Iraq War News, July 29, 2008

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 (which is an opportunity for US forces command to sever relations with these fighters).

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."

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News Summary

National - Voices of Iraq
Tuesday , 29 /07 /2008 Time 10:14:16
BAGHDAD, July 29 (VOI) –

Following is a summary of news reports posted until 10:00 p.m. Baghdad local time Tuesday:

* Politics & Security:

NINEWA, Three civilians were injured on Tuesday when an improvised explosive device went off targeting a police vehicle patrol in eastern Mosul, a police source said.

BAGHDAD, The official spokesman for the Baghdad's operations command on Tuesday announced the end of the ceremony to commemorate the death of Imam Kadhim.

BAGHDAD, The Baghdad's operations command decided to lift the ban on vehicles imposed in the Iraqi capital from 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, except for in al-Kadhimiya city.

BAGHDAD, Iraqi forces arrested 19 wanted men, seized weapons, and defused four bombs in separate areas in Baghdad over the past 24 hours the official spokesman for the Baghdad’s operations command said on Tuesday.

WASSIT, A force from the investigating police department on Tuesday released a captive and arrested one of his captors in Wassit, a police source said.

DIALA, Iraqi security forces arrested 20 wanted men, seized weapons and defused 10 bombs in Diala within large security campaign waged in the province on Tuesday, the media adviser of the defense ministry said.

WASSIT, A total of 279 policemen graduated on Tuesday from a new course which lasted for 45 days, a media source from the Wassit police department said.

BAGHDAD, A lawmaker on Tuesday called for the oil minister to resign for failure to administer the most-awaited sector in the global petroleum market. Divisions between Iraqi denominations and political blocs have postponed passing an oil and gas law in a country looking for revenues to rebuild its infrastructures after years of sanctions and violence.

BASRA, Police forces on Tuesday arrested two wanted men and seized amounts of ammunitions during security operations in Basra, a police source said.

BAGHDAD, Iraqi Prime Minister on Tuesday called on his country's denominations to be wary of schemes targeting their unity and to resort to the constitution to overcome factional conflicts.

NINEWA, Three Iraqi army soldiers and one civilian were wounded on Tuesday in a bomb explosion in western Mosul, while army soldiers arrested four gunmen believed to be members of the so called Islamic State in Iraq, security sources said.

BAGHDAD, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani on Tuesday updates his Turkish counterpart on the security condition in Kirkuk after bloody bombings targeting Kurdish demonstrators unleashed an ethnic row with the Turkmen.

SH/SR

News Summary

National - Voices of Iraq
Tuesday , 29 /07 /2008 Time 10:14:16
BAGHDAD, July 29 (VOI) –

Following is a summary of news reports posted until 4:00 p.m. Baghdad local time Tuesday:
* Politics & Security:

DIALA, Local authorities in Diala on Tuesday imposed an indefinite curfew within preparations for a large-scale military operation to track down gunmen of al-Qaeda network, a media official in the province's ground forces command said.

ARBIL, About 150,000 demonstrators in the city of Arbil ended their march on Tuesday after they submitted a memo of protest condemning the Iraqi parliament's passing of the provincial councils law to the Iraqi Kurdistan parliament.

BAGHDAD, The U.S. army denied arresting the deputy governor of Diala province, Auf Abdelrahman, northeast of Baaquba, according to the army's media advisor on Tuesday.

BAGHDAD, Baghdad-based newspapers ceased publication on Tuesday following a curfew imposed on the Iraqi capital during a Shi'i pilgrimage commemorating the death of Imam Kadhim, which falls today.

MOSUL, Policemen in Ninewa province killed a suicide bomber before ramming his explosive vehicle into his targeted police checkpoint west of Mosul city on Tuesday, a security source said.

KIRKUK, Iraqi police forces arrested three members of the self-styled Ansar al-Sunnah group during a security operation in downtown Kirkuk city, a local police chief said on Tuesday.

KIRKUK, A curfew was lifted in the city of Kirkuk one day after a suicide attack with an explosive belt that targeted a gathering of protesters and left 22 civilians killed and 150 others injured, a police official said on Tuesday.

