War News for Wednesday, November 28, 2007

MNF-Iraq is reporting the deaths of Two Multi-National Division – North Soldiers in an explosion in Salah ad Din province on Tuesday, November 27th. Two other soldier were wounded in the attack. McClatchy Newspapers reports a roadside bomb targeted an America patrol near Suleiman Beck destroying a Humvee. The eye witnesses also saw a helicopter came to the scene taking the killed and injured soldiers with them.

The Daily Globe is reporting the death of an American contractor when an improvised explosive device hit his convoy about 50 miles outside Baghdad on Monday, November 26th. William Juneau was helping to train the Iraqi police service as an employee of DynCorp.


Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: A roadside bomb detonated near an Iraqi army patrol in the Mansoor district in western Baghdad, injuring two soldiers and a bystander," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The blast destroyed a military vehicle along with damaging several nearby shops, he said.

#2: Another roadside bomb went off in Baghdad's western neighborhood of Jami'a, wounding three civilians and badly damaging several nearby shops, he added.

#3: Iraqi soldiers killed four suspected insurgents and arrested 27 others in different parts of Iraq during the past 24 hours, the Defence Ministry said.

#4: An 11-member family of an Iraqi journalist, reported to have been slain by unknown gunmen two days ago, denied the death news and said they had repudiated him for making the allegation, a source from the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory (JFO) said on Wednesday.

#5: Three civilians were killed in an explosive charge attack that ripped through western Baghdad on Wednesday, Iraqi authorities said.

#6: Iraqi police said 4 bodyguards of state minister for tribal affairs were injured by Iraqi army soldiers in a checkpoint in Al Harthiyah west Baghdad. Police said the convoy was stopped and bodyguards were arguing with the soldiers and the arguments developed to a clash.

#7: Iraqi police found 3 dead bodies throughout Baghdad. 1 in Doura, 1 in Amil, 1 in Bayaa


Diyala Prv:
Baquba:
#1: A woman wearing an explosives belt blew herself up near an American patrol northeast of Baghdad -- a rare female suicide bombing that wounded seven U.S. troops and five Iraqis, the U.S. military said Wednesday. A statement said the Diyala suicide attack happened Tuesday near the provincial capital Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, when the woman detonated her explosives belt.


Hawija:
#1: Around noon, gunmen killed Muhaned Mekhlif at a used cars dealership in Al Hawija west of Kirkuk.


Mosul:
#1: A policeman was killed when unknown gunmen showered him with bullets in Mosul's eastern neighborhood of al-Karamah," Brigadier Abdul-Kareem al-Jubouri, director of the provincial security operations office, told Xinhua.

#2: In separate incident, another policeman was severely wounded when gunmen opened fire on him near his house in the Palestine neighborhood in southeastern the city, al-Jubouri said.

#3: Al-Jubouri also said that a team of explosives experts defused a car bomb and three roadside bombs in different parts of the city.


Al Anbar Prv:
al-Haqlaniyya:
#1: Five civilians were killed and 11 others were wounded in a mortar attack that targeted a popular market in western Anbar, a local official security source said on Wednesday. "On Wednesday afternoon, a mortar shell landed on a popular market in central al-Haqlaniyya city, 250 km west of Baghdad, killing five individuals and injuring 11 others," the source, who requested anonymity, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq



Afghanistan:
#1: U.S.-led coalition troops killed 14 road construction workers in airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan after receiving faulty intelligence, Afghan officials said Wednesday. The coalition said it was looking into the incident in Nuristan province, but did not immediately comment. NATO's International Security Assistance Force said it has conducted airstrikes against Taliban fighters in the area, but did not say when. "ISAF was engaged in Nurgaram and Du Ab (districts), and in those places we used airstrikes against (Taliban)," ISAF spokesman Brig. Gen. Carlos Branco told a news conference. "The situation is not clear at all at this stage. We are carrying out the investigation and trying to get a clear picture."

#2: Three Canadian soldiers were injured Tuesday morning when their light armoured vehicle hit a suspected homemade bomb just outside Kandahar city. The improvised explosive device (IED) went off at about 10 a.m., 40 kilometres west of the provincial capital near the village of Sperwan Ghar in Panjwaii district.

#3: The Taliban insurgents in an overnight attack on a police patrol have killed two policemen, injured another and taken away four others in western Afghan province of Farah, provincial governor said Wednesday. "The incident occurred in Bala Buluk district of Farah province Tuesday night as a group of policemen were patrolling in the area," Farah's governor Mohaidin Baloch told Xinhua via phone.

Stick a ribbon on that SUV (bad language ahead)

News & Views 11/27/07

Photo: Young Iraqi orphans at the Iraq House, an orphanage created two years ago to combat the swelling numbers of homeless children in Baghdad's Muslim Shiite slum of Sadr City on Tuesday June 19, 2007. The Iraq House has 25 orphans aged five to 14 and is staffed by five adult men. Most of the orphans are here because one or both their parents were killed in sectarian violence. Others are here because they were abandoned. The local community supports the orphanage by donations. (UPI Photo/Adel Abd Al-Hassan)

REPORTS – LIFE IN IRAQ

US Roadblock Shootings in Iraq Kill 5

U.S. troops fired on vehicles trying to drive through roadblocks in Baghdad and north of the Iraqi capital, killing at least five people — including a child — in two separate shootings, the U.S. military said Tuesday. The shooting in Baghdad took place in a northern neighborhood known to be a Shiite militia stronghold as the driver collected employees of the Rasheed bank, police said. U.S. troops fired warning shots when the bus reached the U.S. roadblock Tuesday and tried to drive through, killing as many as four passengers — including three women, police and hospital officials said. … A Rasheed employee wearing a bloodied white T-shirt who was hospitalized after the shooting said the passengers initially did not know whether the bus had been hit by bullets or bombs. He said U.S. troops immediately came to the bus to help. "Later, we found out that the American forces opened fire at us. But the thing that I cannot comprehend is that the same Americans who opened fire at us, came immediately to help us," the man, who identified himself only as Yasir, told AP Television News. During a U.S. operation Monday against al-Qaida in Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad, American troops shot at a vehicle speeding toward a roadblock after firing warning shots, the military said in a separate statement. Two men in the vehicle were killed immediately, and a child traveling with them died later of his wounds. "We regret that civilians are hurt or killed while coalition forces work diligently to rid this country of the terrorist networks that threaten the security of Iraq and our forces," said Cmdr. Ed Buclatin, a U.S. spokesman. Two terrorism suspects were killed earlier in the operation, the military said.

Raid nets $1 mln of forged Iraqi currency

Forged Iraqi banknotes worth about $1 million were seized in a central Baghdad raid on Tuesday, officials said, in what was believed to be the biggest operation of its kind against counterfeiters. Iraqi National Security Minister Shirwan al-Waeli said four people were arrested during the raid by Iraqi soldiers and security ministry officers on a ground-floor apartment in Baghdad's Karrada district. "A huge amount of money was found in the house, more than 1 billion Iraqi dinars," Waeli told Reuters. A Defence Ministry statement said the notes seized amounted to 1.25 billion Iraqi dinars, equivalent to roughly $1 million.

