• 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

1. 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.
2. 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.

   

3. 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:

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.

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 )

Doctors, nurses, administrators, and all other staff in Fallujah hospital have gone on indefinite strike after the second episode in as many months in which the American controlled, directed, trained, and financed, green zone forces and police in Fallujah supported by American troops violently stormed the hospital, severely beat staff, and destroyed equipment and supplies. 

The strike was called as the result of an attack on members of the rescue crews by green zone forces and green zone police. The police and militia beat the doctors and staff, smashed doors and windows and destroyed quantities of  hospital supplies.

Accroding to the young doctor in the hospital who alerted the news agency to this latest attack the attackers:

“justified their attacks on the pretext that hospital staff treated the gunmen inside it”

(Medical staff have been repeatedly the target of such attacks and he declined to give his name.)

Previously all Red Crescent workers in Fallujah had ceased operations in Fallujah because of repeated such attacks upon them.

On May 1st there was a similar attack on Naaman hospital in Adhamiya Baghdad,  - the same Adhamiya that the Americans have walled off. During that episode all patients, except for three in the intensive care unit who were too desperately ill to be unhooked from their respirators, were ejected from the hospital onto the street, sometimes violently, and snipers were posted on the roof.

Today’s attack follows the pattern set during the initial assault of Fallujah, the bombing of the field clinic in AL-Qaim, the storming and occupation of the hospital in Haditha, to name but three similar attacks on medical facilities and personnel.

Readers familiar with the behaviour of American troops under the command of Generals Petraeus and Odierno during their previous tours of duty in Irak will be doubtless be as unsurpised as I am that this vicious, criminal, and ugly pattern of activity has reestablished itself.

markfromireland

Taji Attack

The American invasion forces in Irak have admitted that one of their helicopters was destroyed on the ground and nine others were damaged in Sunday’s missile/artillery attack on Camp Taji, north of Baghdad. This is the first time they have confirmed such losses.

Commentary:

This attack isn’t particularly important in and of itself. It is however an important indicator of the increasing loss of control of the terrain by American forces and should be take in context with other recent attacks. The report says:

This is the first time for the U.S. army to announce the destruction of some of its helicopters, which were landed at one of its bases, as a result of a missile or artillery attack since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.

Losing a number of military aircraft during the past few months, U.S. military officials have started to consider the possibility of a change in the types of arms used by Iraqi armed groups against the U.S troops.

(emphasis added)

The U.S: invasion forces in Irak have consistently underestimated their opponents skill and numbers. This attack like the recent mortar attacks on the green zone indicate a considerable level of technical skill on the part of the attackers. The skill comes from the fact that they are by now very experienced and well-trained - indeed many of them were that to start off with. They have been given the time and opportunity to enchance those skills and pass them on to others.

• You don’t need to change armaments when what you have is working and working well. Doing so is likely to be counterproductiive.

  some examples:

• All you need to shoot down a helicopter is for it to be within range and a very slightly adapted RPG.
• All you need for a well planned and executred bridge demolition is access to the bridge over a period of time.
• All you need for a well executed series of time on target barrages of the green zone is the time to set them up. Mortars are primarily an area denial weapon and that’s what they’re being used as.
• All you need for a well executed mortar barrage on Taji is the time to set it up and calibrate your weapons.
• All you need to blow up American armour is technology that’s been well understood literally for centuries.
• All you need to overrun a patrol and capture some of its members is the time to set up the attack and the knowledge that your target won’t be able to call in timely assistance.

Technically adept commanders keep it simple and don’t introduce complicated new weaponry in the midst of battle. What American troops are facing is a highly skilled and flexible set of foes commanded by techically adept and flexible commanders who are operating in a target rich environment against an overstretched, out-thought, and increasingly out-fought invasion force. 

That these attacks are increasing in scale, frequency, complexity, and size is an indication not of new weaponry but rather of an increasingly experienced and confident set of foes.

Hassan Abu Omar, Hussein Al-Bayati, markfromireland, Saba Ali. 

