Tuesday, September 18, 2007
A “Salvation Council” And Two “Battalions” Have Been Formed In Mosul To Fight Al Qaida
Security, Tribal
(Azzaman Newspaper) - 17 SEP - Duraid Mohammed Kashmula - Ninawa’s Governor said “Al Qaida members have been coming into Mosul …after fleeing from Baghdad and Anbar provinces.” During a meeting with “Bill Rowe, the MNF’s Deputy Commander”, who visited Mosul on Saturday, Kashmula said, “The (Ninawa Province’s) security forces are suffering from a shortage of equipment and weapons.” Kashmula called for the government to take care of the security forces in Mosul. Kashmula also said, “The central Government has not helped Mosul; the central government has not hired new people for Mosul’s government facilities.”
During a press conference that was held in Washington DC, General David Petraeus, the US forces Commander in Iraq, said: Al Qaida is planning on conducting operations in Mosul…Al Qaida has lost its safe haven in Anbar.
In related news, Sheikh Fawaz Al Jarba said, “The Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki has agreed to form a Mosul Salvation Council (similar to Anbar’s Salvation Council). This Council will include Mosul’s tribes (that are willing) to fight Al Qaida.” Al Jarba clarified “Two battalions, including the tribal fighters will be formed.” Sheikh Al Jarba told Iraq Voices news agency “The council includes tribes of: Shimar, Taie, Al Nay’im, Albu Badran, Yazidi (sect’s) tribe and Jarjariya. All these tribes will cooperate in cleansing the Province of Al Qaida (ridding the Province of Al Qaida).”
Al Jarba added, “I received an official message from the Prime Minister, Nuri Al Maliki; this message included an agreement (authorization) to form two ‘military battalions’ that include (fighters from) these tribes. Each battalion will have 650 fighters. In the past, similar (Salvation or Awakening) Council’s have formed in (the Provinces of) Anbar, Diyala, Salah Ad Din, and Baghdad. The purpose of these councils is to fight Al Qaida. These Councils cooperate with the Iraqi government and the MNF forces.
Al Jarba also said “Our Council wants (intends) to control the highway between Mosul and Ramadi. This highway is used by Al Qaida to infiltrate Mosul. We have a plan to ‘clear’ the villages and towns located around Mosul; and then to move into the City’s center.” Al Jarba also mentioned “The Mosul Salvation Council members have contact with Kurdish leaders. The Kurdish leaders have expressed their support for this Council.”
Al Jarba added, “Al Qaida in Mosul has fought and targeted residents and civilians; therefore everyone wants to support the government to fight Al Qaida. The Shimar tribe has lost nine men, from (just) one family, killed by Al Qaida.”
During a press conference that was held in Washington DC, General David Petraeus, the US forces Commander in Iraq, said: Al Qaida is planning on conducting operations in Mosul…Al Qaida has lost its safe haven in Anbar.
In related news, Sheikh Fawaz Al Jarba said, “The Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki has agreed to form a Mosul Salvation Council (similar to Anbar’s Salvation Council). This Council will include Mosul’s tribes (that are willing) to fight Al Qaida.” Al Jarba clarified “Two battalions, including the tribal fighters will be formed.” Sheikh Al Jarba told Iraq Voices news agency “The council includes tribes of: Shimar, Taie, Al Nay’im, Albu Badran, Yazidi (sect’s) tribe and Jarjariya. All these tribes will cooperate in cleansing the Province of Al Qaida (ridding the Province of Al Qaida).”
Al Jarba added, “I received an official message from the Prime Minister, Nuri Al Maliki; this message included an agreement (authorization) to form two ‘military battalions’ that include (fighters from) these tribes. Each battalion will have 650 fighters. In the past, similar (Salvation or Awakening) Council’s have formed in (the Provinces of) Anbar, Diyala, Salah Ad Din, and Baghdad. The purpose of these councils is to fight Al Qaida. These Councils cooperate with the Iraqi government and the MNF forces.
