2007 Year In Review January 1st to April 30th
January
- Sheik Hamed Mohammed Suhail al-Tamimi kidnapped while attending a funeral near Abu Ghraib taken to al-Shula and thrown from the top of a building-
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- Baghdad’s police chief Major General Ali al-Yasseri survived an attempted assassination attempt by car bomb in Karrada one civilian killed six people wounded, including three members of the police chief protection force.
- Maliki announces “Fard Qanoon”
- Battle of Haifa Street begins - 30 fighters killed in pitched battle with green zone government troops, in the first day of fighting, 4 times that number were killed over the course of the fighting which lasted 4 days.
- 27 corpses found in near the Sheikh Maarouf cemetery in the central Baghdad area of al-Allawi.
- Iraqi journalist’s body found in Baghdad.
- Green Zone Government Deny That Badr Brigade And Peshmerga Will Take Part In Forthcoming Attack On Baghdad.
- Displaced families in the capital, Baghdad, pleaded with the Iraki Red Crescent Society to continue supporting people displaced as a result of violence. The Red Crescent suspended its activities in Baghdad after 36 people were abducted, 30 of them Red Crescent staff members, on 17 December, 2006.
- IOM Iraq estimates that more than 250,000 people have been displaced in central and southern Iraq since 22 February, with about 1,000 people being displaced on a daily basis over the past few months.
- The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) warns that the scale of internal displacement in Iraq was beyond the capacity of humanitarian agencies, including UNHCR.
- Death In A Garbage Dump.
- A plane carrying 35 people crashed during landing at Balad airstrip near Baghdad yesterday, killing 32 and injuring one, with the remaining passengers missing.
The plane was trying to land at a US military base 80 kilometers north of Baghdad when it crashed. The Moldova-registered Antonov-26 plane had taken off from an airport in Turkey’s southern city of Adana and was carrying construction workers from the Kulak construction company. Adana Governor Cahit Kirac said preliminary reports suggested that the crash was due to bad weather. - 11 pilgrims returning from the haj ambushed and murdered by gunmen who ambushed the convoy of pilgrims on a desert road 120 km west of Karbala.
- U.S. forces took over a residential complex in Rawa town, Anbar province, as a new base.
- Jaffari gave the game away.
- Bush announces new strategy, the “surge”, that includes an additional 20,000 troops.
- Al-Shorja arson attack.
- Al Anbar : Al Qaim : Communications Centre Taken Over And Blown Up - Fighters took over the communications centre in Al Qaim they took the guards prisoner placed explosives and blew it up.
January 14 2007
- 80 unidentified murder victims whose bodies were found in Baghdad buried in Karbala.
- The botched hanging of Barzan al-Tikriti by the green zone government who used the western method of hanging resulting in his decapitation caused disgust even among those with reason to hate him.
- Baghdad municipal council reports that more 600 Baghdad municipal employees have been killed and a far larger number wounded. Street cleaners are particular targets.
- At least 15 civilians were killed and 33 others wounded on Wednesday afternoon when a car bomb was detonated in Sadr city.
- Sixty-five people are killed in car bombing of Al-Mustansiriya University.
- At least two policemen were killed and 39 others were wounded on Wednesday when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged car outside a police station in central Kirkuk.
- An armed group on Wednesday kidnapped the municipality chief of Baghdad’s district of al-Mansour and killed four bodyguards.
- Students and lecturers at Mustansiriyah University in Baghdad have formed a task force to clean up the damage caused by the bombing in which at least 60 students and staff lost their lives and 132 were wounded. Also in Baghdad the casualty toll from the bombing of the bus station at mid morning is now risen to 3 known dead and 17 known injured - all civilians. In Baghdad the green zone government announced that they would install 4 check points with surveillance cameras to control monitor main entrances to the capital for traffic from the provinces.
- First Chlorine bomb.
- Interview With Moqtada Al Sadr - Translated by Parvati Roma of DarkMirror
- 13 American troops killed in helicopter downing.
- Five U.S. soldiers were killed and three others wounded in an attack on the Karbala Provincial Joint Coordination Center (PJCC)
Massive series of bombings on markets in Baghdad.
The massive bombings in central Baghdad are the main story of the day. So far there have been three updates posted, mostly of increases to the toll of dead and wounded. At the time of writing the toll from these two bombings alone was:
- At least 115 dead.
