January when gunmen, disguised as Americans, entered a government compound and killed a US soldier and abducted four others whom they later killed. He added that the military has detained a Hezbollah veteran, Ali Mussa Daqduq, who was in Iraq to organise secret cells to mirror Hezbollah's structure in Lebanon.
Iran denies involvement in the violence in Iraq and blames the US-led invasion in 2003 for the bloodshed. Iran's Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar dismissed the US claim as a "sheer lie". Iran does not officially acknowledge the existence of the Qods Force. Military experts say it is a wing of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
Labels: Ali Mussa Daqduq, Brigadier-General Kevin Bergner, Hezbollah, Iran, Kerbala, Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, Quds Force, Shia militias, U.S. military
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Truck bomb kills 75 as new offensive launched
Security
(RFE/RL) - A massive truck bomb explosion has killed some 75 people and wounded at least 130 in central Baghdad. The explosion occurred near the Shi'ite Al-Khalani Mosque in the city center. The attack in Baghdad's busy commercial district of Sinak came just hours after thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops launched a new offensive north of Baghdad aimed at clearing the region of Sunni insurgents and Al-Qaeda.
The operation is called Arrowhead Ripper and involves some 10,000 U.S. and Iraqi soldiers in Diyala Governorate. The operation began in earnest overnight, with air and ground assaults in and around the provincial capital of Ba'qubah, 60 kilometers north of Baghdad. By daybreak, the U.S. military said 22 militants had been killed. The Diyala operation opens a new front and comes in response to changing insurgent tactics.
The U.S.-led troop surge in Baghdad, and Al-Anbar Governorate to the west, has meant insurgents, who are being pushed out of those areas, are refocusing their activities to other parts of the country. In a report issued on June 13, the Pentagon said the rise in attacks in Diyala and Ninawa governorates were threatening to offset coalition gains in Iraq’s center. In recent months, Diyala Governorate has emerged as a center of the Sunni Arab insurgency, with Al-Qaeda In Mesopotamia and other militant groups turning it into a base of operations.
Shi’ite militias have also been active in the region. Diyala Governorate, a prime agricultural region of date and orange groves has a mixed Sunni and Shi’a population. That makes it explosive as extremists seek to fan sectarian tensions. Thousands of people have already been forced from their homes in fighting between militant groups.
While Diyala Governorate appears to be a current epicenter of insurgent-led violence in Iraq, the Pentagon report also notes a rise in militant attacks in the southern city of Al-Basrah as well as Mosul and Tal Afar in the north, all of which were once touted as islands of relative stability. Operation Arrowhead Ripper comes just days after the U.S. military said it had completed its buildup of forces in Iraq to 160,000 troops.
The operation is called Arrowhead Ripper and involves some 10,000 U.S. and Iraqi soldiers in Diyala Governorate. The operation began in earnest overnight, with air and ground assaults in and around the provincial capital of Ba'qubah, 60 kilometers north of Baghdad. By daybreak, the U.S. military said 22 militants had been killed. The Diyala operation opens a new front and comes in response to changing insurgent tactics.
The U.S.-led troop surge in Baghdad, and Al-Anbar Governorate to the west, has meant insurgents, who are being pushed out of those areas, are refocusing their activities to other parts of the country. In a report issued on June 13, the Pentagon said the rise in attacks in Diyala and Ninawa governorates were threatening to offset coalition gains in Iraq’s center. In recent months, Diyala Governorate has emerged as a center of the Sunni Arab insurgency, with Al-Qaeda In Mesopotamia and other militant groups turning it into a base of operations.
Shi’ite militias have also been active in the region. Diyala Governorate, a prime agricultural region of date and orange groves has a mixed Sunni and Shi’a population. That makes it explosive as extremists seek to fan sectarian tensions. Thousands of people have already been forced from their homes in fighting between militant groups.
While Diyala Governorate appears to be a current epicenter of insurgent-led violence in Iraq, the Pentagon report also notes a rise in militant attacks in the southern city of Al-Basrah as well as Mosul and Tal Afar in the north, all of which were once touted as islands of relative stability. Operation Arrowhead Ripper comes just days after the U.S. military said it had completed its buildup of forces in Iraq to 160,000 troops.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, Al-Khalani Mosque, Arrowhead Ripper, Baqouba, Diyala, Shia militias, Sinak, truck bomb
Friday, May 25, 2007
British security company hit in Basra
Security
(AFP) - Insurgents detonated a roadside bomb beneath a vehicle belonging to a British-based security company in the southern Iraqi city of Basra on Friday, British military officials said. "There seems to have been a roadside bomb. We have no more details, but we believe it was a private security vehicle," said British military spokesman Major David Gell, adding that he had received no word on casualties.
Another British military official later said that the vehicle belonged to the London-based Aegis Specialist Risk Management, a private security company, which said it had no knowledge of the incident. Children frolicked around the burning hulk of a sports-utility vehicle, squirting the wreckage and each other with toy water guns, an AFP photographer at the scene said. Although southern Iraq has been relatively calm, British military and private security forces frequently come under attack from the local Shiite militias that control Basra, the country's main sea port.