KIRKUK, Iraqi army personnel were deployed to Kirkuk city in anticipation of acts of violence one day after a suicide blast that killed 22 civilians and wounding 150 others, an official army source said
on Tuesday.

SS/SR

==========================

Iraq War Report for events of Monday, 28 July 2008.

Translated and/or compiled by Muhammad Abu Nasr,

member, editorial board, the Free Arab Voice.

Monday, 28 July 2008.

·        Tribal police battle Iraqi regime troops in al-Hadithah Monday.

·        Sunni-sectarian al-Qa‘idah belt bombers kill 32 Iraqi civilians in sectarian suicide attacks in Baghdad, Monday morning.

·        Woman bomber kills 25 civilians in suicide attack on demonstration in Kirkuk Monday morning.

·        US, Iraqi forces capture 57 Sunni-sectarian al-Qa‘idah gunmen in operation in northern Iraq Sunday night.

·        In continued preparations for US attack on Iran, Iraqi police arrest five pro-Iranian Shi‘i-sectarian militiamen in raids, searches in al-Basrah.

Al-Anbar Province.
Al-Hadithah.

Tribal police battle Iraqi regime troops in al-Hadithah Monday.

In a dispatch posted at 4pm Baghdad time Monday afternoon, the Yaqen News Agency reported that fierce gun battles raged between Emergency Police and Iraqi government army troops in al-Hadithah, 270km northwest of Baghdad at dawn on Monday. The fighting followed the arrest of Husayn ash-Shafir al-Jaghifi, the brother of the commander of the Emergency Police Muhammad al-Jaghifi.

Yaqen reported a source in the Emergency police who asked not to be identified as saying that the fighting lasted about half an hour and that light and medium weapons were used. He said that US forces did not intervene in the battle between the two security forces, both of them backed by the US occupation troops.

The source said that the brother of the commander of the Emergency Police, Ahmad ash-Shafir al-Jaghifi was not arrested. Ahmad al-Jaghifi has been accused by the Iraqi regime of kidnapping and murder of civilians and of murdering prisoners who had been released from prison by the US forces for lack of evidence against them. The source gave no indication as to the nature or extent of casualties in the fighting.

Yaqen reported that the refusal of the Emergency Police – a branch of the tribal “Awakening” Police in al-Hadithah – to turn in the wanted man to the government forces was the largest such challenge by the tribal “Awakening” to the regime.

Numerous individuals whom the Americans had released from prisons across Iraq have been summoned to the “Awakening” offices and murdered. In addition, the tribal “Awakening” police are known to have kidnapped dozens of civilians in al-Hadithah. Their whereabouts are to this day unknown.

Rawah.

Resistance group claims mortar attack on US camp near Rawah.

In a dispatch posted at 1:30pm Baghdad time Monday afternoon, the Yaqen News Agency reported that the Iraqi resistance group that calls itself the Ennabling Brigades (Kata’ib at-Tamkin), a constituent member of the Jihad and Change Front had issued a communiqué.

Yaqen reported the statement as claiming that fighters for the group had fired two mortar shells at a US facility in Rawah, 315km northwest of Baghdad. The communiqué, which failed to indicated when the alleged attack had taken place, said that the shells had scored direct hits on their targets.

Ar-Rutbah.

Resistance group issues claim of attack on US vehicle.

In a dispatch posted at 12:22pm Baghdad time Monday afternoon, the Yaqen News Agency reported that the Iraqi resistance group that calls itself the Brigades of the 1920 Revolution had detonated a bomb that burned and disabled a US military vehicle in the 120 Kilo area to the west of the city of ar-Rutbah.

Yaqen reported the communiqué, which was dated Saturday, 26 July, as claiming that the blast had killed all the Americans inside the vehicle. The statement did not say when the attack was supposed to have taken place. The US Department of Defense has made no announcement of any American fatalities in the ar-Rutbah area in July.

Baghdad.

Resistance group claims launch of rocket at US base.

In a dispatch posted at 1:30pm Baghdad time Monday afternoon, the Yaqen News Agency reported that the Iraqi resistance group that calls itself the Ennabling Brigades (Kata’ib at-Tamkin), a constituent member of the Jihad and Change Front had issued a communiqué.

