Incident Reports Irak Summarised From Arabic June 2 2007
Summary:
- Despite a heavy American presence the curfews that the Americans and greenzone goverernment troops attempted to impose there has been renewed very heavy fighting between armed groups in Amiriyah, Baghdad.
- In a major escalation of the campaign to destroy key bridges throughout Irak bombers destroyed about half of the Sahra bridge over the the al-Adham river near Touz Kourmatu
- British forces will withdraw from their occupation of Irak by the end of this year.
- In the second such incident this week an armed group kidnapped today Saturday, three greenzone government soldiers from the Facilities Protection Service in an armed ambush south west of Kirkuk.
- Green zone government security during the past 48 hours, have seen 11 of their number killed, including one officer, and 15 others wounded, including one officer in combat missions in Baghdad.
Scenes From An Iraki Childhood - Diyala
- Mohammed Mahmoud Azzawi was 11-years-old. He was killed on Saturday, June 2, 2007 by a U.S airstrike this morning on the Al-mafraq district of central Baqubah. He was one of the 3 civilians killed. Five other civilians were wounded the Joint Coordination Center said. The lady mourning over his body is his grandmother.
- A mother kisses her son’s forehead in Baqubah hospital Saturday June 2nd 2007. The boy was one of five civilians wounded by a U.S airstrike this morning on the Al-mafraq district of central Baqubah.
- Two other children Karim Suhail Abedand, and Jassim Khalaf who were cousins were killed the photograph at the link shows there mothers mourning over there blanket wrapped corpses at Baqubah morgue.
Baghdad: Renewed Heavy Fighting In Al Amiriyah
Renewed clashes have broken out between various armed groups in Al-Amariyah. Eyewitnesses said that fighting resumed today Saturday between fighters believed to be part of the al-Ishreen (1920) Revolution Brigades and the Islamic Army on one hand and the al-Qaeda Organization Iraq on the other. A heavy operation lasting since Wednesday had enabled the U.S and green zone forces to impose a curfew on Friday.
Reports from people in the neighbourhood said that battles erupted again as fighters strove to control the area around al-Amal al-Shaabi street and al-Aamitiya (the al-Mukhabarat buildings) fighting was particularly heavy on al-Amal al-Shaabi, al-Munazhama and al-Markaz.
Residents reported that both light and medium calibre weapons were being used. There are also reports that groups of gunmen numbering more than 50 were involved in individual clashes.
Other reports said that American and greenzone government troops had earlier removed many corpses from the streets and that residents were afraid to move on the deserted streets for fear of being killed.
[That may be true for most residents but it is exam season now and two teams members reproted seeing from their windows that many students braved the fighting to make their way on foot to the examination halls. American and greenzone government troops stopped these students but let them pass thrtough checkpoints after searching.]
The district as we reported earlier is a main stronghold of the so-called Islamic state in Iraq, al-Qaeda, and other armed groups, notably the 1920 brigades. Between them those groups have kept the area clear of any presence of green zone government forces, encirclement of the district by the American forces for several days failed to prevent reinforcements from making their way into the district.
In another development on Friday Sheikh Hamid Alhays leader of the rescue Anbar (a coalition of tribes in the Sunni province of Anbar) said in a press conference Friday, that he had sent 50 undercover operativbes from the people of Al-Anbar to the Amiriyah neighborhood in Baghdad, and that they had started beating Al Qaeda, been able to kill many of them. Alhays added, “We will fight all the militias that kill our people in Baghdad.” He went on to add that:
”a similar operation [is to be] launched in the Ghazaliya neighborhood (in the troubled Baghdad) against Al Qaeda, we have sufficient information on the whereabouts of whom and will we seek vengance against them for all the explosions and killings they committed in our capital,”
he said furrther that these [plain clothes agenst of the council he heads]:
“people will work in civilian clothes and in complete confidentiality.”
Primary Source: ( اصوات العراق - تجدد الاشتباكات بين الجماعات المسلحة في العامرية )
Note:.We are at a loss to know why AFP have said this:
In Baghdad, meanwhile, the western neighbourhood of Amiriyah was relatively quiet for a second day following two days of fierce clashes between Al-Qaeda, rival nationalist insurgent groups, tribal forces, and US troops.
In this report by Paul Schemm dated Sat Jun 2, 2:47 PM ET
Baghdad Bodies
26 unidentified bodies were found in Baghdad. Most of the corpses had gunshot wounds to the head:
- 1 in Adamiyah.
