Wednesday, August 08, 2007
40 killed in raid on Sadr City
Security
(CNN) -- Forty people have been killed in a military raid and street fighting across Baghdad's Sadr City, the capital's volatile Shiite slum, Iraqi and U.S. officials said Wednesday.Iraqi and coalition troops overnight killed 32 militants in Sadr City -- most of them in an airstrike -- in an operation targeting a cell with alleged links to Iran, the U.S. military said. Twelve others were detained in the raid.
Separately, fighting broke out early Wednesday between U.S.-led coalition forces and Mehdi Army militiamen in Sadr City, leaving at least eight people dead and 10 wounded, according to Iraq's Interior Ministry. The U.S. military denied that civilians were among the casualties in the raid. "There were women and children in the area when we conducted the operation but none were killed in the airstrike," Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver said, according to Reuters.
Some critics of al-Maliki, from the Shiite Dawa party, say he has been reluctant to take on other Shiite militants. Al-Maliki says the Iraqi military is targeting all insurgents, no matter what sect they hail from. There is a lot of support for Iran in Sadr City. And the targeted terrorist cell is suspected of bringing weapons and the bombs called an "explosively formed penetrators" from Iran to Iraq and of "bringing militants from Iraq into Iran for terrorist training," the U.S. military said.
The military said the raid was built on "a series of coordinated operations" that commenced with a raid in the southern Iraqi city of Amara in June. Amara is in Maysan province in the Shiite heartland and it borders Iran.
"Coalition forces continue to attack the supply chain of illicit materials being shipped from Iran," the military said.
The military was targeting an individual who "acts as a proxy between Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force and an "the Iraqi EFP network." "Reports also indicate that he assists with the facilitation of weapons and EFP shipments into Iraq as well as the transfer of militant extremists to Iran for training."
Separately, fighting broke out early Wednesday between U.S.-led coalition forces and Mehdi Army militiamen in Sadr City, leaving at least eight people dead and 10 wounded, according to Iraq's Interior Ministry. The U.S. military denied that civilians were among the casualties in the raid. "There were women and children in the area when we conducted the operation but none were killed in the airstrike," Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver said, according to Reuters.
Some critics of al-Maliki, from the Shiite Dawa party, say he has been reluctant to take on other Shiite militants. Al-Maliki says the Iraqi military is targeting all insurgents, no matter what sect they hail from. There is a lot of support for Iran in Sadr City. And the targeted terrorist cell is suspected of bringing weapons and the bombs called an "explosively formed penetrators" from Iran to Iraq and of "bringing militants from Iraq into Iran for terrorist training," the U.S. military said.
The military said the raid was built on "a series of coordinated operations" that commenced with a raid in the southern Iraqi city of Amara in June. Amara is in Maysan province in the Shiite heartland and it borders Iran.
"Coalition forces continue to attack the supply chain of illicit materials being shipped from Iran," the military said.
The military was targeting an individual who "acts as a proxy between Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force and an "the Iraqi EFP network." "Reports also indicate that he assists with the facilitation of weapons and EFP shipments into Iraq as well as the transfer of militant extremists to Iran for training."
The street fighting between the Mehdi army and the troops lasted about three hours and was fought in various locations. It was not immediately known if those killed and wounded were civilians or members of the Mehdi Army -- the militia of populist anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who enjoys widespread support among Shiites in the eastern section of the capital.
The fighting came as Iraq's government moved up a vehicle ban for Baghdad from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday. The official said the ban, which was imposed 15 hours earlier than expected, surprised residents who were headed to work and told by Iraqi security forces to return home. The ban is part of an effort, the official said, to curtail potential bomb attacks targeting the thousands of Shiite pilgrims who are trekking to a major religious shrine in the northwestern Baghdad neighborhood of Kadhimiya for an annual religious commemoration Thursday.
The fighting came as Iraq's government moved up a vehicle ban for Baghdad from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday. The official said the ban, which was imposed 15 hours earlier than expected, surprised residents who were headed to work and told by Iraqi security forces to return home. The ban is part of an effort, the official said, to curtail potential bomb attacks targeting the thousands of Shiite pilgrims who are trekking to a major religious shrine in the northwestern Baghdad neighborhood of Kadhimiya for an annual religious commemoration Thursday.
