Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
(McClatchy Newspapers) - Roundup of violence in Iraq - 15 May 2007
The daily Iraq violence report is compiled by McClatchy Newspapers Special Correspondent Mohammed Al Dulaimy 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 Mohammed Al Dulaimy 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 1130 GMT on Wednesday:
* denotes new or updated item.
* ABU SAYDA - A truck bomb laden with chlorine gas exploded in a market area in the mostly Shi'ite town of Abu Sayda, north of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing 45 people and wounding 60, police said on Wednesday.
* NASIRIYA - Clashes between militias loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and Iraqi forces killed eight people and wounded 40 in the southern city of Nasiriya, 375 km (235 miles) southeast of Baghdad, hospital and police sources said.
* AL-SHATRA - At least four people were killed and 20 others were wounded after clashes erupted between militias loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and police in the town of al-Shatra, near Nasiriya, a source in the hospital said.
* DIWANIYA - Clashes between militias loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and Iraqi forces wounded eight civilians, a policeman and an Iraqi soldier, hospital and Iraqi military sources said. A curfew was imposed until further notice.
* FALLUJA - Two Iraqi soldiers were killed and three wounded when gunmen attacked an Iraqi army patrol in Falluja, 50 km (35 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.
* BAQUBA - Gunmen attacked police Brigadier-General Najib al-Hiyali, the head of the Iraqi-U.S. Joint Coordination Centre of Diyala Province, killing two of his guards and wounding another, police said. Hiyali was not harmed in the attack.
* KIRKUK - The head of the Riyadh city council was killed along with another member in the council when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle in the town of Riyadh, 60 km (40 miles) southwest of the northern city of Kirkuk, police said.
* LATIFIYA - Gunmen opened fire at a car, killing one person and wounding four others in the town of Latifiya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 15 people were found in different districts of Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.
BAGHDAD - Four people were killed and four others were wounded by a mortar attack in Ur district in northern Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.
MAHMUDIYA - A roadside bomb exploded near a minibus, killing one person and wounding another on Tuesday in the town of Mahmudiya, some 30 km (20 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
* denotes new or updated item.
* ABU SAYDA - A truck bomb laden with chlorine gas exploded in a market area in the mostly Shi'ite town of Abu Sayda, north of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing 45 people and wounding 60, police said on Wednesday.
* NASIRIYA - Clashes between militias loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and Iraqi forces killed eight people and wounded 40 in the southern city of Nasiriya, 375 km (235 miles) southeast of Baghdad, hospital and police sources said.
* AL-SHATRA - At least four people were killed and 20 others were wounded after clashes erupted between militias loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and police in the town of al-Shatra, near Nasiriya, a source in the hospital said.
* DIWANIYA - Clashes between militias loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and Iraqi forces wounded eight civilians, a policeman and an Iraqi soldier, hospital and Iraqi military sources said. A curfew was imposed until further notice.
* FALLUJA - Two Iraqi soldiers were killed and three wounded when gunmen attacked an Iraqi army patrol in Falluja, 50 km (35 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.
* BAQUBA - Gunmen attacked police Brigadier-General Najib al-Hiyali, the head of the Iraqi-U.S. Joint Coordination Centre of Diyala Province, killing two of his guards and wounding another, police said. Hiyali was not harmed in the attack.
* KIRKUK - The head of the Riyadh city council was killed along with another member in the council when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle in the town of Riyadh, 60 km (40 miles) southwest of the northern city of Kirkuk, police said.
* LATIFIYA - Gunmen opened fire at a car, killing one person and wounding four others in the town of Latifiya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 15 people were found in different districts of Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.
BAGHDAD - Four people were killed and four others were wounded by a mortar attack in Ur district in northern Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.
