Iraq Watch: April 28, 2006

Violence Persists Across War-Ravaged Country

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Sporadic violence across Iraq on Friday claimed at least a dozen lives.

The U.S. military, meanwhile, announced the killing of al-Qaida in Iraq's emir, or leader, in Samarra. Hamid al-Takhi was gunned down, along with two other suspected militants, as they attempted to flee their safe house north of Samarra after U.S. forces raided the residence Friday.

The U.S. military also announced the death of a MND-B soldier who was killed yesterday evening in a roadside bomb explosion north of Baghdad.

Thursday's death brings the number of U.S. service members killed in April to 67, making it the deadliest month for U.S. forces in Iraq this year.

In Fallujah, west of the capital, three Iraqi policemen were killed by an IED according to Reuters. Another Iraqi policeman was slain and two of his comrades were wounded in a southwestern Baghdad blast.

Iraq Watch: April 27, 2006

Italian Convoy Attacked in Southern Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Three Italian soldiers and one Romania service member were killed Thursday when their convoy was hit by a roadside bomb in the southern city of Nasiriyah, where the bulk of Italy's 2,600-strong military contingency is based. The IED blast also left one Italian soldier in serious condition. The critically injured serviceman was transferred to a U.S. military hospital for treatment.

The Imam Hussein Brigades, one of the few Shiite guerilla groups known to be operating in Iraq, claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack. Sunnis, who form approximately 20% of Iraq's total population, largely dominate Iraq's insurgency.

Meanwhile Thursday, Iraq's Prime Minister-designate Nouri al-Maliki visited the southern holy city of Najaf to meet with the revered Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. While in Najaf, al-Maliki also met with the vehemently anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

In other violence, militants killed the relative of a top-ranking Iraqi official in southwestern Baghdad. Mayson al-Hashimi, sister of Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, was gunned down along with a bodyguard early Thursday morning as she left her home.

North of the capital city, Iraqi police and soldiers fended off a series of insurgent attacks against security checkpoints and police stations in and near the restive city of Baqouba.

At least seven Iraqi soldiers and 21 guerilla attackers were killed in Thursday's sporadic skirmishes.

Also, authorities discovered the bodies of 16 people – all bearing signs of torture – in various cities throughout the country.

Iraq Watch: April 25, 2006

Zarqawi Releases Videotape

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (Ahmad Fadeel al-Nazal al-Khalayleh), the Jordanian-born leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, released an over 30-minute-long unprecedented videotape Tuesday.

The video titled "A Message to the People" is the first of its kind for the often-shadowy al-Zarqawi. The native of Zarqa, Jordan, a dusty, industrial suburb northwest of the capital city of Amman – from which the militant leader's last name is derived – is shown wearing what is believed to be a suicide bomb vest throughout the clip.

The majority of the high-quality production features Zarqawi delivering a lengthy message against the backdrop of a U.S. military-issued machine gun. Other portions of the clip show Zarqawi meeting with confidants, firing an automatic weapon, and viewing the testing of a guerilla rocket.

A link to the full video can be found at Bareknucklepolitics.com.

Iraq Watch: April 21, 2006

In Effort to Break Impasse Shiites Agree Upon New PM Candidate

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The largest Shiite bloc in parliament, the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), on Friday agreed upon a new candidate for the prime minister position to replace outgoing PM Ibrahim al-Jaafari who relinquished his bid for a second term Thursday.

The Shiite party, who garnered nearly 130 of the 275 seats in Iraq's December parliamentary elections, chose Jawad al-Maliki of the Dawa Party to replace the often-divisive al-Jaafari.

The early responses to al-Maliki's nomination were positive. Leading Sunni and Kurdish politicians said they would not object to al-Maliki and would not attempt to block his nomination when it is voted on. Iraq's parliament is scheduled to convene Saturday.

Other top-level positions agreed upon Friday include president, two vice presidents, and parliament speaker. Kurdish statesman Jalal Talabani will remain as Iraq's president while the two vice presidents will be split between Sunni Tariq al-Hashimi and Shiite Adil Abdul-Mahdi. Also, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a Sunni, is expected to be names parliament speaker.

Iraq Watch: April 14, 2006

Iraqi Police Convoy Ambushed

BAGHDAD, Iraq - In an elaborate scheme, insurgents ambuscaded a large Iraqi police convoy late Thursday leaving dozens either dead or missing.