- At least 170 wounded
The bombs at Saadoun St. in al-Bab al-Sharqi exploded in sequence at 12:30 and 12:32 and were cascaded - timed to cause panic, maximum devastation, and casualties amongst those present. The location in one of the busiest parts of central Baghdad is important to understand not only the scale of devastation but the purpose of the attacks:
- There are two markets involved, the area is predominantly Shia but what is important is that the markets involved are so important that their customers come from all over Baghdad and are a mix of both Sunni and Shia.
- al-Haraj.
- al-Sanak
- Both markets are close to al-Tahrir Square and Tayaran squares.
- The al-Haraj bomb was in a parked car it exploded at 12:30.
- The al-Sanak bomb exploded two minutes later as the driver drove into the milling crowd .
- Battle of Najaf.
- The spokesman said “Iraqi security forces clashed on Sunday at dawn with followers of an armed group called “Supporters of Ahmed al-Hassan” just outside Najaf.”
The fierce clashes erupted, the spokesman pointed out, when the security forces raided al-Zarga area to arrest Ahmed al-Hassan.
“The area is now under siege by the Iraqi forces backed by U.S. troops,” Deiabil added.
Earlier, a security said Iraqi security forces clashed on Sunday at dawn with followers of an armed group called “Supporters of Ahmed al-Hassan” in the Shiite sacred city of Najaf.
The security source added “the assault was to arrest the group leader Ahmed al-Hassan but the strong resistance led the Iraqi forces to ask for support from the U.S. troops.”
According to the agreement that transferred the security responsibility to the Iraqi army in Najaf on December 25, the Iraqi security forces may ask for support from the U.S. forces.
He added “the U.S. forces immediately took part in the offensive while U.S. choppers and warplanes bombed the resistance pockets in the area.”
“The clashes left casualties from the two sides (the forces and the followers),” said the source but declined to give a specific figure.
“Ahmed al-Hassan Supporters” is an extremist Shiite armed group that sought leadership over other Shiite groups after its leader claimed to be a deputy of the Shiite twelfth Imam, the Awaited Mahdi.
Al-Zarga area, the stronghold of Ahmed al-Hassan Supporters, is a rural area that is located outside the Shiite sacred city of Najaf.
Only last week, Iraqi security forces launched a wide-scale campaign to stem this extremist group
- The spokesman said “Iraqi security forces clashed on Sunday at dawn with followers of an armed group called “Supporters of Ahmed al-Hassan” just outside Najaf.”
- Six mortar rounds landed shortly before noon on al-Khulood secondary school for girls in al-Adel neighborhood, killing five students and wounding over 20.
- al-Qahira bombing.
February
February 3 2007:
- Al Sadriya bombing a minimum of 130 people killed and 305 severely wounded according to hospital sources. See: What will we talk about today you and I? for an eye-witness account in English of the aftermath by a Gorilla’s Guides team member.
February 9, 2007:
- The UK Independent reports: Iraqi insurgents offer peace in return for US concessions
February 12, 2007:
- Al-Askari bombing (Golden Dome) anniversary.
- Al-Shorja market bombed 76 known dead, minimum 180 hospitalised. See: “Have a nice surge“
February 14, 2007:
- Operation Fard Qanoon officially begins.
February 18, 2007:
- 2 phase bomb attack near the al-Baydaa cinema “New Baghdad,” southeast of Baghdad. Early casualties reports said 67 dead and 143 wounded. The toll rose over the next few days as wounded patients died. Earlier during February 18th day Bush’s mouthpiece American Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice had boasted the success of the puppet government’s “security plan.”
February 23, 2007:
March
March 3, 2007:
- Al-Mutanabi Street bombing early reports gave the toll as 35 and wounded 65.
- American start to intensify operations against Sadr City.
- Water supply crisis in Kirkuk continues.
March 6, 2007:
- Arbaeen massacre. Gorilla’s Guides team member and co-founder Laith Abu Mohammed murdered in this attack. His wife dies of her wounds the next day. They are survived by their remaining three children one of whom Mohammed Ibn Laith also writes for Gorilla’s Guides. Hussayn Ibn Laith died the previous month as he rain with his rescue team
March 8, 2007:
- British forces hand over their base in the Shatt Al-Arab hotel in Basrah to local forces.