IRAQ: Detentions Escalate in Diwaniyah

Detentions have become commonplace in Iraq, but now more than ever before people are being detained after being accused of membership in "militias supported by Iran." "Hundreds of our men were detained and accused of being militiamen supported by Iran," Mahmood Allawi, a 50-year-old lawyer from Diwaniyah, 160-kilomtres south of Baghdad, told IPS. "We are Arab Shiite and Iran is as much an enemy to us as America! It is Iran that we fear most after our leaders were killed by the so-called 'Iranian supported' militias," Allawi said. There has been a spike in abductions being carried out by U.S. and Iraqi forces in Diwaniyah, capital of Iraq’s Al-Qadisiyah province and home to a population of roughly 400,000. On Nov. 13, the International Committee of the Red Cross estimated that 60,000 people are currently detained in Iraq. U.S. officials claim that the military has been actively fighting against members of the Mehdi Army militia of anti-occupation cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. People here told a different story to IPS. "If they mean the Mehdi Army then they know them well because they worked together for about two years now," Abdul Kazem Hussein, a former Iraqi officer who fled to Baghdad from Diwaniyah recently told IPS. Hussein claimed that the U.S. military had been using members of the Mehdi Army to carry out attacks on Sunnis in Baghdad, as well as areas south of Baghdad, like Diwaniyah. "But they are detaining hundreds of people who have always been afraid of being drilled to death by Mehdi Army murderers," Hussein explained, alluding to a practice used by Mehdi Army members of using electric drills to torture Sunni men they capture. "They are detaining those who have not accepted the influence of Iran in the city," Hussein said. Bassam Al-Shareef, a spokesman for the Shiite party -- Al-Fadhila -- criticized the campaign and warned the Iraqi government of the consequences if the campaign against the Mehdi Army continues this way.

False Sovereignty

School in the whole world is a place for educating people whether this school is in the USA or in Iraq. But what happened yesterday at one of the schools in Baghdad is so far from education and humanity. A teacher and student in a central Baghdad school told me this story. Yesterday noon, an American squad from the United State Army (about ten to twelve) broke in Al-Mansour preparatory school for one reason or another. We don't have the right to ask them why they came to the school. The soldiers spread in different spots of the school walking towards the back yard which is used as a soccer field. Most of the students were in their classes when the squad came, but still there were many students in the yard who were terrified to see the American soldiers with their guns. One of the students was upset to see the soldiers and he threw a stone and hit one of them. Three soldiers surrounded him kicking him with their boots for some minutes on different parts of his body. Later, a teacher of English said that the captain of the squad told him "next time if students throw stones, we will use our machine guns not the boots". I really hated myself hearing that news as I am a teacher myself. What shall I do if I were there? What shall I tell my students? How can I behave? What excuses will I give for that incident? My brain stops thinking from now on. In 2003 I thought we were getting democracy and freedom, but what happened at that school does not tell the story of freedom.

Video: Iraqi Artisans Still Dedicated to Tradition

Iraq is famous for many things, including woodcrafts. Woodcarving in particular is something well-known in Iraq. Iraqi families such as those of Abu Mustafa Al-Rubaie have been handing their skills down from generation to generation. Iraqi artists are one of many groups who have been the target of violence, such as bakers, academics, and those seen to be connected with the Multi-National Coalition forces. The development of the craft has become rare as well-known artists and professionals of all variety with the means have fled the country. Today there is just one institute still teaching the skills of these Iraqi artisans. The Fine Arts Academy in Baghdad, where many artists have displayed work and taught, continues to provide lessons in woodcarving. Many artists are learning and developing their craft alone, displaying their work primarily in some of the remaining galleries of the Karrada neighborhood.

Bike race brings joy to former Qaeda hotbed in Iraq

About 150 students wearing colourful T-shirts competed in a bicycle race in Falluja on Tuesday, an unimaginable event a year ago in what was once an al Qaeda hotbed and one of Iraq's most dangerous cities. The city's police chief fired the starting shot to set the students from 15 intermediate and secondary schools off on the 5-km (3-mile) race across Falluja, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad. Police motorbikes escorted them along the road and scores of policemen in blue uniforms were deployed around the start and finish lines. "This race made us happy. We needed this because of what we have been through," Ayad Ghaleb Salem, a school teacher, told Reuters. "We have gotten used to a difficult life." Scores of families lined the streets to watch the race and residents of the milled around the riders to congratulate them after the race.

How fragile is Baghdad's calm?

Walid Mahmoud reopened his Napoli Pizzeria last week after shuttering it for more than three years. Situated next to the Green Zone, his restaurant was one of several popular eateries lining a central street that had been a constant target for suicide bombers. Like many Baghdadis, Mahmoud says he is heartened by a recent decline in violence. In October, attacks across Iraq dropped 55 percent; civilian fatalities in Baghdad alone have dropped 75 percent compared with June, according to the US military. But two bombings in the capital since Friday, which killed at least 24 and wounded dozens, were a reminder that the new calm is fragile. In many parts of the city, residents are still arrested by fear, polarized by sectarian divisions, or altogether absent. Even as life reasserts itself in a few upscale areas such as Karrada and Jadriyah, wide swaths of middle-class western Baghdad remain locked down amid uncertainty over whether progress is lasting or is the result of a brief cease-fire between sectarian militias. An arc of neighborhoods there - Furat, Atibaa, Jihad, Amel, Bayiaa, and Saidiyah - will be forever linked to some of the war's worst turmoil. These areas, some of which the Monitor recently visited, will also offer the truest test of the durability of improving security, say American and Iraqi officials.

US Ambassador Ryan Crocker said last month that what ultimately happens in places like Jihad and other traditionally Sunni-Shiite - but currently segregated - neighborhoods is "critical" for the trend to "continue and solidify." While violence is down, true peace seems conditional on resolution of a number of explosive issues. Tens of thousands of displaced families hope to return to their homes, and families expect to receive compensation for members who were killed and for damage to property. Yet the Iraqi government has made no meaningful initiatives to push the process ahead. In some areas, hundreds of ex-Sunni insurgents and even a few Al Qaeda-linked fighters are on the US military's payroll as neighborhood guards. Shiite fighters with the Mahdi Army are also present, to a much smaller extent, in others, but are standing down for now, ordered by radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to freeze their activities.