Labels: Amarah, EFPs, Iran, Lt. Col Chris Garver, Mahdi Army, militants, Quds Force, raid, Sadr City
Friday, May 11, 2007
Joint Forces Begin Search Operation In Bayaa
Security
(Addustour Newspaper) - 10 MAY - Local Hay Al Bayaa citizens said that a joint Iraqi-US force began searches and raids in the city looking for wanted for wanted suspects and illegal weapons. A local eyewitness stated that the joint force blocked the main street in the area only allowing people to move on foot before they began their searches. Another local witness said these forces used different types of military vehicles in their operation. There has not yet been any news about any arrests. The Commander of Baghdad Operations, MG Aboud Qanbar, visited Bayaa to inspect the situation after last week’s clashes between groups of gunmen.
Labels: Bayaa, Iraqi-U.S. force, Maj. Gen. Aboud Qanbar, raid
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Iraqi government - British raid in Basra was illegal
Security, U.K.
(AP) - A British-led raid on a police intelligence headquarters in southern Iraq last month violated Iraq's sovereignty as well as a U.N. Security Council resolution, the government said on Friday. On March 4, British forces raided the National Iraqi Intelligence Agency building in the southern city of Basra and said they had captured an alleged death squad leader and found 30 prisoners with signs of torture. The rest of the prisoners in the facility fled during the raid, but Britain said that was unintentional.
The report on an investigation into the raid said the commander of the U.S.-led Multi-National Forces in Iraq should "officially apologize to the Iraqi people, the residents of Basra and the Interior Ministry." It also said coalition forces should "acknowledge that members of the Multi-National Forces have overstepped their authority, committed a major mistake and were negligent in allowing prisoners to escape."
The report, signed by Minister of State for Parliament Affairs and acting Justice Minister Safa al-Safi, said coalition forces should not take prisoners already in Iraqi custody without first getting a warrant from judicial authorities. It did not mention that some of the detainees showed signs of torture. At the time, Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki vowed to punish "those who carried out this illegal and irresponsible act."
The investigation said that by detaining the suspect, multinational forces "violated the orders of an Iraqi judge, blatantly surpassed its authority and infringed on Iraq's sovereignty in contradiction with Security Council resolution 1546." The resolution assures Iraq will have full sovereignty and that all foreign troops eventually will leave the country. Britain has 7,100 troops in Iraq, mostly based around Basra.
The report on an investigation into the raid said the commander of the U.S.-led Multi-National Forces in Iraq should "officially apologize to the Iraqi people, the residents of Basra and the Interior Ministry." It also said coalition forces should "acknowledge that members of the Multi-National Forces have overstepped their authority, committed a major mistake and were negligent in allowing prisoners to escape."
The report, signed by Minister of State for Parliament Affairs and acting Justice Minister Safa al-Safi, said coalition forces should not take prisoners already in Iraqi custody without first getting a warrant from judicial authorities. It did not mention that some of the detainees showed signs of torture. At the time, Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki vowed to punish "those who carried out this illegal and irresponsible act."
The investigation said that by detaining the suspect, multinational forces "violated the orders of an Iraqi judge, blatantly surpassed its authority and infringed on Iraq's sovereignty in contradiction with Security Council resolution 1546." The resolution assures Iraq will have full sovereignty and that all foreign troops eventually will leave the country. Britain has 7,100 troops in Iraq, mostly based around Basra.
Labels: Basra, British forces, Justice Minister Safa al-Safi, National Iraqi Intelligence Agency, raid
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Nitric acid and chlorine containers impounded in search
Security
(Middle East Online) - Hundreds of Iraqi and US troops have pushed into troubled areas of western Baghdad, arresting 31 suspects and impounding containers of nitric acid and chlorine, the US military said Thursday. Around 1,100 US soldiers and 500 Iraqi troops swept into the Mansur district on Wednesday, conducting house to house searches. Iraqi forces detained 20 suspects and US troops another 11, while two weapons caches were seized with containers of nitric acid and chlorine, the military said in a statement.
Labels: chlorine, Mansour, nitric acid, raid
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Sunni MP's house raided
Politics, Security
(VOI) Iraqi forces stormed the house of member of parliament, Nour al-Dien al-Heyali, from the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front, and arrested four of his bodyguards, in a raid west of Baghdad, an Iraqi police source said on Tuesday. "Iraqi army troops, at 2 am on Tuesday, stormed the house of Nour al-Dien al-Heyali, a parliamentary member from the Iraqi Accordance Front, in the Yarmuk district west of Baghdad," a police source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). "The forces arrested the lawmaker's four bodyguards after disarming them," the source added. The man is a member of the Iraqi Accordance Front, a Sunni parliamentary bloc with 44 seats. He is also a member of the Islamic Party under Iraq's Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi.
