Monday, September 17, 2007
Islamic State of Iraq steps up attacks
Insurgency
(Gulf News) - At least 30 people were killed as militants stepped up bombings and shootings across Iraq on Sunday. This followed a threat by Al Qaida to launch a new phase of violence. Suspected Al Qaida militants shot dead 14 people in the predominantly Sunni Arab town of Muqdadiya north of Baghdad and torched at least 12 shops in the town, Iraqi police said.
A suicide bomber on a booby-trapped bicycle killed six people at an outdoor cafe in the northern town of Tuz Khurmato. In Baghdad, eight people were killed in four separate bombings. In the raids on the villages of Jichan and Ghizlayat, the fighters arrived from several different directions and residents fought back until Iraqi security forces arrived and chased the attackers, who fled to nearby farms. The clashes about 60 miles north of Baghdad lasted about two hours, officials and witnesses said.
An Al Qaida-led group, the Islamic State in Iraq, had said on Saturday it was launching a fresh round of attacks to mark the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which started late last week. Meanwhile, the US military said it had caught a suspected Al Qaida militant believed to be behind the killing last week of a key Sunni Arab tribal leader in Anbar province.
Shaikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, who met US President George W. Bush two weeks ago in Anbar, was killed in a bomb attack on Thursday near his home. He led an alliance of tribes that helped US troops push Al Qaida out of much of the vast western area.
A suicide bomber on a booby-trapped bicycle killed six people at an outdoor cafe in the northern town of Tuz Khurmato. In Baghdad, eight people were killed in four separate bombings. In the raids on the villages of Jichan and Ghizlayat, the fighters arrived from several different directions and residents fought back until Iraqi security forces arrived and chased the attackers, who fled to nearby farms. The clashes about 60 miles north of Baghdad lasted about two hours, officials and witnesses said.
An Al Qaida-led group, the Islamic State in Iraq, had said on Saturday it was launching a fresh round of attacks to mark the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which started late last week. Meanwhile, the US military said it had caught a suspected Al Qaida militant believed to be behind the killing last week of a key Sunni Arab tribal leader in Anbar province.
Shaikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, who met US President George W. Bush two weeks ago in Anbar, was killed in a bomb attack on Thursday near his home. He led an alliance of tribes that helped US troops push Al Qaida out of much of the vast western area.
Labels: Al Qaeda, booby-trapped bicycle, Islamic State in Iraq, Muqdadiya, suicide bomber, Tuz Kharmatu, violence
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Nine killed by bombing during prayers
Security
(Gulf News) - At least nine people have been killed after a suicide bomber set off explosives during evening prayers in the city of Fallujah. More than 10 people were injured by the attack on Monday evening. It has been reported that the imam of the mosque had publicly spoken out against Al Qaeda. Three people were also killed during clashes between the police and Shia’s at a festival in Karbala. Fighting broke out in the holy city after pilgrims grew angry at the strict security being imposed.
Labels: Al Qaeda, Fallujah, Imam, suicide bomber
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
20 dead in suicide bombing in Baiji
Security
(Reuters) - A suicide bomber rammed a fuel tanker into a police station in the northern Iraqi oil city of Baiji on Wednesday, killing at least 20 people and wounding 40, police said. Police said the bomber struck the front gates of the police directorate in Baiji, 180 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad. Dr. Thamir Kawan, the head of Baiji hospital, said 11 people, police and civilians, had been killed in the blast. The police directorate had just moved into a new headquarters in the past few days, after an identical attack on their original station in June killed 27 people, including 13 policemen.
Labels: Baiji, fuel tanker, police station, suicide bomber
Monday, June 25, 2007
12 killed in Mansour Hotel bombing
Security
(AP) - A suicide bomber who penetrated layers of security blew himself up in the busy lobby of a leading Baghdad hotel on Monday, killing at least 12 people, including a U.S.-allied tribal sheik, police reported. The attack, in which 21 others were wounded, was just one in a surge of five suicide and other bombings Monday that killed at least 32 people across Iraq.
In an equally deadly attack, a suicide truck bomber targeted an Iraqi police station shared with U.S. troops in Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad, killing nine people. Five American soldiers suffered minor wounds, the U.S. command said.
The bombing at the high-rise Mansour Hotel, on the west bank of the Tigris River in central Baghdad, struck at about noon as the lobby bustled with members of news media organizations headquartered at the hotel and other guests, witnesses said. A man wearing a belt of explosives walked into the lobby, approached the reception desk and detonated his bomb, police reported.
"It was a great breach of security because there are three checkpoints, one outside and two inside," said hotel worker Saif al-Rubaie, 28, who witnessed the blast and said all the casualties were Iraqis, most employees in the reception area.
Police said the dead included hotel resident Fassal al-Guood, a Ramadi tribal sheik and former governor of Anbar province who was a leader of the Anbar Salvation Council, which has partnered with U.S. and Iraqi officials to fight al-Qaida influence in Anbar. A noted Iraqi poet, Rahim al-Maliki, also was killed, said Iraqi Media Net, the government organization on whose television network al-Maliki appeared. Reports that al-Guood was a target of the bombing, possibly along with other Salvation Council sheiks, could not be confirmed.
The Mansour, which also houses the Chinese Embassy and is the Baghdad home for a number of Iraqi parliament members, is just a half-mile from the heavily fortified International Zone, where the U.S. Embassy and Iraqi government offices are situated. The attack was the fifth in a string of suicide and other bombings Monday morning, from Mosul and Beiji in the north to Hillah in the south. Two were aimed at U.S. targets.
In an equally deadly attack, a suicide truck bomber targeted an Iraqi police station shared with U.S. troops in Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad, killing nine people. Five American soldiers suffered minor wounds, the U.S. command said.
The bombing at the high-rise Mansour Hotel, on the west bank of the Tigris River in central Baghdad, struck at about noon as the lobby bustled with members of news media organizations headquartered at the hotel and other guests, witnesses said. A man wearing a belt of explosives walked into the lobby, approached the reception desk and detonated his bomb, police reported.
"It was a great breach of security because there are three checkpoints, one outside and two inside," said hotel worker Saif al-Rubaie, 28, who witnessed the blast and said all the casualties were Iraqis, most employees in the reception area.
Police said the dead included hotel resident Fassal al-Guood, a Ramadi tribal sheik and former governor of Anbar province who was a leader of the Anbar Salvation Council, which has partnered with U.S. and Iraqi officials to fight al-Qaida influence in Anbar. A noted Iraqi poet, Rahim al-Maliki, also was killed, said Iraqi Media Net, the government organization on whose television network al-Maliki appeared. Reports that al-Guood was a target of the bombing, possibly along with other Salvation Council sheiks, could not be confirmed.
The Mansour, which also houses the Chinese Embassy and is the Baghdad home for a number of Iraqi parliament members, is just a half-mile from the heavily fortified International Zone, where the U.S. Embassy and Iraqi government offices are situated. The attack was the fifth in a string of suicide and other bombings Monday morning, from Mosul and Beiji in the north to Hillah in the south. Two were aimed at U.S. targets.
Labels: Anbar Salvation Council, Beiji, Fassal al-Guood, Hillah, Mansour Hotel, Rahim al-Maliki, Siniyah, suicide bomber
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Suicide bomber targets tribal chiefs
Insurgency, Tribal
(AP) - A suicide car bomber struck a group of tribal chiefs who opposed al-Qaida, killing at least 18 in a market area near Fallujah. Tuesday's attack underscored the difficulties facing Sunni leaders in trying to wrest control of Anbar province from the terror network. Much of the al-Buissa tribe has formed an alliance against al-Qaida in Iraq, which has alienated more moderate Sunnis with its brutality and dependence on foreign fighters. The U.S. military has touted the alliance, the Anbar Salvation Council, as a success in its efforts to stabilize the country.