REPORTS – IRAQI MILITIAS, POLITICIANS, POWER BROKERS

Al-Najaf hosts first conference of Iraqi Shiite, Sunni scholars

A 200-member delegation representing the Iraqi Sunni scholars arrived at the office of Shiite Mentor Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani in the southern Iraqi city of Al-Najaf to mull ways to defuse tension between the two sides. Under the title of "the first national conference of Shiites and Sunnis" the event kicked off Tuesday with other Shiite leaders in the city, such as Ayatollah Mohammad Saeed Al-Hakim, Ayatollah Ishaq Al-Fayyadh and Ayatollah Bashir Al-Najafi, attending. The conference drew participations from the Shiite Waqf in Iraq, the religious scholars of Iraq's Kurdistan, Baghdad, Basra, Al-Muthanna, Al-Nasseriya, Al-Kut, and Al-Diwaniya. Sunni leaders are expected to appeal for halting the activities of Shiite armed groups in southern Iraqi cities, informed sources believe. Welcoming the Sunni sholars to Al-Sistani office, Al-Najaf Jumaa Imam Sadr-Eddin Al-Qabanji said the world was looking forward to the conference to issue a strong signal about Iraq's national unity.

UPDATE: Iraq KRG Oil Min: To Sign 20 E&P Contracts By Early '08

The Kurdistan Regional Government is expecting to sign exploration and production contracts with around 20 more companies by the first half of next year, KRG Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami said Tuesday. The new contracts would come as tension escalates in Iraq over how the country's massive oil and gas resources should be managed, with the central government - backed by the U.S. administration - pushing for more centralized control. The relationship between the autonomous Kurdish government and Iraq's federal government deteriorated Tuesday as Iraq's oil minister accused the Kurds of using military force to prevent Baghdad from developing an oil field in the north of the country. A KRG spokesman said "no one" was blocking any development in the region. Iraq Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani has called contracts the KRG has already signed with companies such as TNK BP (TNBP.RS), a Russian company in which BP Plc (BP) holds 50%, and OMV (OMV.VI), "illegal," while Hawrami says the regional governments are allowed to sign deals under the current constitution. "Dr. Sharistani, he is wrong, plainly wrong," Hawrami said. "We are a federal region...(he) can't do anything...we don't need his approval," he said.

Speaking at a press briefing here, Hawrami said that several of the new contracts could be signed by mid-December, following a trip to Texas. He declined to comment on which companies the KRG was planning to sign contracts with. "Significant companies are negotiating with us now," he said. Once the contracts are all signed - doubling the number of firms currently in the Northern Iraq region - around $10 billion in exploration and production investment could lead to an boost of around one million barrels a day in the long term, Hawrami said. The KRG was also planning for an additional $4 billion in downstream investments to help solve power and fuel shortages. Introduction In early November, a team of Afghan journalists went to Musa Qala at the invitation of the Taleban. It was the first time since the insurgents took over the town in February that the media had been allowed in. IWPR’s reporters came back with different, sometimes conflicting impressions.

Top cleric al-Sistani urges Shiites to protect Sunnis

Top Shiite Cleric Ali al-Sistani urged Shiites to protect their Sunni brothers and defend them, head of south Iraq's scholars body said on Tuesday. Shiekh Khaled al-Mulla said at a press conference held in Najaf after the visit made by a delegation of Sunni and Shiite clerics to al-Sistani, "The top cleric asserted on the sanctity of Iraq's blood, urging Shiites to protect and defend Sunnis." Sistani said in the two-hour meeting "I'm a servant for all Iraqis and there is no difference between Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, or Christians."

The Mahdi Militia: Quiet But Not Gone

In the east Baghdad neighborhood patrolled by Capt. Mike Juarez and the men of Charlie Company, 1-8 Cavalry, Iraq's most feared militia is keeping its head down. Since Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army declared a unilateral cease-fire at the end of August, the Americans have been able operate freely in some of Baghdad's worst areas, and have faced very few serious attacks. But in Juarez's neighborhood, as elsewhere, the militia retains an insidious weapon: a presence within the Iraqi government's security forces. On a recent night patrol Juarez and his men went door to door, discussing everything from electricity to security with residents. One home had a picture of Sadr, the militia chieftain, on display in the living room. It turned out that the man of the house was a member of the Iraqi security forces. In the back-and-forth that followed, the man told the Americans that he did not work with the militia, and did not have any colleagues who did either. Eventually, though, he said he might know a few cops or soldiers whose loyalties lie with the Mahdi Army ("Jaish al-Mahdi" in Arabic, "JAM" in the parlance of U.S. soldiers). The Americans left the man with a phone number to call so he could leave anonymous tips.

Bush, Maliki Sign Pact on Iraq's Future

President Bush reached a deal yesterday that is intended to lead to a more normalized, long-term relationship between the United States and Iraq by the time he leaves office, but it left unsettled the question of how many and how long U.S. forces would remain. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki signed the declaration of principles during a secure videoconference as part of an effort to move forward 4 1/2 years after a U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq and toppled Saddam Hussein. The declaration calls for the current U.N. mandate to be extended one year, then replaced at the end of 2008 by a bilateral pact governing the economic, political and security aspects of the relationship.

REPORTS – US/UK/OTHERS IN IRAQ

Bush commits troops to Iraq for the long term

The Bush administration formally committed America yesterday to a long-term military presence in Iraq, pledging to protect the government in Baghdad from internal coup plots and foreign enemies. The cooperation pact, endorsed by George Bush and the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, during a video conference yesterday morning, will set the agenda for a future American relationship with Iraq, the administration's adviser on Iraq and Afghanistan, General Douglas Lute, told reporters at the White House. "The two negotiating teams, Iraq and the United States, now have a common sheet of music with which to begin the negotiations," Lute said. The military, economic and diplomatic agreement would commit US forces to defending the government of Iraq from internal and external threats as well as fighting al-Qaida and "all other outlaw groups regardless of affiliation", according to the declaration of principles released by the White House yesterday. In return, Iraq pledged itself to "encouraging the flow of foreign investments to Iraq, especially American investments, to contribute to the reconstruction and rebuilding of Iraq". The promise was immediately seen as a potential bonanza for American oil companies.

Texas oilman Wyatt sentenced to year in prison

Texas oilman Oscar Wyatt, 83, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison on Tuesday for conspiracy in the UN oil-for-food scandal, becoming the most prominent figure jailed over corruption in the program.

IRAQI REFUGEES

Iraqi Refugees: Challenges for Iraqis Detained in Lebanon

Every refugee crisis creates tragic stories, but in the case of the Iraqi refugees in Lebanon, part of the tragedy lies in how absurd people’s situations become. A visit to the Rumieh prison in Beirut confirmed this. Meeting with Iraqis who are imprisoned in Rumieh is heartbreaking, as their stories are tragic, and even more so in that they are all so common and similar. The Iraqis we met were either victims of or threatened by violence, and felt that their only choice was to leave Iraq, often on a moments notice. Rumieh prison now houses over 400 Iraqis, nearly all of whom were arrested for being in the country illegally. In the prison, over a hundred prisoners share a room no bigger than 35 square meters. We met with 6 Iraqis of all faiths (sunni, shia, christian) who were arrested for being in Lebanon, and who are now sharing cells and space with common Lebanese criminals. One man, much older than the majority of the inmates, had owned a factory in Baghdad and was forced to leave because of his religion. He purchased what he thought was a legitimate visa from an Iraqi government official, only to be arrested in Beirut when trying to fly to Europe. The man was clearly humiliated by his plight, and the anguish on his face was apparent. Other Iraqis shared similarly distressing stories. One person was arrested for trying to sneak back out of Lebanon to go back to Iraq. He left Iraq after receiving a death threat, but decided to go back to support his family, risking his life by returning to the center of the violence. He now sits in jail, unsure of his future, and unable to communicate with his loved ones. Two brothers we met with shared their separate stories - the one was tortured by Saddam, the other by the Mehdi army. One man was threatened because he used to help his father sell liquor, and said he would only return when he could drink in the streets. Another laughed when we asked if he wanted to go back to Iraq- "I’d go to Darfur before I go to Iraq" was his answer.