MAHMUDIYA - A roadside bomb exploded near a minibus, killing one person and wounding another on Tuesday in the town of Mahmudiya, some 30 km (20 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
Labels: Abu Saydah, Al-Shatra, Baqouba, Brigadier-General Najib al-Hiyali, chlorine bombs, Diwaniya, Fallujah, Kirkuk, Latifiyah, Mahdi Army, Nasiriyah, roadside bombs
Chlorine bomb kills 32 in Shiite village
Security
(AP) - A parked car bomb exploded near a market in a Shiite enclave northeast of the capital, killing at least 32 people and wounding 50, police said Wednesday. Hospital officials and some of the wounded said it appeared that chlorine gas was used in the attack, but police denied the reports. The attack occurred about 7:45 p.m. Tuesday in the village of Abu Saydah in the volatile Diyala province, local police said, giving the casualty toll.
The wounded were taken to hospitals in nearby Muqdadiyah and the main Shiite district of Sadr City in Baghdad. Hospital officials and victims said it appeared chlorine gas was used in the attack as many of the wounded were having difficulty breathing and had their sight affected. But officials at the provincial police's joint coordination center denied that toxic gas was involved.
One man had a white cloth across his eyes as he lay in his hospital bed; others were bandaged from head to toe. Abu Saydah is a mainly Shiite village about 25 miles northeast of the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Baqouba, the capital of the province that has seen a recent spike in violence largely blamed on militants who fled Baghdad ahead of a U.S.-Iraqi security crackdown.
Kadim Hussein, a 45-year-old farmer who was taken to the Imam Ali hospital in Sadr City, claimed the hospitals in Baqouba would only accept Sunnis. "My eyes became puffy due the chlorine gas that was packed in the car bomb," he said, adding he also had difficulties breathing. "Also I had many pieces of shrapnel in my chest and right shoulder."
A hospital official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media, said the facility had received three bodies and 11 of those wounded who all showed symptoms of chlorine poisoning.
The wounded were taken to hospitals in nearby Muqdadiyah and the main Shiite district of Sadr City in Baghdad. Hospital officials and victims said it appeared chlorine gas was used in the attack as many of the wounded were having difficulty breathing and had their sight affected. But officials at the provincial police's joint coordination center denied that toxic gas was involved.
One man had a white cloth across his eyes as he lay in his hospital bed; others were bandaged from head to toe. Abu Saydah is a mainly Shiite village about 25 miles northeast of the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Baqouba, the capital of the province that has seen a recent spike in violence largely blamed on militants who fled Baghdad ahead of a U.S.-Iraqi security crackdown.
Kadim Hussein, a 45-year-old farmer who was taken to the Imam Ali hospital in Sadr City, claimed the hospitals in Baqouba would only accept Sunnis. "My eyes became puffy due the chlorine gas that was packed in the car bomb," he said, adding he also had difficulties breathing. "Also I had many pieces of shrapnel in my chest and right shoulder."
A hospital official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media, said the facility had received three bodies and 11 of those wounded who all showed symptoms of chlorine poisoning.
Labels: Abu Saydah, chlorine bombs, Diyala
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Chlorine as a weapon
(AP) - Chlorine gas attacks the eyes and lungs within seconds, causing difficulty in breathing and skin irritation in low-level exposure. Inhaled at extremely high levels, it dissolves in the lungs to form hydrochloric acid that burns lung tissue, essentially drowning a person as liquid floods the lungs.
The chemical has been used a number of times recently in insurgent attacks in Iraq.
On Friday, a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq suicide bomber smashed a truck loaded with TNT and toxic chlorine gas into a police checkpoint in Ramadi, killing at least 27 people. It was the ninth such attack since the group's first known use of a chemical weapon in January.
On Jan. 28, a truck carrying explosives and a chlorine tank blew up in Anbar province. More than a dozen people were reported killed.
On Feb. 20, a bomb planted on a chlorine tanker left more than 150 villagers stricken north of Baghdad. The following day, a pickup truck carrying chlorine gas cylinders was blown apart in Baghdad, killing at least five people and sending more than 55 to hospitals gasping for breath and rubbing stinging eyes.
Despite fears over the new tactic, some experts note the insurgents are not yet expert at it, meaning they may be causing widespread fear but not mass casualties. Chlorine gas causes death by inhalation but experts say the heat from an explosion can render the gas nontoxic. Anti-terror experts have long believed that terrorists do not need sophisticated knowledge to use toxic industrial chemicals.