COMMENT: Whether warranted or not, this latest incident targeting a Sunni politician is likely to fuel previous Sunni MPs allegations that the Baghdad security effort is not being fair as it is seen to be predominantly targeting Sunnis. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Iraqi Accordance Front, Nour al-Dien al-Heyali, raid
Monday, March 05, 2007
Iraqi government opens investigation into British-Iraqi raid in Basra
Security
(AP) Iraq's government opened a probe Monday into a British-Iraqi raid on a police intelligence headquarters in southern Iraq that captured an alleged death squad leader and found 30 prisoners with signs of torture. The raid took place Sunday at the National Iraqi Intelligence Agency building in Basra.
Inside, troops discovered 30 prisoners with signs of torture and abuse, including one woman and two children, the British military said in a statement. It did not elaborate. An alleged death squad leader was captured along with four other suspected militiamen, Maj. David Gell, a British military spokesman, said Monday. "They were suspected of serious criminal activity, including kidnap, torture, murder and involvement in roadside bomb attacks on multinational forces and civilians," Gell said.
The prisoners were not intentionally released but escaped after the operation, the British military said. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered an investigation into the raid and vowed to punish "those who carried out this illegal and irresponsible act," his office said in a statement late Sunday. Government officials were in Basra on Monday to begin an investigation, said Ali al-Dabbagh, a government spokesman.
More than 200 British troops were involved in the raid, along with an unknown number of Iraqi forces, Gell said. British and Iraqi forces stormed the building without warning, and "the method of entry ... was appropriately robust," the statement said. It was unclear whether the suspects worked at the intelligence agency or had taken refuge there. Sunday's raid came a day after Iraqi commandos arrested a suspected militia leader, from whom they gleaned information that enabled them to carry out the operation, the statement said.
Inside, troops discovered 30 prisoners with signs of torture and abuse, including one woman and two children, the British military said in a statement. It did not elaborate. An alleged death squad leader was captured along with four other suspected militiamen, Maj. David Gell, a British military spokesman, said Monday. "They were suspected of serious criminal activity, including kidnap, torture, murder and involvement in roadside bomb attacks on multinational forces and civilians," Gell said.
The prisoners were not intentionally released but escaped after the operation, the British military said. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered an investigation into the raid and vowed to punish "those who carried out this illegal and irresponsible act," his office said in a statement late Sunday. Government officials were in Basra on Monday to begin an investigation, said Ali al-Dabbagh, a government spokesman.
More than 200 British troops were involved in the raid, along with an unknown number of Iraqi forces, Gell said. British and Iraqi forces stormed the building without warning, and "the method of entry ... was appropriately robust," the statement said. It was unclear whether the suspects worked at the intelligence agency or had taken refuge there. Sunday's raid came a day after Iraqi commandos arrested a suspected militia leader, from whom they gleaned information that enabled them to carry out the operation, the statement said.
Labels: Basra, investigation, raid
Defense Ministry Adviser rescued
Security
(AP) A kidnapped Iraqi defense official was freed Sunday after Iraqi security forces stormed a house where he had been held, a government spokesman said. Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Mousawi, a spokesman for the security crackdown under way in Baghdad, said Iraqi agents were acting on a tip when they raided a house in western Baghdad early Sunday.
Lt. Gen. Thamir Sultan, a Defense Ministry adviser who was abducted in the same area a day earlier, was freed in the raid, al-Mousawi said. All four of his captors were arrested. Sultan hails from Saddam Hussein's tribe and had been mentioned as a possible defense minister when the current government was organized last year.
Lt. Gen. Thamir Sultan, a Defense Ministry adviser who was abducted in the same area a day earlier, was freed in the raid, al-Mousawi said. All four of his captors were arrested. Sultan hails from Saddam Hussein's tribe and had been mentioned as a possible defense minister when the current government was organized last year.
Labels: Lieutenant General Thamir Sultan, raid
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
U.S., Iraqi forces raid Sadr City
Security
(AP) US and Iraqi forces staged raids in Baghdad’s main Shia militant stronghold Tuesday as part of politically sensitive forays into areas loyal to radical cleric Muqtada Al Sadr. Troops have held back on broad sweeps through the teeming Sadr City slums since a major security operation began earlier this month targeting militant factions and sectarian death squads that have ruled Baghdad’s streets.
