Monday, September 17, 2007
Islamic State of Iraq steps up attacks
Insurgency
(Gulf News) - At least 30 people were killed as militants stepped up bombings and shootings across Iraq on Sunday. This followed a threat by Al Qaida to launch a new phase of violence. Suspected Al Qaida militants shot dead 14 people in the predominantly Sunni Arab town of Muqdadiya north of Baghdad and torched at least 12 shops in the town, Iraqi police said.
A suicide bomber on a booby-trapped bicycle killed six people at an outdoor cafe in the northern town of Tuz Khurmato. In Baghdad, eight people were killed in four separate bombings. In the raids on the villages of Jichan and Ghizlayat, the fighters arrived from several different directions and residents fought back until Iraqi security forces arrived and chased the attackers, who fled to nearby farms. The clashes about 60 miles north of Baghdad lasted about two hours, officials and witnesses said.
An Al Qaida-led group, the Islamic State in Iraq, had said on Saturday it was launching a fresh round of attacks to mark the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which started late last week. Meanwhile, the US military said it had caught a suspected Al Qaida militant believed to be behind the killing last week of a key Sunni Arab tribal leader in Anbar province.
Shaikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, who met US President George W. Bush two weeks ago in Anbar, was killed in a bomb attack on Thursday near his home. He led an alliance of tribes that helped US troops push Al Qaida out of much of the vast western area.
A suicide bomber on a booby-trapped bicycle killed six people at an outdoor cafe in the northern town of Tuz Khurmato. In Baghdad, eight people were killed in four separate bombings. In the raids on the villages of Jichan and Ghizlayat, the fighters arrived from several different directions and residents fought back until Iraqi security forces arrived and chased the attackers, who fled to nearby farms. The clashes about 60 miles north of Baghdad lasted about two hours, officials and witnesses said.
An Al Qaida-led group, the Islamic State in Iraq, had said on Saturday it was launching a fresh round of attacks to mark the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which started late last week. Meanwhile, the US military said it had caught a suspected Al Qaida militant believed to be behind the killing last week of a key Sunni Arab tribal leader in Anbar province.
Shaikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, who met US President George W. Bush two weeks ago in Anbar, was killed in a bomb attack on Thursday near his home. He led an alliance of tribes that helped US troops push Al Qaida out of much of the vast western area.
Labels: Al Qaeda, booby-trapped bicycle, Islamic State in Iraq, Muqdadiya, suicide bomber, Tuz Kharmatu, violence
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Major bridge in northern Iraq destroyed
Security
(Reuters) - Insurgents destroyed a major bridge that connects the Iraqi capital Baghdad with the northern cities of Kirkuk and Arbil early on Saturday, police said. They said the insurgents used explosives to destroy the Sarha Bridge, near the town of Tuz Khurmato on the Chinchal river, some 150 km (100 miles) north of Baghdad. The blast severely damaged the bridge, forcing motorists into detours and traffic jams.
Several bridges have been targeted in Iraq, most notably the popular Sarafiya bridge which was destroyed in April in a truck bombing that sent large sections of the steel structure crashing into the Tigris in central Baghdad.
Many Iraqis believe insurgents target bridges to physically separate Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim areas in central Iraq, but some say the attacks are meant to frustrate people who have to endure time consuming detours into dangerous areas. The Iraqi government recently imposed restrictions that ban trucks from traveling on all but two of the capital's 13 bridges in fear of another major attack.
Several bridges have been targeted in Iraq, most notably the popular Sarafiya bridge which was destroyed in April in a truck bombing that sent large sections of the steel structure crashing into the Tigris in central Baghdad.
Many Iraqis believe insurgents target bridges to physically separate Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim areas in central Iraq, but some say the attacks are meant to frustrate people who have to endure time consuming detours into dangerous areas. The Iraqi government recently imposed restrictions that ban trucks from traveling on all but two of the capital's 13 bridges in fear of another major attack.
Labels: Chinchal river, insurgents, Sarha Bridge, Tuz Kharmatu
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Bombings continue across Iraq
Security
(AP) - A parked car exploded near a hospital in Baghdad's main Shiite district on Saturday as a series of bombings killed at least 10 people and wounded dozens in Iraq, police said. The blast in Sadr City occurred about 10:30 a.m. and was targeting street vendors and pedestrians near the hospital. Police said at least five people were killed and 15 wounded.
Another parked car bomb struck a gas station an hour earlier in the Shiite city of Hillah, killing at least two people and wounding 22, provincial police said. The city, 60 miles south of Baghdad, has been the site of some of the deadliest blasts since the war started four years ago, including a double suicide bombing against a crowd of Shiite pilgrims that killed 120 people on March 6.
In northern Iraq, a car exploded about 7 a.m. after the driver parked it near Iraqis looking for work in the center of Tuz Khormato, 130 miles north of Baghdad. The driver and two workers were killed and 11 others wounded in the attack, police Col. Abbas Mohammed Amin said. He said the driver intended to wait until more workers had gathered before detonating the explosives but they went off prematurely, preventing a higher casualty toll.
Another parked car bomb struck a gas station an hour earlier in the Shiite city of Hillah, killing at least two people and wounding 22, provincial police said. The city, 60 miles south of Baghdad, has been the site of some of the deadliest blasts since the war started four years ago, including a double suicide bombing against a crowd of Shiite pilgrims that killed 120 people on March 6.
In northern Iraq, a car exploded about 7 a.m. after the driver parked it near Iraqis looking for work in the center of Tuz Khormato, 130 miles north of Baghdad. The driver and two workers were killed and 11 others wounded in the attack, police Col. Abbas Mohammed Amin said. He said the driver intended to wait until more workers had gathered before detonating the explosives but they went off prematurely, preventing a higher casualty toll.