The police officers, from the southern Shiite holy city of Najaf, were heading south from the insurgent-rife town of Taji where they had picked up new police vehicles when they came under attack according to the Washington Post.

The convoy, consisting of some 50-60 vehicles, was forced to take a detour onto rural back roads after they were diverted by U.S. troops who discovered a roadside bomb on the areas main thoroughfare – presumably planted by militants as part of the attack.

Soon after being diverted, the police were ambushed near the village of Tarmiya by a swath of insurgents who had staked out in the areas palm groves and farmhouses. The New York Times reports that the local mosque was blaring the "call for jihad" from its speakers.

The guerillas used an array of weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns, and roadside bombs, as part of their assault.

Casualty counts from the incident varied widely. The AP put the toll at six dead, 10 wounded, and dozens missing. The Washington Post reported that at least 17 died in the firefight while the New York Times said nine Iraqi police were killed, 18 were wounded, and 34 were missing.

Elsewhere, seven employees of a construction company in the southern, port-city of Basra were abducted and executed late Thursday according to the BBC.

Also in Basra, Iraq's second largest city, a suicide car bomber attacked a British military patrol Friday killing at least two civilians and wounding four British soldiers.

Iraq Watch: April 12, 2006

Car Bomb Near Baqouba Kills Over 20

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A car bomb detonated near a Shiite mosque in the small town of Huweder, near Baqouba, Wednesday evening killing at least 26 people and wounding over 70 more.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military announced the deaths of three U.S. service members – all killed in Wednesday-morning roadside bomb attacks. Two MND-B soldiers died at approximately 9:20 a.m. when their vehicle struck an IED south of the capital. The third U.S. service member was killed at 10:00 a.m. while on patrol in east of Baghdad.

In an attempt to break Iraq's political deadlock, Sunni elder statesman and current speaker of the parliament, Adnan al-Pachachi, called for parliament to convene Monday.

However, Shiite leaders quickly shot down al-Pachachi's announcement and said that any meeting of parliament was unlikely until the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) agreed upon a candidate for the coveted position of prime minister.

In other violence Wednesday, a suicide bomber rammed his car into an outdoor vegetable market in Tal Afar, 260 miles northwest of the capital, killing at least three and wounding seven.

Separately, a car bomb exploded north of Baghdad, in Khalis, leaving at least two Iraqis dead and over 20 injured. In Sulayman Beg, also north of the capital, a roadside bomb killed two Iraqi policemen.

In the capital itself, at least six people – including three government employees – were gunned down Wednesday.

Elsewhere, militants killed four Iraqi policemen in two separate attacks near the northern city of Mosul. In the industrial town of Beiji, 180 miles north of Baghdad, gunmen killed two Iraqi soldiers.

Iraq Watch: April 10, 2006

Politicians Hold Meetings to Discuss Embattled Prime Minister

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi lawmakers on Monday held a series of meetings to discuss the future of the nations embattled current Shiite leader. Interim Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a former leader of the Iranian-backed Dawa Party, has come under intense pressure to relinquish his bid for a second term as the nations most powerful politician.

Sunnis joined their Kurdish counterparts Monday in formally calling for the powerful Shiite alliance to come up with a different nominee for the prime minister position. Talks on forming a unity government have largely come to a halt over the tenuous issue of prime minister.

In an effort to break the deadlock, political leaders from all sides have floated a number of potential replacements for al-Jaafari. Names mentioned include Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi and Hussain al-Shahristani, the current deputy parliament speaker.

Under Iraq's constitution the majority party reserves the right to nominate a candidate for prime minister. The Shiite United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) – which garnered 130 of the 275 parliament seats in the December 15 elections – voted in favor of al-Jaafari's second term and, for the most part, have stayed behind their candidate.

Some of al-Jaafari's strongest support has come from the camp of maverick Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

As politicians squabbled in Baghdad, insurgent violence continued elsewhere in the war-torn country.

The U.S. military announced the deaths of three U.S. service members Monday. Two soldiers from the 2/28 Brigade Combat Team were killed yesterday "due to enemy action" in the restive Anbar province. Also in Anbar province, a soldier assigned to Regimental Combat Team 7 succumbed to injuries received Saturday.

At least four bodies, including that of an abducted power plant official, were discovered throughout the capital.

Elsewhere, clashes between militants and Iraqi security forces in the former rebel-bastion of Fallujah left at least three civilians dead and nine wounded. Separately, a Shiite family of three was executed after rebels stormed their house in Baghdad's volatile, predominately-Sunni Dora neighborhood.