Al Jarba also said “Our Council wants (intends) to control the highway between Mosul and Ramadi. This highway is used by Al Qaida to infiltrate Mosul. We have a plan to ‘clear’ the villages and towns located around Mosul; and then to move into the City’s center.” Al Jarba also mentioned “The Mosul Salvation Council members have contact with Kurdish leaders. The Kurdish leaders have expressed their support for this Council.”
Al Jarba added, “Al Qaida in Mosul has fought and targeted residents and civilians; therefore everyone wants to support the government to fight Al Qaida. The Shimar tribe has lost nine men, from (just) one family, killed by Al Qaida.”
Labels: Al Nay’im, Al Qaeda, Albu Badran, Jarjariya, Mosul, Mosul Salvation Council, Shimar, Taie, Yazidis
Monday, September 10, 2007
Mastermind behind Yazidi attack killed by U.S.
Security
(Gulf News) - A US air strike killed the Al Qaida militant who masterminded Iraq's deadliest bombings which killed more than 400 people on August 14, targeting the Yazidi sect, a US military spokesman said yesterday. He also said that "hundreds" of Al Qaida in Iraq had been captured or killed last month. "On September 3, a coalition air strike killed the terrorist responsible for the planning and conducting of the horrific attack against the Yazidis in northern Iraq on August 14," Rear Admiral Mark Fox said. Abu Mohammad Al Afri, also known as Abu Jasem, was killed in the air strike, southwest of the northern city of Mosul, Fox said.
Labels: Abu Jasem, Abu Mohammad Al Afri, air strike, Al Qaeda in Iraq, Mosul, Rear Admiral Mark Fox, Sinjar, Yazidis
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Yazidis consider forming own militia
Security
(Gulf News) - Until August 14 this year the word Yazidi, a reference to the followers of an ancient religious group, was hardly heard of in Iraq, although most Iraqis have started to add their tribal and sectarian backgrounds to their identities after the collapse of Saddam Hussain's regime. Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds in addition to Christians started to highlight their issues through parties and religious entities after the fall of Saddam, but Yazidis, whose population is around 600,000 of the 26 million Iraqis, remained out of the game because their leaders felt they had very little chance of being heard in the troubled country.
On that day in August, four suicide attacks ripped the peace of two Yazidi villages killing more than 500 civilians and injuring 1,000, (credible news reports mentioned half the previous figures, but community leaders told Gulf News the death toll had increased in the following days). The magnitude of the crime has, however, highlighted the issues of the forgotten Yazidis and alerted them to their fragile security.
In a telephone interview from her refuge in Germany, Princess Aruba Esmail Bik, the daughter of the popular Yazidi leader, Esmail Bik, told Gulf News Yazidis have lived in the Sinjar province, a mountainous area in the north west of Iraq for around 14 centuries. They have been subjected to 72 waves of ethnic and religious cleansing over their history, but the recent attacks were the worst. She said Yazidis had seriously started planning their own militia to protect their villages and towns.
"As a leader to my community, I feel a special Yazidi militia will be the right answer to the worries of thousands of innocent Yazidis in Iraq," she said. Like many Iraqis, she said Yazidis, who embrace an ancient Mesopotamian religion, thought the removal of Saddam Hussain's regime would put an end to the tragic life they had experienced under the tyrant regime, but that proved wrong. "A few months after the invasion the Yazidis' hopes evaporated as they realised that they had became a target of sectarian intolerance that prevailed in the new Iraq," she said.
The security forces of the old regime, which fought a merciless war against Kurds in northern Iraq, had targeted Yazidis more than once for being considered a security threat. After Saddam, Yazidis were targeted by different groups and suffered from ethnic cleansing aimed at uprooting them from their homes and villages. Thousands of Yazidis fled the country and the August 14 attacks provided clear evidence of the critical security conditions the community is facing," said Princess Aruba. She fled Iraq in 2001 and has not returned to her home since then but she is still in contact with the community inside Iraq and in exile.