- 1 in AL Jami’a
- 1 in Baghdad Al Jadida
- 1 in Fadhil
- 1 in Rashdiyah
- 2 in Bayaa
- 2 in Hurriyah
- 2 in Jihad
- 2 in Sadr city
- 2 in Sleikh
- 2 in aL-Yarmouk
- 3 in Al-Amil
- 6 in Ghazaliyah
Source: ( اصوات العراق - العثور على 26 جثة مجهولة الهوية في بغداد )
Green zone government casualties Baghdad:
Green zone government security during the past 48 hours, have seen 11 of their number killed, including one officer, and 15 others wounded, including one officer in combat missions according to the statement reported here. Source:( اصوات العراق - مقتل وجرح 12 مسلحا واعتقال 32 مشتبها بهم في بغداد )
Greenzone government spokesman for Operation Fardh al-Qanoon issued a statement saying theirforces killed five gunmen, wounded seven others and arrested 32 suspected militants in several areas in Baghdad under the Fardh al-Qanoon security plan during the past 48 hours.
“Security forces also managed to free six hostages from their kidnappers in the area of al-Rasafa and defuse four explosive charges, one in al-Madaen, southeastern Baghdad, and three in al-Mansour, western Baghdad, as well as seizing a large number of weapons and ammunition.”
Source:( اصوات العراق - مقتل وجرح 12 مسلحا واعتقال 32 مشتبها بهم في بغداد )
American Army of Occupation Casualties
The number of American army of occupation soldiers killed in Iraq since the invasion led by the United States in March 2003 is now 3478 according to official data of the American army.
- The American occupation army in Irak announced the killing of one of its soldiers killed in Baghad on Friday.
The American army earlier announced today that:
- A soldier wounded on Wednesday by a roadside bomb in southwestern Baghdad has died.
- Another U.S. soldier was killed and another wounded in Baghdad on Wednesday.
- A U.S. soldier was killed in eastern Baghdad on Thursday.
The number of American soldier killed during the month of May is now 126 soldiers. Source:( اصوات العراق - الجيش الامريكي يعلن مقتل أول جنوده خلال شهر حزيران ) Last month was the third most bloodiest months for American forces in Iraq. The month of April last saw 104 of their soldiers killed. The month of November 2004 saw the most killings of soldiers of the American forces in Irak (137),the month of April 2004 came in second for the killing of American soldiers (135).Source: ( اصوات العراق - ارتفاع عدد القتلى الامريكيين في شهر أيار إلى126جنديا )
Political manouevring continues
Voting on the nominee for the six new Iraqi ministers to replace Sadrist ministers in the green zone government will take place on Tuesady. Akram Fawzi a Sadrist green zone parliament legislator said on Saturday that the Sadrists would not take part in the vote because contrary to promises made by lame duck prime minister Nouri al-Maliki during the Iraqi parliament’s sessions last week they are not independent. Last weeks sessions failed because of the lack of a quorum. The six ministerial positions became vacant after Sadr withdrew his six ministers from the Maliki government in April 2007 to protest against its failure to come up with a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops and to provide essential services for Irakis. Some of the designees have been outside Iraq for more than 25 years. The Sadrist members of parliament are part of the Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC), the largest bloc they hold 30 seats. Source: (اصوات العراق - برلماني : التصويت على الاسماء المرشحه للوزارات في جلسة يوم الثلاثاء المقبل )
Haidar Abadi, a member of the green zone parliament and part of the leadership in the Islamic Da’wah Party who is accompanying Dr. Nouri Al-Maliki, during his visit to Northern Irak said today that there was blatant regional interference in regard to Irak. ( Source: اصوات العراق - حيدر العبادي: هناك تدخلات اقليمية في الوضع العراقي )
- Just more of the usual excuses.
Maliki Lies Through His Teeth (Nobody Is Surprised)
Arbil, Jun 2, (VOI)- Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki dismissed on Saturday reports on long presence of U.S. forces in Iraq similar to the South Korean model saying “it is groundless as such issue is only decided by the Iraqi people.”
“We so far have not discussed setting up permanent U.S. bases in Iraq,” Maliki told reporters while leaving Arbil today after a three-day-visit.
U.S. officials said that President Bush expected that U.S. forces would keep presence in Iraq for more than 50 years similar to the South Korean model.
Asked about the Turkish military build-up near Iraq’s northern borders, al-Maliki replied “Our brothers in Kurdistan and we, the Iraqi government, reject using Iraqi territories to attack neighboring nations but the Iraqi territories should also be respected and we reject any threats directed towards us.”
Iraq’s Kurdistan President Massoud al-Barazani, who was at the airport to see off Maliki, told reporters “let the Turks say whatever they like to, but we hope that Turkish threats will be merely elections propaganda.”
Barazani also said “we want to follow the way of dialogue to solve problems as the threats style is fully rejected.”
Asked about the implementation of the constitutional Article 140 on Kirkuk, Barazani replied “we discussed that point among other issues and we agreed to carry out the article according to the Iraqi constitution.”