Another British military official later said that the vehicle belonged to the London-based Aegis Specialist Risk Management, a private security company, which said it had no knowledge of the incident. Children frolicked around the burning hulk of a sports-utility vehicle, squirting the wreckage and each other with toy water guns, an AFP photographer at the scene said. Although southern Iraq has been relatively calm, British military and private security forces frequently come under attack from the local Shiite militias that control Basra, the country's main sea port.
Labels: Aegis Defense Services, Basra, private security companies, roadside bombs, Shia militias
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
U.S. - military - Iran has been training Iraqi fighters in the use of EFPs
Iran, Security
(AP) - Iran has been training Iraqi fighters in the assembly of deadly roadside bombs known as EFPs, the U.S. military spokesman said Wednesday. EFPs, or explosively formed penetrators, hurl a molten, fist-sized lump of molten copper capable of piercing armored vehicles.
"We know that they are being in fact manufactured and smuggled into this country, and we know that training does go on in Iran for people to learn how to assemble them and how to employ them," Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said at a weekly briefing. "We know that training has gone on as recently as this past month from detainees' debriefs." In January, U.S. officials said at least 170 U.S. soldiers had been killed by EFPs. Caldwell also said the U.S. military had evidence that Iranian intelligence agents were active in Iraq in funding, training and arming Shiite militia fighters.
"We also know that training still is being conducted in Iran for insurgent elements from Iraq. We know that as recent as last week from debriefing personnel," he said. "The do receive training on how to assemble and employ EFPs," Caldwell said, adding that fighters also were trained in how to carry out complex attacks that used explosives followed by assaults with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms.
"There has been training on specialized weapons that are used here in Iraq. And then we do know they receive also training on general tactics in terms of how to take and employ and work what we call a more complex kind of attack where we see multiple types of engagements being used from an explosion to small arms fire to being done in multiple places," Caldwell said.
The general would not say specifically which arm of the Iranian government was doing the training but called the trainers "surrogates" of Iran's intelligence agency. Caldwell opened the briefing by showing photographs of what he said were Iranian-made mortar rounds, RPG rounds and rockets that were found in Iraq.
"We know that they are being in fact manufactured and smuggled into this country, and we know that training does go on in Iran for people to learn how to assemble them and how to employ them," Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said at a weekly briefing. "We know that training has gone on as recently as this past month from detainees' debriefs." In January, U.S. officials said at least 170 U.S. soldiers had been killed by EFPs. Caldwell also said the U.S. military had evidence that Iranian intelligence agents were active in Iraq in funding, training and arming Shiite militia fighters.
"We also know that training still is being conducted in Iran for insurgent elements from Iraq. We know that as recent as last week from debriefing personnel," he said. "The do receive training on how to assemble and employ EFPs," Caldwell said, adding that fighters also were trained in how to carry out complex attacks that used explosives followed by assaults with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms.
"There has been training on specialized weapons that are used here in Iraq. And then we do know they receive also training on general tactics in terms of how to take and employ and work what we call a more complex kind of attack where we see multiple types of engagements being used from an explosion to small arms fire to being done in multiple places," Caldwell said.
The general would not say specifically which arm of the Iranian government was doing the training but called the trainers "surrogates" of Iran's intelligence agency. Caldwell opened the briefing by showing photographs of what he said were Iranian-made mortar rounds, RPG rounds and rockets that were found in Iraq.
Labels: complex attack, EFPs, explosively formed projectiles, Iran, Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, Shia militias, training
Friday, March 30, 2007
U.S. forces claim to have captured EFP importer
Security
(AP) - The U.S. military announced the capture Friday of a suspected militant linked to the import into Iraq of sophisticated roadside bombs that the Americans have asserted are coming from Iran. The suspect, who was detained by U.S. and Iraqi forces during a raid in the Shiite militia stronghold of Sadr City, was believed to be tied to networks bringing the weapons known as explosively formed projectiles, or EFPs, into Iraq, the military said.
The suspect was believed to be involved with several violent extremist groups responsible for attacks against Iraqis and U.S.-led forces, according to the statement. It did not name the suspect or the groups, but the U.S. military has asserted in recent months that Iran's Revolutionary Guards and Quds force have been providing Shiite militias with weapons and parts for sophisticated armor-piercing bombs. The EFPs are responsible for the deaths of more than 170 American and coalition soldiers since mid-2004, the military says.
Residents claimed the man arrested was a 58-year-old father of six children who was unemployed. They said the raid began at 2 a.m. and targeted four houses, and the American and Iraqi troops seized money, a computer and several cell phones.
The suspect was believed to be involved with several violent extremist groups responsible for attacks against Iraqis and U.S.-led forces, according to the statement. It did not name the suspect or the groups, but the U.S. military has asserted in recent months that Iran's Revolutionary Guards and Quds force have been providing Shiite militias with weapons and parts for sophisticated armor-piercing bombs. The EFPs are responsible for the deaths of more than 170 American and coalition soldiers since mid-2004, the military says.
Residents claimed the man arrested was a 58-year-old father of six children who was unemployed. They said the raid began at 2 a.m. and targeted four houses, and the American and Iraqi troops seized money, a computer and several cell phones.