She said the Tal Azir and Qahataniya explosions, the deadliest in the history of the war in the country since the 2003 invasion, has opened the eyes of Yazidis about the deficit in their representation in the federal government and in Parliament.
"Yazidis need to live in peace and enjoy the security they deserve. They are a very peaceful community and had never been involved in a conflict with other communities living in the country," she said. "We have no minister or a representative in the federal parliament. The government has to check our case seriously and look into solutions to our security concerns," she said. Yazidis are considered infidels by both Christians and Muslims.
On that day in August, four suicide attacks ripped the peace of two Yazidi villages killing more than 500 civilians and injuring 1,000, (credible news reports mentioned half the previous figures, but community leaders told Gulf News the death toll had increased in the following days). The magnitude of the crime has, however, highlighted the issues of the forgotten Yazidis and alerted them to their fragile security.
In a telephone interview from her refuge in Germany, Princess Aruba Esmail Bik, the daughter of the popular Yazidi leader, Esmail Bik, told Gulf News Yazidis have lived in the Sinjar province, a mountainous area in the north west of Iraq for around 14 centuries. They have been subjected to 72 waves of ethnic and religious cleansing over their history, but the recent attacks were the worst. She said Yazidis had seriously started planning their own militia to protect their villages and towns.
"As a leader to my community, I feel a special Yazidi militia will be the right answer to the worries of thousands of innocent Yazidis in Iraq," she said. Like many Iraqis, she said Yazidis, who embrace an ancient Mesopotamian religion, thought the removal of Saddam Hussain's regime would put an end to the tragic life they had experienced under the tyrant regime, but that proved wrong. "A few months after the invasion the Yazidis' hopes evaporated as they realised that they had became a target of sectarian intolerance that prevailed in the new Iraq," she said.
The security forces of the old regime, which fought a merciless war against Kurds in northern Iraq, had targeted Yazidis more than once for being considered a security threat. After Saddam, Yazidis were targeted by different groups and suffered from ethnic cleansing aimed at uprooting them from their homes and villages. Thousands of Yazidis fled the country and the August 14 attacks provided clear evidence of the critical security conditions the community is facing," said Princess Aruba. She fled Iraq in 2001 and has not returned to her home since then but she is still in contact with the community inside Iraq and in exile.
She said the Tal Azir and Qahataniya explosions, the deadliest in the history of the war in the country since the 2003 invasion, has opened the eyes of Yazidis about the deficit in their representation in the federal government and in Parliament.
"Yazidis need to live in peace and enjoy the security they deserve. They are a very peaceful community and had never been involved in a conflict with other communities living in the country," she said. "We have no minister or a representative in the federal parliament. The government has to check our case seriously and look into solutions to our security concerns," she said. Yazidis are considered infidels by both Christians and Muslims.
Labels: Esmail Bik, militia, Princess Aruba Esmail Bik, Sinjar, Yazidis
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Yazidis celebrate religious rituals under tight security
Security, Religion
(Voices of Iraq) - The Yazidi community in Iraq celebrated on Tuesday the 'Night of Blessings' at the holy temple of Lalsh, amidst tight security measures that were put in place after recent bombings killed and injured hundreds of Yazidis in Sinjar.
Bishmam from the Supreme Yazidi Spiritual Council said the rituals were significantly reduced during this year's celebration due to the deteriorating security situation and the attacks that targeted the Yazidi community in mid-August. "Some members of the choir were even unable to attend," he indicated.
A member of the security forces that was assigned to protect the temple told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) that they were given strict orders to search and secure the area. "The tense atmosphere prevented many from attending the celebration this year, unlike previous years when scores of people converged on the temple to take part in the celebrations that would last until the early hours of the next morning," he said.