Chlorine is easily accessible. It is used for water purification plants, bleaches and disinfectants and obtaining large quantities may not be difficult. Chlorine gas was first used as a weapon when the German military unleashed it at Ypres, Belgium in 1915. Chemical poisons killed tens of thousands of soldiers in World War I. Their use caused so much international revulsion that the issue sparked the Geneva Protocol of 1925, which banned the use of chemical weapons.
In general, chlorine is inefficient as a weapon — it produces a visible greenish cloud and a strong odor, making it easy to detect. Because it is water-soluble, simply covering the mouth and nose with a damp cloth can reduce the effect of the gas. Chlorine has also been the source of environmental accidents.
The chemical has been used a number of times recently in insurgent attacks in Iraq.
On Friday, a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq suicide bomber smashed a truck loaded with TNT and toxic chlorine gas into a police checkpoint in Ramadi, killing at least 27 people. It was the ninth such attack since the group's first known use of a chemical weapon in January.
On Jan. 28, a truck carrying explosives and a chlorine tank blew up in Anbar province. More than a dozen people were reported killed.
On Feb. 20, a bomb planted on a chlorine tanker left more than 150 villagers stricken north of Baghdad. The following day, a pickup truck carrying chlorine gas cylinders was blown apart in Baghdad, killing at least five people and sending more than 55 to hospitals gasping for breath and rubbing stinging eyes.
Despite fears over the new tactic, some experts note the insurgents are not yet expert at it, meaning they may be causing widespread fear but not mass casualties. Chlorine gas causes death by inhalation but experts say the heat from an explosion can render the gas nontoxic. Anti-terror experts have long believed that terrorists do not need sophisticated knowledge to use toxic industrial chemicals.
Chlorine is easily accessible. It is used for water purification plants, bleaches and disinfectants and obtaining large quantities may not be difficult. Chlorine gas was first used as a weapon when the German military unleashed it at Ypres, Belgium in 1915. Chemical poisons killed tens of thousands of soldiers in World War I. Their use caused so much international revulsion that the issue sparked the Geneva Protocol of 1925, which banned the use of chemical weapons.
In general, chlorine is inefficient as a weapon — it produces a visible greenish cloud and a strong odor, making it easy to detect. Because it is water-soluble, simply covering the mouth and nose with a damp cloth can reduce the effect of the gas. Chlorine has also been the source of environmental accidents.
Labels: chlorine bombs, chlorine gas
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
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Chlorine truck bomb attacks in Falluja
Security
(Reuters) - Insurgents with two chlorine truck bombs attacked a local government building in Falluja, western
Iraq, on Wednesday and 15 Iraqi and U.S. security forces were injured, the U.S. military said. "Numerous Iraqi soldiers and policemen are being treated for symptoms such as labored breathing, nausea, skin irritation and vomiting that are synonymous with chlorine inhalation," a U.S. statement said.
It said no Iraqi or U.S. forces were killed in what it called a "complex attack" using mortars and small arms as well as the truck bombs. Earlier Iraqi police said two car bombs exploded near an Iraqi checkpoint outside a U.S. military base in Falluja, killing eight Iraqi soldiers. It was not immediately clear if they were referring to the same incident but the U.S. statement was sent to Reuters in response to a query about the earlier report.
"Iraqi police identified the first suicide attacker and fired on the truck, causing it to detonate before reaching the compound," the U.S. statement said. "Iraqi Army soldiers spotted the second suicide truck approaching the gate and engaged it with small arms fire, causing it to also detonate near the entrance of the compound." U.S. commanders and the Iraqi government have blamed al Qaeda militants for several recent attacks using chlorine gas that poisoned hundreds of people in Anbar, a restive mainly Sunni Arab province in western Iraq.