Prime Minister Maliki arrived on Thursday to Arbil, capital city of Kurdistan region which also includes the Kurdish provinces of Duhuk and Sulaimaniya.
Last Tuesday, Kurdistan Premier Negervan Barazani ended several days’ visit to Baghdad to discuss with the central government issues to do with oil-rich Kirkuk city’s status according to Article 140 of the constitution, relations between Baghdad’s government and the Kurdistan administration, the status of the Peshmerga (Kurdish local fighters) and the draft oil and gas law.
Kurds want to accelerate the implementation of constitutional article 140, concerning normalizing the situation in Kirkuk city, as it was before the 1970s, when the former regime, Kurds claim, lured Arabs to settle in Kirkuk and drove Kurdish families out of the city.
The step should be followed by a referendum in the city to decide whether or not to join the three other Kurdish provinces in the Kurdistan region by the end of 2007. Non-Kurdish Iraqi political forces are inclined to put off the issue until better security prevails in the country.
Also, the draft oil and gas law, now under debate by lawmakers in Baghdad, represents another deadlock between Arbil and Baghdad. Kurdish leaders are pressing for more power in relation to oil investment inside the region, while Baghdad has opted to control all investment contracts in the country.
(Source Arabic: اصوات العراق - المالكى يقلل من أهمية تصريحات تحدثت عن تمديد أمد القوات الامريكية بالعراق ) Source: Iraq’s PM dismisses reports on long presence of U.S. forces in Iraq (English)
Incident Reports From The Governorates
Al Anbar Governorate
Three Iraqi children died when a US tank opened fire on suspected insurgent bombers in the western city of Fallujah, the US military reported Saturday.
A tank crew observed Friday three men that appeared to be installing a roadside bomb on the side of a highway southeast of the restive city and opened fire with its main gun. The men escaped and three children were found dead.
“Civilians in the area reported two children, ages seven and nine, were killed by a blast in the area by the canal,” said the statement.
“A third, age 11, was transported by civilians to the Jordanian hospital nearby but later succumbed to his wounds.”
The military could not say if the children died as a direct result of their shell and a patrol that subsequently reached the site discovered two separate blast sites.
“Due to dust and debris, the tank crew’s view of the blast was obscured immediately after they fired. It is not clear at this time if there were secondary explosions at either site from IED material,” the statement said.
The three suspected insurgents meanwhile escaped, though one appeared to have been injured.
Source: US tank fires on insurgents, three Iraqi children die - Yahoo! News
Arbil Governorate
The security of Kurdistan Protection Agency [Peshmerga secret police] announced on Thursday that it had arrested a number of persons connected with the bombings of the Ministry of Interior Security Directorate in the government of Kurdistan region Arbil on the 9th of May which killed 14 people and the bombing of the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party which led to the deaths of about fifty people.
The statement did not mention the number of persons arrested. (Source: اصوات العراق - البارزانى يعلن اعتقال الشبكة التى تقف وراء تفجيرات اربيل الاخيرة )
.
At-Ta’mim (Kirkuk) Governorate
In the second such incident this week the greenzone government police in Kirkuk reported that an armed group kidnapped today Saturday, three greenzone government soldiers from the Facilities Protection Service in an armed ambush south west of the city. The attackers were in 4 vehicles and ambushed the FPS troops at the fork in the main road near Huwayjah and the Baijii refining facility (70 km south west of Kirkuk). On Friday an armed group 5 FPS troops in the same area. Source: ( اصوات العراق - إختطاف ثلاثة جنود عراقيين قرب كركوك )
Bridge Campaign Escalates:
In a major escalation of the campaign to destroy key bridges throughout Irak bombers destroyed about half of the Sahra bridge over the the al-Adham river near Touz Kourmatu built in 1942 which connects Baghdad to Kirkuk, and Arbril and which connects also Suleiman Beck to Touz Kourmatu.
This bombing makes it much more difficult to mount operations against resistance fighters in the hills beyond. (The explosion destroyed half of the 4 by 12 metre spans. )
Major Bridge Attacks Summary:
- Two Baghdad bridges - the Sarafiyah bridge, was totally destroyed.
- A key highway overpass in the capital was also bombed.
- The Badoush bridge.
- Today’s attack on Sahra bridge.
(Primary Source: اصوات العراق - مسلحون ينسفون الجسر الرابط بين كركوك وبغداد )
The body of Sheikh Rokan al-Motlak of the Jabbouri who was kidnapped from his home in the village of al-Dora has been found his corpse bore marks of torture. (Source: اصوات العراق - العثور على جثة أحد شيوخ عشيرة الجبور قرب كركوك ) [The Sheikh had been active against various groups including Al-Qaeda and was trying to get a movement similar to the Anbar Salvation Council off the ground. His tribe is numerous and influential from central Irak up to the Northern governorates.]