Yaqen reported the statement as claiming that fighters for the brigades had fired an S5K rocket at the US al-Luhum Base located to the south of Baghdad, without indicating when the alleged attack occurred, the communiqué stated that the rocket scored a direct hit.

Sunni-sectarian al-Qa‘idah belt bombers kill 32 Iraqi civilians in sectarian suicide attacks in Baghdad, Monday morning.

In a dispatch posted on its Arabic website at 3:18pm Monday afternoon Beijing time (10:18am in Baghdad), the Xinhua News Agency reported that three women wearing explosive belts blew themselves up amidst a crowds of Shi‘i pilgrims who had come to Baghdad to take part in the festivities to celebrate the 8th Century Shi‘i Imam Musa al-Kazim in Baghdad’s al-Kazimiyah.

Xinhua reported a source in the Interior Ministry as saying that three women suicide belt bombers attack processions of Shi‘i pilgrims, one after the other, on Monday morning – the first on Kahramanah Square, the second near the Musa ibn Nusayr Station, and the third near the National Theater – all in the Baghdad district of al-Karradah.

Xinhua reported a source in the government police as saying that a similar attack was carried out by another woman belt bomber near the National Theater in the same area, again targeting Shi‘i pilgrims.

The American Associated Press (AP) quoted Iraqi regime officials as saying that the casualty toll in the three belt bomb attacks was 32 dead and 102 wounded. Most of the dead were women and children, according to police and health officials.

Tuesday marks the anniversary of the Imam’s death according to the Islamic calendar. Musa al-Kazim was reportedly poisoned on orders of the then Caliph Harun ar-Rashid, a Sunni, in the year 799 C.E.

It was thought likely that the Sunni-sectarian al-Qa‘idah organization, which has recently begun using women to carry out suicide attacks, was behind Monday’s sectarian slaughters of civilians.

Diyala Province.
Baladruz.

Four civilians, one of them a woman, killed in Baladruz bomb attack Monday.

In a dispatch posted at 11am Baghdad time Monday morning, the Yaqen News Agency reported that four people were killed when a bomb exploded in the Baladruz area, about 70km northeast of Baghdad on Monday.

Yaqen reported a source in the Baladruz police as saying that the bomb went off by a private car, killing four people aboard, one of them a woman.

Babil Province.
Al-Latifiyah.

Tribal policeman killed in attack on checkpoint near al-Latifiyah.

In a dispatch posted at 10:33am Baghdad time Monday morning, the Yaqen News Agency reported that armed men attacked a checkpoint manned by tribal “Awakening” police in the “ash-Shakhkhah 5” near al-Latifiyah, 40km south of Baghdad, on Monday.

Yaqen reported a source in the Babil Province police as saying that the attack left one “Awakening” policeman dead.

At-Ta’mim/Kirkuk Province.
Kirkuk.

Woman bomber kills 25 civilians in suicide attack on demonstration in Kirkuk Monday morning.

In a dispatch posted on its Arabic website at 8:20pm Monday evening Beijing time (3:20pm in Baghdad), the Xinhua News Agency reported that a suicide bomber wearing a belt bomb had attacked a gathering of Kurdish separatist demonstrators outside the provincial government building in Kirkuk, 250km north of Baghdad, on Monday morning. The rally was in protest against the Iraqi government’s postponement of a referendum, which was thought likely to result in the transfer of the oil-rich city to the control of the Kurdish separatist enclave in northern Iraq. Such a transfer is opposed by Iraq’s Arab majority, as it is by many residents of the city of Kirkuk, the majority of whom are ethnic Arabs and Turkomans.

Xinhua reported Brigadier General Burhan Wasif of the provincial police command as saying that the blast left 22 people dead and another 187 wounded. The American Associated Press (AP) reported that 25 people were killed and 187 wounded when a woman suicide bomber blew herself up amidst the Kurdish demonstrators. The AP quoted General Burhan Tayyib Taha as saying that the attacker in Kirkuk, like the three suicide bombers in Baghdad on Monday, was a woman.