The holy temple of Lalsh is located 50 km north of Mosul. Giving brief background to the celebration, Samir Sheikh Sharwo, a researcher in Yazidi history from Mosul University, said 'Shab-e-Bara'at' is the night between 14 and 15 Shabaan [The 8th month of the Hijri calendar] where Yazidis celebrate the advent of Sheikh Hassan, who gave religious teachings after a six-year absence from his people, according to Yazidi religious beliefs.
Yazidis are primarily ethnic Kurds and most live near Mosul, with smaller communities in Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Russia, Syria, and Turkey. They number around 500,000 individuals in total, but estimates of their population size vary, partially due to the Yazidi tradition of secrecy about their religious beliefs.
Four truck bombs were detonated on August 14, 2007 in Kar Izir area, 35 km south of Sinjar, and at the Siba Sheikh Khidr housing compound, killing or injuring more than 800. Sinjar, 120 km northwest of Mosul, is inhabited by Yazidis, a religious minority whose followers are generally situated in northern Iraq. Some 350,000 Yazidis live in villages around Mosul, 405 km north of Baghdad.
Bishmam from the Supreme Yazidi Spiritual Council said the rituals were significantly reduced during this year's celebration due to the deteriorating security situation and the attacks that targeted the Yazidi community in mid-August. "Some members of the choir were even unable to attend," he indicated.
A member of the security forces that was assigned to protect the temple told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) that they were given strict orders to search and secure the area. "The tense atmosphere prevented many from attending the celebration this year, unlike previous years when scores of people converged on the temple to take part in the celebrations that would last until the early hours of the next morning," he said.
The holy temple of Lalsh is located 50 km north of Mosul. Giving brief background to the celebration, Samir Sheikh Sharwo, a researcher in Yazidi history from Mosul University, said 'Shab-e-Bara'at' is the night between 14 and 15 Shabaan [The 8th month of the Hijri calendar] where Yazidis celebrate the advent of Sheikh Hassan, who gave religious teachings after a six-year absence from his people, according to Yazidi religious beliefs.
Yazidis are primarily ethnic Kurds and most live near Mosul, with smaller communities in Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Russia, Syria, and Turkey. They number around 500,000 individuals in total, but estimates of their population size vary, partially due to the Yazidi tradition of secrecy about their religious beliefs.
Four truck bombs were detonated on August 14, 2007 in Kar Izir area, 35 km south of Sinjar, and at the Siba Sheikh Khidr housing compound, killing or injuring more than 800. Sinjar, 120 km northwest of Mosul, is inhabited by Yazidis, a religious minority whose followers are generally situated in northern Iraq. Some 350,000 Yazidis live in villages around Mosul, 405 km north of Baghdad.
Labels: Bishmam, Lalsh, Night of Blessings, Shab-e-Bara'at, Sheikh Hassan, Sinjar, Supreme Yazidi Spiritual Council, Yazidis
Friday, August 17, 2007
Peshmerga sent to Sinjar to restore security
Security
(Voices of Iraq) - A 340-strong Kurdish Peshmerga force was sent to northwestern Iraq's district of Sinjar to restore security and provide protection to the afflicted community, an official Peshmerga source said on Thursday. "The force will remain in the district until the security situation is secure," Peshmerga Commander Maj. Gen. Aziz Waizy told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
Four truck bombs were detonated on Tuesday evening in Kar Izir area, 35 km south of Sinjar, and at the Siba Sheikh Khidr housing compound, killing and injuring more than 500 people. In the aftermath of the attacks, Iraq's Kurdistan President Massoud al-Barazani called on Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi Ministry of Interior to provide protection for Kurdish minorities and accused a number of countries in the region of being behind the attacks
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced on Thursday a day of mourning for the victims of the blasts. Sinjar district, 120 km to the northwest of Mosul, is inhabited by the Yazidis, a religious sect whose followers are generally situated in northern Iraq. Some 350,000 Yazidis live in villages around Mosul, 405 km north of Baghdad.
