American Soldier Purportedly Abducted

A U.S. soldier is missing in Iraq after reportedly being abducted by gunmen after venturing off on an unauthorized trip to visit relatives in Baghdad. The soldier, whose name has not yet been released, is of Iraq-American decent. He was last seen Monday afternoon in the Green Zone.

The U.S. military appears to be pursuing the theory that the missing soldier was kidnapped by Shiite militiamen.

Shortly after announcing that the service member – who worked as an Army linguist – was MIA/DUSTWUN, U.S. forces raided the Shiite-controlled al-Furat television station. The TV station is owned by the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), the country's largest political coalition.

On Tuesday, U.S. troops cordoned off the capital's Shiite Karradah district and went door-to-door seeking information on the missing American. It is believed that the missing soldier has family in the neighborhood.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, U.S. and Iraqi forces launched a major raid in the sprawling Shiite slum of Sadr City, situated in eastern Baghdad. The early-morning raid triggered a series of clashes that resulted in the deaths of 10 suspected militiamen. A total of 13 suspects, including three who are believed to have been intimately involved in the kidnapping, were apprehended during the incursion.

No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction although suspicion has fallen on the Mahdi Army.

Once again on Friday U.S. forces pushed deep into the heart of Sadr City in the ongoing search for the soldier, identified as Ahmed Qusai al-Taei by an Arabic television station.

Iraqi Insurgents Announce Creation of Islamic Caliphate

Sunni insurgents linked to al-Qaida recently announced the establishment of a de facto Islamic emirate that encompasses much of western Iraq.

The Mujahideen Shura Council, a militant umbrella organization that includes al-Qaida in Iraq, announced on Sunday, October 15, 2006 the formation of the "Islamic State in Iraq."

The state within a state includes the Sunni dominated provinces of Anbar, Diyala, Kirkuk, Salaheddin, and Nineveh as well as the Sunni regions of Baghdad, Wasit, and Babil.

The decleration came in the form of a video message posted on the Internet. The video can be viewed here courtesy of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

The Islamic State in Iraq will be purportedly led by the "Emir of the Believers," the little-known militant Abu Omar al-Baghdadi.

This latest proclamation comes on the heels of another recent announcement. On October 12 the same group released a video unveiling the so-called "Mutayibeen Coalition." According to the message the alliance includes the Mujahideen Shura Council along with three smaller guerilla groups as well as several regional tribes.

Over the past several days, insurgents claiming to hail from the Mujahideen Shura Council staged parades celebrating the creation of the Islamic State in Iraq in the violence-wrecked city of Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad. Mosque loudspeakers reportedly blared the group's communiqué throughout the city as part of the publicity stunt.

Al-Qaida in Iraq's new leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri appears to be making it a prerogative to reach out to the disparate Sunni tribes and insurgent groups that compose the whole of the Iraqi insurgency.

The ruthless and uncompromising tactics of al-Qaida in Iraq's previous leader, the slain Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, alienated many in the Sunni militant community.

Iraq Watch: October 15, 2006

Balad Region Besieged by Violence

Sectarian violence erupted Saturday and continued on through Sunday in the religiously mixed area in and around the city of Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad.

The bloodletting began following the kidnapping and execution of some 17 Shiite laborers whose decapitated bodies were discovered Friday in the city's outskirts.

Shortly thereafter, Shiite militiamen launched a series of reprisal attacks against the areas Sunni Arab populace.

Many of the militia members are purportedly aligned with the Mahdi Army, the notorious militia loyal to maverick Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The Shiite attackers reportedly swept the city, setting up ad-hoc checkpoints and going door-to-door in search of Sunnis.

Balad, positioned inside the infamous "Sunni Triangle," is a Shiite-dominated city home to some 100,000 residents. The metropolis is surrounded by a plethora of predominately Sunni towns and villages, however.

The AP puts the total death toll at 63 while the Washington Post reports that at least 80 people have been killed so far in the tit-for-tat violence.

Iraq Watch: October 13, 2006

Iraqi "SWAT" Commander Assassinated

In the southern city of Hillah a bomb hidden in the offices of a respected Iraqi Interior Ministry commander killed him along with a top aide early Friday morning.

Col. Salam al-Maamouri, leader of Iraq's Scorpion police battalion, was killed when a bomb placed underneath his desk exploded Friday morning at Hillah's police headquarters.

The 35-year-old al-Maamouri was respected for his secular approach to law enforcement; a rarity in a war-torn nation dominated by sectarian militias and insurgent groups.

Also south of Baghdad, gunmen executed eight females harvesting vegetables at a farm outside the town of Saifiya. Two other women were abducted in the attack.

Elsewhere, north of the capital, authorities discovered 14 decapitated corpses in Duluiyah. The victims were believed to be among a group of Shiite workers abducted yesterday near Balad.

Meanwhile, a suicide bombing near Tal Afar left three Iraqi soldiers dead and three others wounded.

In another development Friday, a purported Sunni insurgent issued a video message lambasting the Mujahideen Shura Council and pleading with al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden to replace the organization's Iraq leader with a native Iraqi.

There have long been reports regarding dissent amongst the various insurgent groups operating in Iraq, however this is the first time a public message chastising the group has been issued.

The current emir, or leader, of the Mujahideen Shura Council Abu Ayyub al-Masri, took over the leadership reigns from the Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi who was killed June 7 in a U.S. air strike.

Iraq Watch: October 12, 2006

Militants Raid Baghdad TV Station

Gunmen, some sporting police uniforms, stormed the Baghdad offices of the al-Shaabiya satellite television station early Thursday morning killing at least 11 employees including the board chairman.

It was unclear who the perpetrators were, although journalists in Iraq have long been the target of guerilla groups and militias, both Sunni and Shiite.

The new station, which was anticipating on launching within the next two weeks, had up to this point only aired test broadcasts.

Following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime, a crop of television stations have emerged on the Iraqi airwaves. Many of these stations are funded by or affiliated with political and religious parties.

Elsewhere in the capital city, a double bombing in central Baghdad killed at least five and wounded another 10. A separate bomb blast in northern Baghdad left three Iraqis dead and 15 injured.

AFP adds that 16 corpses were found dumped throughout Baghdad on Thursday while four more bodies were found floating in the Tigris near the town on Suwayrah.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military announced the death of a U.S. soldier who was killed "as a result of enemy action" Wednesday near the northern city of Kirkuk.

The latest fatality brings to 41 the number of American military personnel killed in Iraq thus far in the month of October according to an AP tally.

Iraq Watch: October 10, 2006

Explosions Rattle Baghdad as Ammunition Dump Catches Fire

A U.S. military weapons depot in southern Baghdad came under indirect fire Tuesday night resulting in a series of huge explosions that reverberated across the capital city.

Insurgents routinely target U.S. and Iraqi military bases with mortars and rockets.

Flames from the site of the explosions at Forward Operating Base Falcon rose high into the air while plumes of smoke billowed into the darkened skyline. The military base and ammunition depot is situated at the edge of southern Baghdad.

The base is adjacent to Baghdad's volatile Dora neighborhood.

No causalities were immediately reported from the blasts, which began at approximately 10:40 p.m. Sporadic explosions carried on throughout much of the night.

The Islamic Army in Iraq (IAI) claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on the Internet.