Security Incidents for Thursday, May 31, 07



(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier from a non-hostile, unspecified cause on Tuesday, May 29th. We are assuming the death occurred in Baghdad.

(2) Earlier today, an article appeared on the website for Watertown (New York) station WWTI that cited a Fort Drum official as saying that two 10th Mountain Division soldiers were killed south of Baghdad, supposedly on Tuesday, May 29th. Now MNF-Iraq has issued a press release that states that two Multi-National Division - Center soldiers were killed when an improvised explosive device detonated near their dismounted patrol "today". The release is dated Wednesday, May 30th, and does not give a place of death. Because MND-C troops are operating south of Baghdad, and because 10th Mountain Division troops are attached to MND-C, we are inclined to believe that these reports are describing the same two deaths. For now, we'll use May 29th as the date of death until the DoD issues their formal confirmation of death.

(3) MNF-Iraq is reporting that a Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier who was seriously wounded in an IED attack northwest of Baghdad (likely in the Taji area) on May 28th, died of his injuries in a Baghdad military medical facility on Tuesday, May 29th.

(4) MNF-Iraq is also reporting the deaths of two Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldiers in an IED attack in a southwestern neighborhood of Baghdad on Wednesday, May 30th. Two other soldiers were wounded in the attack.

(5) According to an article from Reuters AlertNet, NATO has now confirmed that seven soldiers were aboard the Chinook helicopter that was shot down in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, May 30th: five crewmen and two military passengers. The aircraft went down in the Kajaki region of Helmand Province. According to the report, enemy fighters ambushed troops who were responding to the scene of the crash, and an air strike had to be called in.


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Baghdad:
#1: A Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldier died from a non-battle related cause May 29.

#2: Two Multi-National Division-Center Soldiers were killed while on dismounted patrol when a roadside bomb exploded today

#3: Multi-National Division – While conducting combat operations in the southwest section of the Iraqi capital, two Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldiers were killed when an improvised explosive device detonated May 30. Two other Soldiers were also wounded in the attack.

#4: Iraqi Security Forces and Multi-National Division – While conducting combat operations northwest of the Iraqi capital, a Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldier was seriously wounded when an improvised explosive device detonated May 28. The Soldier was taken to the Combat Support Hospital but died of wounds May 29.
#5: U.S. forces backed by helicopter gunships clashed with suspected al-Qaida gunmen in western Baghdad in an engagement that lasted several hours. The fighting in western Baghdad's Amariyah neighborhood exploded after residents there called for U.S. help. Members of al-Qaida, who consider the district part of their so-called Islamic State of Iraq, were preventing students from attending final examinations, shooting randomly and forcing residents to stay in their homes, according to an official of the district council. He spoke on condition of anonymity fearing retribution from al-Qaida. Clashes continued into Thursday afternoon, and the council official said the al-Qaida leader in the region, known as Haji Hameed, was killed and 45 other fighters detained. There was no immediate word on the fighting from the U.S. military.

#6: Five gunmen killed Wednesday an Iraqi national police officer outside a bank in the Sheik Marouf neighborhood of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the US military disclosed Thursday. Five gunmen shot dead Lt. Col. Mohammed Shaka Mohammed as he prepared to enter the bank to make a withdrawal. A US-led coalition forces patrol nearby responded to the sounds of small-arms fire. A firefight between the extremists and coalition forces ensued, with one of the gunmen killed. Three civilian vehicles were damaged and there was light damage to surrounding buildings.

#7: A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol wounded three policemen in al-Khadhra district in western Baghdad, police said

#8: Gunmen attacked a police commando patrol, killing a policeman and wounding three others in the Jihad district of southwestern Baghdad, police said.

#9: Around 11.30 am, a roadside bomb exploded at Baladiyat neighborhood( east Baghdad) when an American patrol passed through this area. No casualties recorded.

#10: Around 1 pm, gunmen opened fire on police patrol at Jihad neighborhood( south west) killing 1 policeman and injuring three others.

#11: Around1.30 pm, mortars hit Amil neighborhood ( south west Baghdad ) without casualties recorded. Diyala(66 Km north of Baghdad)

#12: A suicide car bomb detonated at a temporary vehicle checkpoint in the Adhamiyah District of the Iraqi capital, wounding eight U.S. Soldiers and three Iraqi civilians, including a child May 30.

#13: A GWENT father-of-two working as a security guard in Iraq was killed when his vehicle was blown up by an insurgents' roadside bomb just two days before he planned to return home. Kenneth David Clarke, 39, suffered multiple burns in the attack on June 11 last year. Ex-soldier Mr Clarke, from Brynmawr, was in the lead vehicle of a five-strong convoy of lorries transporting ammunitions to and from American Forces base 100 miles north of Baghdad. His widow Karen Clarke told Newport Coroners Court her husband had been unhappy working for Dubai-based company Rover Global Services and was concerned for his safety. He was due to return home on June 13.

#14: In separate incident, a roadside bomb detonated near a U.S. patrol in the Baladiyat district in eastern the capital, according to the source. He, however, added that it was not clear whether there was any casualty among the U.S. soldiers as the troops blocked the area, preventing the Iraqi police from approaching the scene.