Yazidis are primarily ethnic Kurds and most live near Mosul, with smaller communities in Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Russia, Syria, and Turkey. They number around 500,000 individuals in total, but estimates of their population size vary, partially due to the Yazidi tradition of secrecy about their religious beliefs.
Four truck bombs were detonated on Tuesday evening in Kar Izir area, 35 km south of Sinjar, and at the Siba Sheikh Khidr housing compound, killing and injuring more than 500 people. In the aftermath of the attacks, Iraq's Kurdistan President Massoud al-Barazani called on Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi Ministry of Interior to provide protection for Kurdish minorities and accused a number of countries in the region of being behind the attacks
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced on Thursday a day of mourning for the victims of the blasts. Sinjar district, 120 km to the northwest of Mosul, is inhabited by the Yazidis, a religious sect whose followers are generally situated in northern Iraq. Some 350,000 Yazidis live in villages around Mosul, 405 km north of Baghdad.
Yazidis are primarily ethnic Kurds and most live near Mosul, with smaller communities in Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Russia, Syria, and Turkey. They number around 500,000 individuals in total, but estimates of their population size vary, partially due to the Yazidi tradition of secrecy about their religious beliefs.
Labels: Maj. Gen. Aziz Waizy, Peshmerga, Sinjar, Yazidis
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
(McClatchy Newspapers) - Roundup of violence in Iraq - 8 May 2007
The daily Iraq violence report is compiled by McClatchy Newspapers Special Correspondent Hussein Kadhim in Baghdad from police, military and medical reports. This is not a comprehensive list of all violence in Iraq, much of which goes unreported. It’s posted without editing as transmitted to McClatchy’s Washington Bureau.
The daily Iraq violence report is compiled by McClatchy Newspapers Special Correspondent Hussein Kadhim in Baghdad from police, military and medical reports. This is not a comprehensive list of all violence in Iraq, much of which goes unreported. It’s posted without editing as transmitted to McClatchy’s Washington Bureau.
(Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq at 1000 GMT on Wednesday:
ARBIL - A suicide truck bomber killed 14 people and wounded 87 when he blew up his payload near the Kurdish regional government's interior ministry in Arbil, north of Baghdad, local officials said.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 25 people were found shot in different districts of Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.
BAGHDAD - Gunmen attacked workers who were setting up concrete barriers in the Sunni Arab district of Adhamiya in Baghdad, killing one and wounding two others, police said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb targeting police commandos wounded three policemen in Palestine Street in northeastern Baghdad, police said.
FALLUJA - A hospital received the bodies of five people shot and tortured in the city of Falluja, 50 km (35 miles) west of Baghdad, doctor Bilal Mahmoud said.
BAGHDAD - Gunmen killed a general director in the Ministry of Housing and Reconstruction in northern Baghdad, police said.
MOSUL - Gunmen killed two men from the ancient Yazidi faith in the northern city of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
SHIRQAT - A roadside bomb killed two people in the town of Shirqat, 80 km (50 miles) south of Mosul, police said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb killed two people and wounded six in Zaafaraniya in southern Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.
ARBIL - A suicide truck bomber killed 14 people and wounded 87 when he blew up his payload near the Kurdish regional government's interior ministry in Arbil, north of Baghdad, local officials said.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 25 people were found shot in different districts of Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.
BAGHDAD - Gunmen attacked workers who were setting up concrete barriers in the Sunni Arab district of Adhamiya in Baghdad, killing one and wounding two others, police said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb targeting police commandos wounded three policemen in Palestine Street in northeastern Baghdad, police said.
FALLUJA - A hospital received the bodies of five people shot and tortured in the city of Falluja, 50 km (35 miles) west of Baghdad, doctor Bilal Mahmoud said.
