Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Insurgents target Iraqi interpreters in Basra
Security
(UPI) - There were unconfirmed reports Monday Iraqi insurgents targeting Basra citizens who worked for British forces had abducted and killed a former interpreter. Police Col. Ali Manshed told a Times of London correspondent the bullet-riddled body of Moayed Ahmed Khalaf had been found dumped in a city street.
Three other sources said about 10 men stormed the man's house and beat him in front of his wife and mother before taking him away. While the sources said Khalaf had worked as an interpreter for British forces, a military spokesman told the newspaper the army could find no record of Khalaf's employment.
Iraqis who worked for the British are considered collaborators by insurgents and when the British turned over their downtown Basra post to the Iraqi army two weeks ago, Iraqi officials warned former employees to seek safety elsewhere. "All the people who worked for the British forces are not safe now," Manshed told the newspaper. "Even people who quit one or two years ago are in danger."
Three other sources said about 10 men stormed the man's house and beat him in front of his wife and mother before taking him away. While the sources said Khalaf had worked as an interpreter for British forces, a military spokesman told the newspaper the army could find no record of Khalaf's employment.
Iraqis who worked for the British are considered collaborators by insurgents and when the British turned over their downtown Basra post to the Iraqi army two weeks ago, Iraqi officials warned former employees to seek safety elsewhere. "All the people who worked for the British forces are not safe now," Manshed told the newspaper. "Even people who quit one or two years ago are in danger."
Labels: Basra, Basrah, British military, insurgents, Iraqi interpreters, Moayed Ahmed Khalaf
Friday, September 07, 2007
Tribes sabotage Kirkuk pipelines
Oil, Tribal
(IWPR) - Despite the presence of special oil ministry units, pipelines around Kirkuk are destroyed and hundreds of tons of oil stolen every day by tribe members from surrounding villages, such as al-Milih, Wadi Zghetun, al-Muradiyya, al-Saduniyya, al-Kanaina and al-Safra. The "oil protection units" were deployed to guard the pipelines after the government cancelled previous failed agreements with tribal forces to protect them. But in spite of this, oil is stolen from pipelines stretching from the al-Riyadh sub-district, 55 km west of Kirkuk, to the al-Fatha area 90 km to the west.
Tribal sheikhs who profit from the stolen oil are likely to obstruct new measures planned by local authorities, including a special protection force, to stop the sabotage of the pipelines. Locals employed to protect the pipes are often from the same groups as those who are stealing the oil. In the first few years after the fall of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's government, Sunni insurgents - many of whom as former soldiers had guarded oil routes under the old regime - blew up the pipelines to wreak havoc.
Since then, insurgents have realized that stealing oil is also damaging, and is far more profitable than pure destruction. Today, Kirkuk's oil wealth is evaporating. Qais al-Mifraji, a 34-year-old farmer in the village of al-Safra, 63 km west of Kirkuk, describes how the pipelines are destroyed. "The insurgents usually come at night and plant a bomb to detonate the export pipeline," he said. "But if they want to steal, they just break it and fill their tankers. No one can stop them."
The riddled pipes partially explain why four years after the US invasion, Iraq has not been able to match its pre-war crude production level of 2.5 million barrels a day. In 2006, production averaged 2.1 million barrels per day, mostly from oil fields near Basra in the south, which have not suffered the non-stop sabotage taking place in the north. Kirkuk now produces just 180,000 barrels a day. It could produce at least 400,000 more a day which, at current market prices, would net Iraq seven billion US dollars in revenue per year.
Over the second half of last year, one stretch of pipeline connecting Kirkuk with the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan - the main outlet for Iraq's northern oil exports - pumped oil for only 43 days. The rest of the time, the pipeline lay idle, leaking crude through dozens of holes drilled along its 320-km run through the Iraqi desert. Another pipeline has been tapped into 39 times so far this year, according to the state-owned Northern Oil Company, NOC, which operates the Kirkuk field.
Qadir Omer Rahman, director of the oil products distribution department in Kirkuk, said that the 80km-long pipeline from Kirkuk to the refinery in Bayji suffered many attacks."Those who protect and guard the oil pipelines are recruited from the people of the villages through which the pipelines pass," he said. "They are the ones committing these acts of terror and smuggling, with the help of other groups." Unemployment and poor living conditions spurred Ayad Hamid al-Ubaidi from Hawdh village, who is in his thirties, to join the gangs who target pipelines and steal oil. "There is no one who can give us our rights," he said. "We have to use our own hands to obtain our rights."
Rahman estimated that three million liters of oil are lost every month because of sabotage, which he said severely affects the provision of petroleum products to Kirkuk and the Kurdistan region's three northern governorates. Each stage of oil production in the north is hampered by criminal activity. It is not only the oil and its products which are stolen by outsiders. Pumps, transformers, generators and other valuable machinery and spare parts are frequently looted.
Oil company workers are coming increasingly under fire from militias. Pipeline repair crews have been shot at and hit by roadside bombs. Sunni insurgents have been dropping leaflets in Kirkuk warning all government employees, including oil company workers, to quit or to face death. Last summer, Adi al-Qazaz, then NOC's director-general, went to Baghdad to visit the oil ministry. After his meeting, he was kidnapped by gunmen on the street, never to be seen again. While some NOC employees are threatened, others are suspected of cooperating in stealing both crude and refined oil.
Truck drivers, as well as managers of fuel stations, are taking their share of the illegal business, draining supplies for Iraqi citizens who struggle to find cooking oil and fuel. A source in the NOC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that there is a mafia-like group operating inside the company which smuggles large amounts of oil through pipelines, in cooperation with individuals inside the company. "When an explosion occurs in a pipeline and oil leaks from it, the people in charge neglect it, leaving the leak for several days until a large amount of oil has been taken from it," he said.
Much of the smuggled crude oil is sold to merchants in Erbil through local brokers. They meet to do their deals in a restaurant in the sub-district of al-Gwer, 40 km west of Erbil, according to Ahmed al-Jobouri, an oil tanker driver. At small domestic refineries, the crude is transformed into refined fuel and then sold on the black market. Some will then be smuggled across the border. According to the NOC source, "the revenue from oil smuggled into Turkey is used to support the Turkoman Front in Iraq, and revenue from oil smuggled to Syria is used to support the insurgent groups in Iraq".
Fuel is heavily subsidized in Iraq. Petrol stations receive limited supplies and citizens are given vouchers entitling them to buy a certain amount each week at the official low price. But because there is not enough subsidized fuel, most Iraqis end up buying oil products on the black market. A source in the Bayji refinery near Kirkuk, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told IWPR reporters that some officials from the General Company for Oil Products, which is in charge of issuing paperwork for the subsidies, sells authentic as well as false receipts to merchants.The stolen fuel is then smuggled and sold on the black market, either inside Iraq or across the border in Syria or Turkey.
There is also small-scale smuggling. Salah Ali, who has been working as a tanker driver for six months, said receipts are issued at the Bayji refinery for 36,000 liters per tanker, which is their official load. But they are then filled to their full capacity of 40,000 litres, and the additional 4,000 liters are sold on the black market for five times the price of regular fuel. Similar activities go on at the smaller refinery in Kirkuk, said Irfan Kirkukli, the deputy chief of security on the city council. "Several trucks carrying oil products smuggled from Kirkuk have been seized," he said. "Vehicles have been caught smuggling 160 canisters of cooking gas from Kirkuk to Erbil, for example."