Labels: EFPs, explosively formed projectiles, Iran, Quds Force, Shia militias
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Saddam's VP buried next to him in Ouja
(AP) Hundreds of chanting mourners buried Saddam Hussein's former vice president near the ousted dictator, his sons and two other executed deputies Tuesday in a spot that has become the graveyard of the ousted regime. Taha Yassin Ramadan's body, which was covered with the Iraqi flag, was interred in a building courtyard in the Tigris River village of Ouja hours after he was hanged for his part in the killings of 148 Shiite Muslims following a 1982 assassination attempt on Saddam.
Police, meanwhile, found the bullet-riddled bodies of 32 men scattered across Baghdad. The corpses showed signs of torture and were the apparent victims of sectarian death squads, most of which are believed to be operated by Shiite militias. That number was below the average of 50 bodies that were turning up daily on the capital's streets before the U.S.-Iraqi security operation started Feb. 14. Militia fighters have been lying low to avoid a confrontation with American troops. The number of execution-style deaths was notable, however, because the toll had fallen as low as seven a day, prompting American and Iraqi officials to express cautious optimism that sectarian violence was ebbing.
Police, meanwhile, found the bullet-riddled bodies of 32 men scattered across Baghdad. The corpses showed signs of torture and were the apparent victims of sectarian death squads, most of which are believed to be operated by Shiite militias. That number was below the average of 50 bodies that were turning up daily on the capital's streets before the U.S.-Iraqi security operation started Feb. 14. Militia fighters have been lying low to avoid a confrontation with American troops. The number of execution-style deaths was notable, however, because the toll had fallen as low as seven a day, prompting American and Iraqi officials to express cautious optimism that sectarian violence was ebbing.
Ramadan, Saddam's vice president at the start of the war, was hanged before dawn in what was once Iraq's military intelligence headquarters in Baghdad. Police in Tikrit, Saddam's hometown, said the body was flown to the area by the U.S. military, then driven to Ouja to be buried near the flower-covered graves of co-defendants Barzan Ibrahim and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, who were executed in January. Saddam's sons Odai and Qusai and grandson Mustafa also are buried in the courtyard, and the former dictator's grave is inside the building.
Yahya Ibrahim, a Sunni Arab cleric and member of the Association of Muslim Scholars, said Ramadan had asked in his will to be buried at the site, which has become a focal point for loyalists of the former regime. Ouja, just outside Tikrit and about a 90-minute drive north of Baghdad, is near where Saddam was captured by American soldiers in December 2003.
Yahya Ibrahim, a Sunni Arab cleric and member of the Association of Muslim Scholars, said Ramadan had asked in his will to be buried at the site, which has become a focal point for loyalists of the former regime. Ouja, just outside Tikrit and about a 90-minute drive north of Baghdad, is near where Saddam was captured by American soldiers in December 2003.
Labels: death squads, Ouja, Saddam Hussein, Shia militias, Taha Yassin Ramadan
Al-Hashemi calls for talks with insurgents
Security, Insurgency, Politics
(BBC) The vice-president of Iraq, Tareq al-Hashemi, has called for talks to be opened with the country's insurgents in an attempt to bring peace. He told the BBC that militants were "just part of the Iraqi communities". He said that the only way for Iraq to make progress is for negotiations to take place. Apart from al-Qaeda, which he said was "not very much willing in fact to talk to anybody", all parties "should be invited, should be called to sit down around the table to discuss their fears, their reservations".
Sunni politicians have said Iraq's national security forces are deeply infiltrated by, and provide a cover for, the Shia militias. On Tuesday General Abdul Hussein al-Saffe, head of policing in Dhi Qhar province, told the BBC he could not trust a third of his officers because they were loyal to militias. The vice-president said the armed forces needed to be purged of such influence. Mr Hashemi expressed unease that the sectarian nature of the conflict was reflected in the present government in Iraq. "[It] might be that the Iraqis need to be convinced that to break up this polarisation we have to go for, first of all, election system reform and second, to go for early elections," he said.
Regarding the presence of the US-led coalition, he said many people were "annoyed" because foreign troops were "damaging the dignity of the Iraqis". However he added that the forces should stay in Iraq "until further notice". "We're expecting a timetable, conditional withdrawal," he added.
Sunni politicians have said Iraq's national security forces are deeply infiltrated by, and provide a cover for, the Shia militias. On Tuesday General Abdul Hussein al-Saffe, head of policing in Dhi Qhar province, told the BBC he could not trust a third of his officers because they were loyal to militias. The vice-president said the armed forces needed to be purged of such influence. Mr Hashemi expressed unease that the sectarian nature of the conflict was reflected in the present government in Iraq. "[It] might be that the Iraqis need to be convinced that to break up this polarisation we have to go for, first of all, election system reform and second, to go for early elections," he said.
Regarding the presence of the US-led coalition, he said many people were "annoyed" because foreign troops were "damaging the dignity of the Iraqis". However he added that the forces should stay in Iraq "until further notice". "We're expecting a timetable, conditional withdrawal," he added.
Labels: Al Qaeda, insurgents, negotiations, Shia militias, Tareq al-Hashemi