Further Reports:

The green zone government interior ministry has pubished an order for the licensing of fire arms. Citizens are required to register at any police station of Interior ministry office between May 30th 2007 and August 30th 2007 after that period unregistered arms are subject to confiscation and their owners to prosecution. There are also provisions for civil servants and protection personnel to be licensed. The measure is bein introduced as part of Fard Qanoon.

(Maybe, just maybe, that “law” passed by Bremer mandating the possession of firearms in every Iraki home was a seriously fucking stupid idea from a seriously fucking stupid self-styled “terrorism expert” (and boot fetishist) who ran what has to be one of the most corrupt and inept regimes ever seen anywhere and who is now busy trying to cash in on his time in Irak by running an anti-terrorsim commercial consultancy - markfromireland) 

The green zone government has agreed with Iran to start laying oil pipelinea between the two countries to export Iraki oil to the Iranian refineries in Abadan. Capacity is to be more than 200.000 barrels per day of Iraki crude oil to Iran. (The agreeement is on terms highly favourable to Iran as Iraki capacity was decimated first by the American invasion and then by the complete failiure of the invasion forces to protect the country’s oil infrastructure while simultaneously handing out large no-bid contracts to American firms such as Haliburton with strong connctions to American vice-president Cheney.)

Kirkuk:

Turkoman and Arab tribes have rejected the application of Article (140) in Kirkuk.

The body of Emad Ahmed Sharif was discovered near Kirkuk, three abductees were found and freed from a cave in the Hamrin mountains.

Six car bombs exploded yesterday evening in various parts of the city of Mosul at least 4 green zone government policemen were killed, at least 14 green zone government police were woulded, at least 16 civilians were wounded. At least 15 gunmen were killed in the fighting that broke out yesterday in the city. The city is still under curfew and local reports say that a massive operation is underway. The local green zone government police forces deputy commander Brigadier Mohammad Abdul Aziz al-Wakaa has claimed in a statement that 300 fighters have been detained during this sweep. There are still no indications of who bombed the Badoush bridge.

Yasser Jabr President of the Municipal District of Diyala escaped death this morning in an assasination attempt as he was being driven to work from his home in Zafaraniyah his driver was seriously wounded.

In Basrah an armed group kidnapped two women from their home in the north of the city, the joint coordination center in the centre of the city came under sustained attack by fighters armend with light weapons again today. Abdul Karim Kadim Matshar a major in the Interior ministry police was shot dead along with his two sons in Al-Zubair district of (30 km west of the city).

The bombing in Amarah of council offices caused no casualties. Four gunmen attacked a police patrol in central Amarah, two attackers were seriously wounded the other two were captured three members of the patrol were wounded during the clash.

Najaf:

The situation in Najaf continues to deteriorate rapidly:

• This mornings bombing in Najaf near the Al-Husseinwaste disiposal point (2 km north of the city) seriously injured a cleaner who was clearing a waster container, he died later of his wounds in hospital. The other 2 people who was wounded in this bombing are not seriously wounded and were sent from hospital.
• There was a  bombing yesterday 40Km west of Najaf yesterday.
• Also this moring several unidentified bodies were found on the Najaf - Karbala road.
• Last Sunday’s bombing killed 4 green zone government police.
• There have been protests in Najaf, Karbala, and Kufa, at the ineffectiveness of the SIIC dominated security services. Also the local authorities have not paid many of the police.

Dhi Qar:

Eleven were killed and seventy others wounded in the fighting that flared up between SIIC(SCIRI) dominated police forces and Sadrist fighters in al-Nassiriyah . An uneasy truce now prevails following a peace agreement negotiated by clerics led by Ayatollah al-Yaqubi, tribal chiefs, and political figures in the city who initiated efforts to contain the crisis and settle the dispute. (Ayatollah al-Yaqubi is the spiritual leader of the Fadhila party. - markfromireland)  The main heads of the truce agreement are:

• The police forces are the only body responsible for security in the city.
• The police withdraw from Sadrist office in Nassiriyah.
• No further armed appearances (rallys) in the city.
• Jaish al Mahdi agree not to carry arms on the city streets.

