8 Iraqis Killed in War Attacks, Mass Grave in Ur, 4 Attacks on US Forces, a Coup Attempt Discovered

8 Iraqis Killed in War Attacks, Mass Grave in Ur, 4 Attacks on US Forces, a Coup Attempt Discovered

According to December , 2008 News Reports

Editor's Note (Below)

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Yaqen.net reported the following Tuesday news:

- Seven skulls and two skeletons were found in a mass grave, in a house under construction in the Ur neighborhood, in Baghdad today. The neighborhood was under control of the sectarian Mahdi army and Badr militiamen during the ethnic cleansing of the neighborhood.

- A US Hummer was destroyed in an attack in Al-Ghazaliya, Baghdad.
- Another US Hummer was attacked with handgrenades in Al-Kifah street, causing casualties.
- A US amphibious vehicle was destroyed in an attack between Al-Ramadi and Al-Falloujah, with casualties.
- A US Hummer was destroyed in an attack in Al-Mahawil, south of Hilla, with casualties.

- The Maliki special guards have been arresting 38 senior officers of the Ministry of Interior, headed by General Ahmed Abu Raghif, accusing them of conspiring to throw out the Maliki government.

- 19 Iraqis were injured by a roadside bomb targeting an army patrol north of Ba'aqouba.

- A US soldier was killed on Wednesday by Iraqi fire, north of Baghdad.

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2 missiles land on U.S. base in Salah al-Din

December 19, 2008 - 05:19:09

SALAH AL-DIN / Aswat al-Iraq:

Two missiles landed on a U.S. military base south of Tikrit city on Friday, a police source in Salah al-Din province said, not indicating whether the attack left casualties.

“Two missiles landed on the military base of Anaconda (formerly al-Bakr) in the area of Yathrib, Balad district, south of Tikrit,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq.

“The two missiles caused a powerful explosion and plumes of smoke were seen rising over the U.S. base,” the source added.

He said that U.S. choppers were seen hovering overhead in the area for hours after the incident.

Tikrit, the capital city of Salah al-Din, lies 175 km north of Baghdad.

AmR (P)

2 shepherds injured by bomb blast in Makhmour

December 19, 2008 - 11:37:30

ARBIL / Aswat al-Iraq:

Two shepherds from Salah el-Din province were wounded on Friday in a landmine explosion in southeast of Makhmour, a police source said.

“The two shepherds were injured in a landmine blast in al-Kouber district in southwest of Makhmour,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq, noting that there were rushed to the al-Kouber hospital for treatment.

“One of them remains in a serious condition.” He noted.

SH (S)

Bullet-riddled civilian body found in Wassit

December 19, 2008 - 07:19:51

WASSIT / Aswat al-Iraq:

Police forces found on Thursday a bullet-riddled civilian body in western Kut, a security source said.

“The forces found the body in al-Jihad neighborhood in western Kut,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq.

“The body was sent to the forensic medicine department in Kut,” he added, noting that the police opened an investigation on the incident.

Kut, the capital of Wassit, is 180 km southeast of Baghdad.

SH (P)

4 gunmen killed in Mosul clashes

December 18, 2008 - 07:35:06

NINEWA / Aswat al-Iraq:

Iraqi army forces killed three gunmen in clashes in eastern Mosul on Thursday while one policeman was killed in a separate incident in the central part of the city, a source from Ninewa police said.

“The three gunmen men were killed in a security operation in al-Karama neighborhood, eastern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq.

“In another incident, gunmen tried to assassinate a policeman in al-Sa’a area, central Mosul, where a security man managed to kill one of the gunmen before he sustained injuries and rushed to a hospital for treatment,” the source added.

The source did not give further details about the two incidents.

Mosul, the capital city of Ninewa province, lies 405 km north of Baghdad.

AmR (P)

U.S. forces kill civilian in Baghdad

December 18, 2008 - 02:06:50

BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq:

A U.S. patrol killed a civilian man who was driving his own vehicle in western Baghdad, during the early hours of Thursday, an Iraqi police source said.

“The civilian man was driving his vehicle in the direction of the patrol in the al-Bi’that intersection, al-Mansour neighborhood, but the U.S. forces killed him,” the source, who preferred not to be named, told Aswat al-Iraq.

“The patrolmen left the victim’s body and relocated in another place,” the source noted.

Aswat al-Iraq failed to contact the U.S. side for comments.