Labels: car bombs, Hilla, Sadr City, Tuz Kharmatu
Sunday, March 18, 2007
KDP militias terrorise Turkomen in Kirkuk area
Security
(Iraqi Turkmen Human Rights Research Foundation) The U.S. authorities are giving their full support to the Kurds who are seeking to control Iraq's oil wealth at any cost in order to establish their so-called 'great Kurdistan'. To realize their goal, the Kurdish militias continuously terrorize the other Iraqi communities in the north of Iraq. The Turkmens who are Iraq's third largest community are facing increasing threats in their region, Turkmeneli. Because they refuse the Kurdish hegemony in their region, they continue to be the victims of intimidations, detentions, kidnappings and assassinations and their cities are raided by the Kurdish militias.
In a series of attacks on Turkmen cities to terrify the inhabitants, two more Turkmen cities have recently been raided by the U.S. supported Kurdish militias. In Daquq on 4.3.2007, at 4:30 am about twenty masked Kurdish militants belonging to the KDP party, (called Asayish) coming from outside the Kerkuk region entered the Turkmen sub-district of Daquq, 45 Km south of Kerkuk City. These masked Kurds were shooting in the air to scare the people as they broke randomly into several houses.
In Taze Khurmatu at midnight on 25.2.2007, the Kurdish Asayish militants supported by American troops entered the Turkmen city of Taze Khurmatu, located 15 Km south of Kerkuk, where they raided several houses. The doors were broken, the furniture were scattered and damaged and the children were extremely frightened. Mobile phones were confiscated and money and gold were stolen. The oil tanks were destroyed. Fathers and sons were tied up and brutally beaten and kicked in front of their family. The fathers were threatened and weapons were put against their heads in front of their terrified children.
Several young peaceful Turkmen intellectuals from al-Asriya quarter in Daquq and three other youths from Taze Khurmatu were arrested and were taken to an unknown location. The local police in Daquq was never informed about the raid by the authorities. No violent incidents had taken place in the neighbourhoods which were raided by the Kurds. With the exception of a few licensed weapons, no weapons were found in the raided houses. The men who were taken from Taze Khurmatu were shown the next day on Kerkuk Television which is administered by the Kurds and presented as 'terrorists'
In a series of attacks on Turkmen cities to terrify the inhabitants, two more Turkmen cities have recently been raided by the U.S. supported Kurdish militias. In Daquq on 4.3.2007, at 4:30 am about twenty masked Kurdish militants belonging to the KDP party, (called Asayish) coming from outside the Kerkuk region entered the Turkmen sub-district of Daquq, 45 Km south of Kerkuk City. These masked Kurds were shooting in the air to scare the people as they broke randomly into several houses.
In Taze Khurmatu at midnight on 25.2.2007, the Kurdish Asayish militants supported by American troops entered the Turkmen city of Taze Khurmatu, located 15 Km south of Kerkuk, where they raided several houses. The doors were broken, the furniture were scattered and damaged and the children were extremely frightened. Mobile phones were confiscated and money and gold were stolen. The oil tanks were destroyed. Fathers and sons were tied up and brutally beaten and kicked in front of their family. The fathers were threatened and weapons were put against their heads in front of their terrified children.
Several young peaceful Turkmen intellectuals from al-Asriya quarter in Daquq and three other youths from Taze Khurmatu were arrested and were taken to an unknown location. The local police in Daquq was never informed about the raid by the authorities. No violent incidents had taken place in the neighbourhoods which were raided by the Kurds. With the exception of a few licensed weapons, no weapons were found in the raided houses. The men who were taken from Taze Khurmatu were shown the next day on Kerkuk Television which is administered by the Kurds and presented as 'terrorists'
COMMENT: There are two sides to every story, and while it is feasible and has been reported previously that Kurdish militias have been terrorising minorities in Kirkuk, those same minorities have made it very clear that they will stand up and fight back. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Asayish, Daquq, KDP, Kurdish militias, Turkmeneli, Turkomen, Tuz Kharmatu
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Suicide bombers strike in the north and in Baghdad
Security
(AP) Suicide bombers struck a market in northern Iraq and an Iraqi military checkpoint in Baghdad on Wednesday, killing at least 10 people, while an Iraqi general warned extremists that they will be "smashed under the foot of the Iraqi people" if they resist efforts to end the violence in the country.
In the worst attack, a man wearing an explosives belt strolled into an outdoor market in Tuz Khormato, 130 miles north of Baghdad, and blew himself up. The blast occurred just before noon as the market was crowded with shoppers in the city, which has a mixed population with a slight majority of Turkomen. At least eight people were killed and 25 were wounded, police said. Northern Iraq has seen a recent rise in violence that many blame on insurgents fleeing a security crackdown in the capital that began a month ago.
In western Baghdad, meanwhile, a suicide car bomber slammed into an Iraqi army checkpoint in the Sunni neighborhood of Yarmouk, killing two civilians and wounding four others, police said.
In the worst attack, a man wearing an explosives belt strolled into an outdoor market in Tuz Khormato, 130 miles north of Baghdad, and blew himself up. The blast occurred just before noon as the market was crowded with shoppers in the city, which has a mixed population with a slight majority of Turkomen. At least eight people were killed and 25 were wounded, police said. Northern Iraq has seen a recent rise in violence that many blame on insurgents fleeing a security crackdown in the capital that began a month ago.
In western Baghdad, meanwhile, a suicide car bomber slammed into an Iraqi army checkpoint in the Sunni neighborhood of Yarmouk, killing two civilians and wounding four others, police said.
Labels: suicide bomber, Tuz Kharmatu, Yarmouk
