Security Incidents for Tuesday, June 05, 07


The V-22 Osprey Set To Make Its Combat Debut in Iraq. In the next few months two V-22 Ospreys will be flying into the front lines of the war in Iraq. For years experts weren't sure if the Osprey would ever get off the ground. In its maiden test flight in 1991 the Osprey crashed during takeoff. The aircraft was mired in technical problems and cost over-runs in the decade that followed. "I know that when any aircraft first goes operational, it's gonna have kinks. But that was the same with every aircraft since beginning of flight, so no worries," says Lieutenant David Samuel of the U.S. Marine Corps. 19 Marines were killed when an V-22 crashed in Arizona in 2000, but the military says the Osprey is ready for duty.



(1) The DoD appears to be announcing a new death, one not previously reported by CENTCOM. Army Staff Sergeant Travis W. Atkins, 31, of Bozeman, Montana, was killed when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit in the vicinity of Al Yusufiyah south of Baghdad on Friday, June 1st. A Montana government website has apparently been posting military bios and pictures of Montana servicemen who have been deployed to Iraq. Atkins was one of those postings.

(2) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier in a small arms fire attack in a southern part of Baghdad on Tuesday, June 5th.

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In Country:
#1: Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said Tuesday that civilian casualties were down 34 percent in May, compared with April, although he refused to provide figures. Figures compiled by The Associated Press showed that at least 2,155 Iraqis were killed last month, making it the third-deadliest month for Iraqis since the AP began tracking civilian casualties in April 2005. Some Interior Ministry officials put the figure at 2,123 based on police reports. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. Khalaf insisted those figures were exaggerated. The Iraqi government has not released its own figures for months, saying they could be used to portray the security situation negatively.

#2: Iraqi oil workers, marginalized while a law to govern the oil is drafted and debated, are firing a warning shot by going on strike. The Iraqi Pipelines Union released a statement Monday that it shut down two 14-inch oil and gas products pipelines inside the country in protest against the law and working conditions they want changed. The statement, released by a number of ally groups outside the country, said Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki needs to make good on an agreement on the demands reached May 16 or face more work stoppage.


Baghdad:
#1: Khalaf said a woman clad in a black abaya, the traditional Islamic cloak, approached a group of police recruits in east Baghdad's Canal district about 10 a.m. Tuesday. "She didn't obey the guards' orders to stop and they shot her and she immediately blew up," Khalaf told the AP. The woman was dead at the scene. A police officer witness, who asked anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to the media, said three police recruits were lightly injured.

#2: U.S. forces conducted a search raid that targeted the building of the al-Aamil district police station in western Baghdad, an Iraqi police source said on Tuesday. "U.S. soldiers on Monday evening raided the police station building and tampered with its contents under the pretext of searching for Iraqi policemen accused of attacking U.S. bases with mortar shells," the source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq

#3: A civilian was killed and his car was burnt when gunmen attacked him near Al Ahrar bridge downtown Baghdad around 1,20.

#4: Iraqi soldiers killed seven suspected insurgents and detained 103 others around Iraq within the past 24 hours, the Defence Ministry said.

#5: An explosive charge went off on Tuesday near a U.S. military convoy in al-Amin neighborhood in southeastern Baghdad, setting a vehicle ablaze and leaving an unidentified number of casualties among the soldiers, eyewitnesses said. "The blast set a U.S. military vehicle ablaze and caused casualties among the soldiers onboard, the eyewitnesses told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). U.S. helicopters hovered over the area, while the forces cordoned off the scene and evacuated the wounded.

#6: 4 people were wounded when mortar shell hit Al Jihad neighborhood south west Baghdad around 3,00 pm.

#7: 3 Iraqi soldier were killed and 2 wounded in an IED explosion targeted their patrol in AL Mail neighborhood south west Baghdad around 5,30.pm.

#8: 3 Iraqi soldier were killed and 2 wounded in an IED explosion targeted their patrol in AL Mail neighborhood south west Baghdad around 5,30.pm.

#9: 3 civilians were injured when a mortar shell hit Al amil neighborhood south west Baghdad around 6,00 pm.

#10: 33 anonymous bodies were found in Baghdad today.24 bodies were found in Karkh, the western part of Baghdad in the following neighborhoods (7 bodies in Doura, 5 bodies in Amil, 3 bodies in Jami’a, 3 bodies in Shoala, 2 bodies in Taji, 2 bodies in Abo Ghreb, 2 bodies in Bayaa). 9 bodies were found in Rusafa, the eastern part of Baghdad in the following neighborhoods (3 bodies in Ur, 2 bodies in Rashdiyah, 2 bodies in Sadr, 1 body in Jisr Diyala and 1 body in Sleikh.)


Diyala Prv:
#1: 1 civilian was killed and 4 others wounded when gunmen attacked a minibus which was coming to Baghdad

Baquba:
#1: A medical source in Diyala province health directorate that the morgue had received 8 anonymous bodies early morning today. The bodies were found in a bystreet near Abdul Kareem AL Madani Shiite mosque downtown Baquba city. The source said that the bodies were kidnapped by gunmen and thrown near the mosque referring that they are Shiite men

#2: A security source said that a woman who was escorting a sick lady was killed when gunmen opened fire on an ambulance near Al Mafraq neighborhood west Baquba yesterday evening.