The bomb exploded in a pickup truck next to where the elders were trying to solve a tribal dispute in Amiriyah, 40 miles west of Baghdad, police said. The driver of the pickup had gained access to the market area by saying he needed to buy some watermelons, said Ahmed al-Issawi, 40, an owner of a food store there.
The bomb exploded in a pickup truck next to where the elders were trying to solve a tribal dispute in Amiriyah, 40 miles west of Baghdad, police said. The driver of the pickup had gained access to the market area by saying he needed to buy some watermelons, said Ahmed al-Issawi, 40, an owner of a food store there.
At least 18 people were killed and 15 were wounded, according to U.S. Marine Maj. Jeff Pool, a military spokesman for the area. An al-Buissa tribal chieftain, Abbas Mohammed, said the violence would not deter the local leaders from their fight against al-Qaida. "We expected such attacks after we cleaned our area of al Qaida members," Mohammed said. "Despite these attacks, we will go on in chasing al-Qaida elements."
Labels: Abbas Mohammed, Al Qaeda in Iraq, al-Buissa tribe, Anbar Salvation Council, Fallujah, Maj. Jeff Pool, suicide bomber, tribal leaders
Friday, June 01, 2007
Anti-Qaeda alliance gathers momentum
Insurgency
(AKI) -- A fierce battle between local Sunni residents and al-Qaeda insurgents in an outlying Baghdad neighbourhood this week is evidence that moves to isolate the terror group by other Sunnis are taking hold even in the capital. According to a detailed report on the Washington Post on Friday a battle this week in the western Amiriyah area has claimed at least 28 lives. It quoted the local mayor Mohammed Abdul Khaliq as saying that residents, alienated by the indiscriminate violence of its fellow Sunnis, rose up to force al-Qaeda out.
The microcosm mirrors what is happening in the western provinces, especially al-Anbar and Diyala, where Sunni tribes have united in an anti-Qaeda alliance. "I think this is going to be the end of the al-Qaeda presence here," mayor Abdul Khaliq told the Washington Post in a phone interview. He said that the fierce fighting Wednesday and Thursday began over accusations that al-Qaeda in Iraq had executed Sunnis without reason.
It appears to be the first time that a dynamic of isolation, which has been at work in the mainly Sunni and restive western province of al-Anbar, has spread to the capital.
Sunni tribal leaders recently formed an umbrella group, the Anbar Salvation Council, to join with U.S. and Iraqi troops in a common fight against al-Qaeda in Iraq, which used to dominate the province. They resent what they see as indiscriminate violence against civilians, including women and children, and also the presence of foreign fighters in al-Qaeda ranks.
According to the US coalition, 12,000 al-Anbar residents have joined the Iraqi security forces so far this year, compared with 1,000 in all of last year. In an attack clearly meant to intimidate the tribes, a suicide bomber blew himself up Thursday among 150 recruits waiting to enter a police compound in Fallujah. Later that day, six people were killed, including three policemen, in a carbomb blast in Ramadi.
Close to the international airport, Amiriyah has seen a mass exodus of Shiites and ongoing violence, and is considered a virtual no mans land.
Trouble arose on Tuesday, the Washington Post reports, when the Islamic Army, a powerful Sunni insurgent group, posted a statement at a local mosque criticizing al-Qaeda in Iraq for killing dozens of other Sunnis in Fallujah and Baghdad "on suspicion only," and warned them to stop the practice. "Down with al-Qaeda, long live the honest resistance." was graffitied on a wall on Wednesday and when al-Qaeda in Iraq members came to wipe the slogan off, a roadside bomb exploded killing three of them.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq's reprisal came in the form of an attack on a mosque killing the Islamic Army's leader, Razi al-Zobai, and complaining that the Islamic Army had become involved in the political process in Iraq, residents said. The Islamic Army retaliated in kind, striking a mosque and killing one of the group's leaders. As the fighting intensified, al-Qaeda in Iraq called in reinforcements arrived from other areas of the capital residents said. A four hour long battle left at least 15 fighters dead.
The microcosm mirrors what is happening in the western provinces, especially al-Anbar and Diyala, where Sunni tribes have united in an anti-Qaeda alliance. "I think this is going to be the end of the al-Qaeda presence here," mayor Abdul Khaliq told the Washington Post in a phone interview. He said that the fierce fighting Wednesday and Thursday began over accusations that al-Qaeda in Iraq had executed Sunnis without reason.
It appears to be the first time that a dynamic of isolation, which has been at work in the mainly Sunni and restive western province of al-Anbar, has spread to the capital.
Sunni tribal leaders recently formed an umbrella group, the Anbar Salvation Council, to join with U.S. and Iraqi troops in a common fight against al-Qaeda in Iraq, which used to dominate the province. They resent what they see as indiscriminate violence against civilians, including women and children, and also the presence of foreign fighters in al-Qaeda ranks.
According to the US coalition, 12,000 al-Anbar residents have joined the Iraqi security forces so far this year, compared with 1,000 in all of last year. In an attack clearly meant to intimidate the tribes, a suicide bomber blew himself up Thursday among 150 recruits waiting to enter a police compound in Fallujah. Later that day, six people were killed, including three policemen, in a carbomb blast in Ramadi.
Close to the international airport, Amiriyah has seen a mass exodus of Shiites and ongoing violence, and is considered a virtual no mans land.
Trouble arose on Tuesday, the Washington Post reports, when the Islamic Army, a powerful Sunni insurgent group, posted a statement at a local mosque criticizing al-Qaeda in Iraq for killing dozens of other Sunnis in Fallujah and Baghdad "on suspicion only," and warned them to stop the practice. "Down with al-Qaeda, long live the honest resistance." was graffitied on a wall on Wednesday and when al-Qaeda in Iraq members came to wipe the slogan off, a roadside bomb exploded killing three of them.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq's reprisal came in the form of an attack on a mosque killing the Islamic Army's leader, Razi al-Zobai, and complaining that the Islamic Army had become involved in the political process in Iraq, residents said. The Islamic Army retaliated in kind, striking a mosque and killing one of the group's leaders. As the fighting intensified, al-Qaeda in Iraq called in reinforcements arrived from other areas of the capital residents said. A four hour long battle left at least 15 fighters dead.
Labels: abduction, Al Qaeda in Iraq, Al-Anbar, Amariyah, Anbar Salvation Council, Diyala, Fallujah, Islamic Army, Ramadi, Razi al-Zobai, suicide bomber
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Suicide bomber hits police recruiting centre, kills 25
Security
(AP) - A suicide bomber hit a police recruiting center Thursday in Fallujah, killing as many as 25 people, police said. The U.S. military said only one policeman was killed and eight were wounded. U.S. forces backed by helicopter gunships clashed with suspected al-Qaida gunmen in western Baghdad in an engagement that lasted several hours.
The Fallujah suicide bomber killed at least 10 policemen in the attack, which occurred about 11 a.m., according to a police official in the city who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information. The rest of the dead were civilians, many of them in line seeking jobs as policemen. He said as many as 50 were wounded.
Fallujah General Hospital had received 15 bodies and 10 wounded, according to a doctor there, who would not allow the use of his name because he feared retribution. The physician said he believed other casualties were taken to the nearby Jordanian Hospital and private clinics. A member of the Fallujah city council, who also asked for anonymity for fear of attack by insurgents, said there were at least 20 killed and 25 injured. The coordination of information in Fallujah was particularly difficult because the mobile telephone system has been working only sporadically.
Maj. Jeff Pool of the Multi-National Force-West said the Anbar province governor's office and the provincial police put the total number of dead at one Iraqi policeman, with six police and two civilians wounded in Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad. Police said the bomber detonated explosives in his vest at the third of four checkpoints, standing among recruits who were lining up to apply for jobs on the force. The center had only opened Saturday in a primary school in eastern Fallujah.