AmR (P)

Gunmen slaughter Communist party’s media official in Kirkuk

December 18, 2008 - 11:10:02

KIRKUK / Aswat al-Iraq:

Unknown gunmen on Thursday slaughtered the media official of the Communist Party in Kirkuk, the chief of local police said. “The media official of the Communist Party was found killed at her house in al-Qadissiya neighborhood in southern Kirkuk,” Brigadier Sarhad Qader told Aswat al-Iraq.

“Investigation still underway on the incident,” he also said. Kirkuk, 250 km (156 miles) north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, sits on the ruins of a 5,000-year-old settlement.

SH (S)

IED injures 5 in Diala
December 18, 2008 - 09:34:52
DIALA / Aswat al-Iraq:

An improvised explosive device went off on Thursday in central Baaquba, injuring five persons, a security source said.
“The bomb exploded targeting an Iraqi army patrol near the local market in central Baaquba, injuring five, including three soldiers,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq.
SH (S)

IED kills soldier, wounds another in Mosul
December 17, 2008 - 07:59:05
NINEWA / Aswat al-Iraq:

One Iraqi soldier was killed and another was wounded in an explosive charge attack in eastern Mosul city, according to a local security source.
“A roadside improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near an Iraqi army patrol vehicle in Bakr neighborhood, eastern Mosul, killing a serviceman and wounding another,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq.
The vehicle was destroyed in the explosion, the source added, providing no further details.
SS (P)

Attempt to Throw Out the Maliki Government

Results of investigation with detained officer in 48 hours

December 19, 2008 - 10:14:57
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq:

The results of investigation with the detained officers will be announced in 48 hours, the spokesman for the interior ministry said on Friday.

“The officers are under investigation and we will announce the outcome in the coming 48 hours,” General Abdul Karim Khalaf told Aswat al-Iraq.

Regarding the accusation of being members of the banned Awda return party, Khalaf said these accusations have not been proved yet.

“The officers are not from the interior ministry but from other ministries,” he added, giving no more details.
A lawmaker of the parliament’s defense and security committee had said on Thursday that 35 Iraqi officers were arrested for belonging to al-Awda (return) party, denying any coup attempts.

The return party is one of the banned movements as it is considered an extension to the dissolved Baath party.
SH (P)

Interior ministry dismisses reported arrest warrant against official

December 18, 2008 - 07:28:41

BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq:

The Iraqi interior ministry on Thursday discredited reports that an arrest warrant was issued against the ministry’s internal affairs & security department director.

“The mass media have published reports about an arrest warrant against 35 officers in the interior ministry, including Maj. General Ahmed Abu Rgheef,” according to a ministry release received by Aswat al-Iraq.

“The number mentioned in the reports was inaccurate. Maj. General Abu Rgheef is one of the investigating officers in this case and not included in the arrest warrant,” the release added.

The ministry statement did not reveal any names or ranks of detained officers.

“The investigation procedures with some officers go beyond the interior ministry to include officers from other security ministries,” it noted.

AmR (P)

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Editor's Note:

Only God knows how many Iraqis are killed everyday. The following represents part of the reporting but readers are advised that the actual number of deaths should very much exceed what's reported.

Concerning deaths of US soldiers, only those US citizens who die in Iraq are included in the statistics. There are no published statistics about US soldiers who die of their injuries after that. There are no published statistics about the deaths or injuries of the private army soldiers (security contractors), or about those without US citizenship.

It is noteworthy that May 20, 2008 news reports showed that death squads which execute Iraqis on daily basis are no longer hiding themselves. Previously, Sunni leaders pointed to Mahdi Army and Badr militiamen as the perpetrators. Now, death squads are composed of the US-recruited Sahwa fighters and policemen.

On September 6, 2008, news reports mentioned the killing of nine Iraqis who were arrested by Al-Muthanna Brigade of the Iraqi Army stationed in the city of Al-Falloujah. There corpses were found with bullets shot on their heads and chests. This incident is evidence that the sectarian-based Iraqi forces have been functioning also as death squads, which killed Iraqis for suspicion of belonging to resistance organizations, without any legal procedures or trials.

Despite the fact that there are scores of organizations involved in the Iraq war, the Iraqi government officials prefer to refer to them as Alqaeda gunmen for propaganda purposes, as mentioned in the June 4, 2008 news report. For accuracy purposes, the term "Alqaeda gunmen" may be replaced with "Iraqi fighters."

Finally, on daily basis, US-led forces arrest scores of Iraqis in an attempt to pre-empt them from resistance. Tens of thousands of Iraqis are still there in US detention camps and in the prisons of the US-backed Iraqi government. Daily records of these arrests can be obtained from the following three Iraqi sources of news: yaqen.net, amsi.org, and Voices of Iraq.

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