#3: A group of gunmen on Tuesday attacked a family in southern Baaquba, killing one person and injuring others. "An armed group this afternoon waged an attack on one of the southern neighborhoods of Baaquba, killing one person and injuring three others from a family," the source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI), adding no further details.

#4: Meanwhile, the same source said that a car bomb exploded in a garage in al-Saadiya district, south of Baaquba, injuring three civilians and damaging a number of vehicles.

$5: The forensic medicine department of the Baaquba public hospital received on Tuesday nine unidentified bodies found south of Baaquba, a medical source said. "The forensic medicine department received this afternoon nine bullet-riddled unidentified bodies," the source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). "They were found by police forces in al-Muradiya region and they were blind-folded, their hands were tied behind their back and they bore signs of gunshot wounds," he also said.

Khalis:
#1: Gunmen ambushed a joint Iraqi army and police patrol near a town in the volatile Diyala province Tuesday, killing four security members and wounded six others, provincial police source said. "Gunmen attacked a joint Iraqi army and police patrol with machine-guns and rocket propelled grenades, near the town of Khalis, 75 km northeast of Baghdad," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The attack damaged several military vehicles, killed four security members and wounded six others aboard, the source added.


Mahmoudiyah:
#1: A civilian was killed and another injured in a parked car bomb explosion near the American base in Mahmoudiyah town south Baghdad around 4,30 pm


Jibala:
#1: In other violence, a Shiite Muslim cleric affiliated with the anti-American Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr was shot and killed as his drove his automobile in Jibala, a town 40 miles south of Baghdad, police said. A police officer identified the victim as Sheik Abdul-Rahim Mohammed Naief, in charge of the al-Sadr office in Jibala. Police and local residents accused Sunni extremists from nearby villages of being behind the 7:30 a.m. attack.


Iskandariya:
#1: Four policemen were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near a police station in Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said


Kut:
#1: Unidentified gunmen killed an Iraqi policeman in Kut's southwestern district of al-Jihad, a source from Wassit police said on Tuesday. "Unknown gunmen opened fire on Bayan Abdul Kadhim on his way to work near his house, shooting him dead," the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq

#2: Meanwhile, eyewitnesses told VOI that a civilian was killed and another wounded on Monday evening when one of the guards assigned to protect oil establishments in downtown Kut opened fire on masses of people gathered in front of a new petrol station in the province. The incident took place when a number of people refused to join the queue and tried to enter the station. One of the guards opened fire in an attempt to return them to the queue, killing one person and injuring another.


Anah:
#1: Later in the morning, outside an Iraqi army headquarters in Anah, about 100 miles northwest of Baghdad, an army Humvee leaving the base came under rocket-propelled grenade fire that set it ablaze and killed all the soldiers inside, an army officer reported, speaking on condition of anonymity since he was not authorized to speak with the media. The number of dead was not immediately reported


Baiji:
#1: Insurgents exploded one of the oil pipelines which links the field of Kirkuk and Biji refinery west of Kirkuk city early morning.


Kirkuk:
#1: A civilian was injured in an IED explosion targeted MNF convoy in Al Wasiti neighborhood downtown Kirkuk city north of Baghdad at 12,00 pm.

#2: 3 members of Kirkuk emergency brigade were injured in an IED explosion targeted their patrol near the celebration square downtown Kirkuk city yesterday evening.


Mosul:
#1: Two insurgents were killed during clashes with police in Mosul, police said. One of those killed was a Saudi, they said.


Al Anbar Prv:
Ramadi
#1: In early afternoon, a suicide bomber blew up his car at a police checkpoint in the al-Sofiyah area of eastern Ramadi city, 70 miles west of Baghdad, said an intelligence officer at the Anbar Salvation Center. He said the blast killed six policemen and wounded three. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity. The center is headquarters for a Sunni tribal alliance in Anbar province opposed to the extremist group al-Qaida in Iraq.

Falluhjah:
#1: Suicide bomber strikes market near Fallujah-A suicide bomber struck a gathering of anti-al Qaida tribal leaders in troubled Anbar province on Tuesday, blowing up his car as they met, killing at least 15 people, according to officials. The elders belonged to the al-Buissa tribe, a majority of whom have joined in an alliance, the Anbar Salvation Council, against the group al-Qaeda in Iraq, Iraqi officials said. At least 15 people were killed and 13 were wounded, according to Marine Maj. Jeff Pool, a military spokesman.

A car bomb exploded in a market just outside Iraq's western city of Falluja on Tuesday, killing 19 people and wounding 25, police said. No other details were immediately available.




Afghanistan:
#1: A gunbattle and airstrikes killed an estimated two dozen Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan , the U.S.-led coalition said Tuesday. The statement said "an estimated two dozen enemy fighters" were killed during the battle, but gave no further details on the casualty toll

#2: Also Monday, a roadside bomb injured two soldiers in the eastern province of Khost, said Wazir Pacha, spokesman for the provincial police chief. NATO ‘s International Security Assistance Force said ISAF troops were involved in that incident, but added that it had no further details

#3: Afghanistan-More than 20 suspected Taliban drowned in a river in southern Afghanistan while fleeing a joint Afghan and NATO attack, an Afghan official said Tuesday. The boat capsized while trying to cross a river in southern Helmand province on Monday, the second such incident in a week, said Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, the spokesman for the Defense Ministry.