How to Help Iraqi Refugees

ANOTHER Way to help: The Collateral Repair Project

How You Can Help Displaced Iraqis

As you know, ElectronicIraq.net is home to the Direct Aid Initiative, a grassroots relief effort that provides funds for crucial medical care for Iraqis displaced by war and chaos. We want to take this opportunity to share with you an exciting new opportunity to include the work of the Direct Aid Initiative in your holiday giving. David Smith-Ferri, a gifted poet and longtime activist who has been visiting Iraq since 1999, has generously offered all of the after-printing proceeds from the new edition of his book, "Battlefield without Borders: Iraq Poems", to benefit the medical needs of Iraqi families through the Direct Aid Initiative. $12 of the $14 book price goes directly to this ongoing effort. "Battlefield without Borders" is a book of poems that grew out of David's encounters with Iraqi people during the last eight years. Many of the poems were written in Iraq and in Jordan, and some of them feature people that DAI is supporting. You can read some of David's poems and purchase the book online at link above.

COMMENTARY

OP-ED: César Chelala

Give Iraqi children their childhood: International Children's Day was celebrated throughout the world on Nov. 20. The United Nations marks this day as "a day of worldwide fraternity and understanding between children." In Iraq, unfortunately, this day was not to be celebrated with much fanfare, as children have become the most vulnerable victims of an unconscionable adult war. One glance at photographs of Iraqi children maimed by the war, and they are unforgettable. One child dies every five minutes in Iraq. Many more are maimed for life. Of the estimated 4 million Iraqis – a number equaling the entire population of Ireland – who have been displaced inside the country or have left Iraq, 1.5 million are children. For the most part, they do not have access to basic health care, education, shelter, water, or sanitation.

Seventy percent of the population lack access to adequate water supplies, and 80 percent lack effective sanitation, conditions that create a breeding ground for intestinal and respiratory infections primarily affecting children. "Children are dying every day because of the lack of essential medical support. The bad sewage system and lack of purified water, particularly in suburbs, has been a serious problem which might take years to solve," warns Ahmed Obeid, an Iraqi health official. Another major concern is malnutrition. Levels among children are continuously increasing; incidents of malnutrition have doubled since the U.S.-led invasion so that Iraq is now on a par with Burundi, the central African country torn asunder by a brutal civil war, and higher than Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas. The number of children born underweight is also higher than before the invasion, according to a report published by OXFAM and 80 other aid agencies. Some 8 million people – approximately one-third of the population – require emergency aid, and more than 4 million Iraqis depend on food assistance. "Sick or injured children who could otherwise be treated by simple means are left to die in the hundreds because they don't have access to basic medicines or other resources.

Media Overhyping Iraqis' Return Home?

Since October, proponents of the "surge" of U.S. troops in Iraq have pointed to a relative decline in death and violence in Baghdad and a huge movement of Iraqis who have fled the country and now are allegedly returning home. But numbers have been funny in the war in the past, and may be twisted again, New York Times correspondent Damien Cave suggests today. "A half-dozen owners of Iraqi travel agencies and drivers who regularly travel to Syria agreed that the numbers misrepresented reality," Cave reports. "They said that the flow of returnees peaked last month, with more than 50 families arriving daily from Syria at Baghdad’s main drop-off point. Since Nov. 1, they said, the numbers have declined, and on Sunday morning, during a period when several buses used to appear, only one came. "The travel agents said that they believed that Iraqis would continue to return to Baghdad from Syria and Jordan but that the initial rush appeared to be over. A United Nations survey released last week, of 110 Iraqi families leaving Syria, also seemed to dispute the contentions of officials in Iraq that people are returning primarily because they feel safer. "The survey found that 46 percent were leaving because they could not afford to stay; 25 percent said they fell victim to a stricter Syrian visa policy; and only 14 percent said they were returning because they had heard about improved security."

Quotes of the day: "Well, yeah, the Constitution is worth it if you can succeed." -Nancy Pelosi, 6/29/07

War News for Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: American troops killed up to four bank staff on their way to work in Baghdad on Tuesday after firing on their minibus. The shooting happened in the city's northern Shaab district, a Shiite militia stronghold, as the driver was collecting employees for the Rasheed bank. The soldiers opened fire when the bus reached their roadblock and tried to drive through, killing four passengers police said.

#2: A roadside bomb targeting a U.S. convoy wounded three civilians in the Karrada district of central Baghdad, police said.

#3: Around 1 p.m., a bomb was planted inside a car at Mansour neighborhood near the master of Milk injuring 2 people.

#4: Iraqi soldiers killed a gunman who was trying to attack a checkpoint in southern Baghdad's Saidiya district, a Baghdad security spokesman said.

#5: Early morning, a roadside bomb exploded at Salman Back ( south of Baghdad ) injuring one taxi driver

#7: Police found ( 3 ) unidentified bodies in the following neighborhood in Baghdad : ( 2 ) were found in west Baghdad ( Karkh bank ) ; 1 in Bayaa and 1 in Doura. While (1) was found in east Baghdad ( Risafa bank ) in Zafaraniyah.

#8: A former sheriff's deputy from Chisago (Chis-sah'-go) County has been killed while working as a security contractor in Iraq. DynCorp International says William Juneau (ju-NO) was killed Monday when his military convoy was hit by an improvised explosive device about 50 miles outside Baghdad. The 36-year-old Rush City man was helping to train the Iraqi police service as an employee of DynCorp, which has a contract with the U.S. State Department.


Diyala Prv:
#1: A suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt blew himself up at a police checkpoint on the main road between the town of Buhruz and the city of Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad,' the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The attack, which occurred at about 11:20 a.m. (0820 GMT), killed three policemen and three civilians at the checkpoint, the source said.. Seven people, including three policemen, were also wounded during the blast, which damaged several civilian cars that were driving past the checkpoint at the time of the attack, he said.

Another three women were killed when random gunfire broke out in the chaos after the blast.

Wednesday morning, a suicide bomber was wearing a vest filled with explosives targeted the headquarter of Diyala police in Baquba killing 7 ( three civilians and 4 policemen) and injuring 13 others ( 6 policemen and 7 civilians ) .