The U.S. military and Iraqi army and police were running the center along with members of Anbar Salvation Council, a loose grouping of Sunni tribes that have banded together to fight al-Qaida. Police stations and recruiting posts have been a favorite target of Sunni insurgents and al-Qaida throughout the war.
The Fallujah suicide bomber killed at least 10 policemen in the attack, which occurred about 11 a.m., according to a police official in the city who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information. The rest of the dead were civilians, many of them in line seeking jobs as policemen. He said as many as 50 were wounded.
Fallujah General Hospital had received 15 bodies and 10 wounded, according to a doctor there, who would not allow the use of his name because he feared retribution. The physician said he believed other casualties were taken to the nearby Jordanian Hospital and private clinics. A member of the Fallujah city council, who also asked for anonymity for fear of attack by insurgents, said there were at least 20 killed and 25 injured. The coordination of information in Fallujah was particularly difficult because the mobile telephone system has been working only sporadically.
Maj. Jeff Pool of the Multi-National Force-West said the Anbar province governor's office and the provincial police put the total number of dead at one Iraqi policeman, with six police and two civilians wounded in Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad. Police said the bomber detonated explosives in his vest at the third of four checkpoints, standing among recruits who were lining up to apply for jobs on the force. The center had only opened Saturday in a primary school in eastern Fallujah.
The U.S. military and Iraqi army and police were running the center along with members of Anbar Salvation Council, a loose grouping of Sunni tribes that have banded together to fight al-Qaida. Police stations and recruiting posts have been a favorite target of Sunni insurgents and al-Qaida throughout the war.
Labels: Anbar Salvation Council, Fallujah, policemen, suicide bomber
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
08:52 AM EDT By Laith Hammoudi, 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.
(Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq at 0830 GMT on Wednesday:
* denotes new or updated item.
* MANDALI - A bomber wearing a suicide vest killed 20 people and wounded 30 in a cafe in Mandali, about 100 km (60 miles) northeast of Baghdad on Wednesday, police said.
JBELA - At least three people were killed and nine wounded by a suicide car bomber in a popular market in the town of Jbela, near Iskandariya, 40 km south of Baghdad, police spokesman Captain Muthana al-Maamouri said.
BAGHDAD - U.S. forces killed two insurgents, detained 19 others and uncovered a cache of Iranian money and bomb-making materials during a raid in the Sadr City district of northeastern Baghdad, the U.S. military said.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 33 people were found shot in different districts of Baghdad on Tuesday, police said. Twenty- seven of them were found in the predominantly Sunni Arab western Karkh side of Baghdad.
ANBAR - Two U.S. marines were killed on Tuesday while conducting combat operations in Anbar Province in western Iraq, the U.S. military said.
KUT - The bodies of five people were retrieved from two rivers near the city of Kut, 170 km (100 miles) southeast of Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.
KHAN BANI SAAD - Three children were killed and three wounded in a mortar attack in the town of Khan Bani Saad, near Baquba, 65 km north of Baghdad, police said.
RIYADH - A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol wounded four policemen on Tuesday in the town of Riyadh, 60 km southwest of Baghdad, police said.
KHAN BANI SAAD - An Iraqi officer was killed and three other soldiers wounded in clashes with gunmen in the town of Khan Bani Saad on Tuesday, police said.
BAGHDAD - A suicide car bomber targeting a police patrol killed a policeman and wounded three others in Doura district of southern Baghdad, police said.
SAMAWA - The bodies of five Shi'ite men were brought to Samawa on Tuesday. Dozens of Shi'ites then began throwing stones at a Sunni mosque in protest at the killing of the five men, the assistant to the mosque's imam said.
* denotes new or updated item.
* MANDALI - A bomber wearing a suicide vest killed 20 people and wounded 30 in a cafe in Mandali, about 100 km (60 miles) northeast of Baghdad on Wednesday, police said.
JBELA - At least three people were killed and nine wounded by a suicide car bomber in a popular market in the town of Jbela, near Iskandariya, 40 km south of Baghdad, police spokesman Captain Muthana al-Maamouri said.
BAGHDAD - U.S. forces killed two insurgents, detained 19 others and uncovered a cache of Iranian money and bomb-making materials during a raid in the Sadr City district of northeastern Baghdad, the U.S. military said.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 33 people were found shot in different districts of Baghdad on Tuesday, police said. Twenty- seven of them were found in the predominantly Sunni Arab western Karkh side of Baghdad.
ANBAR - Two U.S. marines were killed on Tuesday while conducting combat operations in Anbar Province in western Iraq, the U.S. military said.
KUT - The bodies of five people were retrieved from two rivers near the city of Kut, 170 km (100 miles) southeast of Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.
KHAN BANI SAAD - Three children were killed and three wounded in a mortar attack in the town of Khan Bani Saad, near Baquba, 65 km north of Baghdad, police said.
RIYADH - A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol wounded four policemen on Tuesday in the town of Riyadh, 60 km southwest of Baghdad, police said.
KHAN BANI SAAD - An Iraqi officer was killed and three other soldiers wounded in clashes with gunmen in the town of Khan Bani Saad on Tuesday, police said.
BAGHDAD - A suicide car bomber targeting a police patrol killed a policeman and wounded three others in Doura district of southern Baghdad, police said.
SAMAWA - The bodies of five Shi'ite men were brought to Samawa on Tuesday. Dozens of Shi'ites then began throwing stones at a Sunni mosque in protest at the killing of the five men, the assistant to the mosque's imam said.
Labels: car bomb, Jbela, Khan Bani Saad, Kut, Mandali, mortar rounds, policemen, Riyadh, Sadr City, Samawa, suicide bomber, weapons cache
Monday, May 21, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
British troops and the Mahdi Army fought in Basra province on Sunday over the arrest Saturday of a Mahdi Army official as he was trying to board a flight. Three British soldiers and two militamen were reported wounded and four British tanks were damaged. In Baghdad, 24 bodies were found around the city. Another Iraqi journalist was found dead; he'd been abducted a few hours earlier.
(Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq at 1200 GMT on Monday:
* denotes new or updated item.
* BAQUBA - Two people were killed and 15 wounded when three mortar rounds landed in the religiously mixed city of Baquba, police said.
* BAGHDAD - Two mortar rounds landed in the heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses the Iraqi parliament and U.S. embassy, in central Baghdad, police said. They did not know if there were any casualties.
* BAGHDAD - The Iraqi army killed two insurgents and detained 69 others in Baghdad during the past 24 hours, the Defence Ministry said. Another 26 insurgents were detained in other parts of Iraq.
* BAGHDAD - Militants kidnapped and killed a journalist from one of Iraq's most popular national newspapers, Azzaman, in southern Baghdad on Sunday, his employers said on Monday.
HIBHIB - Police said three Iraqi soldiers were killed and four wounded in clashes with gunmen who attacked a minibus carrying off-duty soldiers near the town of Hibhib, near Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad. A hospital source and Iraqiya state television put the death toll at seven.
KHALIS - Four people were wounded by a car bomb in the town of Khalis, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
FALLUJA - A suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into an Iraqi army checkpoint in the Sunni stronghold of Falluja, 50 km (35 miles) west of Baghdad, causing an unknown number of casualties, police said.
BAGHDAD - The office of Adnan al-Dulaimi, the head of the biggest Sunni group in parliament, said that the Iraqi army had opened fire on his motorcade in Adil district in western Baghdad. There were no casualties.
BAGHDAD - Four Iraqi policemen were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near their patrol in Wazirya district in central Baghdad, police said.
ISKANDARIYA - Four people from al-Ubaidat tribe were killed and five wounded in clashes between them and gunmen in Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb exploded near an Iraqi army patrol, killing three soldiers and wounding two in Adil district of western Baghdad, police said.
ISKANDARIYA - A roadside bomb exploded near a police patrol, wounding three policemen in Iskandariya, police said.