Some petrol station owners, he said, sell their share of state-subsidized fuel to black market dealers. "Many such cases have occurred in Kirkuk and legal action was taken against [the culprits]," he said. "The filling stations weren't given [further] allotments and their owners were fined. "To protect the pipelines and prevent illegal smuggling of fuel, several measures are to be implemented. Kirkukli said a special protection force to guard the pipelines will be formed, consisting of members of the Iraqi army, oil protection forces and the tribes from the areas where the pipelines pass through.Officials in charge of particular pipeline sectors will have to pay fines if their stretches are damaged or oil is stolen. Kirkukli also said that funds have been allocated to support oil infrastructure and to build observation towers along the pipelines in western and southern Kirkuk.
Sami Amin Othman, the Kurdish chief of the oil protection force in Kirkuk, has recently hired 290 new security guards whom he plans to deploy along the pipelines. This, however, has already created unrest among the local Sunni Arab chiefs in the area. They seem to be afraid of losing power because the new guards will be paid directly by the government and not contracted through them. Because the people hired to protect the pipelines are often from the same groups that sabotage the pipes, and tribal bonds are often stronger than national loyalty, the illegal drilling is expected to continue. Sheikh Ziyad Hasan, who formerly served as a contractor protecting the pipelines, confirms that people from the area sabotage the pipelines and profit from the oil. Many locals, he said, lack the motivation to prevent thefts. "They believe that this oil serves the Americans and the new government, and that it does not benefit the people," he said.
Labels: Erbil, insurgents, Kirkuk, Northern Oil Company, oil, oil pipelines, sabotage, Sami Amin Othman, tribal leaders, tribes, Turkoman Front
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Child fighters on the rise in Iraq
Security
(Los Angeles Times) - Child fighters, once a rare presence on Iraq's battlefields, are playing a significant and growing role in kidnappings, killings and roadside bombings in the country, U.S. military officials say. Boys, some as young as 11, now outnumber foreign fighters at U.S. detention camps in Iraq. Since March, their numbers have risen to 800 from 100, said Maj. Gen. Douglas Stone, the commander of detainee operations. The Times reported last month that only 130 non-Iraqi fighters were in U.S. custody in Iraq.
Stone attributes the rise in child fighters in the country, in part, to the pressure that the U.S. buildup of troops has placed on the flow of foreign fighters. Fewer of them are making it into the country, he said, and the militant group Al Qaeda in Iraq is having a difficult time recruiting adults locally. Thus, it has turned to children." As our operations have increased, Al Qaeda [in Iraq] and others have used more minors in the fight against us, and in the process we have detained more and more juveniles," Stone said.
Stone attributes the rise in child fighters in the country, in part, to the pressure that the U.S. buildup of troops has placed on the flow of foreign fighters. Fewer of them are making it into the country, he said, and the militant group Al Qaeda in Iraq is having a difficult time recruiting adults locally. Thus, it has turned to children." As our operations have increased, Al Qaeda [in Iraq] and others have used more minors in the fight against us, and in the process we have detained more and more juveniles," Stone said.
He said the children make effective fighters because they are easily influenced, don't experience fear in the same way as adults and don't draw as much scrutiny from U.S. forces. Other causes for the increase in detentions may be that U.S. forces are simply coming into contact with more children because of the troop buildup, and that financial pressures may have pushed some Iraqi families toward the militants. Stone said some children have told interrogators that their parents encouraged them to do the militants' dirty work because the extremists have deep pockets.
Insurgents typically pay the boys $200 to $300 to plant a bomb, enough to support a family for two or three months, say their Iraqi instructors at a U.S. rehabilitation center. About 85% of the child detainees are Sunni and the majority live in Sunni Arab-dominated regions in the country's west and north. In these deeply impoverished, violence-torn communities, the men with money and influence are the ones with the most powerful arsenals. These are the children's role models.
The rise of child fighters will eventually make the Iraq conflict more gruesome, said Peter W. Singer, a Brookings Institution expert on child fighters. He said militant leaders often treat children as a cheap commodity, and peace will be less attainable because "conflict entrepreneurs" now have an established and pliable fighting force in their communities.
Websites feature stories of child martyrs as an inspiration, and on the other side of the sectarian divide, radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr's Mahdi Army also boasts of youngsters' involvement. "This shows that the Mahdi are a popular resistance movement against the occupiers. The old men and the young men are on the same field of battle," Sadr spokesman Sheik Ahmad Shebani told the London Daily Telegraph. The boys are arrested under a wide range of circumstances, and their commitment to insurgents is believed to vary greatly. Although some of their alleged offenses include kidnappings and killings, the vast majority are held for allegedly planting bombs in the road in exchange for money, authorities said.
The rise in young fighters compounds the savagery that has already shuttered many schools, left children wounded and hungry, and killed parents before children's eyes. For their American captors, the apparent surge of child fighters confuses enemy and friend on the battlefield even further, and it causes renewed scrutiny of the military's detention policies and lack of judicial access for juvenile detainees in custody. To accommodate the influx of boys, and to break the hold of the militants, a new education facility opened here Aug. 13. It sits a bus ride away from Camp Cropper, the U.S. detention area where the boys, between the ages of 11 and 17, live segregated from many others of the estimated 24,000 suspected insurgents in American custody in Iraq.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, boys, Camp Cropper, child fighters, children, detention centres, insurgents, Iraq, Mahdi Army, Maj. Gen. Douglas Stone
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Oil Exports Declining And Six Billion Dollars Lost Annually…Terrorists Control An Oil Field north of Baghdad
Insurgency, Oil
(Al Mowaten Newspaper) - 7 AUG - A source said that part of an oil field “east” of Baghdad is controlled by terrorists. The unidentified source said that terrorist groups in the Rashdiya area control the oil wells in this field; and that Well #25 is one of the oil wells under their control. At least four tanker trucks per day are stolen. The source confirmed that this stealing began six months ago and about “15 million dollars” have been lost. The source announced that coalition forces and Iraqi security forces have not taken any action to stop the stealing or to attack the terrorists.
Also, the OPF has not carried out its duty to protect the fields. It is known that the production of this field is between 15,000 to 20,000 barrels per day. This field’s production is used by Dora Refinery and Al Quds Electricity Power Station. The “east” Baghdad field is one of the largest fields in Iraq and is supposed to be further developed so it will produce 35,000 barrels per day.
It is also one of the most geologically complicated fields and needs large investment. The field’s oil reserves are more than seven billion barrels and are about 6% of Iraq’s oil reserves. The oil field reaches from Salah Ad Din to Wasit in southern Iraq. A report from the American accounting office announced that the Iraqi government needs a long period of time before it can meet American demands for Iraqi production. The report published in the Washington Post said that after four years and three billion dollars being spent on the construction program for Iraq, the entire oil industry’s capacity is still low and lower than what the American administration was planning for. The report confirmed that security and corruption are behind hindering the oil sector.
Also, the OPF has not carried out its duty to protect the fields. It is known that the production of this field is between 15,000 to 20,000 barrels per day. This field’s production is used by Dora Refinery and Al Quds Electricity Power Station. The “east” Baghdad field is one of the largest fields in Iraq and is supposed to be further developed so it will produce 35,000 barrels per day.