Iraq, on Wednesday and 15 Iraqi and U.S. security forces were injured, the U.S. military said. "Numerous Iraqi soldiers and policemen are being treated for symptoms such as labored breathing, nausea, skin irritation and vomiting that are synonymous with chlorine inhalation," a U.S. statement said.
It said no Iraqi or U.S. forces were killed in what it called a "complex attack" using mortars and small arms as well as the truck bombs. Earlier Iraqi police said two car bombs exploded near an Iraqi checkpoint outside a U.S. military base in Falluja, killing eight Iraqi soldiers. It was not immediately clear if they were referring to the same incident but the U.S. statement was sent to Reuters in response to a query about the earlier report.
"Iraqi police identified the first suicide attacker and fired on the truck, causing it to detonate before reaching the compound," the U.S. statement said. "Iraqi Army soldiers spotted the second suicide truck approaching the gate and engaged it with small arms fire, causing it to also detonate near the entrance of the compound." U.S. commanders and the Iraqi government have blamed al Qaeda militants for several recent attacks using chlorine gas that poisoned hundreds of people in Anbar, a restive mainly Sunni Arab province in western Iraq.
Labels: Al Qaeda, chlorine bombs, complex attack, Fallujah, security forces
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
Friday, March 23, 2007
Islamic State of Iraq denies Fallujah chlorine bombs, threatens tribes
Insurgency, Tribal
(SITE) The Islamic State of Iraq issued a statement on March 22, 2007, denying responsibility for targeting “the general people with poison gas” and claiming military operations against an Iraqi police station in Amiriyat al-Fallujah, Anbar province, on March 20. In what is likely a reference to the detonation of three chlorine-filled trucks in Anbar province March 16, the group calls accusations of their involvement in the attack part of an information campaign aimed at tarnishing the jihad of the Islamic State, and more broadly, the image of the “blessed global jihad.” The group asks how any “sane” person can believe that the Islamic State is targeting its own people as so many move to join their military ranks.
The statement also details the raid of an Iraqi police station in Amiriyat al-Fallujah on March 20, in which “no less than 35” policemen were killed. The group claims to be coordinating operations with the “al-Bu Eisa al-Asila” tribe. Though the tribe is praised for offering their best young men to “the fields of jihad” since the beginning of the occupation, it is noted that some have joined government forces in opposing the Islamic State. One member of the tribe, the late Commander Abu al-Harith al-Eisawi, is honored in the statement; his role as a “lion” in the second battle of Fallujah is noted. The statement reminds “defectors,” namely the “al-Anbar savior council,” a coalition of tribes opposing the Islamic State in Anbar province, that their fate will be the same as the “betrayers” at Amiriyat al-Fallujah.
The statement also details the raid of an Iraqi police station in Amiriyat al-Fallujah on March 20, in which “no less than 35” policemen were killed. The group claims to be coordinating operations with the “al-Bu Eisa al-Asila” tribe. Though the tribe is praised for offering their best young men to “the fields of jihad” since the beginning of the occupation, it is noted that some have joined government forces in opposing the Islamic State. One member of the tribe, the late Commander Abu al-Harith al-Eisawi, is honored in the statement; his role as a “lion” in the second battle of Fallujah is noted. The statement reminds “defectors,” namely the “al-Anbar savior council,” a coalition of tribes opposing the Islamic State in Anbar province, that their fate will be the same as the “betrayers” at Amiriyat al-Fallujah.
Labels: al-Anbar savior council, al-Bu Eisa al-Asila, Albu Issa tribe, chlorine bombs, Fallujah, Islamic State of Iraq, tribes
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Expert - chlorine bombs will be hard to stop
Security, Insurgency
(AP) -- A chemical warfare expert said Monday the chlorine gas-loaded weapons used by Iraqi insurgents amount to "chemical dirty bombs" and will be hard to stop. However, the insurgents so far appear only to have access to a rudimentary and inefficient method of spreading the gas - blowing it up in suicide bombings.
Jonathan Tucker, a visiting Fulbright fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, said there is little that can be done to stop the attacks because chlorine, which is used for water purification across Iraq, is so widely available.