SAFRA - Saboteurs set an oil by-products pipeline on fire when they planted bombs beneath it in the village of Safra, 65 km (40 miles) southwest of Kirkuk, police and Oil North Company said.
NEAR TAL AFAR - A roadside bomb exploded near a police patrol, wounding three policemen in the main road between the town of Sinjar and Tal Afar, 420 km (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad, police said.
TIKRIT - Police said that they arrested Salah Khalil, the head of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq office in Salaheddine Province on Sunday in the city of Tikrit, police said. He was accused of supporting insurgents, a source said.
* denotes new or updated item.
* BAQUBA - Two people were killed and 15 wounded when three mortar rounds landed in the religiously mixed city of Baquba, police said.
* BAGHDAD - Two mortar rounds landed in the heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses the Iraqi parliament and U.S. embassy, in central Baghdad, police said. They did not know if there were any casualties.
* BAGHDAD - The Iraqi army killed two insurgents and detained 69 others in Baghdad during the past 24 hours, the Defence Ministry said. Another 26 insurgents were detained in other parts of Iraq.
* BAGHDAD - Militants kidnapped and killed a journalist from one of Iraq's most popular national newspapers, Azzaman, in southern Baghdad on Sunday, his employers said on Monday.
HIBHIB - Police said three Iraqi soldiers were killed and four wounded in clashes with gunmen who attacked a minibus carrying off-duty soldiers near the town of Hibhib, near Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad. A hospital source and Iraqiya state television put the death toll at seven.
KHALIS - Four people were wounded by a car bomb in the town of Khalis, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
FALLUJA - A suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into an Iraqi army checkpoint in the Sunni stronghold of Falluja, 50 km (35 miles) west of Baghdad, causing an unknown number of casualties, police said.
BAGHDAD - The office of Adnan al-Dulaimi, the head of the biggest Sunni group in parliament, said that the Iraqi army had opened fire on his motorcade in Adil district in western Baghdad. There were no casualties.
BAGHDAD - Four Iraqi policemen were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near their patrol in Wazirya district in central Baghdad, police said.
ISKANDARIYA - Four people from al-Ubaidat tribe were killed and five wounded in clashes between them and gunmen in Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb exploded near an Iraqi army patrol, killing three soldiers and wounding two in Adil district of western Baghdad, police said.
ISKANDARIYA - A roadside bomb exploded near a police patrol, wounding three policemen in Iskandariya, police said.
SAFRA - Saboteurs set an oil by-products pipeline on fire when they planted bombs beneath it in the village of Safra, 65 km (40 miles) southwest of Kirkuk, police and Oil North Company said.
NEAR TAL AFAR - A roadside bomb exploded near a police patrol, wounding three policemen in the main road between the town of Sinjar and Tal Afar, 420 km (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad, police said.
TIKRIT - Police said that they arrested Salah Khalil, the head of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq office in Salaheddine Province on Sunday in the city of Tikrit, police said. He was accused of supporting insurgents, a source said.
Labels: abduction, Adnan Dulaimi, al-Ubaidat tribe, Baqouba, Fallujah, Green Zone, Hibhib, Iskandariyah, Khalis, mortar rounds, Safra, suicide bomber
Friday, May 18, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
(McClatchy Newspapers) - Roundup of violence in Iraq - 17 May 2007
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.
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.
(Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq at 0700 GMT on Friday 18:
MUSSAYAB - A suicide bomber blew up his vehicle at an Iraqi police checkpoint in the town of Mussayab, south of Baghdad, killing three people and wounding four, police said. Police said most of the victims were policemen.
MUSSAYAB - A suicide bomber blew up his vehicle at an Iraqi police checkpoint in the town of Mussayab, south of Baghdad, killing three people and wounding four, police said. Police said most of the victims were policemen.
Labels: Iraq, Mussayab, policemen, suicide bomber, violence
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Tribesmen attacked by suicide bomber
Security
(AFP) - At least 16 Iraqi army recruits were killed Saturday when a suicide bomber detonated explosives at their recruitment centre west of Baghdad one day after police found the murdered bodies of seven anti-terrorism officers. Another 21 recruits were wounded in the blast, which took place at an army base in the predominantly Sunni rural tribal area around Abu Ghraib, said a defense ministry official.
Sunni tribesmen that once fought with the insurgency have been increasingly joining the security services at the urging of their elders to restore stability to their strife-ridden lands. Interior ministry spokesman Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf told reporters Saturday that thanks to the efforts of the tribes, specifically in the western Al-Anbar province, security forces are now on the offensive.
"For the first time in four years the government is giving an offer to the armed groups to lay down their weapons and give themselves up to the government," he said. "Those that have not shed Iraqi blood will be given a general amnesty. We intend to raise the people of the province in the army and police to 21,000 fighters to ensure security there," he said, adding that at the end of 2006, there were 9,000.
Tribes in Iraq's western province of Al-Anbar have banded together and are working with US and Iraqi forces to combat Al-Qaeda and sending people to join the security services to restore stability and hasten the departure of US troops. The fiercely independent Sunni tribesmen also see the advantage of not being patrolled by security forces largely made up of Shiites from elsewhere in the country. Attempts are being made by the US military and Iraqi government to build such tribal alliances elsewhere in the country where the predominantly Sunni insurgency is raging with limited success.
Insurgents, particularly those linked with Al-Qaeda, have struck back hard against the tribes looking to ally with the government. The seven plain clothes police found murdered north of Baghdad in the oil refining town of Baiji on Friday were tribal recruits to Anbar province's special anti-terrorism police unit, a police intelligence captain told AFP on condition of anonymity. The bodies of the policemen, which were riddled with bullets, had been dumped on the roadside.
Sunni tribesmen that once fought with the insurgency have been increasingly joining the security services at the urging of their elders to restore stability to their strife-ridden lands. Interior ministry spokesman Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf told reporters Saturday that thanks to the efforts of the tribes, specifically in the western Al-Anbar province, security forces are now on the offensive.
"For the first time in four years the government is giving an offer to the armed groups to lay down their weapons and give themselves up to the government," he said. "Those that have not shed Iraqi blood will be given a general amnesty. We intend to raise the people of the province in the army and police to 21,000 fighters to ensure security there," he said, adding that at the end of 2006, there were 9,000.
Tribes in Iraq's western province of Al-Anbar have banded together and are working with US and Iraqi forces to combat Al-Qaeda and sending people to join the security services to restore stability and hasten the departure of US troops. The fiercely independent Sunni tribesmen also see the advantage of not being patrolled by security forces largely made up of Shiites from elsewhere in the country. Attempts are being made by the US military and Iraqi government to build such tribal alliances elsewhere in the country where the predominantly Sunni insurgency is raging with limited success.
Insurgents, particularly those linked with Al-Qaeda, have struck back hard against the tribes looking to ally with the government. The seven plain clothes police found murdered north of Baghdad in the oil refining town of Baiji on Friday were tribal recruits to Anbar province's special anti-terrorism police unit, a police intelligence captain told AFP on condition of anonymity. The bodies of the policemen, which were riddled with bullets, had been dumped on the roadside.
Labels: Abu Ghraib, army recruits, Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf, suicide bomber, Sunni tribesmen
Monday, April 30, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
April 30 (Reuters) - Key security developments in Iraq at 1500 GMT on Monday, follow the link for further information:
* denotes new or updated item.
* KHALIS - A suicide bomber wearing a vest packed with explosives killed 32 people when he blew himself up among mourners at a Shi'ite funeral in the town of Khalis, north of Baghdad. The attack took place inside a crowded mourning tent. More than 52 people had been wounded, police said.
RAMADI - A tanker laden with chlorine gas exploded near a restaurant west of the Iraqi city of Ramadi, killing up to six people and wounding 10, police and hospital sources said.
BAGHDAD - Mortar rounds killed one civilian and wounded six when they landed on a residential area of northern Baghdad's mainly Shi'ite district, police said.