It is also one of the most geologically complicated fields and needs large investment. The field’s oil reserves are more than seven billion barrels and are about 6% of Iraq’s oil reserves. The oil field reaches from Salah Ad Din to Wasit in southern Iraq. A report from the American accounting office announced that the Iraqi government needs a long period of time before it can meet American demands for Iraqi production. The report published in the Washington Post said that after four years and three billion dollars being spent on the construction program for Iraq, the entire oil industry’s capacity is still low and lower than what the American administration was planning for. The report confirmed that security and corruption are behind hindering the oil sector.
Labels: Dora refinery, insurgents, oil wells, Rashdiya area
Friday, July 13, 2007
U.S. investigation concludes Iraqi police assisted attack on soldiers in Karbala
Security
(Reuters, USA Today) - A U.S. media report says a U.S. Army investigation has concluded that Iraqi police assisted insurgents in an attack in the Iraqi city of Karbala in January that killed five U.S. soldiers. "USA Today" said the information was contained in an investigative file made available to the newspaper and authenticated by the army. During the attack, insurgents posing as Americans entered a government compound in Karbala, killed a U.S. soldier, and drove away with four others whom they shot and killed later.
Labels: abduction, insurgents, Iraqi police, Karbala, murder, U.S. troops
Monday, June 04, 2007
U.S. open to granting amnesty to former Al Qaeda insurgents
Security, Politics
(AFP) - Washington's ambassador to Iraq hinted Sunday that the United States was open to granting amnesty to former Al-Qaeda insurgents who fought against it in the blood-soaked country. "As part of a political reconciliation process, amnesty can be very important," Ambassador Ryan Crocker told Fox News television, speaking from Baghdad.
"It can also be important in this particular context as we seek to draw as many elements as we can away from the fight ... against us and into the fight against a common enemy, Al-Qaeda. "In terms of individual cases involving people who have American blood on their hands, that is something we have to consider very carefully."
The number two head of US forces in Iraq, Raymond Odierno, said on Thursday that the US was discussing cease-fires with some Iraqi insurgent groups in an effort to reduce attacks on US and Iraqi government forces.
May was the third most deadly month for US forces in Iraq since they led the invasion in 2003 that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. Scores of civilians have been dying each week in insurgent attacks.
The man who led coalition forces in Iraq during the first year of the occupation, the retired Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, said recently that the United States could forget about winning the war in Iraq, and could hope only to "stave off defeat." Sanchez was the highest-ranking former military leader yet to suggest the Bush administration fell short in Iraq.
"It can also be important in this particular context as we seek to draw as many elements as we can away from the fight ... against us and into the fight against a common enemy, Al-Qaeda. "In terms of individual cases involving people who have American blood on their hands, that is something we have to consider very carefully."
The number two head of US forces in Iraq, Raymond Odierno, said on Thursday that the US was discussing cease-fires with some Iraqi insurgent groups in an effort to reduce attacks on US and Iraqi government forces.
May was the third most deadly month for US forces in Iraq since they led the invasion in 2003 that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. Scores of civilians have been dying each week in insurgent attacks.
The man who led coalition forces in Iraq during the first year of the occupation, the retired Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, said recently that the United States could forget about winning the war in Iraq, and could hope only to "stave off defeat." Sanchez was the highest-ranking former military leader yet to suggest the Bush administration fell short in Iraq.
Iraq's President Jalal Talabani meanwhile Sunday confirmed the Iraqi government was negotiating with "national resistance" members to whom he was prepared to give amnesty. "Then only al-Qaeda will remain as the main criminal terrorist group and it will be easy to eradicate it," he told ABC news.
"People are ready now to fight against -- to cooperate, against terrorism, and to cooperate with Iraqi armed forces ... when this Iraqi so-called national resistance movement will be convinced to come to the political process, the task of eradicating Al-Qaeda terrorist group will be easier." Talabani expressed optimism about Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Iraqi Shiite cleric and head of the Mahdi Army, Iraq's biggest militia, accused of carrying out sectarian attacks against Sunnis.
Sadr's movement "announced that they will ... support political process, very peaceful, and he asked his followers not to fight against Iraqi soldiers," Talabani said, though he warned that Sadr had "lost control of some of his militia." He also insisted Iraq's government had made "good steps forward for national reconciliation," including resistance fighters who were joining the political process.
He said he expected that the Iraq army would be ready to defend the country by the end of 2008, but that US forces would continue to have "a long-term presence" there.
Crocker also stressed that progress would take time.
"People are ready now to fight against -- to cooperate, against terrorism, and to cooperate with Iraqi armed forces ... when this Iraqi so-called national resistance movement will be convinced to come to the political process, the task of eradicating Al-Qaeda terrorist group will be easier." Talabani expressed optimism about Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Iraqi Shiite cleric and head of the Mahdi Army, Iraq's biggest militia, accused of carrying out sectarian attacks against Sunnis.
Sadr's movement "announced that they will ... support political process, very peaceful, and he asked his followers not to fight against Iraqi soldiers," Talabani said, though he warned that Sadr had "lost control of some of his militia." He also insisted Iraq's government had made "good steps forward for national reconciliation," including resistance fighters who were joining the political process.
He said he expected that the Iraq army would be ready to defend the country by the end of 2008, but that US forces would continue to have "a long-term presence" there.
Crocker also stressed that progress would take time.
Labels: amnesty, cease-fire, insurgents, Jalal Talabani, Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, Ryan Crocker, U.S.
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
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
(Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq at 1100 GMT on Wednesday:
* denotes new or updated item.
* HAMZA - A roadside bomb targeting a police intelligence officer's convoy killed two of his bodyguards and wounded three others, including the officer, police and medical sources said.
* MOSUL - A roadside bomb targeting a U.S. patrol wounded two civilians in Mosul, 390 km north of Baghdad, police said.
* BAGHDAD - U.S. soldiers detained 23 suspected insurgents during raids against suspected al Qaeda members in Baghdad, Mosul, Anbar and Saladdin provinces, the U.S. military said.
* BAGHDAD - The Iraqi army killed seven insurgents and arrested 53 others in the past 24 hours in different parts of Iraq, the Defence Ministry said.
FALLUJA - At least five people were killed and 15 wounded by mortar attacks in two different districts in the Sunni stronghold of Falluja, 50 km (35 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.
MOSUL - A woman was killed and two policemen were wounded in clashes between gunmen and police in Mosul, police said.
BAGHDAD - U.S. forces detained five suspected insurgents and one suspected cell leader during a raid in Sadr city in north-eastern Baghdad, the U.S. military said. The raid targeted members of a network suspected of importing roadside bombs and weapons from Iran.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 30 people who had been shot were found in different districts of Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.
MADAEN - A roadside bomb targeting police commandos wounded four policemen on Tuesday in Madaen, 45 km south of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - Three people were wounded by a mortar attack in Jamiaa district of western Baghdad, police said.
ISKANDARIYA - Gunmen wounded three policemen when they attacked a checkpoint on Tuesday in the town of Iskandariya, 40 km south of Baghdad, police said.
* denotes new or updated item.
* HAMZA - A roadside bomb targeting a police intelligence officer's convoy killed two of his bodyguards and wounded three others, including the officer, police and medical sources said.