Basrah Governorate
British forces will withdraw from Iraq by the end of this year, the Multi-National Force (MNF) in southern Iraq said in a statement on Saturday. According to the statement:
“The British troops will remain in southeastern Iraq to back Iraqi security forces in Basra during this summer upon the Iraqi government’s reuest”
The British have forces 5,500 soldiers stationed in Basrah. They withdrew 1,600 soldiers over the past four months. Five-hundred British troops are expected to be pulled out from Iraq at the start of next September. Source: ( اصوات العراق - المتعددة : القوات البريطانية تنسحب من العراق نهاية العام الحالي ) A British soldier was wounded on Saturday in a mortar attack on the Joint Coordination Centre in al-Hakimiyah area in central Basrah. The centre was hit by 4 shells. (Source: اصوات العراق - اصابة جندي بريطاني في البصرة )
Diyala Governorate
One policeman was killed and four others wounded by a car bomb Saturday afternoon in central Muqdadiya (45 kilometers northeast of Baquba.) (Source: اصوات العراق - مقتل وإصابة خمسة من الشرطة في إنفجار سيارة مفخخة بقضاء المقدادية )
Karbala Governorate
A group of people accused planning to carry out suicide operations Karbala have been arrested. Abdel Al Yasiri told the Independent News Agency (Voices of Iraq) that following information received about members of the group acting suspiciously they were detained on Friday night. He said thet were associated with the so-called Islamic State of Iraq. He did not give any information about numbers or location. He also said that preliminary interogation conducted with them proved that they intended to detonate explosive belts in the area between the shrines of Imams Hussein and Abbas. Two recent bombings:
- the first 200 m from the shrine of Imam Hussein,
- the second 300 m from the shrine of Imam Abbas
caaused devastating levels of death and destruction and caused outrage among the citizens both at the slowness of the rescue services to arrive and (after the second bombing) Soldiers of the American army of occupation and troops loyal to the green zone government surrounded:
- The Iranian consulate in Karbala. (The consulate building in Qublat Al-Imam Al-Hussein)
- The governorate’s governor’s residence.
- Various government buildings.
to protect their occupants from the outraged citizenry.
As we reported previously there is now a security camera system covering the centre of Karbala and sensitive targets. Images can be retained for up to three months should they be needed for investigations. (See: شرطة كربلاء تنصب كاميرات لمراقبة مركز المدينة )
(Source: اصوات العراق - اعتقال مجموعة من الاشخاص كانوا يخططون للقيام بعمليات انتحارية بكربلاء )
In what may be a related operation police in Karbal arrested a man apparently from Diyala and apparently a member of the Islamic army, whose name they have not revealed, for suspicious activity between the two shrines following reports that he had been acting suspiciously. The report says that he is still being interogated with a view to finding his accomplices. The report also points out that refugees from Diyala had announced last month the beginning of the week-long sit-in the zone between the holy shrine, which included an exhibition of pictures of victims of violence, demanding that the government intervene to stop forced displacement and violence. (Source: اصوات العراق - شرطة كربلاء تلقى القبض على عنصر فيما يسمى ” دولة العراق الإسلامية” )
Ninawa Governorate
In Mosul a policeman from Nasr station who was on leave and in plain clothes was shot dead near his home by three gunmen in a car. Three bodies were found in Mosul all three bodies had shots to the head. One of the corpses was of a woman the remaining two of men in their forties. One of the male corpses was of a villager from Fadiliyah the woman and orher man are unidentified. (Source: اصوات العراق - مقتل شرطي والعثور على ثلاث جثث في الموصل )Salah ad Din Governorate
American occupation forces have imposed a curfew in Ad Duluiyah. They surrounded Ad Duluiyah on Friday evening using 20 armoured vehicles and then entered in force seizing 5 houses and ejecting the occupants. The raiders were attacked. It is not known whether the Americans succeeded in detaining anyone. Additionally there are reports of that at dawn on Saturday the Americans bombed from the air the orchards to the west and closed roads. It is not known if there were casualties. (Primary Source: اصوات العراق - القوات الأمريكية تفرض حظرا للتجوال في الضلوعية )
Wasit Governorate
The American army of occupation base in Kut came under renewed mortar attack. At dawn on Saturday it was hit by three mortar shells. The camp has been frequently attacked using both Katyushas and mortars recently. (Source: اصوات العراق - تجدد الهجمات على قاعدة الدلتا في الكوت )
Indexed under: Al Anbar (Governorate), Arbil (Erbil), Aswat Al Iraq - News, Baghdad, Baqubah, Basrah, Bombings, Children, Dalouiya, Disputed Areas, Diyala, Joint Postings, Karbala, Kirkuk, Kirkuk (At-Ta'mim) Governorate, Mosul, Ninawa (Governorate), Women and Children