- al-Aarsat crossroads bombing - one of three targeting pilgrims kills 32 and wounds 24. The combined toll of the three bombings was 47 people and 35 hospitalised for treatment of their wounds.
March 19, 2007:
- Haidar Mahmoud.
- March 19, 2007:
- Iraq… four years after invasion
March 20, 2007:
- Bush Highlights Tal Afar as Example of Progress in Iraq (US State Dept):
- President Discusses War on Terror and Operation Iraqi Freedom (White House Transcript)
“The success of Tal Afar also shows how the three elements of our strategy in Iraq — political, security, and economic — depend on and reinforce one another. By working with local leaders to address community grievances, Iraqi and coalition forces helped build the political support needed to make the military operation a success. The military success against the terrorists helped give the citizens of Tal Afar security, and this allowed them to vote in the elections and begin to rebuild their city. And the economic rebuilding that is beginning to take place is giving Tal Afar residents a real stake in the success of a free Iraq. And as all this happens, the terrorists, those who offer nothing but destruction and death, are becoming marginalized.”
See: March 27/28 below
March 21, 2007:
- “We were walking and then my mother and father exploded. it was a bomb and a car went up in flames, I was there.” — 6 year old Sayed describing the death of his parents. Video report with interviews with some of Baghdad’s orphans.
March 22, 2007:
- UN Secretary general Ban Ki-moon visits green zone within seconds of green zone government prime minister who was standing next to him at the press conference telling reporters that Ban’s visit was a sign that Irak was becoming more stable the press conference was katyushaed.
- IRAQ: Insurgency paralyses life in Diyala (IRIN)
- War… a nightmare or reality for Iraq Children
March 25, 2007:
March 26, 2007:
March 27, 2007:
- TAL AFAR - At least 50 people were killed and 120 wounded in two truck bomb attacks in the northwestern town of Tal Afar. One of the blasts was detonated by a suicide bomber who lured victims to his truck to buy wheat, the town’s mayor and police chief said. The second exploded in a used car lot.
The death toll was later revised to 63.
March 28, 2007:
- Revenge attacks for previous day’s bombing leave more than 70 dead.
“TAL AFAR - Shi’ite gunmen stormed a Sunni district in Tal Afar overnight, killing 50 or more men in apparent reprisal for truck bombings on Tuesday, Iraqi officials said. Major-General Khorshid Saleem, the head of the Third Army Division in Tal Afar, said the death toll was 70, with 30 wounded and 40 kidnapped. The prime minister ordered an inquiry into reports the gunmen included policemen, an official in his office said.”
- “Tal Afar is quickly becoming a symbol of the failure of US policy in Iraq.
March 29, 2007:
- KHALIS - At least three suicide car bombers launched almost simultaneous attacks in a mainly Shi’ite town, killing 53 people and wounding 103, police said. The blasts took place in Khalis, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad.
- BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber killed at least 62 people and wounded 27 in a market in the Shaab district of northern Baghdad, police sources said. Most of the victims were women and children who had been out shopping in the crowded market in the Shi’ite district, a health ministry official said.
- Scenes From An Iraki Childhood March 29th 2007
April
April 1, 2007
April 2, 2007
- The Iraki Red Crescent Society opens a refugee camp in Mosul for 25 families forced to flee Tal Afar first by the massive Tal Afar bombing and then the massacre of inhabitants by Iraki “police” loyal to the green zone government. The encampment consists of 100 tents. Green zone government spokesmen claim that 4 al-Qaeda gunmen killed, 21 arrested in clashes in Talafar
- Americans bomb Sadr City.
- The fuel situation in Diyala became so bad that fuel rations were transferred from Wasit.
- .U.S. Cargo Transport Plane Reported As Shot Down By Missile
- Relocation of Arabs from Kirkuk could trigger violence
- The botched US raid that led to the hostage crisis
- Numerous other incidents.
April 4, 2007
April 8, 2007
April 8, 2007
April 9, 2007
April 10, 2007:
- Several names but it remains occupation
- Dreamers of change in Amara wake up to occupation nightmare By Nazar Radhi
- Scenes from an Iraki Childhood April 10 2007
The Katyusha rocket attack on the Palestine Street Boys School today killed one of the pupils, a six year old boy and wounded 17 other people. Two teachers and 15 pupils. the school is close to close to al-Mustansiriyah University where a bomb also exploded today. That bombing killed at least 6 people and wounded at least 11. Click here to see full size graphic.