* MOSUL - A roadside bomb targeting a U.S. patrol wounded two civilians in Mosul, 390 km north of Baghdad, police said.
* BAGHDAD - U.S. soldiers detained 23 suspected insurgents during raids against suspected al Qaeda members in Baghdad, Mosul, Anbar and Saladdin provinces, the U.S. military said.
* BAGHDAD - The Iraqi army killed seven insurgents and arrested 53 others in the past 24 hours in different parts of Iraq, the Defence Ministry said.
FALLUJA - At least five people were killed and 15 wounded by mortar attacks in two different districts in the Sunni stronghold of Falluja, 50 km (35 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.
MOSUL - A woman was killed and two policemen were wounded in clashes between gunmen and police in Mosul, police said.
BAGHDAD - U.S. forces detained five suspected insurgents and one suspected cell leader during a raid in Sadr city in north-eastern Baghdad, the U.S. military said. The raid targeted members of a network suspected of importing roadside bombs and weapons from Iran.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 30 people who had been shot were found in different districts of Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.
MADAEN - A roadside bomb targeting police commandos wounded four policemen on Tuesday in Madaen, 45 km south of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - Three people were wounded by a mortar attack in Jamiaa district of western Baghdad, police said.
ISKANDARIYA - Gunmen wounded three policemen when they attacked a checkpoint on Tuesday in the town of Iskandariya, 40 km south of Baghdad, police said.
Labels: Baghdad, Fallujah, Hamza, insurgents, Iskandariyah, Jamiaa, Madaen, mortar rounds, Mosul, roadside bombs, Sadr City
Monday, May 28, 2007
Dr. Allawi Reveals There Will Be A Meeting Between Gunmen And The US
Politics, Insurgency
(Baghdad Newspaper) - 27 MAY - Iraqi List Chief, Dr. Ayad Allawi said, “There will be a meeting between the US and the gunmen [insurgents] which will be held in the next few days in Baghdad.” He added in an interview with Al Jazeera TV Channel, “A few days ago, I met with representatives of various Iraqi groups in a neighboring state.”
He did not say which country but he said, “The purpose of this meeting will be to call for Iraqi groups to participate in the political process and we are also working to amend the political process to create an Iraq based on non-sectarianism.” Dr. Allawi expressed his support for this meeting and he said, “In the past, I held meetings like this in my house.”
Labels: Ayad Allawi, insurgents, U.S.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Coalition base attacked in Baqouba
Security
(AP) - About 50 suspected insurgents attacked a coalition base in the center of a northern Iraqi city Friday, sparking a battle with U.S. soldiers and helicopters that killed at least six militants, the Iraqi army said. The fighting took place in Baqouba, the capital of Diyala, a Sunni insurgent stronghold that has seen a recent spike in violence largely blamed on militants who fled a 3-month-old security crackdown in Baghdad.
Diyala province - with its mixed Shiite and Sunni Muslim population - has been the scene of frequent sectarian violence as well as attacks by anti-U.S. insurgents. The U.S. military has sent 3,000 additional forces to try to tame the violence.
At 7 a.m. Friday, the day of rest in mostly Muslim Iraq, about 50 suspected insurgents opened fire on a U.S.-Iraqi base in downtown Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, wounding two Iraqi soldiers, an Iraqi army officer said. U.S. forces and helicopters responded at 7:30 a.m., killing at least six insurgents, the Iraqi army officer said on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
Residents said the fighting sent smoke billowing up from neighborhoods in the area. One local, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from militants, said he heard heavy machine gun fire and then men shouting "Allahu Akbar," or God is great in Arabic. Others said they saw U.S. tanks and armored vehicles driving through the street, while aircraft flew overhead.
The base was set up two months ago in a three-story city office building that was abandoned because of the violence in the area, the Iraqi officer said. The U.S. military had no immediate comment on the incident. Baqouba and the rest of the Diyala province have been hit by a string of attacks this week.
Diyala province - with its mixed Shiite and Sunni Muslim population - has been the scene of frequent sectarian violence as well as attacks by anti-U.S. insurgents. The U.S. military has sent 3,000 additional forces to try to tame the violence.
At 7 a.m. Friday, the day of rest in mostly Muslim Iraq, about 50 suspected insurgents opened fire on a U.S.-Iraqi base in downtown Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, wounding two Iraqi soldiers, an Iraqi army officer said. U.S. forces and helicopters responded at 7:30 a.m., killing at least six insurgents, the Iraqi army officer said on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
Residents said the fighting sent smoke billowing up from neighborhoods in the area. One local, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from militants, said he heard heavy machine gun fire and then men shouting "Allahu Akbar," or God is great in Arabic. Others said they saw U.S. tanks and armored vehicles driving through the street, while aircraft flew overhead.
The base was set up two months ago in a three-story city office building that was abandoned because of the violence in the area, the Iraqi officer said. The U.S. military had no immediate comment on the incident. Baqouba and the rest of the Diyala province have been hit by a string of attacks this week.
Labels: Baqouba, Diyala, insurgents, U.S. base
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Insurgents destroy helicopter, damage nine others
Security
(Middle East Online) - Insurgents destroyed a US military helicopter and damaged nine others in a mortar attack on a US airfield north of Baghdad, a US defense official said Wednesday. The attack, which occurred Sunday at a US air base at al-Taji but was not disclosed by the US military command in Baghdad, also wounded four US servicemembers, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"One helicopter was destroyed and nine were damaged," said the official, who said that six of the damaged helicopters have been repaired and are "fully mission capable." Insurgents appeared to have targeted the aircraft rather than have struck them with random fire, the official said. "There was some counter-battery fire," the official said. Attacks have damaged aircraft in the past but the military has rarely, if ever, reported so many helicopters being hit in a single insurgent attack. At least two types of helicopter were damaged in the attack but the official would not say what they were.
"One helicopter was destroyed and nine were damaged," said the official, who said that six of the damaged helicopters have been repaired and are "fully mission capable." Insurgents appeared to have targeted the aircraft rather than have struck them with random fire, the official said. "There was some counter-battery fire," the official said. Attacks have damaged aircraft in the past but the military has rarely, if ever, reported so many helicopters being hit in a single insurgent attack. At least two types of helicopter were damaged in the attack but the official would not say what they were.
Labels: helicopters, insurgents, mortar attacks, Taji
Monday, May 14, 2007
Al Qaeda controls most of Diyala while parliament makes suggestions on security situation
Security
(Al Mada Newspaper AR.) - 13 MAY - According to eyewitnesses, insurgent groups control most of Baquba’s areas, plus other areas of Diyala Province. And, at the same time, the Iraqi and US forces have not made any progress against the insurgent groups.
An eyewitnesses told Al Mada Newspaper, “This bad security situation, in Diyala Province, began before Baghdad’s new security plan “Operation Enforcing the Law” started… Therefore, we do not agree with the US Army’s statement that the reason behind Diyala’s bad security situation is due to terrorists who ran away from Baghdad and came to Diyala Province.”
The Commander of US forces in Diyala Province said, “Currently, I only have 3,500 US soldiers; in order to restore security in Diyala Province I will need 3,000 more soldiers.” The eyewitnesses said, “We are shocked, because the (Iraqi) government has done nothing for us. Al Qaeda has killed 11,200 of Diyala’s people, displaced 9,500 families, and now we have 8,250 widows and 16,500 orphans… Al Qaeda has also destroyed 66 Shrines.”