#15: 21 bodies in west Baghdad ( Kharkh bank ) ; 4 in Amil , 4 in Bayaa , 3 in Doura , 2 in Jihad ,2 in Saidiya , 2 in Hurriyah , 1 in Jamiaa , 1 in Yarmouk. While there were 8 bodies in east Baghdad ( Rusafa bank) ; 4 in Fadhil , 2 in Sadr city , 2 in Ur. Anbar ( 110 km west of Baghdad)

#16: An Associated Press Television News cameraman was shot twice and killed in Baghdad on Thursday while walking to a mosque near his home on his day off. Saif M. Fakhry, 26, was the fifth AP employee to die violently in the Iraq war and the third killed since December.


Diyala Prv:
Ulaybat:
#1: "Residents of Ulaybat village alerted the police that they found four bodies of farmers dumped in their field in early Thursday," the source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq. "The corpses had gunshot wounds in different parts of the body and all of them were blind-folded with hands were tied behind their back," he noted.

Khalis:
#1: Meanwhile, the same source said that "unidentified gunmen opened fire this morning against a civilian in the main marketplace of Khalis city, killing him immediately and fled to unknown place." The source did not identify the dead man or the cause of the killing.

Baquba:
#1: 20 civilians were wounded in clashes that erupted this afternoon between armed groups and U.S. forces in Baaquba," the source, who asked not to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq. He said "the clashes broke out when gunmen attacked a U.S. vehicle patrol near al-Mafriq area in northern Baaquba." The U.S. forces fired back and engaged in clashes with the attackers, the source said. The source, who could not say if there were casualties among the U.S. troops or gunmen, told VOI "20 civilians were wounded in the cross-fire."


Iskandariya:
#1: Gunmen attacked the house of Ubaid al-Masoudi, a tribal leader, injuring him and his wife in the town of Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said


Basra:
#1: Early Thursday, gunmen killed Dr. Muhammad Aziz, who works as a lecturer at Fine Arts Academy in Basra.

#2: Thursday morning, a dead body was found for a servant at Usama bin Zaid mosque in Zubair district ( 35 km west of Basra)who was kidnapped Wednesday evening from his neighborhood at Hay Al-Askri in Zubair .


Tikrit:
#1: Police killed one gunman and arrested two others after attacking their patrol in Tikrit, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

#2: Thursday morning, a policeman was injured in Tikrit by a sniper fire while he was on duty at a check point near Tikrit's bridge


Mosul:
#1: Mosul city mortuary received the bodies of five men, including three Iraqi soldiers, in the northern city of Mosul, a hospital source said.


Kirkuk:
#1: Around 3 pm of Wednesday afternoon, a roadside bomb exploded in front of a policeman's house at Irouba neighborhood in Kirkuk having some damage to the house only.

#2: Wednesday evening at 7.30 pm, gunmen opened fir on people in Kirkuk at Tisaeen neighborhood nea Kirkuk education directorate injuring two civilians .

#3: Wednesday night , gunmen opened fire on a sedan car on Kirkuk –Biji motor way injuring one civilian and kidnapping an official employee.

#4: Around 10 50 am, a roadside bomb targeted an army patrol near Siuf roundabout at Arafa neighborhood in Kirkuk injuring two policemen and two people who were accidentally nearby. Basra ( 549 km south of Baghdad)


Tal Afar:
#1: One man was killed in a rocket attack in Tal Afar, police said

#2: A roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi army patrol killed an officer and wounded another soldier in Tal Afar, police said.

#3: A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol wounded four policemen on the road between Sinjar and Tal Afar, 420 km (260 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.


Al Anbar Prv:
Fallujah:
#1: A suicide bomber hit a police recruiting center in Fallujah on Thursday, killing at least 25 people and wounding 50, police said. At least 10 policemen were among the dead in the Fallujah attack, which occurred about 11 a.m., according to a police official in the city who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information. Police said the bomber detonated his explosives vest at the third of four checkpoints as he stood among recruits who were lining up to apply for jobs on the force. The center had only been opened on Saturday in a primary school in eastern Fallujah

Ramadi:
#1: A suicide truck bomber killed five people and wounded 15 in Ramadi, 110 km (70 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.




Afghaniatan:
#1: It is with much sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that a British soldier was amongst the seven ISAF soldiers killed on Wednesday 30 May 2007 when the Chinook helicopter that they were travelling in went down near Kajaki in Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan.

Seven ISAF soldiers are known dead after a Chinook helicopter flying an ISAF mission went down in Helmand province near Kajaki just after 9 p.m. May 30. The entire crew of five died in the incident; there were also two military passengers who died. One Afghan civilian was injured by small arms fire after the crash.

A BRITON, five Americans and a Canadian died when a Chinook helicopter was apparently shot down in Afghanistan's most volatile province.

#2: Taliban guerrillas ambushed a convoy on Thursday in Afghanistan's southern province of Zabul and killed 16 police officers, an interior ministry spokesman said, the deadliest such attack against the police recently.