SUWAYRA - The bodies of six people were retrieved from two rivers in Suwayra, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - The Iraqi army arrested 138 insurgents in the last 24 hours in different parts of Iraq, the Defence Ministry said.
BAGHDAD - At least two people were killed and 15 wounded when a bus bomb exploded in a tunnel, police said. The explosion badly damaged the tunnel, on a main artery in western Baghdad.
SAMARRA - U.S. forces detained 11 suspected insurgents during raids in Baghdad and in the city of Samarra targeting al Qaeda in Iraq, the U.S. military said.
BAGHDAD - Eight gunmen were killed in a U.S.-Iraqi operation in Baghdad on Sunday, the U.S. military said, in what some witnesses described as a clash with the Mehdi Army militia loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The U.S. military said one Iraqi soldier was killed in the incident in the Shi'ite Kadhimiya district.
MOSUL - Six gunmen were killed and two wounded when they attacked a police station in the northern city of Mosul, police said. A car bomb exploded near the police station targeting a patrol heading to the scene of the attack, killing a policeman and wounded two others, the source added.
* denotes new or updated item.
* KHALIS - A suicide bomber wearing a vest packed with explosives killed 32 people when he blew himself up among mourners at a Shi'ite funeral in the town of Khalis, north of Baghdad. The attack took place inside a crowded mourning tent. More than 52 people had been wounded, police said.
RAMADI - A tanker laden with chlorine gas exploded near a restaurant west of the Iraqi city of Ramadi, killing up to six people and wounding 10, police and hospital sources said.
BAGHDAD - Mortar rounds killed one civilian and wounded six when they landed on a residential area of northern Baghdad's mainly Shi'ite district, police said.
SUWAYRA - The bodies of six people were retrieved from two rivers in Suwayra, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - The Iraqi army arrested 138 insurgents in the last 24 hours in different parts of Iraq, the Defence Ministry said.
BAGHDAD - At least two people were killed and 15 wounded when a bus bomb exploded in a tunnel, police said. The explosion badly damaged the tunnel, on a main artery in western Baghdad.
SAMARRA - U.S. forces detained 11 suspected insurgents during raids in Baghdad and in the city of Samarra targeting al Qaeda in Iraq, the U.S. military said.
BAGHDAD - Eight gunmen were killed in a U.S.-Iraqi operation in Baghdad on Sunday, the U.S. military said, in what some witnesses described as a clash with the Mehdi Army militia loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The U.S. military said one Iraqi soldier was killed in the incident in the Shi'ite Kadhimiya district.
MOSUL - Six gunmen were killed and two wounded when they attacked a police station in the northern city of Mosul, police said. A car bomb exploded near the police station targeting a patrol heading to the scene of the attack, killing a policeman and wounded two others, the source added.
Labels: Baghdad, chlorine gas truck, gunmen, Khalis, mortar rounds, Mosul, Ramadi, suicide bomber, Suwayra
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
(Reuters) - Security developments in Iraq at 1315 GMT on Thursday:
* denotes new or updated item.
KHALIS - Ten Iraqi soldiers were killed and 15 wounded, including civilians, when a suicide bomber rammed his car into an Iraqi army checkpoint in the town of Khalis, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - At least six people were killed and 15 wounded in a car bomb blast near Baghdad University and the Al-Hamra Hotel in the Jadriya district of southern Baghdad, police and Interior Ministry sources said.
TIKRIT - Gunmen killed the sister-in-law and niece of Ali Hassan al-Majid, Saddam Hussein's cousin who was dubbed "Chemical Ali", in Tikrit, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
NEAR MOSUL - At least three people were killed and 59 wounded in three separate blasts in a town near Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, a local official. Two truck bombs and a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt targeted local offices for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 18 people were found shot in different districts of Baghdad on Wednesday, police said.
BAGHDAD - Gunmen in Hurriya, car bombs in Bayaa, mortar rounds in Abu Dshir, a roadside bomb near the Shorja market killed several and wounded many.
* denotes new or updated item.
KHALIS - Ten Iraqi soldiers were killed and 15 wounded, including civilians, when a suicide bomber rammed his car into an Iraqi army checkpoint in the town of Khalis, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - At least six people were killed and 15 wounded in a car bomb blast near Baghdad University and the Al-Hamra Hotel in the Jadriya district of southern Baghdad, police and Interior Ministry sources said.
TIKRIT - Gunmen killed the sister-in-law and niece of Ali Hassan al-Majid, Saddam Hussein's cousin who was dubbed "Chemical Ali", in Tikrit, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
NEAR MOSUL - At least three people were killed and 59 wounded in three separate blasts in a town near Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, a local official. Two truck bombs and a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt targeted local offices for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 18 people were found shot in different districts of Baghdad on Wednesday, police said.
BAGHDAD - Gunmen in Hurriya, car bombs in Bayaa, mortar rounds in Abu Dshir, a roadside bomb near the Shorja market killed several and wounded many.
BAGHDAD - U.S. forces said they killed three insurgents in an operation in the Sadr City district of Baghdad. Residents said three people were killed, including a pregnant woman and a 70 year-old man, and seven wounded during the operation.
NEAR TAJI - U.S. forces killed four insurgents in an air strike during an operation targeting al Qaeda in Iraq west of Taji, the U.S. military said. It said that two women and two children were also believed to have been killed.
BASRA - Yousif al-Moussawi, the general-secretary of the Shi'ite Tharallah Islamic Party in Basra, said he had escaped unhurt from a grenade attack on his house in Basra, 550 km (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, on Wednesday. One of his guards was seriously wounded.
NEAR TAJI - U.S. forces killed four insurgents in an air strike during an operation targeting al Qaeda in Iraq west of Taji, the U.S. military said. It said that two women and two children were also believed to have been killed.
BASRA - Yousif al-Moussawi, the general-secretary of the Shi'ite Tharallah Islamic Party in Basra, said he had escaped unhurt from a grenade attack on his house in Basra, 550 km (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, on Wednesday. One of his guards was seriously wounded.
Labels: Baghdad, Basra, car bomb, KDP, Khalis, Kirkuk, Mosul, suicide bomber, Taji
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Over 200 killed in bloodiest day since start of security operation
Security
(AP) - Grieving relatives retrieved bodies from hospital morgues Thursday, and passers-by gawked at the giant crater left by a market bomb in one of four attacks that killed 183 people on the bloodiest day since the U.S. troop increase began nine weeks ago. But violence did not abate Thursday, as a suicide bomber exploded in another mostly Shiite district, killing at least 11 people and wounding 28, police said. The car bomb exploded next to a fuel tanker in Karradah, setting fire to the truck. The death toll was expected to rise.
Many of the more than 230 Iraqis killed or found dead nationwide a day earlier were buried in quiet ceremonies before Thursday's noon prayer, according to Muslim tradition. Other bodies lay in refrigeration containers, still unidentified, at morgues across Baghdad. The most devastating blast struck the Sadriyah market as workers were leaving for the day, charring a lineup of minibuses that came to pick them up. At least 127 people were killed and 148 wounded, including men who were rebuilding the market after a Feb. 3 bombing left 137 dead.
On Thursday, collective wakes were being held for multiple victims in huge tents erected in narrow alleys and at nearby mosques within view of the blast site. Onlookers gathered around a crater about three yards wide and one yard deep, left by the force of the explosion. The car bombing appeared meticulously planned. It took place at a pedestrian entrance where tall concrete barriers had been erected after the earlier attack. It was the only way out of the compound, and the construction workers were widely known to leave at about 4 p.m., the time of the bombing.
U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told The Associated Press that al-Qaida in Iraq was suspected in the bombing. "Initial indications based on intelligence sources show that it was linked to al-Qaida," Caldwell said in a late-night telephone interview. The attacks appeared to be yet another attempt by Sunni insurgents and al-Qaida to force Shiite militiamen back onto the streets. Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr had ordered his Mahdi Army fighters to put away their weapons and go underground before the security crackdown began, leaving regions like those bombed on Wednesday highly vulnerable.