[NOTE: The Newspaper noted that these numbers were provided by (displaced) Diyala residents, now living in Karbala Province who have conducted demonstrations about the conditions in Diyala Province. The witnesses also said, “Some clashes have occurred between the insurgents but Al Qaeda now controls many of Diyala’s government facilities." The witnesses added that recently the Shamarri, Tamim, Karkhiya, and Mujamah tribes have established a “coalition.”
In related news: yesterday, Iraq’s Parliament held a session to discuss Diyala’s security situation. A Parliament Committee had visited the displaced Diyala residents in Karbala Province who had protested about Diyala Province’s situation. This Parliament Committee made suggestions (about actions which) the security forces should take, such as:
Secure the main roads which lead to Baquba City, especially, secure the Baquba-Baghdad (Highway) route,
Conduct wide-spread military operations to “clean the terrorists out of” Diyala Province,
Form a (special) court to punish the criminals,
Punish the [corrupt and/or inefficient/incompetent] security officials in Diyala,
Form a committee to compensate the citizens who suffered losses or damages.
[NOTE: The Newspaper noted that these numbers were provided by (displaced) Diyala residents, now living in Karbala Province who have conducted demonstrations about the conditions in Diyala Province. The witnesses also said, “Some clashes have occurred between the insurgents but Al Qaeda now controls many of Diyala’s government facilities." The witnesses added that recently the Shamarri, Tamim, Karkhiya, and Mujamah tribes have established a “coalition.”
In related news: yesterday, Iraq’s Parliament held a session to discuss Diyala’s security situation. A Parliament Committee had visited the displaced Diyala residents in Karbala Province who had protested about Diyala Province’s situation. This Parliament Committee made suggestions (about actions which) the security forces should take, such as:
Secure the main roads which lead to Baquba City, especially, secure the Baquba-Baghdad (Highway) route,
Conduct wide-spread military operations to “clean the terrorists out of” Diyala Province,
Form a (special) court to punish the criminals,
Punish the [corrupt and/or inefficient/incompetent] security officials in Diyala,
Form a committee to compensate the citizens who suffered losses or damages.
Labels: Baqouba, Diyala, insurgents, Iraqi parliament, Karkhiya, Mujamah, Shamarri, Tamim, tribal coalition, violence
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
(McClatchy Newspapers) - The daily Iraq violence report is compiled by McClatchy Newspapers in Baghdad from police, military and medical reports. This is not a comprehensive list of all violence in Iraq, much of which goes unreported. It’s posted without editing as transmitted to McClatchy’s Washington Bureau.
Baghdad
- Around 8 am , a suicide truck (Hino) driver led his car near a petrol station at Al-Meda'en, but the police commandos of the checkpoint in the neighborhood exploded the truck with the suicide driver inside who was killed at the explosion . No casualties recorded.
- Around 9 am, a roadside bomb exploded at Amiriya neighborhood without casualties.
- Around 11 am, a roadside bomb exploded when an American patrol passed by at the commercial street in Saidiya neighborhood without any casualties.
- Around 12 pm, a roadside bomb exploded at Baladiyat neighborhood when an American patrol passed in the area without casualties recorded. Salahuddin
- Early morning, gunmen bombed Asad's brother's house , the chairman of Samara municipality , after forcing the whole family to evacuate the house which is in Hay Al-Sikak south Samara (North of Baghdad). Basrah
- At dawn, a roadside bomb exploded when a British vehicle passed through Timimiya neighborhood(near Ashar) in the downtown of Basra ( south of Iraq) having some damage to the vehicle with no casualties recorded.
- Around this day, a British patrol had found a trench filled with ammunitions north of Zubair (35 km west of Basra) including 20 mortar bombs ,30 cannon bombs and two grenades .
Baghdad
- Around 8 am , a suicide truck (Hino) driver led his car near a petrol station at Al-Meda'en, but the police commandos of the checkpoint in the neighborhood exploded the truck with the suicide driver inside who was killed at the explosion . No casualties recorded.
- Around 9 am, a roadside bomb exploded at Amiriya neighborhood without casualties.
- Around 11 am, a roadside bomb exploded when an American patrol passed by at the commercial street in Saidiya neighborhood without any casualties.
- Around 12 pm, a roadside bomb exploded at Baladiyat neighborhood when an American patrol passed in the area without casualties recorded. Salahuddin
- Early morning, gunmen bombed Asad's brother's house , the chairman of Samara municipality , after forcing the whole family to evacuate the house which is in Hay Al-Sikak south Samara (North of Baghdad). Basrah
- At dawn, a roadside bomb exploded when a British vehicle passed through Timimiya neighborhood(near Ashar) in the downtown of Basra ( south of Iraq) having some damage to the vehicle with no casualties recorded.
- Around this day, a British patrol had found a trench filled with ammunitions north of Zubair (35 km west of Basra) including 20 mortar bombs ,30 cannon bombs and two grenades .
(Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq at 1245 GMT on Saturday:
* denotes new or updated item.
* NEAR MAHMUDIYA - Insurgents attacked a team of seven U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi army interpreter south of Baghdad, killing five soldiers while three others were missing, the U.S. military said in a statement.
* NEAR LATIFIYA - Three bodies were found shot dead near the small town of Latifiya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - U.S. forces detained three suspects and destroyed a car bomb during a raid in the Shi'ite stronghold of Sadr City aimed at breaking a network suspected of procuring sophisticated explosives from Iran, the U.S. military said. It said the three were believed to have ties to a secret network that smuggles so-called EFPs and sends Iraqi militants for training to Iran.
* DIWANIYA - Gunmen killed a policeman in front of his home in the southern Iraqi city of Diwaniya, police said.
* FALLUJA - Gunmen killed a man who was an army colonel under Saddam Hussein in Falluja, west of Baghdad, police said.
* denotes new or updated item.
* NEAR MAHMUDIYA - Insurgents attacked a team of seven U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi army interpreter south of Baghdad, killing five soldiers while three others were missing, the U.S. military said in a statement.
* NEAR LATIFIYA - Three bodies were found shot dead near the small town of Latifiya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - U.S. forces detained three suspects and destroyed a car bomb during a raid in the Shi'ite stronghold of Sadr City aimed at breaking a network suspected of procuring sophisticated explosives from Iran, the U.S. military said. It said the three were believed to have ties to a secret network that smuggles so-called EFPs and sends Iraqi militants for training to Iran.
* DIWANIYA - Gunmen killed a policeman in front of his home in the southern Iraqi city of Diwaniya, police said.
* FALLUJA - Gunmen killed a man who was an army colonel under Saddam Hussein in Falluja, west of Baghdad, police said.
Labels: Diwaniya, EFPs, Fallujah, gunmen, insurgents, Latifiyah, Mahmudiya, Sadr City
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Worse security conditions despite 'surge'
Security
(Azzaman) - Baghdad inhabitants say the presence of armed groups has intensified since the start of U.S. military operations to pacify the city more than two months ago. More and more armed groups are springing up in Baghdad, they say, and restive quarters like Doura and Ghazaliya have turned into major insurgent strongholds.
