Gorilla’s Guides

Reports From Irak June 29th 2007

Summary:

Al-Sadr cancels the march to Samarra, the situation between the Americans, the green zone government and Turkey took a sharp turn for the worse. The pipeline north of Hilla was bombed as part of the continuing campaign to fragment the electricity grid,

The main purely domestic story of the day in Irak is that Al-Sadr has canceled the March to the bombed shrine of the two Imams in Samara. (see immediately preceding posting for full report.) The Iraqi Accord Front have praised the move. saying that it speaks highly of Mr. Muqtada al-Sadr his noble religious impulses shared values, the brotherhood between Irakis and:

“recognition of the poor security situation that prevails in the country which does not allow such marches now.”

The public criticism of the Maliki regime’s performance by the religious establishment continued unabated — Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani’s representative warned during his Friday sermon in Karbala that leaving Irak’s borders open to weapons smuggling would undo any progress in the security situation. During the sermon he also wondered what had happened to all the money allegedly spent on the armed forces saying:

“$ 19 billion was spent to build the security organs .. Where is this money gone? Either it was stolen or … … the figures are exaggerated. “

Intentionally the situation between Baghdad, Ankara, and Washington deteriorated yet further today. Reuters Arabic service and Reuters English service both carry reports that Turkey has prepared detailed plans for a cross-border operation into Iraq against Kurdish rebels and will act if U.S. or Iraqi forces fail to tackle them. Gul was interviewed by the Turkish newspaper Radikal. You can find the Radikal interview here.

The New Anatolian quote him as saying that “every kind of scenario is ready and on the table.” There is a fairly detailed report which you can find here in which Gul is quoted as saying that Turkey has prepared detailed plans for a cross-border operation inside Iraq against the PKK Kurdish rebels and they will move unless American forces or green zone government forces start confronting the rebels. The report quotes Gul’s statement in the Radikal interview:

“The army has prepared precise and finely detailed plans. The government knows these plans and approves them. If the green zone government government or the occupying American forces is unable to do so (crush PKK) we will take our own decision and implement it.”

In a separate interview conducted Friday with the network CNN, Turkish television, he was asked whether the Turkish Parliament had been summoned to give leave for a military operation to take place he said that this was probable. (Whether this is necessary or not depends on the scale of the operation to be mounted.)

Reports From Baghdad

There’s more after the jump …

The American army attempting to subjugate Irak said in a statement today that five of its soldiers were killed and seven were injured yesterday when a bomb targeted their patrol, followed by an attack with light weapons and missiles The location where the American soldiers were killed and wounded was not specified in the American statement but it said that it took place in an area to the south of the Baghdad. The killing of the five soldiers brings the number of American soldiers killed since the beginning of the war led by the United States against Iraq in March 2003 until today, to 3565 dead according to official American data. Out of this number 89 were killed this month.

Seven mortar shells landed Friday afternoon in the Green Zone in the area where the American Center For Telling The Sand Niggers What To Do American “embassy” is located. No comment could be obtained immediately from the American invaders.

Four people were killed and 11 others wounded in a car bomb suicide bomb attack in the town of Tarmiyah north of Baghdad. The target was a an observation post and checkpoint most of the casualties were green zone government soldiers.

Miscellaneous Reports

Iraqi Charities have a feature encouraging Irakis to either start their own humanitarian initiative or to get involved with an NGO saying that “the emergence of hundreds of NGOs is the most effective means to alleviate human suffering” the writer encourages Irakis do whatever they can no matter how small. Citing Dr. Akram Al-Hamadani’s initiative two days ago of providing medical consultation services through the Internet as an example. Some say he goes on that the daily news of the bombing and killing, death and destruction will beset the Iraki people and that they will never wake from the trauma that besets them he denies this saying that you daily see Irakis demonstrating their magnanimity and deep love of their homeland by engaging in humanitarian works and helping their neighbours. Iraqi Charities offer their consulting and supports services to anyone who wants to do something good and beneficial, whether it is for help in to found a charity or organisation, or the promotion of the work, or helping them with publicising their work.

The green zone government is to receive 120 type T-72 tanks from NATO “as a gift”. The green zone government defense minister is currently paying a visit to Rome, during the visit he met the Commander of NATO forces who has agreed to supply Iraq with 120 type T 72 tanks. Getting in on the “charitable acts” the Italians have said they will build a new maritime fleet for the green zone government. The green zone government army which the writer in Aswat Al Iraq’s report characterises as “the suffering Iraqi army,” is subject to a severe shortage of equipment and supplies, especially of heavy vehicles. The former Iraki army was dissolved by the former American civil governor of Iraq, Paul Bremer, copious amounts of weaponry were taken from the armouries in the early days of the occupation as the American army was too busy guarding the Oil Ministry to think about the fact that a lot of POIs would turn up take the weaponry left littering the landscape by the Americans who generously blew open the doors of the more secure armouries and then departed. Bremer these days runs a consultancy specialising in providing anti-terrorist consultancy to American companies afraid that they are targets.

Samarra is to be included in the UNESCO list of threatened World Heritage sites according to Eyeiraq media company. Iraqi Charities also have a report on the designation. [The editors team for today is having a vigorous debate about whether we file this one under “massive understatements” or “Gosh they finally noticed”.]