BAGHDAD - Gunmen killed a general director in the Ministry of Housing and Reconstruction in northern Baghdad, police said.
MOSUL - Gunmen killed two men from the ancient Yazidi faith in the northern city of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
SHIRQAT - A roadside bomb killed two people in the town of Shirqat, 80 km (50 miles) south of Mosul, police said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb killed two people and wounded six in Zaafaraniya in southern Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.
Labels: Adhamiyah, Arbil, Baghdad, Fallujah, Mosul, roadside bombs, Shirqat, suicide truck bomber, Yazidis, Zaafaraniya
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Yazidi rioters attack KDP offices
Security
(AINA) - Hundreds of Yazidi rioters attacked the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the towns of Khana Sor and Jazira, west of Mosul, and took down the Kurdish flag and burned it, according to several Kurdish and Yazidi websites. The attacks came during a massive demonstration by the Yazidi community Friday protesting the threats against Yazidi workers in Erbil, Dohuk and Zakho, and recent religious edicts by Kurdish clerics sanctioning attacks against Yazidis, according to eyewitness accounts. Demonstrators pelted guards and Peshmerga forces with stones, and some stormed into the KDP headquarters destroying windows and furniture and setting several vehicles near the building on fire. Peshmerga troops reportedly opened fire and wounded three demonstrators, according to the Ezidi Inqad Movement.
Ninewa Deputy Governor Khisro Guran told the Peyamner News Agency Saturday that members of an armed group called the Yazidi Reform and Progress Movement, which he described a "Ba'athist" group stirring chaos in Yazidi towns, attacked the KDP headquarters in Seba Sheikh Khidr, a village in the Qahtaniya district west of Mosul, and set it on fire late Friday.
Yazidi workers and students residing in the Kurdish autonomous region had received death threats, and angry Kurdish rioters almost broke into a hotel full of Yazidi workers in Erbil before security forces intervened several days ago. The Bahzani website reported that two Yazidi men were killed in Mosul by unknown gunmen.
Ninewa Deputy Governor Khisro Guran told the Peyamner News Agency Saturday that members of an armed group called the Yazidi Reform and Progress Movement, which he described a "Ba'athist" group stirring chaos in Yazidi towns, attacked the KDP headquarters in Seba Sheikh Khidr, a village in the Qahtaniya district west of Mosul, and set it on fire late Friday.
Yazidi workers and students residing in the Kurdish autonomous region had received death threats, and angry Kurdish rioters almost broke into a hotel full of Yazidi workers in Erbil before security forces intervened several days ago. The Bahzani website reported that two Yazidi men were killed in Mosul by unknown gunmen.
Leaders of the Yazidi community, a tiny Gnostic sect in northern Iraq, Turkey and Syria that combines Islamic teachings with ancient Babylonian and Persian religions, had condemned the crime against the young Yazidi woman, and denied that it was in response to her alleged conversion to Islam, as Kurdish websites had reported. Tahsin Beg Sa'eed Ali, the Emir of the Yazidi sect and head of the Higher Yazidi Spiritual Council, had strongly condemned an incident where a Yazidi girl converted to Islam and was killed, and called for restraint in a press statement on April 27. His residence and the Yazidi Cultural Center in Ain Sifni, east of Mosul, were reportedly attacked and burned down by Kurds last week.
Iraqi police in Ba'shiqa said that two people who participated in stoning the young girl were detained and that two of the girls's uncles and four other people had fled the town while investigators continue to search for the rest of the culprits, including the girl's brother, who had appeared in a cell phone video recording of the murder, which was widely circulated on the Internet. Aswad's corpse was exhumed and sent to the Medico-legal Institute in Mosul several days ago before it was returned to the Sheikh Shams cemetery, medical sources told a Kurdish newspaper yesterday, but they did not disclose the results.