The Ministry of Interior which plays a big hand in the current operations targeting armed and rebel groups in the city would not comment on reports on the escalation of the number of armed in the city. But a ministry source, refusing to be named, said, “The security forces are striking with a fist of iron all the hatcheries of armed groups in various areas (of Baghdad) and the provinces by capturing many of them every week.”
But Baghdad residents have different stories to tell. Kadhem Abedsada who has been forced to flee al-Ghazaliya district, said security conditions have aggravated since the government began its security plan. “I have never seen such a wide presence of armed groups before. Their hideouts dot al-Ghazaliya and they are breeding like mushrooms. They call themselves resistance but they kill and kidnap on identity cards and ask for massive ransoms,” Abedsada said.
A woman, refusing to be named, said her husband was abducted by armed men who forced their way into their house in the violent neighborhood of Saydiya. “My husband was kidnapped from our home in Saydiya by an unidentified armed group. They entered our house, handcuffed my husband and took away our money and jewelry. “Then they asked for $30,000 as a ransom but later reduced it to $20,000 when I told them they had already taken almost all what we had. “After paying the ransom, they released my husband on condition that we immediately evacuate the neighborhood and so did we,” said the woman, who only spoke on condition of anonymity.
Abu Ahmad from al-Jamia neighborhood said their areas had turned into hideouts for armed groups. “Armed groups operate and act with impunity. They can do whatever they want as there are no Iraqi security forces in most of our neighborhood. “Occasionally, U.S. troops storm certain areas and arrest some people most of whom are innocent,” Abu Ahmad said.
Conditions in Amiriya neighborhood have also worsened since U.S. and Iraqi forces launched their security plan. Hadi Mahmoud said many residents in Amiriya now fear leaving their homes and a trip outside the neighborhood is for many ‘a journey to certain death.’ “We cannot leave our areas and our homes. Our neighborhood looks almost deserted apart from the sight of armed groups brandishing their weapons and wandering freely in the streets,” said Mahmoud.
The Ministry of Interior which plays a big hand in the current operations targeting armed and rebel groups in the city would not comment on reports on the escalation of the number of armed in the city. But a ministry source, refusing to be named, said, “The security forces are striking with a fist of iron all the hatcheries of armed groups in various areas (of Baghdad) and the provinces by capturing many of them every week.”
But Baghdad residents have different stories to tell. Kadhem Abedsada who has been forced to flee al-Ghazaliya district, said security conditions have aggravated since the government began its security plan. “I have never seen such a wide presence of armed groups before. Their hideouts dot al-Ghazaliya and they are breeding like mushrooms. They call themselves resistance but they kill and kidnap on identity cards and ask for massive ransoms,” Abedsada said.
A woman, refusing to be named, said her husband was abducted by armed men who forced their way into their house in the violent neighborhood of Saydiya. “My husband was kidnapped from our home in Saydiya by an unidentified armed group. They entered our house, handcuffed my husband and took away our money and jewelry. “Then they asked for $30,000 as a ransom but later reduced it to $20,000 when I told them they had already taken almost all what we had. “After paying the ransom, they released my husband on condition that we immediately evacuate the neighborhood and so did we,” said the woman, who only spoke on condition of anonymity.
Abu Ahmad from al-Jamia neighborhood said their areas had turned into hideouts for armed groups. “Armed groups operate and act with impunity. They can do whatever they want as there are no Iraqi security forces in most of our neighborhood. “Occasionally, U.S. troops storm certain areas and arrest some people most of whom are innocent,” Abu Ahmad said.
Conditions in Amiriya neighborhood have also worsened since U.S. and Iraqi forces launched their security plan. Hadi Mahmoud said many residents in Amiriya now fear leaving their homes and a trip outside the neighborhood is for many ‘a journey to certain death.’ “We cannot leave our areas and our homes. Our neighborhood looks almost deserted apart from the sight of armed groups brandishing their weapons and wandering freely in the streets,” said Mahmoud.
COMMENT: The Azzaman Arabic Daily is a self declared “independent” newspaper printed in Great Britain and distributed throughout the Arab community. The Editor-in-Chief, Sadi Al Bazzaz is a former employee of the Iraqi Ministry of Information, who fled Iraq in the early 1990’s to Great Britain. Azzaman is widely read throughout Baghdad as a valuable source of information. Azzaman continues to be the most popular printed news source in Baghdad. Azzaman takes more of a center approach in its reporting and editorials, rather than being pro-Coalition. The paper does run anti-Coalition pieces that label the US presence in Iraq as an occupying force. Azzaman Arabic Daily resembles a liberal, non-religious based, western paper; providing local and international news, sports, fashion, arts, a cyber section called “@.” This paper and those like it were not available in Baghdad during the Saddam regime.COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: al-Jamia, Ameriyah, armed groups, Baghdad, Doura, Ghazaliyah, insurgents, Ministry of Interior, Operation Fardh al-Qanoon, Saydiya, security
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Prince Harry prime target for insurgents in Iraq
Security
(The Guardian) - Prince Harry will be a prime kidnap target for insurgents in Iraq, a commander in the Mahdi army, the Shia militia loyal to the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, has told the Guardian. "One of our aims is to capture Harry, we have people inside the British bases to inform us on when he will arrive," claimed Abu Mujtaba, who commands a unit of around 50 men active in the Mahdi army in Basra.
In comments denounced by British defence sources as "blatant propaganda", Abu Mujtaba told the Guardian: "We have a special unit that would work to track him down, with informants inside the bases. "Not only us, the Mahdi army, that will try to capture him, but every person who hates the British and the Americans will try to get him, all the mujahideens in Iraq, the al-Qaida, the Iranians all will try to get him."
The Guardian has seen evidence that Abu Mujtaba has a number of men under his command as well as weaponry including rockets, but there is no independent evidence to substantiate his claims that militias have infiltrated British bases, or established a unit to target Prince Harry. Abu Mujtaba continued: "For me he is just a British soldier and he should be killed if comes to Iraq, but let's be realistic, we can kill hundreds of British soldiers before forcing them to withdraw - like what's happening with Americans now - but Harry is a bigger catch and we will force the British to come on their knees and talk to us."
A senior Iraqi defence ministry official said that militias could overrun Basra relatively easily because they had successfully infiltrated local security forces. "When the Brits formed these forces they depended on these militias for lists of recruits," he said. The Ministry of Defence yesterday maintained its previous official line, that Prince Harry's deployment on a six-month tour to south-eastern Iraq with his regiment, the Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry, was under "constant consideration". It added: "It remains our intention that Prince Harry will be deployed as a troop leader."
The Blues and Royals are part of a mechanised brigade to be deployed next month. They will carry out reconnaissance using armoured cars. Reports that an attack by a roadside bomb on an armoured vehicle in Maysan province last week that killed two British soldiers was a "dry run" for an attempt on the prince's life were treated with scepticism yesterday by senior defence sources. However, it was the first time British soldiers have been killed in that type of vehicle in south-eastern Iraq by hostile action and security has been stepped up in the areas where the Blues and Royals will be based.
A final decision whether or not to deploy the prince will be taken by General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the army. While in Iraq, the prince - known as Cornet Wales - would carry out a troop commander's role, involving leading a troop of 12 men in four armoured reconnaissance vehicles, each with a crew of three.
April has been the bloodiest month for British service personnel in south-eastern Iraq since the invasion four years ago with 11 killed so far.