Al Sadr withdrew his powerful Mahdi Army militia from checkpoints and bases under intense government pressure to let the neighbor-by-neighbor security sweeps move ahead. But Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki and others have opposed extensive U.S.-led patrols through Sadr City, fearing a violent backlash could derail the security effort. The pre-dawn raids appeared to highlight a strategy of pinpoint strikes in Sadr City rather than the flood of soldiers sent into some Sunni districts.
At least 16 people were arrested after U.S.-Iraqi commandos, using concussion grenades, stormed six homes, police said. The US military had no immediate details of the operation. At a news conference, the Pentagon’s No. 2 commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, declined to comment on whether there were special tactics for Sadr City. "We will go after anyone who we feel is working against the government of Iraq," he said. US military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told Al Arabiya television that forces will increase our operations in the coming days,’ but noted that the security crackdown in the capital should continue until at least October.
Al Sadr withdrew his powerful Mahdi Army militia from checkpoints and bases under intense government pressure to let the neighbor-by-neighbor security sweeps move ahead. But Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki and others have opposed extensive U.S.-led patrols through Sadr City, fearing a violent backlash could derail the security effort. The pre-dawn raids appeared to highlight a strategy of pinpoint strikes in Sadr City rather than the flood of soldiers sent into some Sunni districts.
At least 16 people were arrested after U.S.-Iraqi commandos, using concussion grenades, stormed six homes, police said. The US military had no immediate details of the operation. At a news conference, the Pentagon’s No. 2 commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, declined to comment on whether there were special tactics for Sadr City. "We will go after anyone who we feel is working against the government of Iraq," he said. US military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told Al Arabiya television that forces will increase our operations in the coming days,’ but noted that the security crackdown in the capital should continue until at least October.
Labels: Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, raid, Sadr City, security forces
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Iraqi Union for Journalists demands apology for raid
Security, Media
(AP) The Iraqi Union for Journalists said Friday it has demanded an apology and compensation for a U.S.-led raid on the group's headquarters this week. The U.S. military insisted American troops were not involved. International journalism advocacy groups also expressed outrage over the raid, which occurred Monday in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Waziriyah, a predominantly Sunni area.
Reporters Without Borders said a U.S. Army mobile unit fired at the headquarters after seeing armed guards, then Iraqi soldiers stormed onto the premises, detained the guards and seized computer equipment. The chairman of the union, Shihab al-Timimi, said he had written to U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and Iraqi leaders to demand an apology and compensation because the unit broke furniture and other equipment when it stormed into the building.
Khalilzad's spokesman Lou Fintor said the allegations were being taken "very seriously" but that preliminary information indicated "there were no Multinational Forces-Iraq related operations in the vicinity of the Iraqi Journalists' Union during the timeframe described." U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Garver also said the raid was not conducted by American forces. Al-Timimi insisted U.S. troops were involved, saying "they were accompanied by a translator as well."
Reporters Without Borders said a U.S. Army mobile unit fired at the headquarters after seeing armed guards, then Iraqi soldiers stormed onto the premises, detained the guards and seized computer equipment. The chairman of the union, Shihab al-Timimi, said he had written to U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and Iraqi leaders to demand an apology and compensation because the unit broke furniture and other equipment when it stormed into the building.
Khalilzad's spokesman Lou Fintor said the allegations were being taken "very seriously" but that preliminary information indicated "there were no Multinational Forces-Iraq related operations in the vicinity of the Iraqi Journalists' Union during the timeframe described." U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Garver also said the raid was not conducted by American forces. Al-Timimi insisted U.S. troops were involved, saying "they were accompanied by a translator as well."
Labels: Iraqi Union for Journalists, raid, Shihab al-Timimi
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Al-Sadr's offices raided
Security, Politics
(KUNA) A joint force of the Iraqi Army and US troops Tuesday bombarded the office of Shiite leader Muqtada Al-Sadr in Al-Shula area, west of Baghdad, a security source told KUNA. The source said some 14 military vehicles surrounded the office and Iraqi and US soldiers could be seen confiscating material and documents. Muqtada Al-Sadr himself is out of the country over fears for his safety.
Labels: Moqtada Al-Sadr, raid
