Gorilla’s Guides

The campaign of bombings of sites of major religious significance continued with the bombing in Kadhimiya in Baghdad.

The bridge bombing campaign in Baghdad continued with a suicide attack on one of the checkpoints at Jadriya bridge this evening that killed one policeman, wounded three others, and damaged the bridge.

The shockwaves of Monday’s bombing of the Mansour Hotel in Baghdad continued today. Tests at the scene confirmed that reports that the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber and that about 12Kg of explosive augmented by ball bearings and nails were used in the bomb. The bomber targeted a meeting of sheikhs and leaders both from Al-Anbar and the south causing the death of 12 persons, including Gen. Aziz al-Yassiri. Sheikhs Khalifa, Rabah Alaalouani, and Dahham al-Ubaydi are now confirmed to be among the wounded. The green zone government has withdrawn the license of SBS a British company that supplies mercenaries in Irak. During the press conference today Gen. Khalaf pointed to the existence of three entrances to the hotel one of which (the one overlooking the Tigris) was used by VIPs such as the Sheikhs. Security procedures at the entrances was the responsibility of SBS and Gen. Khalaf said that the company had not searched people coming into the hotel.

[Technical note: This interpretation of events sounds about right. There are 3 entrances to the hotel one of them used almost exclusively by staff it would be easy enough for someone known to the people at the checkpoint to use an excuse such as “I’m late for work” to escape a thorough search. 12Kg sounds about right for the scale of the damage and the absence of a crater coupled with the blast pattern visible in the photographs all point to such an attack. In not one of the photographs is there a crater visible. The wounds of the injured fit the pattern of bombings using relatively weak or small amounts of explosives. In order to maximise casualties when using weak explosives or small amounts of more powerful material it is now standard practise to include ballbearings, nails, or sharp slivers of metal. This techinque was pioneered by loyalist terrorists in Northern Ireland because they were forced to rely on homemade explosives unlike the IRA who had access to plentiful supplies of high grade explosive. — markfromireland. see also this report from freebab.com.]

Relations between Baghdad and Ankara continued to deteriorate. The commander of the Turkish armed forces reiterated today that there needed to be a cross-border operation in northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels there, adding that this would be useful. In a press conference broadcast on Turkish television Turkey’s Chief of Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit said:

“I said earlier (in April) that we need for a cross-border operation and that this would be useful. I now repeat this opinion. “

The southern governorates are to coordinate mine clearance operations representatives from Maysan, Dhi Qar and Babel, Najaf and Karbala attended a conferencein Basrah and agreed to coordinate their efforts.

Site News: We have today added a category “Bridge Bombing Campaign” to list of searchable categories for the site.

Nur

Reports From Baghdad

DAMASCUS/BAGHDAD, 27 June 2007 (IRIN) - The plight of Palestinian refugees fleeing violence in Iraq and stranded in camps on the Syrian-Iraqi border is continuing to deteriorate as the summer heat intensifies and a solution remains elusive.

There is currently one camp on the Syrian side of the border, one in no-man’s land and one on the Iraqi side of the border housing Palestinian refugees.

As the summer heat has increased, with temperatures now reaching 50 degrees Celsius, living conditions in the desert have become increasingly hazardous with snakes, scorpions and sand storms.

“The weather is very, very hot and people are becoming very nervous and upset,” said one Palestinian in Al-Tanf camp, situated on no-man’s land between Iraq and Syria. “We can’t live here, it’s too difficult. We need help, particularly air coolers.”

“Children in particular are developing medical conditions that they’ve never had before simply because of the high heat and dust storms,” said Sybella Wilkes, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Syria.
The refugees are becoming increasingly desperate.

“The morale of the camp is so low and it’s only going to get worse,” said Wilkes. Nonetheless, conditions in Al-Tanf continue to be better than in neighbouring Al-Walid camp on the Iraqi side of the border. While the 389 refugees in Al-Tanf are entirely reliant on humanitarian aid, their basic needs, including food and medical assistance as well as a secure environment are being met by the UNHCR.