Key to the the graphic:
- A boy looks at the damage to his school. Pupils check their classroom after the rocket attack.
- A boy collects his books after a rocket landed at his schoolyard
- A pupil points at a bloodied school book after the rocket attack.
- Karar Juma is 12 years-old he is seen here comforted by his mother in al-Kindi hospital. Karar was among 17 wounded when the Katushya rocket hit the school basketball court .
- Salwan Nima is 13-years-old he is seen here being comforted by his mother in al-Kindi hospital. Salwan was among the 17 wounded when the Katushya rocket hit the school basketball court.
April 11, 2007
- Compare and Contrast Part 1 - The Iraki Red Crescent and The ICRC
- Compare and Contrast Part 2 - “Let’s hope they’re not waiting for the Americans to fix it”
- Compare and Contrast Part 3 - Humanitarian catastrophe looms in Diwaniyah
April 12, 2007
- “You feel completely desperate when your children and you do not have enough to eat and you must depend from ration hand out to ration hand out to be able to feed them.”
- Al Sarafiyah bridge bombing demolishes bridge.
- Green zone parliament bombed.
April 14, 2007
- “I was scared because I thought any minute he would catch me and cut my head off. I ran a lot but the man was a good runner” — 12- year-old Salah, recalling a kidnap attempt.
We particularly would like to thank Gordo of Appletree for persuading other bloggers to publicise this report to link to aid organisations, and to open their hearts.
Thank You.
Nur, Um Thalit, Hassan, & Maryam
for the team at Gorilla’s Guides.
April 15, 2007
I have not been able to find out if the child who owned this teddy bear was one of the wounded. I pray not. I pray that God kept them safe. — Posting by team member Zeynab Bint Hassan, murdered in the al-Sanak bombing of June 19th 2007.
April 17, 2007
- Red Cross Red Crescent - appeal to help displaced Iraqis in Syria and Jordan
- Iraqi aidworkers put their lives on the line
- Thousands without food and supplies due to failing distribution system
- 17 decayed bodies found in Ramadi Schoolyard
“Yes this is a schoolyard. It is in al-Bakr neighbourhood in central Ramadi. Yes those are schoolchildren. Yes that is a dead body in their schoolyard.
It is one of seventeen dead bodies found in their schoolyard to be precise.
Yes they look very disgusted. So would you be. You have never smelt a body after it’s been dead a few days?I have.”
April 18, 2007: How Do You Say “Mission Accomplished” In Chinese? Extract:
- Update to Zeynab’s posting yesterday “17 decayed bodies found in Ramadi Schoolyard” a further 25 decomposing bodies have been removed from the schoolyard today.
- Sadr City: al-Muthafar square- at least 30 dead at least 45 wounded. The toll is still rising.
- Al Sadriyah: At least 123 dead at least 168 wounded. Toll still rising. Many women and children dead.
- Karrada: 10 dead and 15 wounded. The bomb was near a popular restaurant. Some of the wounded are in critical the death toll is expected to rise.
- Partial List Of Iraki Blood Shed Today In The War Brought To Irak By The American Government:
- Falujah American armoured transport destroyed in bombing.
- Sheikh Ali Hussein al-Bayati, leader of Sadrisr office in Khalis district, along with 11 Mahdi army militiamen, including al-Bayati’s brother illegaly detained without charge by American soldiers.
- Two brothers were shot dead in Mosul and seven mutilated bodies were found in various parts of the governorate.
- In two separate incidents in Mosul a senior green zone government police officer has been assasinated together with 4 of his family who were also green zone government police. In the second incident a lieutenant and three of his patrol was killed by a bomb as they came from Sharqat Qayyarah, south-west of Mosul.
- The British illegal invaders handed over their “control” of Maysan to their Iraki underlings. A judge in Kirkuk survived an assasination attempt one of his bodyguards was wounded.
- The bodies of Mahmoud Dahham, Mohammed Dahham, and Mahdi Saleh were found. They had bullet wounds and were gagged and blindfolded and bound and bearing signs of torture. They were three construction workers kinapped two days ago in the district of Al-Huwayjah 70 Kilometres south of Kirkuk. 5 people were wounded in the mortar attack in Tal Afar.