In comments denounced by British defence sources as "blatant propaganda", Abu Mujtaba told the Guardian: "We have a special unit that would work to track him down, with informants inside the bases. "Not only us, the Mahdi army, that will try to capture him, but every person who hates the British and the Americans will try to get him, all the mujahideens in Iraq, the al-Qaida, the Iranians all will try to get him."
The Guardian has seen evidence that Abu Mujtaba has a number of men under his command as well as weaponry including rockets, but there is no independent evidence to substantiate his claims that militias have infiltrated British bases, or established a unit to target Prince Harry. Abu Mujtaba continued: "For me he is just a British soldier and he should be killed if comes to Iraq, but let's be realistic, we can kill hundreds of British soldiers before forcing them to withdraw - like what's happening with Americans now - but Harry is a bigger catch and we will force the British to come on their knees and talk to us."
A senior Iraqi defence ministry official said that militias could overrun Basra relatively easily because they had successfully infiltrated local security forces. "When the Brits formed these forces they depended on these militias for lists of recruits," he said. The Ministry of Defence yesterday maintained its previous official line, that Prince Harry's deployment on a six-month tour to south-eastern Iraq with his regiment, the Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry, was under "constant consideration". It added: "It remains our intention that Prince Harry will be deployed as a troop leader."
The Blues and Royals are part of a mechanised brigade to be deployed next month. They will carry out reconnaissance using armoured cars. Reports that an attack by a roadside bomb on an armoured vehicle in Maysan province last week that killed two British soldiers was a "dry run" for an attempt on the prince's life were treated with scepticism yesterday by senior defence sources. However, it was the first time British soldiers have been killed in that type of vehicle in south-eastern Iraq by hostile action and security has been stepped up in the areas where the Blues and Royals will be based.
A final decision whether or not to deploy the prince will be taken by General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the army. While in Iraq, the prince - known as Cornet Wales - would carry out a troop commander's role, involving leading a troop of 12 men in four armoured reconnaissance vehicles, each with a crew of three.
April has been the bloodiest month for British service personnel in south-eastern Iraq since the invasion four years ago with 11 killed so far.
Labels: Abu Mujtaba, Basra, Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry, Cornet Wales, General Sir Richard Dannatt, insurgents, Iraq, kidnap, Mahdi Army, Prince Harry
Friday, April 27, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
(McClatchy Newspapers) - Key incidents - follow link for in-depth information.
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.
Baghdad
- 4 citizens were killed and 10 were injured in a parked car bomb explosion near the house of Abdul Azeez Al Hakeem, the SCIRI head house in Jadiriyah neighborhood south Baghdad at 3,50 pm.
- 26 anonymous bodies were found in Baghdad today. 24 bodies were found in Karkh, the western part of Baghdad in the following neighborhoods ( 4 bodies in Saidiyah, 4 bodies in Amil, 3 bodies in Bayaa, 3 bodies in Elam, 2 bodies in Topchi, 2 bodies in Hurriyah, 2 bodies in Yarmouk, 2 bodies in Mamoun, 1 body in Harthiyah and 1 body in Risala.) 2 bodies were found in Rusafa, the eastern part of Baghdad, 1 body was found in Sadr city and 1 body was found in Nahrawan.
Diyala province
- A military source in Khalis town 10 KMs north of Baquba city said that unknown insurgents assassinated today an officer in the Iraqi army in Al Ghalibiyah area, a part of Khalis town. The source didn’t mention any more details about the incident.
- A military source said that 4 civilians were wounded in clashes between the residents of Al Mjedid area, a part of Khalis town, and insurgents of Al Qaida organization early morning today.
- Medical sources said that 8 citizens including 5 policemen were killed and 12 others including 7 policemen were injured in a suicide car bomb explosion targeted a check point north Khalios town.
Nainawa Province
- Security sources in Mosul city said that 4 Kurdish security members known as Beshmarga had been killed and 15 citizens including Beshmarga members were injured in two suicide car bomb explosions that targeted one of the centers of the PDK party (the party of Kurdistan region president Masoud Barzani in Zomar district north west of Mosul city.
Salahuddin
- Police sources in Tikrit city said that the wife and the daughter of Hashim Hasan Al Majeed, the cousin of the executed former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, had been killed today when insurgents attacked them inside their house in Al Qadisiyah neighborhood north Tikrit city early morning today. The source said that the insurgents kidnapped another daughter of Hashim Al Majeed.
Baghdad
- 4 citizens were killed and 10 were injured in a parked car bomb explosion near the house of Abdul Azeez Al Hakeem, the SCIRI head house in Jadiriyah neighborhood south Baghdad at 3,50 pm.
- 26 anonymous bodies were found in Baghdad today. 24 bodies were found in Karkh, the western part of Baghdad in the following neighborhoods ( 4 bodies in Saidiyah, 4 bodies in Amil, 3 bodies in Bayaa, 3 bodies in Elam, 2 bodies in Topchi, 2 bodies in Hurriyah, 2 bodies in Yarmouk, 2 bodies in Mamoun, 1 body in Harthiyah and 1 body in Risala.) 2 bodies were found in Rusafa, the eastern part of Baghdad, 1 body was found in Sadr city and 1 body was found in Nahrawan.
Diyala province
- A military source in Khalis town 10 KMs north of Baquba city said that unknown insurgents assassinated today an officer in the Iraqi army in Al Ghalibiyah area, a part of Khalis town. The source didn’t mention any more details about the incident.
- A military source said that 4 civilians were wounded in clashes between the residents of Al Mjedid area, a part of Khalis town, and insurgents of Al Qaida organization early morning today.
- Medical sources said that 8 citizens including 5 policemen were killed and 12 others including 7 policemen were injured in a suicide car bomb explosion targeted a check point north Khalios town.
Nainawa Province
- Security sources in Mosul city said that 4 Kurdish security members known as Beshmarga had been killed and 15 citizens including Beshmarga members were injured in two suicide car bomb explosions that targeted one of the centers of the PDK party (the party of Kurdistan region president Masoud Barzani in Zomar district north west of Mosul city.
Salahuddin
- Police sources in Tikrit city said that the wife and the daughter of Hashim Hasan Al Majeed, the cousin of the executed former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, had been killed today when insurgents attacked them inside their house in Al Qadisiyah neighborhood north Tikrit city early morning today. The source said that the insurgents kidnapped another daughter of Hashim Al Majeed.
Labels: assassination, car bomb, Chemical Ali, Diyala, insurgents, Jadiriyah, KDP, Mosul, Peshmerga, SCIRI, Tikrit
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Reported split between al-Qaeda and Sunni Arab insurgents
Insurgency, Politics
(LA Times) - Insurgent leaders and Sunni Arab politicians say divisions between insurgent groups and Al Qaeda in Iraq have widened and have led to combat in some areas of the country, a schism that U.S. officials hope to exploit. The Sunni Arab insurgent leaders said they disagreed with the leadership of Al Qaeda in Iraq over tactics, including attacks on civilians, as well as over command of the movement.
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, on his last day in Iraq, said Monday that American officials were actively pursuing negotiations with the Sunni factions in an effort to further isolate Al Qaeda."Iraqis are uniting against Al Qaeda," Khalilzad said. "Coalition commanders have been able to engage some insurgents to explore ways to collaborate in fighting the terrorists."