Baquba:
#1: East of the city, mortar rounds apparently targeting a local radio station instead landed near homes in the vicinity, killing two people

#2: a roadside bombing killed one civilian, police said.

an improvised explosive device went off on Tuesday morning in a main street in al-Salam district near a Kia-modeled vehicle, killing a civilian and seriously wounding three others," according to the same source.

#3: Armed clashes that took place on Tuesday morning between al-Qaeda gunmen and al-Aankabiya tribesmen in al-Salam district's al-Bu Aziz village, northern Baaquba, left Sheikh Hadi Muhammad Jassim, a chieftain, killed, and two other villagers wounded," the source, who preferred to remain unnamed, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). "A house was destroyed during the clashes," the source noted.


Basra:
#1: A huge fire broke out in an oil pipeline following clashes between two tribes in northern Basra, a source from the South Oil Company said on Tuesday. Shooting between the tribes of al-Karamsha and al-Halaf that lasted all Monday night set fire to an oil pipeline in northern Basra's al-Harea area," the source, who requested anonymity, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). "The pipeline does not transport crude oil, but fuel," the source indicated.


Salah ad Din Prv: (Suleiman Bec?)
#1: Two Multi-National Division – North Soldiers were killed as a result of injuries sustained from an explosion near their vehicle while conducting operations in Salah ad Din province, Nov. 27. Additionally, two Soldiers were wounded and transported to a Coalition medical facility for treatment.

Around 9.30 a.m., a roadside bomb targeted an America patrol in an area of about 2 km of Suleiman Beck of Tuz Khurmatu (east of Tikrit) . Eyewitnesses said that a Humvee was destroyed. Also they saw a helicopter came to the scene taking the killed and injured soldiers with them

#2: Around 9.30a.m., a roadside bomb exploded on the road of about 2 km of Suleiman Beck of Tuz Khurmatu (east of Tikrit).No casualties reported.


Baiji:
#1: During a U.S. operation Monday against al-Qaida in Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad, American troops shot at a vehicle speeding toward a roadblock after firing warning shots, the U.S. military said in a separate statement. Two men in the vehicle were killed immediately, and a child traveling with them died later of his wounds.


Tikrit:
#1: The bodies of four men were found shot near the city of Tikrit, 170 km (105 miles) north of Baghdad, a Salahuddin province official said. The men were in police custody but armed tribal members stopped a police convoy on Monday and seized them.

#2: Monday night, gunmen killed Ahmed Hassan ( the mayor of Al-Zihour neighborhood )in Tikrit using silencer guns.


Hawija:
#1: Gunmen killed a policeman in a drive-by shooting in the town of Hawija, 70 km (45 miles) southwest of Baghdad, police said.


Mosul:
#1: A car bomb wounded four civilians in Mosul, police said.

#2: The bodies of four people with gunshot wounds were found dumped in the west of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.


Al Anbar Prv:
Ramadi:
#1: The civilian driver of a vehicle was killed when U.S. troops opened fire on his vehicle as it sped towards a checkpoint in the city of Ramadi, 110 km (70 miles) west of Baghdad, on Sunday, the U.S. military said.




Afghanistan:
#1: A suicide car bomb targeting a U.S. military convoy in the Afghan capital Kabul killed two civilians on Tuesday, the latest attack to shake confidence in government efforts to uphold security. The target of Tuesday's attack was a two-car convoy of U.S. troops outside a Defence Ministry building in the centre of Kabul close to embassies, and offices of the United Nations and World Bank. There was no one injured from our convoy," said Lieutenant Colonel David Johnson of the Combined Security Transition Command, which trains the Afghan army. "Our convoy was on a routine mission."


Casualty Reports:

Navy medic Christopher Braley, 22-year-old lost his eye during a September explosion in Iraq and has had surgery to relieve brain swelling and to rebuild his brow area. He has spent the past two months at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Doctors there are treating him for an infection around a titanium plate in his brow that could require more surgery if it does not respond to medicine, said his grandmother, Jane Braley.

News & Views 11/26/07

Photo: People cry as they escort the coffin of one of the victims of a car bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2007. A parked car bomb exploded in a crowded area near a medical complex in Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least nine people and wounding more than 30, officials said. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

REPORTS – LIFE IN IRAQ

97 women burnt to death, 27 others killed in Kurdistan region in 4 months

Ninety-seven women were burnt to death and 27 others killed in the three Kurdish provinces during the past four months, the human rights minister in the Iraqi Kurdistan region revealed. "I cannot say that violence against women has lowered," Yusuf Aziz Muhammad told reporters after taking part in a conference held in Arbil on Sunday to discuss means to stop violence against women. The statements coincide with the international day to eliminate violence against women, November 25. "Surveys conducted in Arbil (the capital of the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region) showed that there were 60 cases of women burning in Arbil, 21 in Duhuk and 16 in Sulaimaniya. There were also 10 cases of women killing in Arbil, 11 in Duhuk and six in Sulaimaniya," Muhammad said. The Kurdish official, citing the figures of 2005, noted that there were 59 cases of women killing in the region, which rose to 118 in 2006. "Cases of women burning themselves in Sulaimaniya during 2006 were 64 and in Duhuk 185," said the minister. Women proved involved in honor-related crimes are forced to burn themselves and sometimes they are set ablaze by their male relatives. The minister, who heads the committee to investigate violence against women, said members of his committee "dealt with the reasons behind this deterioration and agreed to replace the term 'honor killing' with the term 'violence against women' and to set determined tasks for relevant ministries."

11 Relatives of Iraqi Journalist Killed

Masked gunmen stormed the family home of a journalist who was associated with Saddam Hussein's party and critical of the Iraqi government, killing 11 relatives as they ate breakfast in a neighborhood known as a Shiite militia stronghold, colleagues said Monday. Dhia al-Kawaz, editor of the Jordan-based Asawat al-Iraq news agency, was in Jordan when his sisters, their husbands and children were reportedly killed Sunday in north Baghdad's Shaab district. According to the news agency's Web site, witnesses said more than five masked men broke into the home and opened fire, then planted a bomb inside. "Sectarian militias killed 11 family members of Dhia al-Kawaz," the agency's statement said, apparently referring to Shiite death squads that frequently target minority Sunnis and their supporters. The media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said Iraqi police at a nearby checkpoint failed to intervene as the family — al-Kawaz's sisters, their husbands and their seven children — was slaughtered. Al-Kawaz, his wife and their children live elsewhere.

Mohammed Salman, a colleague of al-Kawaz in the Jordanian capital of Amman, confirmed the attack in Shaab, a Shiite militia stronghold where a group of Sunni and Shiite tribal sheiks was kidnapped last month before being freed in a U.S. and Iraqi rescue operation. Another colleague, who refused to be named because he feared reprisal, said al-Kawaz has received threats for his stance against the U.S. occupation and sectarian strife in Iraq. The colleague refused to say whether al-Kawaz was Sunni or Shiite. That colleague said an SUV without license plates stopped at the gate of the house and threw two bombs as the two couples and their children aged 5 to 10 were eating breakfast. Reporters Without Borders, based in Paris, said al-Kawaz had recently received threats from the Badr Brigade, the militant arm of Iraq's largest Shiite party the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council. Al-Kawaz, who declined to comment Monday, has rejected the U.S. occupation and accused majority-Shiite Iran of seeking to dominate the Iraqi government. The journalist is known as an advocate for Saddam's banned Baath Party.