Iraqi police in Ba'shiqa said that two people who participated in stoning the young girl were detained and that two of the girls's uncles and four other people had fled the town while investigators continue to search for the rest of the culprits, including the girl's brother, who had appeared in a cell phone video recording of the murder, which was widely circulated on the Internet. Aswad's corpse was exhumed and sent to the Medico-legal Institute in Mosul several days ago before it was returned to the Sheikh Shams cemetery, medical sources told a Kurdish newspaper yesterday, but they did not disclose the results.
Labels: Ezidi Inqad Movement, Jazira, KDP, Khana Sor, Khisro Guran, Tahsin Beg Sa'eed Ali, Yazidi Cultural Center, Yazidi Reform and Progress Movement, Yazidis
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Islamic State of Iraq carries out revenge killing of Yezidis
Insurgency, Religion
(MEMRI) - Over the past week, Islamist websites have been reporting on the killing, apparently on April 14, 2007, of a young Yazidi Kurdish woman in Mosul. According to the reports, a crowd of Yazidis stoned her to death after she converted to Islam in order to marry a Muslim. Many writers on Islamist websites designated the woman a martyr and demanded that her death be avenged.
On April 24, 2007, Sheikh Abu Basir Al-Tartusi (one of the prominent thinkers of the Salafi school, to which Al-Qaeda adheres) posted a fatwa on his website saying: "Anyone who participated in the killing and stoning of this young woman will be killed, no matter how large [the number of people involved]... In [committing] this crime, the heretic Yazidi sect violated its commitment to the Muslims in Iraq, and the Muslims are therefore no longer obliged [to protect it]."
On April 26, 2007, the Al-Qaeda-founded Islamic State of Iraq issued a message stating that its men had killed 26 Yazidis in the region where the incident took place. The message explained that they were killed in revenge for the death of this woman and for the death of all Muslims killed by these "impure [Yazidis]," and as part of the Plan of Honor declared by ISI Commander Abu Omar Al-Baghdadi.
On April 24, 2007, Sheikh Abu Basir Al-Tartusi (one of the prominent thinkers of the Salafi school, to which Al-Qaeda adheres) posted a fatwa on his website saying: "Anyone who participated in the killing and stoning of this young woman will be killed, no matter how large [the number of people involved]... In [committing] this crime, the heretic Yazidi sect violated its commitment to the Muslims in Iraq, and the Muslims are therefore no longer obliged [to protect it]."
On April 26, 2007, the Al-Qaeda-founded Islamic State of Iraq issued a message stating that its men had killed 26 Yazidis in the region where the incident took place. The message explained that they were killed in revenge for the death of this woman and for the death of all Muslims killed by these "impure [Yazidis]," and as part of the Plan of Honor declared by ISI Commander Abu Omar Al-Baghdadi.
COMMENT: In addition to the above killings, the Haqq Agency reported that dozens of young Kurdish men descended on a hotel in Erbil in the Kurdish region Friday and attacked Yazidi workers who were staying at the hotel. The manager of the Merga Sur Hotel said that up to 50 men attempted to storm the hotel to attack Yazidis working in Erbil, and that a large number of Yazidis have slipped away back to their villages around Mosul fearing further attacks.COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Islamic State of Iraq, Mosul, Sheikh Abu Basir Al-Tartusi, Yazidis
Friday, April 27, 2007
Islamic State of Iraq claims killing of Yazidis
Insurgency
The Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella insurgency group consisting of various jihadi factions including al-Qaeda in Iraq, issued several communiqués to jihadist forums between on Wednesday, April 25, 2007, and Thursday 26th, claiming a litany of operations and denying claims by the enemy military. In four of these messages, one of which contains a 1:36 minute video produced by the group’s al-Furqan Foundation for Media Production, the Islamic State claims the destruction of an American minesweeper of the type-RG-13 Nayala in Baghdad, a suicide bombing striking an Iraqi police checkpoint in the area of al-Bufraj in al-Ramadi, and killing 26 Yazidi people from the area of Bashika responsible for stoning to death a woman who converted to Islam.
