Gorilla’s Guides

This is part 2 - Khalil

Baghdad

20 bodies were recovered from various parts of Baghdad during the day. 16 were in al-Karkh, 4 in Al Rassafa.

Thamir Mohammed Khalaf employee at the Iraqi Foreign Ministry was attacked and killed today by gunment in the New Baghdad area (south-east Baghdad.)

The American army of occupation announced today, Saturday, that eight American soldiers were killed and five others wounded during military operations in various regions of Irak. This brings the total of American military killed in Irak to 3409 of whom 58 were killed this month.

There are conflicting reports that another American officer may have been killed this evening by a sniper in Baghdad. So far the American spokesmen are denying all knowledge of a sniping death reported by green zone government police.

The bombing of the green zone government army checkpoint near a restaurant in al-Mansour killed two soldiers and wounded six. A clash between gunmen and greenzone government interior ministry comandos in the Saydia district (west Baghdad) resulted in the death of one civilian and the wounding of another.

The car bombing of the market in al-Shurta al-Rabia (west Baghdad) killed 11 cvilians and wounded 20. This is an initial death toll and is likely to rise due to the number of seriously injured.

Three green zone government soldiers were killed and 12 others were wounded in a combat mission in Baghdad.  According to the same statement during the last 48 hours the greenzone government forces killed four gunmen and arrested 152 suspected militants in several areas of the city.

The interior ministry has called on former staff to return to service 

The Iraqi interior ministry will call on all staff from security agencies during the time of the former regime to appear at the ministry’s institutions and police stations, “otherwise they will be dealt with in accordance with the terrorism law,” an official source said.

“The decision to bring back the old security staff includes those who worked in intelligence, public security and special services, except those who have reached the age of retirement,” Maj. General Abdul-Kareem Khalaf, the interior ministry’s national command center chief, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

“Security staff outside Iraq will have to refer to the country’s consulates and interest sections in 90 days, and those inside the country have to refer to the interior ministry in 60 days,” added Khalaf.

The interior ministry official affirmed that those “who fail to report to the security organizations in the country, during the mentioned period of time, will be considered involved in acts of hostility against the Iraqi people.”

The interim coalition authorities led by U.S. Civil Administrator Paul Bremer, following the fall of the former regime in April 2003, had issued decisions dissolving all the then operating Iraqi security agencies, as well as the Iraqi army and information ministry.

(text and link is to English version of report the Arabic text is here - Khalil)

 

Governorates

In Diyala Ahmad Chalabi survived a concentrated assasination attempt in a village near Buhriz. His entourage were pinned down by mortars and then came under sustained gunfire. Neither Chalabi nor any of his protection detail were wounded in the fighting.

In At-Ta’mim (Kirkuk) governorate relatives of the five gunmen who died when members of the American patrol they attacked on Thursday near Huwayja opened fire and killed them are requesting that the bodies be truned over to them for burial.

In Anbar governorate an American armoured patrol was bombed near Fallujah one tank was destroyed. In Kubeisa police made appeals using microphones for young men sign up at the army recruitment center in Kubeisa police station.  (Recruits are trained for 45 day in the training center in al-Habbaniya base, 80 km west of Baghdad. - Hussein)

Three members of Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha’s council for the rescue of Anbar were found shot dead 2km North of Fallujah.

In Ninewa two gunmen were killed and 25 others detained in Badush district. 9 Caches of weaponry were discovered. (This isn’t impressive for such a massive operation and it may be that the green zone government “Mosul surge” is failing. Badush is where the prison that keeps on having riots and jailbreaks including that of Saddam’s nephew is located there’s been a lot of fighting in the district lately (see: Incidents In Irak May 16th 2007 Summarised From Arabic for details.)

Fighting has erupted throughout Diwaniyah the capital Al Qadisyah governorate. According to eyewitnesses the fighting is particularly intense in the north of the town and was sparked when gunmen hijacked and set on fire a police car. Locals report intense gunbattles and considerable American air activity over the town.

In Basrah six unidentified bodies that were found dumped in different parts of the city. The bodies of seven cleaners who had worked for the British at their base in the airport were also found. Moreover a sustained attack on the joint coordination centre in the city centre left one policeman dead and one severely wounded.

In Dhi Qar three children were killed and six others including an elderly woman wounded in an explosion west of Nasiriyah. The explosion took place in a garbage dump where they were gleaning one of the children triggered an old artillery shell left over from the war with Iran. (The report points out that there have been many such deaths and maimings of children who scavenge in Dhi Qar over the past two years. See “Death In A Garbage Dump” for an explanation of what the children were doing in a dump with old munitions - Khalil)

Health Crisis:

Deaths of premature babies increase in Dohuk.

Bahaa Eddin attributed the high death rate among premature babies to their need for special care and incubators, which he said are not sufficiently available in Duhuk’s hospitals.
“Duhuk’s main Azadi hospital is in need of 30 incubators and a trained team of nurses. It is not possible to just install the incubators in any health center because they need special care,”

Full story in English here.

Nur Hussein Ghazali.

My thanks to Hussein Al-Bayati, and Khalil Ibn Hussein, for their great help with this posting.

Nur