"They can try to limit access to chlorine ... but given the black market situation that would be difficult to do," he said in a telephone interview during a visit to The Hague. "This is obviously a very crude terrorist tactic. Terrorists tend to be very opportunistic and this is a new tactic for them that is scaring a lot of people and doing significant harm," he said. "These are chemical dirty bombs."
The method used by Iraqi insurgents for spreading the gas - carrying it in vehicles blown up by suicide bombers - is "an extremely crude means of delivery," Tucker said. "A lot of the chemicals would be consumed in the explosion itself. It is just not a very efficient means of dispersal." Chlorine irritates the respiratory system, eyes and skin at low exposure and can cause death in heavier concentrations. Victims in the recent chlorine blasts died from the explosions, not the effects of the gas, but scores of people have been hospitalized suffering the effects of chlorine exposure.
Jonathan Tucker, a visiting Fulbright fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, said there is little that can be done to stop the attacks because chlorine, which is used for water purification across Iraq, is so widely available.
"They can try to limit access to chlorine ... but given the black market situation that would be difficult to do," he said in a telephone interview during a visit to The Hague. "This is obviously a very crude terrorist tactic. Terrorists tend to be very opportunistic and this is a new tactic for them that is scaring a lot of people and doing significant harm," he said. "These are chemical dirty bombs."
The method used by Iraqi insurgents for spreading the gas - carrying it in vehicles blown up by suicide bombers - is "an extremely crude means of delivery," Tucker said. "A lot of the chemicals would be consumed in the explosion itself. It is just not a very efficient means of dispersal." Chlorine irritates the respiratory system, eyes and skin at low exposure and can cause death in heavier concentrations. Victims in the recent chlorine blasts died from the explosions, not the effects of the gas, but scores of people have been hospitalized suffering the effects of chlorine exposure.
COMMENT: The use of chlorine bombs is likely to improve, increase and spread to other insurgent units, as with the use of IEDs, EFPs and beheadings seen previously. At the moment, it is a new tactic which is being refined. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: chlorine bombs
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Security forces expect more chemical bomb attacks
Security, Insurgency
(AFP) - Insurgents in Iraq killed seven more US troops as security forces on Sunday said they expected more chemical bomb attacks after three dirty bombs left two policemen dead and 350 civilians sick. Iraq government spokesman Ali Al Dabbagh claimed on Sunday that Friday’s chlorine attacks in the restive Anbar province west of Baghdad were sparked by the fact that public opinion is turning against militant groups.
Insurgents detonated three trucks filled with toxic chlorine gas, putting at least 350 Iraqi civilians in hospital and killing two policemen, the US military reported, adding that six American soldiers also fell sick. Two of the attacks came just south of the town of Fallujah and one was northeast of the nearby city of Ramadi, both hotbeds of Al Qaeda militants in Anbar province. 'This is the doing of terrorist organisations in Ramadi and Fallujah,’ Dabbagh told a news conference in Baghdad on Sunday. ‘Public opinion in Ramadi is going against these groups, and so they threaten the people of Anbar. We were expecting such chlorine attacks. It is not easy to stop them.’
Iraqi interior ministry operations director Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf had on Saturday suggested the bombings may have been launched in revenge for recent government successes against insurgents in Ramadi. Sunni tribes from Anbar have united in a coalition to oppose Al Qaeda in Iraq, sending thousands of young men to join the government security forces and cooperating with US and Iraqi commanders.
Insurgents continue to carry out assaults in Baghdad despite the presence of 90,000 US and Iraqi troops on the streets as part of Operation Fardh Al Qanoon (Imposing Law), which was launched on February 14 in a bid to quell sectarian violence. US military spokesman Rear Admiral Mark Fox acknowledged at the joint news conference with Dabbagh that as general violence in the capital has been reduced, the number of car bombings has risen. ‘We are taking down the networks that produce these car bombs; we are taking down car bomb factories,’ he added.Insurgents detonated three trucks filled with toxic chlorine gas, putting at least 350 Iraqi civilians in hospital and killing two policemen, the US military reported, adding that six American soldiers also fell sick. Two of the attacks came just south of the town of Fallujah and one was northeast of the nearby city of Ramadi, both hotbeds of Al Qaeda militants in Anbar province. 'This is the doing of terrorist organisations in Ramadi and Fallujah,’ Dabbagh told a news conference in Baghdad on Sunday. ‘Public opinion in Ramadi is going against these groups, and so they threaten the people of Anbar. We were expecting such chlorine attacks. It is not easy to stop them.’