Baghdad: Quieter but Not Peaceful

The quietest time in Baghdad usually comes around midnight. Curfew falls. People across the city turn off lights and bed down, easing the load on the electricity grid enough to allow government-run power-lines to flow. Generators go silent. Fumes clear, and stars come into view in the clear night sky. On some evenings these days if you stay up late you can hear unbroken hours of hushed calm stirred only by the distant barking of dogs or the wispy echoes of a jet high overhead. Other nights, though, the crunch of bombs falling around the city begins to sound heavily as the clock moves through the hours of the early morning. On some nights only half-a-dozen or so bombs can be heard hitting southern Baghdad and other quarters of the city. On other nights neighborhoods within earshot of the Green Zone take brutal hammerings, a dozen strikes or more crashing in the darkness. For weeks it has gone like this - relative calm in the city during the day followed on many evenings by a chorus of explosions around the city. In the past several days, however, dawn has brought blasts of its own, a seeming answer by insurgents and militia fighters to assertions by U.S. and Iraqi officials that Baghdad and other areas of Iraq are on the mend.

Reopening of looted museum signals a calmer Baghdad

Nearly five years after it was ransacked by hordes of looters in the wake of Saddam Hussein’s overthrow, the Iraq museum in Baghdad is about to open its doors again. The museum, famous for priceless antiquities representing the world’s earliest civilisation, is scheduled to open next month, according to its acting director, Amira Emiran. Visits will be confined to just two galleries on the ground floor containing Assyrian and Islamic treasures that are too large and heavy to be easily removed. The remaining 16 galleries will remain empty and closed and security will be tight. Nevertheless, Iraqi and American officials are keen to portray the opening as a sign that security in Baghdad has improved after the chaos of the past few years.

REPORTS – IRAQI MILITIAS, POLITICIANS, POWER BROKERS

American-backed killer militias strut across Iraq

Members of the Baghdad Brigade receive $300 a man each month from the Americans, who also provide vehicles, uniforms and flak jackets. In return the brigade keeps out Al-Qaeda, dismantles roadside bombs and patrols the area, a task performed with considerable swagger by many of its 4,000 recruits. The US military is delighted with the results achieved by the brigade in Abu Ghraib and by similar groups in other former “hot spots” of sectarian conflict that have seen a sharp decline in violence. For Shi’ites such as Kahiriya Musa, however, a Sunni militia represents another potential source of terror in a country where millions have been traumatised by ethnic cleansing. A 50% cut in car and roadside bombs, shootings and rocket and mortar attacks since June has brought hope that some of the 5m Iraqis driven from home may soon be able to go back. Yet many – Kahiriya Musa among them – are too frightened of the new militias and the ethnic cleansers in their ranks to risk moving. Officials in the Shi’ite-led government also fear the burgeoning of fresh forces beyond its control. The question being asked in government circles is: have the Americans achieved a short-term gain in security at a cost of long-term pain that may be inflicted by the Sunni militias, which are already threatening to go to war against their Shi’ite counterparts? The western province of Anbar first witnessed the phenomenon known as “the awakening” – the turning of Sunni tribes against the largely foreign fighters of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. For General David Petraeus, the American commander, the awakening has proved a powerful force with which to increase the impact of his surge of 30,000 US troops earlier this year. By allying the US forces with Sunnis opposed to Al-Qaeda, the general has engineered victories over the brutal foreign fighters that seemed almost unimaginable 12 months ago. US-backed Sunni militias have spread eastwards from Anbar across Baghdad. They already number 77,000, known collectively as “concerned local citizens”. This is more than the Shi’ite Mahdi Army and nearly half the number in the Iraqi army. Exotically named groups such as the Knights of Ameriya and the Guardians of Ghazaliya strut the streets in camouflage uniforms, brandishing new AK47s that the Americans say they have not supplied.

Islamic Army splits over fight with Qaeda

A split in the ranks of the Islamic Army of Iraq is certain to reverse the successes U.S. occupation troops allege to have made in the country in the past few months. The Mosul sector has severed ties with the Islamic Army whose leaders have agreed to cooperate with U.S. troops and turn their guns against Qaeda fighters and elements in the country. The Mosul sector is one of the most effective and battle hardened of the insurgent group which once claimed the execution of almost daily attacks on U.S. troops. Mosul – Iraq’s second largest city and the districts within the borders of the Province of Nineveh, of which the city is the capital – was the hometown of army generals and senior officers of former leader Saddam Hussein’s armed forces. From Mosul came the largest number of volunteers of the former Republican Guards, Saddam Hussein’s elite forces, the Special Security and intelligence. These disgruntled officers and security and army personnel are the commanders of the Islamic Army and the split of Mosul is bound to complicate matters for both the U.S. an the Iraq government. While the Islamic Army has pledged to suspend all operations against U.S. troops, its Mosul sector has vowed to proceed ahead with anti-U.S. operations.

Iraqi Shiite leader defends Iran

Iraq's most influential Shiite politician said Sunday that the U.S had not backed up claims that Iran is fueling violence here, underscoring a wide gap on the issue between Washington and the Shiite-led Baghdad government. A draft bill to ease curbs on ex-Saddam Hussein loyalists in government services also drew sharp criticism from Shiite lawmakers, opening old wounds at a time when the United States is pressing the Iraqis for compromise for the sake of national unity. The Americans have long accused the Iranians of arming and training Shiite militias, including some linked to the U.S.-backed government of Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. U.S. officials have also alleged that Iran has provided weapons used to kill Americans — a charge the Iranians vehemently deny. "These are only accusations raised by the multinational forces and I think these accusations need more proof," Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Islamic Iraq Council, told reporters.

Iraq Kurds defy Baghdad on oil deals

The autonomous Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq defied Baghdad on Monday, vowing to sign more contracts with international oil firms despite the national government's opposition. "The (regional) government will continue with the contracts and they will be implemented," its prime minister Nechirvan Barzani said. "No one can cancel any contract of the KRG (Kurdistan regional government) signed with foreign companies," a defiant Barzani told reporters in the regional capital Arbil. Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain Shahristani has declared all oil contracts between the Kurdish administration and foreign companies null and void, saying they have been signed illegally in the absence of a national oil law. Barzani insisted the contracts are legal and fall within the provisions of the region's constitution.