An outburst of violence from the Shiite militia would also ease pressure on the Sunni insurgents, creating a second front for U.S. and Iraqi soldiers struggling to diminish violence in the capital and provide time for the Iraqi government to gather momentum for sectarian reconciliation.
Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, the Iraqi military spokesman, said, "We have not seen such a wave of attacks since the security plan began. These are terrorist challenges. Ninety-five percent of those killed today were civilians." Late Wednesday, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered the arrest of the Iraqi army colonel who was in charge of security in the region around the Sadriyah market. The colonel's name was not given.
The 127 deaths in Wednesday's market bombing were recorded by Raad Muhsin, an official at the al-Kindi Hospital morgue where the victims were taken. A police official confirmed the toll, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
Besides the market attack, bombs struck Shiite targets in the capital at a police checkpoint, near a hospital and in a small bus. Nationwide the number of people killed Wednesday or found dead was 233, which was second only to a total of 281 killed or found dead on Nov. 23, 2006. Those figures are according to AP record-keeping, which began in May 2005.
Many of the more than 230 Iraqis killed or found dead nationwide a day earlier were buried in quiet ceremonies before Thursday's noon prayer, according to Muslim tradition. Other bodies lay in refrigeration containers, still unidentified, at morgues across Baghdad. The most devastating blast struck the Sadriyah market as workers were leaving for the day, charring a lineup of minibuses that came to pick them up. At least 127 people were killed and 148 wounded, including men who were rebuilding the market after a Feb. 3 bombing left 137 dead.
On Thursday, collective wakes were being held for multiple victims in huge tents erected in narrow alleys and at nearby mosques within view of the blast site. Onlookers gathered around a crater about three yards wide and one yard deep, left by the force of the explosion. The car bombing appeared meticulously planned. It took place at a pedestrian entrance where tall concrete barriers had been erected after the earlier attack. It was the only way out of the compound, and the construction workers were widely known to leave at about 4 p.m., the time of the bombing.
U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told The Associated Press that al-Qaida in Iraq was suspected in the bombing. "Initial indications based on intelligence sources show that it was linked to al-Qaida," Caldwell said in a late-night telephone interview. The attacks appeared to be yet another attempt by Sunni insurgents and al-Qaida to force Shiite militiamen back onto the streets. Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr had ordered his Mahdi Army fighters to put away their weapons and go underground before the security crackdown began, leaving regions like those bombed on Wednesday highly vulnerable.
An outburst of violence from the Shiite militia would also ease pressure on the Sunni insurgents, creating a second front for U.S. and Iraqi soldiers struggling to diminish violence in the capital and provide time for the Iraqi government to gather momentum for sectarian reconciliation.
Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, the Iraqi military spokesman, said, "We have not seen such a wave of attacks since the security plan began. These are terrorist challenges. Ninety-five percent of those killed today were civilians." Late Wednesday, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered the arrest of the Iraqi army colonel who was in charge of security in the region around the Sadriyah market. The colonel's name was not given.
The 127 deaths in Wednesday's market bombing were recorded by Raad Muhsin, an official at the al-Kindi Hospital morgue where the victims were taken. A police official confirmed the toll, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
Besides the market attack, bombs struck Shiite targets in the capital at a police checkpoint, near a hospital and in a small bus. Nationwide the number of people killed Wednesday or found dead was 233, which was second only to a total of 281 killed or found dead on Nov. 23, 2006. Those figures are according to AP record-keeping, which began in May 2005.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, Karrada, Sadriyah market, suicide bomber, violence
Friday, April 13, 2007
Three people held over parliament bombing
Security, Politics
Three cafeteria workers in Iraq's parliament have been detained following a suicide bombing in the building which killed one MP, a senior lawmaker said on Friday. Hasan Al Senaid, a lawmaker from the ruling Shiite Alliance bloc, said the three were being held for questioning but had not yet been charged. Some parliamentary guards were also being investigated but none were being held.
The original death toll from the blast was announced as eight deaths, but the US military revised the toll to one, although some reports say two MPs were killed in the attack. The bombing was the worst breach of security in the Green Zone, Baghdad's most secure area. The suicide bomber who blew himself up inside Iraq's parliament building was probably the bodyguard of a lawmaker, a senior security official at the national assembly said yesterday.
"There is a strong indication that the suicide bomber was a bodyguard of one of the lawmakers," the official said. He said three lawmakers, for example, are known to regularly refuse security checks inside the heavily guarded Green Zone where parliament sits. The official said police were also questioning the manager of the cafeteria, who was new on the job after being hired last month, as well as kitchen staff working at the cafe.
"There is a strong indication that the suicide bomber was a bodyguard of one of the lawmakers," the official said. He said three lawmakers, for example, are known to regularly refuse security checks inside the heavily guarded Green Zone where parliament sits. The official said police were also questioning the manager of the cafeteria, who was new on the job after being hired last month, as well as kitchen staff working at the cafe.
Iraqi authorities had intelligence that militants were planning an attack on parliament before a suicide bombing at the building, a senior government source said on Friday. "We had prior intelligence that there would be an attack on the parliament," the source told Reuters, without specifying when or how the information had been received.
Labels: Hasan Al Senaid, Iraqi parliament, suicide bomber
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Summary of parliament attack
Security, Politics
Who was behind it? As the casualty count for Thursday's bombing of the Iraqi Parliament continued to rise, the Islamic State in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack, calling it a message to those who cooperate with "the occupier and its agents." The statement, posted on an Islamist Website, further warned, "We will reach you wherever you are"
Who carried it out? Security officials at parliament, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information, said they believed the bomber was a bodyguard of a Sunni member of parliament who was not among the dead. They would not name the member of parliament.
Two more bombs found The officials also said two satchel bombs were found near the cafeteria. A U.S. bomb squad took the explosives away and detonated them without incident. Iraqi officials said the bomber struck the cafeteria while several lawmakers were eating lunch, and at least three of them — two Sunnis and a Shiite — were killed. Figures vary and some sources state 10 were killed. State television said 30 people were wounded.
Who was killed? One of the dead lawmakers was Mohammed Awad, a member of the Sunni National Dialogue Front, said party leader Saleh al-Mutlaq. A female Sunni lawmaker from the same list was wounded, he said. Another was Taha al-Liheibi, of the Sunni Accordance Front, said Mohammed Abu Bakr, who heads the legislature's media department. A third dead legislator was Niamah al-Mayahi, a member of the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance bloc, said Saleh al-Aujaili, a fellow member. Asif Hussein Muhammad, an MP from the Islamic Union of Kurdistan, was also killed in the blast.
Security breach Earlier in the day, security officials used dogs to check people entering the building in a rare precaution — apparently concerned that an attack might take place. A security scanner for pedestrians at the entrance to the Green Zone near the parliament building was not working Thursday, Abu Bakr said. People were searched only by hand and had to pass through metal detectors, he said.
Who was killed? One of the dead lawmakers was Mohammed Awad, a member of the Sunni National Dialogue Front, said party leader Saleh al-Mutlaq. A female Sunni lawmaker from the same list was wounded, he said. Another was Taha al-Liheibi, of the Sunni Accordance Front, said Mohammed Abu Bakr, who heads the legislature's media department. A third dead legislator was Niamah al-Mayahi, a member of the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance bloc, said Saleh al-Aujaili, a fellow member. Asif Hussein Muhammad, an MP from the Islamic Union of Kurdistan, was also killed in the blast.
Security breach Earlier in the day, security officials used dogs to check people entering the building in a rare precaution — apparently concerned that an attack might take place. A security scanner for pedestrians at the entrance to the Green Zone near the parliament building was not working Thursday, Abu Bakr said. People were searched only by hand and had to pass through metal detectors, he said.