Iraqi interior ministry operations director Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf had on Saturday suggested the bombings may have been launched in revenge for recent government successes against insurgents in Ramadi. Sunni tribes from Anbar have united in a coalition to oppose Al Qaeda in Iraq, sending thousands of young men to join the government security forces and cooperating with US and Iraqi commanders.
Labels: Al Anbar, Ali Al Dabbagh, Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf, chlorine bombs, tribes
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Chlorine bombs in Falluja while police targeted in Mosul, Hilla
Security
(Reuters) - Two suicide truck bombers driving tanks filled with chlorine killed at least eight people and 85 were made ill on Friday in the western Iraqi town of Falluja, hospital sources said on Saturday. The first attack was at the entrance of Amiriyat Falluja, a large housing complex south of Falluja, that killed six people including policemen and making 79 ill, including 27 children.
The second bomber targeted a tribal leader opposed to al Qaeda nearby when he blew up his tanker outside the man's home, killing two people and making six ill because of exposure to the chemical. Militants have used chlorine as a weapon in the past. At least two bombings involving chlorine killed eight people in February.
The U.S. military said they discovered an al Qaeda car bomb factory last month near Falluja that was constructing bombs with chlorine. The gas causes severe burns when breathed in and can even cause death.
The second bomber targeted a tribal leader opposed to al Qaeda nearby when he blew up his tanker outside the man's home, killing two people and making six ill because of exposure to the chemical. Militants have used chlorine as a weapon in the past. At least two bombings involving chlorine killed eight people in February.
The U.S. military said they discovered an al Qaeda car bomb factory last month near Falluja that was constructing bombs with chlorine. The gas causes severe burns when breathed in and can even cause death.
Two separate bomb blasts killed two policemen and wounded four others in Iraq on Saturday, as the United Nations urged the world to help rebuild the country's war-shattered economy. A policeman from a special task force was killed and four wounded when a roadside bomb exploded in the mainly Shiite provincial capital of Hilla, south of Baghdad, police Lieutenant Kadhim al-Aaraji said. A civilian was also wounded.
Aaraji said the bombers targeted Brigadier General Abbas al-Juburi, commander of the task force, as his convoy was passing in Hilla's southern district of Ndir. The brigadier escaped the attack. A similar blast targeting another police patrol in the main northern city of Mosul killed one policeman and wounded another, said police chief Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf al-Juburi.
Aaraji said the bombers targeted Brigadier General Abbas al-Juburi, commander of the task force, as his convoy was passing in Hilla's southern district of Ndir. The brigadier escaped the attack. A similar blast targeting another police patrol in the main northern city of Mosul killed one policeman and wounded another, said police chief Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf al-Juburi.
Labels: Brigadier General Abbas al-Juburi, chlorine bombs, Fallujah, Hilla, Mosul
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Security forces capture chlorine bomb cell
Security, Insurgency
(RFE/RL) Iraqi security forces have captured a terrorist cell responsible for producing chlorine bombs in the Al-Anbar Governorate, London-based "Al-Sharq al-Awsat" reported on February 27. An unidentified Interior Ministry source told the daily that the cell members were arrested in Al-Fallujah earlier this week. The official said information indicates that a similar cell is operating in the Diyala Governorate north of Baghdad. The official added that some 1,500 insurgents have fled from Baghdad to Diyala, and many of the insurgents have links to the outlawed Ba'ath Party. He also contended that the Ba'athists are cooperating with Al-Qaeda to manufacture chemical bombs.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, Baathists, chlorine bombs, Diyala, Fallujah