It was thought likely that the Sunni-sectarian al-Qa‘idah organization, which has recently begun using women to carry out suicide attacks, was behind the three anti-Shi‘i bombings in Baghdad and the slaughter of Kurdish civilians in Kirkuk.

Following the suicide bombing, Kurdish demonstrators vented their rage on the nearby headquarters of a Turkoman political party. The Kurds opened fire on the guards posted outside the party headquarters, wounding five, including one with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Kurdish mobs also set fire to about 15 private cars that happened to be in the vicinity.

Ninwa Province.
Al-Mawsil.

Resistance group claims mortar attack.

In a dispatch posted at 1:30pm Baghdad time Monday afternoon, the Yaqen News Agency reported that the Iraqi resistance group that calls itself the Ennabling Brigades (Kata’ib at-Tamkin), a constituent member of the Jihad and Change Front had issued a communiqué.

Yaqen reported the statement as claiming that fighters for the group had fired two mortar shells at the US camp in the al-Qusur area in the northeastern al-Mawsil neighborhood of al-Hudaba’. The communiqué, which failed to indicate when the alleged attack had taken place, stated that the shells scored direct hits and sent smoke rising into the sky.

Irbil Province.
Makhmur.

US, Iraqi forces capture 57 al-Qa‘idah gunmen in operation in northern Iraq Sunday night.

In a dispatch posted on its Arabic website at 3:28pm Monday afternoon Beijing time (10:28am in Baghdad), the Xinhua News Agency reported that US and Iraqi government troops clashed with gunmen belonging to the al-Qa‘idah Sunni-sectarian fundamentalist organization in the Makhmur area, 90km southeast of al-Mawsil in northern Iraq

Xinhua reported a source in the Iraqi army as saying that US and Iraqi regime forces surrounded a group of al-Qa‘idah fundamentalists in the village of Jadidah in the area of Makhmur, 68km southwest of Irbil in northern Iraq and close to the border between Ninwa and Irbil provinces. The source said that the aim of the operation was to try to capture the general commander of al-Qa‘idah in the city of al-Mawsil, ‘Abdallah ash-Shafi‘i.

The source said that US and Iraqi government troops surrounded the village late Sunday and then stormed in, sparking a fierce battle between a large force of al-Qa‘idah gunmen and the joint US and Iraqi government troops. Four government troops, including a lieutenant were killed, as were three of the al-Qa‘idah fundamentalists. Six Iraqi government troops were also wounded in the engagement.

The source said that more than 50 al-Qa‘idah gunmen were arrested and a cache of supplies and documents was seized. There was no information as to whether ‘Abdallah ash-Shafi‘i was among the prisoners. The source said that preliminary interrogations indicated that the captive gunmen had received training from al-Qa‘idah and were part of the so-called “Islamic State of Iraq,” the al-Qa‘idah front organization. The fighters were all residents of villages in the area of Makhmur.

An American spokesman announced that the attack had led to the capture of 57 al-Qa‘idah gunmen. In addition to the dead and wounded among the Iraqi government forces and the al-Qa‘idah militants, the US statement noted that one American soldier had also been injured in the battle.

Since 10 May, the US and its Iraqi regime allies have been waging an offensive against the Sunni sectarian al-Qa‘idah organization in al-Mawsil and surrounding Ninwa Province.

Al-Basrah Province.
Al-Basrah.

In continued preparations for US attack on Iran, Iraqi police arrest five pro-Iranian Shi‘i-sectarian militiamen in raids, searches in al-Basrah.

In a dispatch posted at 12:01pm Baghdad time midday Monday, the Yaqen News Agency reported that Iraqi police had arrested five members of the Iranian-backed Shi‘i fundamentalist Jaysh al-Mahdi militia in raids in various parts of the southern city of al-Basrah.

Yaqen reported a source in the Iraqi Interior Ministry as saying that the police also seized twenty-five 60mm mortar rounds in the Shatt al-‘Arab area, most of them recently manufactured Iranian products.

Since March, the US-backed Iraqi regime has been actively engaged in an offensive against the pro-Iranian Sadr Movement and its armed wing, the Jaysh al-Mahdi militia, in Iraq, in what is believed to be preparation for an American attack on Iran.

www.albasrah.net

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