Labels: Iraqi parliament, Islamic State in Iraq, suicide bomber
Parliament bombing update
Security, Politics
(AP) - A suicide bomber blew himself up in the Iraqi parliament cafeteria Thursday, killing at least eight people — including three lawmakers — and wounding dozens in a stunning assault in the heart of the heavily fortified, U.S.-protected Green Zone. A news video camera captured the moment of the blast — a flash and an orange ball of fire causing a startled Muslim imam who was being interviewed to duck, and then the smoky, dust-filled aftermath of confusion and shouting. The video was shot by Alhurra, a U.S. government-funded Arab-language channel.
The blast came hours after a suicide truck bomb exploded on a major bridge in Baghdad, collapsing the steel structure and sending cars tumbling into the Tigris River, police and witnesses said. At least 10 people were killed.
The parliament bombing was believed to be the deadliest attack in the Green Zone, the enclave that houses
Iraq's leadership as well as the U.S. Embassy, and is secured by American and Iraqi checkpoints. Security officials at parliament, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information, said they believed the bomber was a bodyguard of a Sunni member of parliament who was not among the dead. They would not name the member of parliament.
The officials also said two satchel bombs were found near the cafeteria. A U.S. bomb squad took the explosives away and detonated them without incident.
President Bush strongly condemned the attack, saying: "My message to the Iraqi government is `We stand with you.'Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told The Associated Press that eight people were killed in the attack, which witness accounts indicated was carried out by a suicide bomber.
Iraqi officials said the bomber struck the cafeteria while several lawmakers were eating lunch, and at least three of them — two Sunnis and a Shiite — were killed. State television said 30 people were wounded. "We don't know at this point who it was. We do know in the past that suicide vests have been used predominantly by al-Qaida," Caldwell said. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh suggested that those behind the attack might work in the building. "There are some groups that work in politics during the day and do things other than politics at night," he told Alhurra.
The Alhurra video showed what appeared to be the moments just after the attack: A smoky hallway, with people screaming for help. One man was slumped over, covered in dust, motionless. A woman kneeled over what appeared to be a wounded or dead man near a table. Then the camera focused on a bloody severed leg. TV cameras and videotapes belonging to a crew sending footage to Western networks were confiscated and apparently handed over to U.S. authorities. After the blast, security guards sealed the building and no one — including lawmakers — was allowed to enter or leave.
A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said no Americans were hurt. The bombing came amid the two-month-old security crackdown in Baghdad, which has sought to restore stability in the capital so that the government of Iraq can take key political steps by June 30 or face a withdrawal of American support. "We know that there is a security problem in Baghdad," added Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking at the State Department. "This is still early in the process and I don't think anyone expected that there wouldn't be counter-efforts by terrorists to undermine the security presence."
One of the dead lawmakers was Mohammed Awad, a member of the Sunni National Dialogue Front, said party leader Saleh al-Mutlaq. A female Sunni lawmaker from the same list was wounded, he said. Another was Taha al-Liheibi, of the Sunni Accordance Front, said Mohammed Abu Bakr, who heads the legislature's media department. A third dead legislator was Niamah al-Mayahi, a member of the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance bloc, said Saleh al-Aujaili, a fellow member. Asif Hussein Muhammad, an MP from the Islamic Union of Kurdistan, was also killed in the blast. Abu Bakr and other lawmakers said they saw the suspected bomber's body amid the ghastly scene. "I saw two legs in the middle of the cafeteria and none of those killed or wounded lost their legs — which means they must be the legs of the suicide attacker," he said.
Earlier in the day, security officials used dogs to check people entering the building in a rare precaution — apparently concerned that an attack might take place. A security scanner for pedestrians at the entrance to the Green Zone near the parliament building was not working Thursday, Abu Bakr said. People were searched only by hand and had to pass through metal detectors, he said.
The brazen bombing was the clearest evidence yet that militants can penetrate even the most secure locations. Masses of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers are on the streets in the ninth week of a security crackdown in the capital and security measures inside the Green Zone have been significantly hardened.
The U.S. military reported April 1 that two suicide vests were found in the Green Zone, also home to the U.S. Embassy and the Iraqi government. A rocket attack last month killed two Americans, a soldier and a contractor. A few days earlier, a rocket landed within 100 yards of a building where U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was holding a news conference. No one was hurt.
Khalaf al-Ilyan, one of the three leaders of the Iraqi Accordance Front, which holds 44 seats, said the attack was "aimed at everyone — all parties — our parliament in general being a symbol and a representative of all segments of Iraqi society." Al-Ilyan, who is in Jordan recovering from knee surgery, said the blast also "underlines the failure of the government's security plan. The plan is 100 percent a failure. It's a complete flop. The explosion means that instability and lack of security has reached the Green Zone, which the government boasts is heavily fortified," he said.
Hadi al-Amiri, head of the parliament's security and defense committee, said the blast shook the building just after legislators ended their main meeting, and broke into smaller committees. He said Iraqi forces are in charge of security in the building, and that explosives could have been smuggled in amid restaurant supplies.
Attacks in the Green Zone are rare. The worst previous known assault occurred Oct. 14, 2004, when a blast at a market and a popular cafe killed six people — the first bombing in the sprawling region. On Nov. 25, 2004, a mortar attack inside the zone killed four employees of a British security firm and wounded at least 12. On Jan. 29, 2005, insurgents hit the U.S. Embassy compound with a rocket, killing two Americans — a civilian and a sailor — on the eve of landmark elections. Four other Americans were wounded.
The blast came hours after a suicide truck bomb exploded on a major bridge in Baghdad, collapsing the steel structure and sending cars tumbling into the Tigris River, police and witnesses said. At least 10 people were killed.
The parliament bombing was believed to be the deadliest attack in the Green Zone, the enclave that houses
Iraq's leadership as well as the U.S. Embassy, and is secured by American and Iraqi checkpoints. Security officials at parliament, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information, said they believed the bomber was a bodyguard of a Sunni member of parliament who was not among the dead. They would not name the member of parliament.
The officials also said two satchel bombs were found near the cafeteria. A U.S. bomb squad took the explosives away and detonated them without incident.
President Bush strongly condemned the attack, saying: "My message to the Iraqi government is `We stand with you.'Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told The Associated Press that eight people were killed in the attack, which witness accounts indicated was carried out by a suicide bomber.
Iraqi officials said the bomber struck the cafeteria while several lawmakers were eating lunch, and at least three of them — two Sunnis and a Shiite — were killed. State television said 30 people were wounded. "We don't know at this point who it was. We do know in the past that suicide vests have been used predominantly by al-Qaida," Caldwell said. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh suggested that those behind the attack might work in the building. "There are some groups that work in politics during the day and do things other than politics at night," he told Alhurra.
The Alhurra video showed what appeared to be the moments just after the attack: A smoky hallway, with people screaming for help. One man was slumped over, covered in dust, motionless. A woman kneeled over what appeared to be a wounded or dead man near a table. Then the camera focused on a bloody severed leg. TV cameras and videotapes belonging to a crew sending footage to Western networks were confiscated and apparently handed over to U.S. authorities. After the blast, security guards sealed the building and no one — including lawmakers — was allowed to enter or leave.
A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said no Americans were hurt. The bombing came amid the two-month-old security crackdown in Baghdad, which has sought to restore stability in the capital so that the government of Iraq can take key political steps by June 30 or face a withdrawal of American support. "We know that there is a security problem in Baghdad," added Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking at the State Department. "This is still early in the process and I don't think anyone expected that there wouldn't be counter-efforts by terrorists to undermine the security presence."