- Bodies are still being found under the rubble of the buildings destroyed in the massive bomibing attack in Tal Afar which was followed by green zone government police going on a rampage and slaughtering civilians 3 weeks (22 days) ago. Today the body of a woman civilian was recovered.
- The suicide bomber who detonated the explosives strapped to his body this afternoon near a police vehicle patrol in al-Gayarah district (close to Mosul) wounded 7 civilians. The home of a police officer who had earlier appeared on television was completely razed to the ground by a bomb today. The house, close to Mosul, was empty at the time. The same report says that a teacher has been detained on unrelated charges.
- Karbala Governorate Council condemned storming the illegal storming of the house of one of its members by the American forces on Saturday.
- The green zone government said its forces killed 23 people in Diyala close to Muqdadiyah today in a joint operation with American invader forces.
- The homes of 3 prominent members of the separatist “Virtue” party were bombed today in Basrah.
- An American armoured vehicle was set on fire by a bomb and the American invader base “camp Echo” came under rocket attack today.
- The were the usual mortar attacks on American bases around Fallujah. An American armoured vehicle was destroyed by a bomb in Fallujah.
April 19, 2007
- As they have done so often before the Americans opened fire on the rescuers: See also: Securing The Scene - Update
April 23, 2007
April 24, 2007
April 25, 2007
April 28, 2007
- 4 Red Crescent Workers Killed In Baghdad Attack
- There has been a bombing close to the Imam Abbas Shrine in Karbala that is about 250-300 metres from the tomb of Imam Hussein. Reports are still coming in however the main hospital in Karbala says they have so far received 50+ bodies and 70+ wounded.
- Karbala bombing:
“It is now clear that:The bomb in Karbala set on fire many surrounding cars.
1. This bombing is in exactly the same place as the last major bombing in Karbala.
2. The method was identical — a suicide car bomb.
3. The bomb was timed to catch people as they made their way to eveining prayers.
The last bombing was on April 14th and killed 47 people and wounded 224.” - Karbala Bombing Update 4
“Aqeel Khaz’alii spokesman for Karbala Governorate has denied eyewitness reports that citizens angry that yet another bombing has taken place in the same place and using the same method as last Saturday’s bombing have attacked the governor’s home in Karbala.
Five people were killed by green zone government security forces during the protests following the last bombing.
The death toll is now 60 dead and 170 wounded and rising.” - Karbala Bombing Updates 5 & 6
“The toll from the bombing is still rising. Kadhim Salim of Karbala governorate health directorate has confirmed that many of the wounded are in critical condition.He confirmed also that at least twenty of the dead are women and that many of the dead are severely mutilated.
Soldiers of the American army of occupation and troops loyal to the green zone government have surrounded:
1. The Iranian consulate in Karbala. (The consulate building in Qublat Al-Imam Al-Hussein)
2. The governorate’s governor’s residence.
3. Various government buildings.They are anticipating violent protests in the wake of the second major bombing in Karbala this month. There are crowds on the streets chanting slogans against the local (provincial/governorate) government. They are protesting that this is the second incident of its kind in two weeks the car bomb that exploded in front of the bus station and market (750 m west of Imam Hussein’s shrine) 47 people and wounded 224.
Ayatollah Mohamed Taqi Al-Madrasi has issued a statement condemning the bombing and calling on the citizenry of Karbala to: “Form security committees to protect themselves after the failure of security agencies in the performance of their duty to protect against large operations in the city in less than a month. “
- Red Crescent Workers Update:
Gunmen in a minibus attacked a minivan this morning on the main Sayida to Bayaa road in al-Bayaa neighbourhood five civilians on board the bus were killed a sixth was wounded. (Gor: location verified this earlier story (and Annas) - Hassan)
Update: to Maryam’s posting 4 Red Crescent Workers Killed In Baghdad Attack posted earlier today.
Hassan Abu Omar
Further Update
They were on their way to Damascas to coordinate some work and desperately needed refugee supplies with the Syrian Red Crescent
Maryam
April 29, 2007
April 30, 2007
02/01/2008 at 4:00 am Permalink
Thank you to the Guides team for this valuable resource!
With hopes that 2008 brings justice for the Iraqi people.
…S