Shia-Shia Conflict Fuels Instability

While the commercial media continues to focus single-mindedly on "sectarian violence," Iraq is being wrenched apart by political conflict. Increasing conflict and finger pointing between leading Shi'ite political blocs are heightening instability in war-torn Iraq. "It is said in the Arab world that if thieves were not seen while steeling, they would be seen while dividing the loot," Wayil Hikmet, an Iraqi historian in Baghdad told IPS. "That is what goes for the accelerating collapse of the Iraqi political system that was made in the USA. The thieves of the Green Zone are now giving me and my colleagues good material to write down for the coming generations," Hikmet said, referring to new scandals floating to the surface of the political scene in recent days. The Supreme Islamic Council in Iraq (SICI) led by Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim, and The Sadr Movement led by anti-occupation cleric Muqtada Al- Sadr are accusing each other of committing serious crimes against humanity in the southern parts of Iraq. In early September, clashes between Sadr's Mehdi Army militia and the Badr Organisation militia of SIIC erupted in the holy city of Kerbala, 100 kilometres southwest of Baghdad.

………Bahaa Al-A'raji, an MP with the Sadr movement, told journalists in Baghdad this week that his movement is being targeted by the SICI that dominates the Ministry of Interior. Many Sadr followers have been arrested and tortured by police loyal to the SICI in different parts of Iraq, Al-A'raji said. SICI operates militarily via the Badr Organization militia, which was created in Tehran in 1982 and has been armed, trained and advised by Iranian intelligence since then.

Most likely a pile of lies: Iraq government wants to pay neighborhood police units

Iraq's government wants to start paying the wages of neighborhood security units that have been backed by U.S. forces and credited with helping cut violence in the country, a U.S. general said on Monday. The Shi'ite-led government has at times appeared ambivalent about the rapid growth of such units, dubbed "concerned local citizens" groups by the U.S. military. The vast majority of the 77,000 men under the program are Sunni Arabs largely recruited from their own neighborhoods to man checkpoints. Brigadier-General Edward Cardon, a deputy commander for an area extending from Baghdad's southern outskirts into central Iraq, said coalition forces were currently paying the wages. "However, the government of Iraq has just come to us, saying it would like to take over this role and they will start working with these citizen groups and pay them for what they are doing," Cardon told a news conference. "That is still very much in the beginning stages, but (is) a very positive development."

REPORTS – US/UK/OTHERS IN IRAQ

U.S.-Iraq agreement sets stage for talks on troop levels

Iraq and the United States agreed Monday that the U.N.-mandated occupation of Iraq will end in December 2008 and that any U.S. troop presence in the country after that time will be subject to U.S.-Iraq negotiations that are to be completed by next summer. The agreement likely will be seen as a victory for Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, who's been pressing for an end to U.S. supervision of Iraq. In a nationally televised speech, Maliki said the agreement "ends the presence of international troops" in Iraq. "This is the target we all seek," he said.

It's Official: In Iraq Forever

So it begins. After years of obfuscation and denial on the length of the U.S.'s stay in Iraq, the White House and the Maliki government have released a joint declaration of "principles" for "friendship and cooperation." Apparently President Bush and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki signed the declaration during a morning teleconference. Naturally, the declaration is euphemistic, and doesn't refer explicitly to any U.S. military presence.

-- Iraq's leaders have asked for an enduring relationship with America, and we seek an enduring relationship with a democratic Iraq. We are ready to build that relationship in a sustainable way that protects our mutual interests, promotes regional stability, and requires fewer Coalition forces.

-- In response, this Declaration is the first step in a three-step process that will normalize U.S.-Iraqi relations in a way which is consistent with Iraq's sovereignty and will help Iraq regain its rightful status in the international community – something both we and the Iraqis seek. The second step is the renewal of the Multinational Force-Iraq's Chapter VII United Nations mandate for a final year, followed by the third step, the negotiation of the detailed arrangements that will codify our bilateral relationship after the Chapter VII mandate expires.

A "democratic Iraq" here means the Shiite-led Iraqi government. The current political arrangement will receive U.S. military protection against coups or any other internal subversion. That's something the Iraqi government wants desperately: not only is it massively unpopular, even among Iraqi Shiites, but the increasing U.S.-Sunni security cooperation strikes the Shiite government -- with some justification -- as a recipe for a future coup.

Does not know what he is talking about: Officer: Iraq groups supported by Iran

Five years from now they will be saying the same thing: Iraq forces better but not ready yet: U.S. general

COMMENTARY

‘U.S. Politics Turning Communities Against Each Other’

"As long as the U.S. troops stay in Iraq there will be violence," warns Gilbert Achcar, professor of development studies and international relations at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. Achcar -- a vehement critic of U.S. policy in the Middle East since Sep. 11, 2001 -- was born in Senegal and lived in Lebanon until moving to France in 1983. He has served as professor of politics and international relations at the University of Paris VIII, and has written many books about the impact of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East during the post Sep. 11 era. Achcar spoke with IPS correspondent Apostolis Fotiadis about the current state of the war and what the future might hold. IPS: Would the absence of U.S. forces in Iraq result in an interethnic conflict of total annihilation? GA: There are many signs to the contrary. Civil conflict has been going on anyway. It peaked some months ago and has subsided recently, but still the U.S. politics of turning the communities against each other has sharpened tensions between ethnic and sectarian groups. The only undisputable fact is the correlation between the occupation and the level of violence. As long as the U.S. troops stay in Iraq there will be violence in this country. The announcement of a date of departure would exert pressure on the various factions in Iraq to reach a consensus. In that case people will know they are facing a deadline for finding a way to co-exist or lose control.

IPS: What would a withdrawal without first establishing effective control in the country mean for the U.S.? GA: To withdraw from Iraq without securing control over the country and the area would result in a loss of credibility. The credibility of U.S. deterrence and power has already suffered a lot. Look at Iran now -- it is clear that they are not intimidated by the U.S. threats. Iraq has paralysed them to such an extent that they are unable to turn against other threats. It has also exposed the Achilles heel of the U.S. -- which is the Vietnam syndrome. The population does not want the country to be involved in dirty wars and this creates a serious human resource shortage for the military. IPS: Could the increasing scale of militarisation and violence in the region be connected with the declining hegemony of the U.S.? GA: We do not deal here with some kind of a beast that instinctively produces aggression. The war drive that has been going on since 9/11 is obviously motivated by U.S. strategic interests and it is designed according to two main concerns. One is to control the major world oil reserves. We have entered into the last few decades of cheap oil . . . the strategic importance of oil is increasing. The second is that the U.S. military presence in the heart of Eurasia -- especially in areas of interest for Russia and China -- is important because they fear an alliance of both at the expense of U.S. hegemony in the region.

Iraq Has Only Militants, No Civilians

Name them. Maim them. Kill them. From the beginning of the American occupation in Iraq, air strikes and attacks by the U.S. military have only killed "militants," "criminals," "suspected insurgents," "IED [Improvised Explosive Device] emplacers," "anti-American fighters," "terrorists," "military age males," "armed men," "extremists," or "al-Qaeda." The pattern for reporting on such attacks has remained the same from the early years of the occupation to today. Take a helicopter attack on October 23rd of this year near the village of Djila, north of Samarra. The U.S. military claimed it had killed 11 among "a group of men planting a roadside bomb." Only later did a military spokesperson acknowledge that at least six of the dead were civilians. Local residents claimed that those killed were farmers, that there were children among them, and that the number of dead was greater than 11.