Also, the group’s Ministry of War, which is head by the Emir of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, clarifies that a commander from their group was indeed killed by enemy forces in al-Anbar, but he was merely an emir of one of their brigades, not the Emir of the Western region as was claimed.
The attack on the people of the Yazidi religion in Bashika, near al-Mosul, is based on the stoning death of a woman from these people who converted to Islam. The text of the message provides a rendition of the murder, and threatens all “worshippers of Satan” to committed the act. The group’s killing of 26 Yazidis is indicated to be only part of the revenge operations for the Muslim woman. Also, the Islamic State further attempts to claim legitimacy as a governing and security entity by calling upon all converts from the Yazidi religion to seek its protection and care, reminding that the police in Bashika did not keep the safety of the woman; rather, they delivered her to her executioners.
The attack on the people of the Yazidi religion in Bashika, near al-Mosul, is based on the stoning death of a woman from these people who converted to Islam. The text of the message provides a rendition of the murder, and threatens all “worshippers of Satan” to committed the act. The group’s killing of 26 Yazidis is indicated to be only part of the revenge operations for the Muslim woman. Also, the Islamic State further attempts to claim legitimacy as a governing and security entity by calling upon all converts from the Yazidi religion to seek its protection and care, reminding that the police in Bashika did not keep the safety of the woman; rather, they delivered her to her executioners.
Labels: Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, Al Qaeda in Iraq, Al-Furqan Foundation, Bashika, Islamic State of Iraq, Yazidis
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Surge in attacks on Yazidis
Security, Minorities
(Azzaman) - Iraqi Yazidis are paying a heavy price for their tenacious adherence to their religious practices which do not appeal to armed fundamentalist factions and groups in the country. Attacks on Yazidis have surged recently and almost all Yazidi families living outside the autonomous Kurdish region have fled the country.
According to a statement issued by the League of Yazidi intellectuals 192 Yazidis have been killed in the past four years since U.S. troops invaded Iraq. Most of the killings were perpetrated on religious grounds as fundamentalist and Islamist groups see them as infidels who either have to convert or be killed.
The Yazidi religion is a conglomeration of different faiths and includes traces of Christianity, Islam and Zorastrianism. They worship the fallen Angel abhorred by Muslims, Christians and Jews. They have their main sanctuaries in Iraq close to the northern city of Mosul but currently are situated within the semi-independent territory Iraqi Kurds have carved up for themselves.
There are nearly half a million Yazidis in Iraq and most of them live in two major localities – in Shaikhan north of Mosul and Sinjar to the west. Ethnically they are Kurds and speak Kurdish as their mother tongue. Officially, they are treated on equal footing like other citizens in the Kurdish north but many members complain of discriminating behavior. They have three deputies in the Kurdish parliament and two in the national parliament in Baghdad.
According to a statement issued by the League of Yazidi intellectuals 192 Yazidis have been killed in the past four years since U.S. troops invaded Iraq. Most of the killings were perpetrated on religious grounds as fundamentalist and Islamist groups see them as infidels who either have to convert or be killed.
The Yazidi religion is a conglomeration of different faiths and includes traces of Christianity, Islam and Zorastrianism. They worship the fallen Angel abhorred by Muslims, Christians and Jews. They have their main sanctuaries in Iraq close to the northern city of Mosul but currently are situated within the semi-independent territory Iraqi Kurds have carved up for themselves.
There are nearly half a million Yazidis in Iraq and most of them live in two major localities – in Shaikhan north of Mosul and Sinjar to the west. Ethnically they are Kurds and speak Kurdish as their mother tongue. Officially, they are treated on equal footing like other citizens in the Kurdish north but many members complain of discriminating behavior. They have three deputies in the Kurdish parliament and two in the national parliament in Baghdad.
Labels: attacks, Mosul, Sinjar, Yazidis