(Readers will note the similarity to the other truce agreements such as the one in Diwaniyah which markfromireland wrote about here on Tuesday, September 19, 2006 see also: December 23rd News From Iraq Translated and Summarised From Arabic by the late Laith Abu Mohammed, For Once I Believe General Casey (Diwaniyah Update) and “If fighting erupts again, and this is very likely, we will have a very bad situation” - Hussein Al-Bayati)
Maliki has “vowed to act strictly” in the matter following a meeting of The Political Council for National Security.  ( The council consists of Irak’s president, the premier, the speaker of the parliament, the two vice presidents, the premier’s two deputies, president of the  Kurdistan region, the head of the supreme court and heads of the parliamentarian blocs.)

Brigadier Najib Abdullah Alehyale, director of the joint operations room at the Diyala police command survived a determined assassination attempt against his convoy in Baquba this afternoon one of his bodyguards was wounded. There has been a noticeable increase in the numbers of bodys found recently.

Late breaking news:

• 11 people wounded 2 killed mortar attacks Baghdad. Police patrol attacked 2 patrol members killed one wounded.
• Colonel Faraj al-Maliki died of his wounds shortly after being shot at his home in Gaza, Amarah Maysan’s capital this evening.
• 30 bodies were recovered in Baghdad today 25 of them from various parts of al-Karkh.
• The American base at Rustumiyyah came under mortar attack this evening.
• An armed group wearing Iraqi army uniforms abducted 12 civilians on the Kirkuk-Baghdad road north-east of Baquba.
• Gunmen set fire to two homes of families who had fled Al Ba’iaa, Baghdad, threatening to shoot neighbours who approached to extinguish the flames.
• The armed robbery in Baqubah today is now known to have have netted one billion Iraqi dinars.
• Three bodys one of them of a woman were recovered in Baqubah. A hospital employee was shot. 
• An electrical engineer working in Basrah university was shot as he left work this evening.

Joint posting prepared by:

Hassan Abu Omar, Hussein Al-Bayati, markfromireland, Saba Ali. 

Casualties from the bombing of the police patrol close to the al-Sulaymaniya Restaurant in Wathba Square near at the entrance al-Sadriyah marketplace are now confirmed at 12 dead and 41 wounded. 9 of the dead are civilians and three are police of the confirmed wounded 37 are civilians and 4 police. The toll is still rising. This market has been bombed repeatedly.

the site where three
members of a family
were killed in Sadr City,
Sunday, May 13, 2007.
A U.S. military helicopter
opened fire at a family
sleeping on their rooftop,
killing a mother and
two children and injuring
two other children,
Iraqi police said.

Gunmen attacked Ahram flour mills in the Aweirij industrial estate  killing five workers and injuring four others. The estate, in Southern Baghdad is close to several “hotspots” and several factories there are now closed. There is an English language version of the report of this incident here.

Three green zone government soldiers were killed and seven others were wounded in a combat mission undertaken as part of the “Fard Qanoon” (”Surge”) according to the Baghdad operations command. The statement also said that 111 suspected militants had been detained and 10Kg of TNT impounded. Acting on received information from residents about a truck parked in front of the Musab bin Umair mosque in the Ur district bomb disposal experts neutralised a massive device. 

The Dawa Party chose Nouri al-Maliki as secretary general, the government funded al-Iraqiya TV reported today. (This means he has taken over Ibrahim al-Jaafari’s role in the party leadership - Hassan ) The interior ministry claiming to be concerned for the hman rights of victims and the bereaved and the safety of journalists is to prevent journalists from approaching the scene of bombings and other attacks. An English language version of this report is here.

A massive search operation is underway in Mahmoudiya and close by districts to try find the 3 American soldiers captured yesterday in an attack on their patrol. (There are several reports that they have been captured by an Al-Qaeda cell and that an Al-Qaeda linked group has issued a statement saying they have the three. - Hassan)

Doctor Mahdi Saleh Ani a specialist in treating broken bones in the local hospital was shot dead in central Fallujah. An American patrol was bombed in a village 3 kilometres south of Fallujah this afternoon. Eyewitness reports say the explosion caused an APC to catch fire.

The casualties of the bombing of the KDP offices in Makhmor stand at 115 wounded, and 32 dead. Among the dead are Brigadier Salim Saleh, a police chief in the district, 10 of the wounded are said to be in serious condition. The Arabic report for this incident is here. The English language report is here.