A third camp, Al-Hol, in northeastern Syria, houses another 300 refugees. However, conditions in Al-Hol are markedly better most notably in that the refugees have been allowed access to Syria itself and so are not stranded in no-man’s land like at Al-Tanf.

Al-Tanf camp

It is now over a year that refugees have been confined to Al-Tanf camp without a solution to their plight.
In a statement on 26 June, the UNHCR said urgent medical care as well as an immediate humanitarian solution was needed for the Palestinian refugees stranded in camps on the Iraqi-Syria border.

“The situation of more than 1,400 Palestinians is deteriorating by the day. We urge countries in the region - and further afield - to help end their suffering,” UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis said in a statement on 26 June.

Al-Walid camp

Last week, a UNHCR team visited Al-Walid camp on the Iraqi side of the border and identified four children and one young man in urgent need of medical care, the statement said.

The UNHCR has established a small infirmary at Al-Walid and the visiting team delivered a month’s supply of multivitamins for 120 children and distributed 300 sun protection umbrellas. “But the seriously ill - some of whom are in danger of dying - need hospital treatment.”

The Palestinians were also threatened by local armed groups early last week, the statement added.

Health and security officials in the western city of Ramadi, where the Al-Walid refugee camp is located, said on 27 June that they do not have enough resources to help the stranded Palestinians. “We don’t have enough police and army troops to be sent to the borders to protect their camps,” said a police officer in Ramadi who asked to remain anonymous as he fears reprisals from militants. “Whatever force you send there, it will definitely face problems with militants as they roam the desert day and night,” he added.
Dr Ahmed al-Dulami of Ramadi General Hospital said the city’s health directorate has no “extra ambulances or employees to lose”. “The refugees are increasingly scared and frustrated, trapped in the middle of nowhere,” Pagonis said.

Family stranded on border

Mukhlis Khalid Mohammed, a 62-year-old Palestinian refugee in Baghdad, said his family had been stranded on the border with Syria since last January and the last time he had heard from them was in May. “Their letter, which was sent by a taxi driver, told of many tragedies as they were experiencing very severe conditions - especially the kids - but we are convinced that staying there is better than living in fear in Baghdad,” Mohammed said.
jl/sm/ar/cb

Theme(s): (IRIN) Conflict, (IRIN) Health & Nutrition, (IRIN) Refugees/IDPs

From Al Zaman yesterday:

There is fury and anger in the rebellious Province of Anbar where tribes and politicians blame the government of Nouri al-Maliki for the killing of five of the province’s most senior tribal chiefs.

Five sheiks were among 12 people killed when an explosion ripped through the conference hall where they were to meet to explore ways of reinstating stability in the violent province.

The government blamed a suicide bomber but the power of the explosion and the collapse of the ceiling as well as tight security at one of Baghdad’s most fortified and guarded hotels gives the government’s version little credence.

The Sunni sheiks had traveled to Baghdad to attend a conference at the hotel Mansour Melia to meet with Shiite counterparts on ways to stem al-Qaeda influence in Iraq.

The early afternoon attack was of a force which experts say was impossible to have been caused by a suicide bomber.

Maliki had publicly criticized attempts to arm the tribes in their struggle against al-Qaeda elements in their areas.

Anbar is an al-Qaeda hotbed where the group is almost in total control of large swathes of the country’s largest province.

Repeated U.S. military offensives have failed to dislodge the group whose fighters have inflicted heavy losses on U.S. troops and armor.

Maliki’s government and U.S. officials have blamed al-Qaeda but the group which usually brags about its operations has yet to issue a statement on the explosion.

The bombing is a severe blow to U.S. efforts and its emerging alliance between Sunni tribal leaders and the country’s Shiite majority.

Source: Anger in Anbar following the slaughter of tribal chiefs | Azzaman in English | By Kareem Zayer

see also:Reports From Irak June 25th 2007 UPDATE 2