One of the dead lawmakers was Mohammed Awad, a member of the Sunni National Dialogue Front, said party leader Saleh al-Mutlaq. A female Sunni lawmaker from the same list was wounded, he said. Another was Taha al-Liheibi, of the Sunni Accordance Front, said Mohammed Abu Bakr, who heads the legislature's media department. A third dead legislator was Niamah al-Mayahi, a member of the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance bloc, said Saleh al-Aujaili, a fellow member. Asif Hussein Muhammad, an MP from the Islamic Union of Kurdistan, was also killed in the blast. Abu Bakr and other lawmakers said they saw the suspected bomber's body amid the ghastly scene. "I saw two legs in the middle of the cafeteria and none of those killed or wounded lost their legs — which means they must be the legs of the suicide attacker," he said.
Earlier in the day, security officials used dogs to check people entering the building in a rare precaution — apparently concerned that an attack might take place. A security scanner for pedestrians at the entrance to the Green Zone near the parliament building was not working Thursday, Abu Bakr said. People were searched only by hand and had to pass through metal detectors, he said.
The brazen bombing was the clearest evidence yet that militants can penetrate even the most secure locations. Masses of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers are on the streets in the ninth week of a security crackdown in the capital and security measures inside the Green Zone have been significantly hardened.
The U.S. military reported April 1 that two suicide vests were found in the Green Zone, also home to the U.S. Embassy and the Iraqi government. A rocket attack last month killed two Americans, a soldier and a contractor. A few days earlier, a rocket landed within 100 yards of a building where U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was holding a news conference. No one was hurt.
Khalaf al-Ilyan, one of the three leaders of the Iraqi Accordance Front, which holds 44 seats, said the attack was "aimed at everyone — all parties — our parliament in general being a symbol and a representative of all segments of Iraqi society." Al-Ilyan, who is in Jordan recovering from knee surgery, said the blast also "underlines the failure of the government's security plan. The plan is 100 percent a failure. It's a complete flop. The explosion means that instability and lack of security has reached the Green Zone, which the government boasts is heavily fortified," he said.
Hadi al-Amiri, head of the parliament's security and defense committee, said the blast shook the building just after legislators ended their main meeting, and broke into smaller committees. He said Iraqi forces are in charge of security in the building, and that explosives could have been smuggled in amid restaurant supplies.
Attacks in the Green Zone are rare. The worst previous known assault occurred Oct. 14, 2004, when a blast at a market and a popular cafe killed six people — the first bombing in the sprawling region. On Nov. 25, 2004, a mortar attack inside the zone killed four employees of a British security firm and wounded at least 12. On Jan. 29, 2005, insurgents hit the U.S. Embassy compound with a rocket, killing two Americans — a civilian and a sailor — on the eve of landmark elections. Four other Americans were wounded.
Labels: Ali Al Dabbagh, Iraq's parliament, Khalaf al-Ilyan, Mohammed Awad, National Dialogue Front, Niamah al-Mayahi, satchel bombs, suicide bomber, Taha al-Liheibi, United Iraqi Alliance
Suicide bomber blows up Baghdad bridge
Security
(Al Jazeera, Agencies) - A suicide bomber driving a truck has blown himself up on a bridge in Baghdad, killing at least 10 people and injuring 26 others according to hospital officials. Iraqi security officials on the scene said the truck was parked in the middle of the bridge when it exploded. Thursday's blast partially destroyed the bridge, plunging several cars into the Tigris river below, police in the Iraqi capital said. Police said the blast occurred just before the morning rush hour, around 07.15.
The attack happened during the morning rush hour on al-Sarafiya Bridge which connects the al-Atafiyah neighbourhood, a Shiite area, on the western bank of the Tigris, to the Sunni neighbourhood of Waziriya on the eastern bank. The explosion blew a hole in the steel structure of the bridge spanning the Tigris river in northern Baghdad, police and witnesses told agencies. Reports said two parts of the bridge had collapsed into the river. Police were trying to rescue as many as 20 people whose cars plummeted into the river.
The attack happened during the morning rush hour on al-Sarafiya Bridge which connects the al-Atafiyah neighbourhood, a Shiite area, on the western bank of the Tigris, to the Sunni neighbourhood of Waziriya on the eastern bank. The explosion blew a hole in the steel structure of the bridge spanning the Tigris river in northern Baghdad, police and witnesses told agencies. Reports said two parts of the bridge had collapsed into the river. Police were trying to rescue as many as 20 people whose cars plummeted into the river.
Al-Sarafiya Bridge is one of the oldest and highest in the Iraqi capital. The Tigris River cuts Baghdad in half and the Al-Sarafiyah Bridge is a key artery in the northern part of the city. It is often used by minibuses and commercial vehicles travelling from central Baghdad to markets in the city's northern areas. Locals said the al-Sarafiya bridge is believed to be at least 75 years old, built by the British in the early part of the 20th century.
Labels: al-Atafiyah, al-Sarafiya Bridge, suicide bomber, Waziriya
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
(Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq as of 1100 GMT on Tuesday:
* denotes new or updated item. Follow link for furtehr information.
* denotes new or updated item. Follow link for furtehr information.
* MUQDADIYA - A suicide bomber targeting police recruits lining up outside a police station killed 17 and wounded 33, including three civilians, in the town of Muqdadiya, 90 km (50 miles) north east of Baghdad, police said.
* BAGHDAD - A car bomb at an intersection near Baghdad University in southern Baghdad killed four people and wounded 10 others, police said.
* BAGHDAD - U.S. military said a rocket pod on a helicopter caught fire and was jettisoned in central Baghdad during fierce clashes between gunmen and Iraqi and U.S. forces. Residents reported seeing helicopters rocket buildings where gunmen were holed up.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of nine people were found shot on Monday in different districts of Baghdad, police said.
Labels: Baghdad, car bomb, Muqdadiya, suicide bomber
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
(Reuters) - Security developments in Iraq as of 1130 GMT on Saturday:
* denotes new or updated item. Follow link for further information.
* SAMARRA - A suicide bomber targeting an Iraqi army checkpoint killed five Iraqi soldiers in Samarra, 100 km (62 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
RAMADI - The death toll from a chlorine truck bomb attack on a police checkpoint in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi on Friday rose to 12 civilians, the U.S. military said. The blast wounded 43, including eight women and five children.
BAGHDAD - An explosively formed projectile (EFP) killed one U.S. soldier and wounded four when it blew up next to a U.S. patrol in eastern Baghdad on Friday, the U.S. military said.
HIMREEN - Gunmen kidnapped 10 people who were travelling in a minivan near Himreen, 100 km (60 miles) south of Kirkuk, police said. The identity of the victims and the motivation for the kidnapping were not immediately clear.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 11 people were found dumped across Baghdad in the past 24 hours, police said.
SUWAYRA - Insurgents killed an Iraqi soldier and wounded six others when they attacked an Iraqi army base on Friday evening near Suwayra, just south of Baghdad, police said.
* denotes new or updated item. Follow link for further information.
* SAMARRA - A suicide bomber targeting an Iraqi army checkpoint killed five Iraqi soldiers in Samarra, 100 km (62 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
RAMADI - The death toll from a chlorine truck bomb attack on a police checkpoint in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi on Friday rose to 12 civilians, the U.S. military said. The blast wounded 43, including eight women and five children.
BAGHDAD - An explosively formed projectile (EFP) killed one U.S. soldier and wounded four when it blew up next to a U.S. patrol in eastern Baghdad on Friday, the U.S. military said.
HIMREEN - Gunmen kidnapped 10 people who were travelling in a minivan near Himreen, 100 km (60 miles) south of Kirkuk, police said. The identity of the victims and the motivation for the kidnapping were not immediately clear.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 11 people were found dumped across Baghdad in the past 24 hours, police said.
SUWAYRA - Insurgents killed an Iraqi soldier and wounded six others when they attacked an Iraqi army base on Friday evening near Suwayra, just south of Baghdad, police said.
Labels: abduction, Baghdad, EFP, Himreen, Iraqi Army, Iraqi Army base, Ramadi, Samrra, suicide bomber, Suwayra