Iraq Watch: April 7, 2006

Blast at Mosque Leaves Nearly 80 Dead

BAGHDAD, Iraq - At least two suicide bombers, disguised in traditional women's clothing, attacked the historic Shiite Buratha mosque in central Baghdad shortly after Friday prayers leaving at least 79 worshippers dead and over 160 wounded.

The afflicted mosque is closely aligned with Iraq's largest Shiite political party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). The mosque's imam, Jalal Eddin al-Sagheer, is one of the party's leading politicians.

Distraught survivors frantically searched the area for relatives while the dead were tossed into the back of Iraqi security vehicles or onto wooden pushcarts and stretchers. Hundreds of bloodied slippers, lost in the chaos of the multiple blasts, were strewn across the mosque compound.

Friday's well-coordinated assault seemed aimed at fanning the flames of sectarianism that have been increasingly thriving in current-day Iraq.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military announced the deaths of four U.S. service members Friday. One MND-B soldier died at approximately 12:45 p.m. Friday following a small-arms fire attack in western Baghdad.

A soldier, assigned to the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, was killed when an IED struck his combat patrol yesterday near the industrial city of Beiji.

A 2/28 Brigade Combat Team Marine was slain Thursday due to "enemy action" in the volatile Anbar province while another Marine was killed yesterday by an Iraqi army soldier at a coalition base near the border town of Qaim.

Iraq Watch: April 6, 2006

Car Bomb Rocks Najaf; Terrorist Leader Detained

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A powerful car bomb rocked the Shiite holy city of Najaf on Thursday sparking fears of potential sectarian backlash. Iraq is already teetering on the edge of all-out religious warfare following the February 22 bombing of the holy Shiite Askariya shrine in Samarra.

Thursday's blast, which left at least 10 dead and over 30 wounded, took place alongside the ancient city's sprawling cemetery, only 300 yards away from the prestigious Imam Ali shrine.

The shrine is named in honor of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed, who is entombed at the sacred site.

Talib, or Imam Ali, is regarded by Shiites as the first imam appointed by the Prophet Mohammed. This divine proclamation by Shiites marks Islam's 7th century split between the religions two major sects.

Although Sunnis recognize Talib as an important figure in history as the fourth and final leader of the "rightly guided caliph," Sunnis, contrary to their Shiite counterparts, do not perceive him to be the first imam.

In other violence Thursday, militants ambushed and killed five Shiite truck drivers on their way to the capital city from Mahawil.

Elsewhere, three Iraqi police were killed and at least five wounded in a series of bombings in Baghdad's Salam neighborhood.

Also in Baghdad, police discovered the executed bodies of four men in the capital's notorious Dora district. Separately, police in Kirkuk found a decapitated body believed to belong to a member of the Kurdish militia, the peshmerga, who was reported kidnapped Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military announced Thursday the capture of wanted militant Abu Ayman (Muhammed Hila Hammad Ubaydi).

Ayman, the purported leader of the Babil province-based insurgent group the Secret Islamic Army, was apprehended March 7 near al-Mahmudiyah in a raid conducted by Iraqi security forces. The Secret Islamic Army is believed to maintain close ties to al-Qaida in Iraq, the guerilla group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Iraq Watch: April 4, 2006

Sectarian Violence Plagues Capital City

BAGHDAD, Iraq - In yet another blatantly sectarian attack, aimed at stirring already boiling tensions, militants detonated a car bomb in a largely Shiite section of Baghdad.

The blast in the capital city's eastern Habibiyah district left at least 10 Iraqis dead and nearly 30 wounded.

A separate early-morning bombing in the capital's New Baghdad neighborhood killed three and wounded three more.

Meanwhile, a receptionist who worked for the United Arab Emirates Embassy was gunned down along with an acquaintance as they left the embassy compound located in the upscale Mansour district of Baghdad.

AFP reports that authorities discovered at least 18 executed bodies in or around the capital Tuesday. Scores of corpses, believed to be victims of sectarian tit-for-tat killings, have been found around religiously mixed areas of the country since the February 22 bombing of the sacred Shiite Askariya shrine in Samarra.

In the predominately Shiite city of Basra, located about 340 miles southeast of Baghdad, gunmen assassinated Sunni cleric Nawaf Ahmed Aqrab according to the Los Angeles Times. Aqrab was a local leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP), the largest Sunni political bloc in Iraq.