Here is part of the statement released by U.S. military spokeswoman in northern Iraq, Major Peggy Kageleiry: "A suspected insurgent and improvised explosive device cell member was identified among the killed in an engagement between Coalition Forces and suspected IED emplacers just north of Samarra.... During the engagement, insurgents used a nearby house as a safe haven to re-engage coalition aircraft. A known member of an IED cell was among the 11 killed during the multiple engagements. We send condolences to the families of those victims and we regret any loss of life." As usual, the version offered by locals was vastly different. Abdul al-Rahman Iyadeh, a relative of some of the victims, revealed that the "group of men" attacked were actually three farmers who had left their homes at 4:30 A.M. to irrigate their fields. Two were killed in the initial helicopter attack and the survivor ran back to his home where other residents gathered. The second air strike, he claimed, destroyed the house killing 14 people. Another witness told reporters that four separate houses were hit by the helicopter. A local Iraqi policeman, Captain Abdullah al-Isawi, put the death toll at 16 -- seven men, six women, and three children, with another 14 wounded.

RESISTANCE

We Support the Troops Who Oppose the War

On the weekend of 13-15 March, 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will assemble history's largest gathering of US veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Iraqi and Afghan survivors. They will provide first hand accounts of their experiences and reveal the truth of occupation. We support Iraq Veterans Against the War and their Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation. Join us in supporting the effort to reveal truth in the way that only those who lived it can.

Please go to this website to sign the petition.

War News for Monday, November 26, 2007

Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: Gunmen in Baghdad killed 11 family members of an Iraqi journalist operating an electronic news website, the journalist Dia al-Kawwaz told AFP by telephone from Amman on Monday. "Four gunmen entered my family house in Shab area. Two of my sisters, their husbands and seven children between five and 10 years old were killed yesterday (Sunday) morning," Kawwaz said. He accused Shiite militiamen of carrying out the killings, saying they "stormed the house when the family was having breakfast".

#2: A roadside bomb wounded two people in the Zaafaraniya district of southern Baghdad, police said.

#3: A roadside bomb targeted an Iraqi army vehicle in Al Urfaly area, causing damages to the vehicle

#4: Police found four dead bodies throughout Baghdad. 1 in Abu Desheer, 1 in Bayaa, 1 in Ur, 1 in Sleikh


Diyala Prv:
Kanan:
#1: Iraqi police said Al Qaeda gunmen attacked a local anti Al Qaeda group in Kanan (15 Kilometers south Baqouba), killing one member of the group and bombing two houses including the group's headquarter.

Muqdadiyah:
#1: Iraqi police said Al Qaeda fighters attacked a local anti Qaeda group in Al Muqdadiyah (25 kilometers east of Baqouba), the clashes killed four of Al Qaeda fighters.


Kut:
#1: Police found the body of civilian with gunshot wounds on Sunday in central Kut, police said.

#2: Gunmen killed a policeman when they stormed his house in Kut, 170 km (105 miles) southeast of Baghdad, police said.


Hilla:
#1: Gunmen killed a man and wounded another in a drive by-shooting on Sunday in central Hilla, 100 km (62 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

#2: A civilian was shot down by unknown gunmen in central Hilla on Monday, a source from Babel police said. Unidentified gunmen driving a modern vehicle opened fire on Jabbar Kadhem, who was driving his car in central Hilla's Nadir area, killing him on the spot," a police source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq


Basra:
#1: Around midday A gunman killed a woman as she was shopping in Al Banat (girls in Arabic) market according to eye witnesses.


Al Zab:
#1: A suicide truck bomb killed one soldier and wounded five others in an attack on an Iraqi army checkpoint on Sunday in the Al-Zab area, 35 km (20 miles) southwest of Kirkuk, police said. Another soldier was missing.


Mosul:
#1: Police found a body with gunshot wounds in the city of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.



Afghanistan:
#1: A roadside bomb killed four civilians on the outskirts of Kabul Monday, a police official said. The bomb was planted on a dirt track in the Charasayab area of the capital and was apparently detonated by remote control, just as a car carrying four Afghan villagers passed by, all of whom were killed.

#2: Four Afghan soldiers were killed as a roadside bomb struck their vehicle in Afghanistan's eastern Paktia province Monday, spokesman of provincial administration Deen Mohammad Darwish said. "The Taliban rebels detonated a roadside bomb by remote control in Zarmat district today at noon, destroying a military vehicle and killing four soldiers on the spot," Darwish told Xinhua. Two more soldiers were injured in the incident, he added.

#3: Australian soldiers serving in southern Afghanistan are mourning the death of explosive detection dog ‘Andy’ – a two-year-old Kelpie-cross. ‘Andy,’ a member of the Special Operations Task Group (SOTG), was accidentally killed when struck by a vehicle within the Kamp Holland complex at Tarin Kowt.


Casualty Reports:

Retired Army Capt. Dawn Halfaker, one of five women to have lost a limb in combat in Iraq, was back this year to play in her fourth Buddy Bowl with her team, the Hell's Belles. Halfaker, 28, lost her right arm when she was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade while on patrol in a Humvee on June 19, 2004.

Master Sgt. Joseph Santiago, 42, was injured in an accident in which he fell from a 25-foot-high berm separating Iraq and Kuwait four and a half years ago. But all he could talk about was the throbbing in his head, his loss of short-term memory, his inability to distinguish numbers from letters and — most of all — his unceasing frustration over being denied combat disability status by military doctors. Sergeant Santiago’s odyssey through the Pentagon bureaucracy is one shared by scores of soldiers who have sustained traumatic brain injuries, whose repercussions can be hard to quantify and even harder to treat. Doctors say more than 2,000 soldiers have suffered traumatic brain injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan, though experts say as many as 150,000 troops may be grappling with the effects of head trauma. Last year, a doctor at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Washington disagreed with that assessment, saying Sergeant Santiago’s memory loss, slurred speech and nerve damage were caused by his fall. His injuries are the result of a misstep in the dark. Sergeant Santiago, a chemical and biological weapons expert, was patrolling a berm on the Iraq-Kuwait border when a firefight between American and Iraqi troops broke out in the distance. He was watching through his binoculars when a comrade called out his name. Pivoting in the blackness, he misjudged the edge of the wall and plummeted head first into the sand below.

A soldier from Paignton, injured during a mortar attack on his base in Iraq, has been forced to take an army medical discharge. Grenadier Guard Karl Dobson suffered career-wrecking injuries when he was hit by flying shrapnel in July last year during his second tour of the war zone.Karl, a 25-year-old Lance Corporal, said: "The shrapnel went through the back of my shoulder. I now have only 40 to 50 per cent movement in the joint. "I can't really serve properly in the army with half my shoulder missing."