Insurgent leaders from two of the prominent groups fighting U.S. troops said the divisions between their forces and Al Qaeda were serious. They have led to skirmishes in Al Anbar province and have stopped short of combat in Diyala, east of Baghdad, they said in interviews with the Los Angeles Times. Al Qaeda in Iraq, which has taken responsibility for many of the most brutal attacks on civilians here, is made up primarily of foreign fighters. Although it shares a name with Osama bin Laden's group, it is unclear how much the two coordinate their activities.
The General Command of the Iraqi Armed Forces, a small Baath Party insurgent faction, told the Los Angeles Times it had split with Al Qaeda in Iraq in September, after the assassination of two of its members in Al Anbar. In Diyala, the 1920 Revolution Brigade, a coalition of Islamists and former Baath Party military officers, is on the verge of cutting ties with Al Qaeda.
Shiite Muslim government officials said the Iraqi government was talking to insurgents both about fighting the radical movement and reaching a truce. The government has proposed a trial cease-fire period to the 1920 Revolution Brigade, the Islamic Army in Iraq and other factions in western Baghdad. In return, the Iraqi government would mount a major reconstruction drive in battle-scarred Sunni areas, a senior member of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's Islamic Dawa Party said.
A rupture between Al Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgents could prove a significant break for the Iraqi government and the Americans. But there are many potential drawbacks. Sunni politicians describe the fighting against Al Qaeda in Iraq as localized and emphasize that in some areas the various movements exist in harmony. The Iraqi factions are also believed to engage in turf wars that could sabotage any concerted effort against Al Qaeda in Iraq, the Sunni politicians said.
The insurgents prefer to negotiate with the Americans and to bypass the Shiite-led government, which Sunni Arabs deeply distrust. Three Sunni politicians, most of them with contacts in the Sunni insurgency, said insurgent groups were struggling over domestic issues, even as Al Qaeda in Iraq pursued an international agenda.
Khalaf Ayan, a member of the Sunni Tawafiq bloc in parliament, said, "what happened is that Al Qaeda had targeted leaders of many Iraqi groups. That is why the resistance is in big conflict with Al Qaeda and is fighting against it." In October, Al Qaeda and its Iraqi affiliates announced the establishment of an Islamic State of Iraq, but insurgents have spurned it, saying it was a ploy to take over the insurgency.
Iyad Samarrai, a Sunni member of parliament from the Iraqi Islamic Party, confirmed clashes in the last three months in the Abu Ghraib area and also in Taji, north of Baghdad. But he said the Islamic Army and 1920 Revolution Brigade were coexisting with Al Qaeda in Iraq in other areas. Samarrai explained that the spate of violence stemmed from the refusal by the 1920 Revolution Brigade and the Islamic Army to rule out negotiations with the Americans after Sunni politicians were elected to parliament in December 2005.
Shiite government officials, meanwhile, said their talks on fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq, which were taking place as part of larger discussions on a peace deal, were facing difficulties, including the fragmentation of some insurgent organizations. Another hurdle is the insistence by insurgent groups to go back to "square one, to rewrite the constitution from the beginning, to have elections from the beginning," said Shiite Haider Abadi, a member of parliament from Maliki's Dawa Party. He confirmed that the talks included the 1920 Revolution Brigade, the Islamic Army and at least five other groups.
Labels: Al Anbar, Al-Qaeda, Diyala, insurgents, Islamic State of Iraq, politicians, Sunni Arab insurgents, the 1920 Revolution Brigades
Monday, March 26, 2007
U.S., Iraqi officials in talks with Sunni insurgent groups
Security, Politics
(Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi officials are in contact with representatives of some Sunni Arab insurgent groups to build an alliance against al Qaeda in Iraq, the outgoing U.S. ambassador said on Monday. At his final news conference in Baghdad, he confirmed reports that U.S. embassy and military staff as well as Iraqi government officials had met representatives of insurgent-linked groups on several occasions.
"That process is continuing," he said. "One of the main challenges is how to separate more and more groups away from al Qaeda, how to turn them to cooperate with the Iraqi government against al Qaeda," he said. "That is the strategic objective."
Earlier The New York Times reported that Khalilzad himself had met Sunni insurgent groups, which include nationalists and former Saddam Hussein sympathizers, such as the Islamic Army in Iraq, a large group of former Baathists and ex-army officers once loyal to the former president, Saddam Hussein. Iraqi government officials are known to have had contact with insurgent groups in the past but these have never really amounted to much as the groups' main demand has been for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
Khalilzad said their key concern had shifted toward how to fight al Qaeda during recent talks. He said he did not want to give too many details about who was involved in the talks given "al Qaeda's efforts to derail such efforts." Al Qaeda militants have launched of a string of attacks on a group of tribes in western Anbar province that have formed an alliance against the hardline Sunni Islamist group. U.S. commanders in Anbar have been promoting the tribal alliance against al Qaeda as crucial to ending the violence.
"We have had discussions with various groups," Khalilzad said. "They have taken place, they are continuing to take place. I did not say we've talked to terrorists, we've talked to groups who have not participated in the political process who have ties to some insurgents who are reconcilable."
"That process is continuing," he said. "One of the main challenges is how to separate more and more groups away from al Qaeda, how to turn them to cooperate with the Iraqi government against al Qaeda," he said. "That is the strategic objective."
Earlier The New York Times reported that Khalilzad himself had met Sunni insurgent groups, which include nationalists and former Saddam Hussein sympathizers, such as the Islamic Army in Iraq, a large group of former Baathists and ex-army officers once loyal to the former president, Saddam Hussein. Iraqi government officials are known to have had contact with insurgent groups in the past but these have never really amounted to much as the groups' main demand has been for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
Khalilzad said their key concern had shifted toward how to fight al Qaeda during recent talks. He said he did not want to give too many details about who was involved in the talks given "al Qaeda's efforts to derail such efforts." Al Qaeda militants have launched of a string of attacks on a group of tribes in western Anbar province that have formed an alliance against the hardline Sunni Islamist group. U.S. commanders in Anbar have been promoting the tribal alliance against al Qaeda as crucial to ending the violence.
"We have had discussions with various groups," Khalilzad said. "They have taken place, they are continuing to take place. I did not say we've talked to terrorists, we've talked to groups who have not participated in the political process who have ties to some insurgents who are reconcilable."
Labels: Al Qaeda, Baathists, Fomer Regime Elements, insurgents, Islamic Army in Iraq
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Insurgents raid prison, free prisoners
Security, Insurgency
(Gulf Daily News) - Hundreds of insurgents stormed a prison in the town of Al-Miqdadiyah, northeast of Baghdad, on March 21 and freed 33 prisoners, the "Gulf Daily News" reported on March 22. Allawi Farhan, the mayor of Al-Miqdadiyah, said there were approximately 200 insurgents using an array of weapons, and he described the operation as well-planned and highly sophisticated. The insurgents detonated a car bomb to seal off the eastern road to the prison and a roadside bomb to block the southern road, impeding the arrival of reinforcements. When U.S. and Iraqi reinforcements finally arrived, they were ambushed by the insurgents, who then set fire to a police station, courthouse, and 20 police vehicles before escaping. Iraqi officials said 18 policemen and 10 insurgents were killed.
Labels: insurgents, Muqdadiya, prisoners
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
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