Green zone government Political Reports:

The IPP (one of the three components) of the Accord Front said that the Front had suspended membership in the green zone government starting Friday to protest the decision to arrest the green zone government Culture Minister which it described as a political rather than a judicial decision. The withdrawal is seen by political analysts as a serious blow to Maliki’s attempts to portray his Da’wa and SIIC (SCIRI) led government as anything other than sectarian.

Reports From The Governorates

Al Anbar Governorate

An American armoured patrol was bombed In Haqlaniya, (3 kilometers south of Haditha) this afternoon the bombing resulted in serious damage to one of the patrol’s vehicles.

Green zone government police in Fallujah are mounting yet another recruitment drive. From tomorrow they will be holding a recruiting drive using the premises of Ibn Khaldoun elementary school to try to recruit 200 new green zone government policemen. It should be noted that the green zone government security forces have opened four centers for the recruitment of volunteers for the green zone government police forces since the start of the American security plan before about a month and a half ago two of these centers have been targeted by suicide bomber operations in each case leading to the deaths and wounding of dozens of would-be recruits.

At-Ta’mim (Kirkuk) Governorate

In four separate incidents in Kirkuk.

1. A policeman working out of the al-Shaab central police station was shot dead in Kirkuk.
2. A policeman working for the Directorate of Civil Police Rescue came under fire and was wounded in the attack.
3. Gunmen opened fire on a civilian in the area south of Kirkuk, wounding the civilian who was transferred to hospital to receive treatment.
4. A policeman was killed on Thursday night in an operation conducted in Taza south of Kirkuk to detain a gang suspected of killing three policemen last Wednesday, one member of the gang was killed and six detained.

Babil (Babylon) Governorate

The oil pipeline north of Hilla has been bombed (between Iskandariyah and Mouellah (60 km north of Hilla)). At least two devices were used. [This is an attack on the electrical system that pipeline transports crude to Baghdad’s Dora generator station and to the generator station in Musayyib, See also this report from McClatchy: Unguarded Iraqi pipelines easy targets for thieves, insurgents ]

Basra Governorate

The humanitarian crisis in Basrah is deepening and predicted to get considerably worse.

Basrah Governorates’ deputy governor Nassif Abadi issued an appeal to Baghdad for help dealing with the twenty thousand displaced families that have arrived so far in the province in the wake of the violence sweeping the country saying that they were “living in appalling conditions.” [Many of those families live in camps near Zubair where at present temperatures are higher than fifty degrees Celsius and will rise furthers many of them have not only lost their own loved ones but are sheltering orphans in conditions closely resembling those of the refugees in Somalia.]

All the British bases in Basrah were attacked using indirect fire in the last twenty four hours without any casualties or material damage.

Diyala Governorate

Armed men forced their way in a mosque in central Muqdadiya planted explosives charges and left. The mosque was completely destroyed. There were no human casualties because the mosque was empty following Friday prayers.

22 suspected gunmen were detained, and munitions impounded during Operation Arrowhead Ripper in Baqubah, 20 booby-trapped houses were also found, a green zone government army source said on Friday. The English language account of this spectacularly unimpressive set of results is here.

Karbala Governorate

Karbala festival of experimental theater opened today.

Ninawa Governorate

20:30
Three women murdered in Mosul today 29/6/2007 (INA)
According to a source in Nineveh Police, 3 women were murdered in Mosul today in two separate incidents. In the first incident, Laila Abbas and Labina Abbas were killed by gunmen who forced entry to a house belongs to a relative of the victims in Al-Mithaq district, Mosul left bank. The other murder took place in Al-Mosul Al-Jadida district, south part of Mosul, where another woman called Najat Kareem was assassinated, again by unknown gunmen

Source: Mosul Observer

Salah ad Din Governorate

Report From IRIN | IRAQ: Samarra security crackdown making life difficult for students

BAGHDAD, 28 June 2007 (IRIN) - In a bid to restore order in the northern city of Samarra after the bombing of its prized Shia shrine, 6,000 Iraqi soldiers and police have been deployed there, making it difficult for residents to go about their normal life. Local officials said nearly half of the security forces have been stationed in three schools and students have consequently been shut out. Read full report

Wasit Governorate

In Kut the body of a university professor in who had been abducted yesterday was found in the al-Ezza region of southwestern Kut.

An American armoured patrol that was returning to the American base near the city was bombed near the al-Zahraa hospital in the northern part of the city a Hummer was destroyed by the blast.

Ten unidentified corpses were buried in the cemetery that has been set aside for the purpose on the outskirts of Kut after having been found in the Tigris River north of the town of Suwayrah in the north of the province. All were bodies of men wearing military clothing.

Indexed under: Al Anbar (Governorate), Babil (Governorate), Badr Brigade, Baghdad, Baghdad (Governorate), Basrah, Bombings, Child Poverty, Disputed Areas, Diyala, Electricity Crisis (Irak), Follow Up, Haditha, Hilla, Joint Postings, Karbala, Kirkuk, Kirkuk (At-Ta'mim) Governorate, Kufa, Mosul, Ninawa (Governorate), Refugees, Samarra, Scenes From An Iraki Childhood, Tikrit, Wasit, Women and Children