Brigadier Khaled Suleiman commander for the Mundhiriyah border point (near Khanaqin it is a border crossing point  between Iran and Iraq) escaped an assasination by gunmen who ambushed his convoy near Khanaqin.

The joint coordination centre in Basra city centre came under heavy attack at dawn today.

A policeman’s home was bombed in Kut last night, he escaped unharmed two of his family were wounded, the same report adds that two unidentified bodies were retrieved from the river northwest of the city.

(And that is all for tonight as Aswat Al Iraq’s database - appears to have run into difficulties.)

Hassan Abu Omar

Hassan Abu Omar

BAGHDAD, 13 May 2007 (IRIN) - Ten-year-old Majdy Imad says he cannot stand being an orphan anymore. After losing his parents and two sisters on 17 November, 2006 in sectarian killings, he was taken to an overcrowded, under-resourced Baghdad orphanage - a move that forced him to leave his school.

Photo: Afif Sarhan/IRIN

Majdy Imad, 10, lost his parents and two sisters last year in sectarian killings

Majdy has only one relative; an uncle who lives outside Iraq. Majdy cries every time he remembers his family. Desperate for love and care, he told IRIN that sometimes he thinks it would have been better if he had been killed with his family rather than enduring the life he is leading now.

“I need someone to take care of me because I can’t stand the life of an orphan anymore. I am used to being loved, which I don’t find here in the orphanage.

“My parents and sisters were killed in our home when a gang forced them to leave the house. When they refused, they were all shot dead. No one was there to help them.

“At the time, I was at a friend’s house. He had a birthday party and after insisting a lot, my father agreed to take me there - and I think it was because God wanted me to survive.

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The 25 April statement came a day after a fire swept through the al-Tanf refugee camp - which hosts 389 Palestinian refugees, mainly women and children - during the night and left 28 people injured and seven tents destroyed.

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Key to the photos:

1. A teacher shows one of the dead boy’s schoolbooks with his blood on it.
2. Many Iraki schools have shared desks. In the second photograph the dead boys classroom companion is shown sitting alone. After his classmate’s death.

Both photographs were taken April 25th 2007 by Ali Jasim.

Hassan Abu Omar
Baghdad
Irak

Mission Accomplished.

Update:

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.

Some of Today’s Part of The Price Paid By We Iraki Sand Niggers In The War Brought To Irak By America

Here is some of the price of the oil law written for America’s benefit paid by Irakis 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.

Checkpoint bombing: 2 dead 8 wounded. Not many details yet.

Update:

A second suicide bombing there seems to haver been foiled.

The bombing of the Iraqi Islamic Party in Ameriya, Ghazaliya,  Baghdad,  resulted in a number of dead and wounded.

The green zone government interior ministry announced it was investigating 150 suspects in the bombing of the green zone parliament last week. Some are workers in the “parliament” and others are security personnel.

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. (It seems that this is a second incident so I am reporting - Hassan)

How Do You Say “Mission Accomplished” In Chinese?

The Chinese Ambassador said after his meeting today that the understandings onfuture cooperation between Irak and Chinaa were well underway.

The number of admitted American invader deaths in Irak today reached 3311 - the American government should keep its troops in America where they belong. 61 of those 3311 death havve taken place this month.

My mobile phone has stopped working and all three batterys for my computer need to be recharged - I will not be able to do further updates to this posting tonight and may not be able to post tomorrow as scheduled if I cannot get fuel for the generator - will the replacement editors for tomorrow please check their email .

Hassan Abu Omar
Baghdad
Irak

April 18 2007

Hassan Abu Omar

Anbar

• In al Anbar green zone government police killed one fisherman and wounded another in a village 5km west of the city the city of Hit. 
• The American base in the city of Fallujah was attacked today.
• Despite the curfew in Fallujah at least 4 people were murdered. 4 unidentified bodies were found in Tharthar street in the town centre.
• Also despite the curfew Mohammed al-Ajami, a member of the local council of the city of Fallujah who lived in the Yarmouk area (south of Fallujah) was shot dead in front of his family at nine of the morning today.

Baghdad

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