down with murder inc

Security incidents in Iraq, Dec. 1
RUTBA - The bodies of four people who were bound and gagged and then shot dead were found by the side of the road between Qaim and Ruba, police said.
BASRA - An Iraqi translator who had worked with British forces was assassinated on Wednesday by gunmen in the southern city of Basra, police said.
KIFL - Three civilians were killed when a U.S. Bradley fighting vehicle rolled over their car in Kifl, a town about 150 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, police said. The U.S. military had no information about such a report.
FALLUJA - A U.S. Marine died of wounds sustained from small arms fire in Falluja on Wednesday, the U.S. military said in a statement.
BAGHDAD - A U.S. soldier died as a result of a gunshot wound north of Baghdad on Wednesday, U.S. military said in a statement. alertnet.org

Insurgent offensive on Iraqi city
Insurgents have attacked US bases and government offices in Ramadi, in central Iraq, and then dispersed throughout the city, residents say.
Scores of heavily-armed insurgents fired mortars and rockets at the buildings and then occupied several main streets. The attack came as local leaders and US military officials were meeting at the al-Anbar provincial governor's office.
Ramadi has been a rebel stronghold for many months.
Residents told the Reuters news agency that hundreds of heavily armed men in masks were patrolling the main streets of the city and had set up checkpoints.
Leaflets
Residents said leaflets distributed by the men declared that al-Qaeda in Iraq, the group run by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was now in control of the city.
"Its followers will burn the Americans and will drive them back to their homes by force. Iraq will be a graveyard for the Americans and its allies," one leaflet declared.
Residents said there was no noticeable presence of US or Iraqi forces in the city after the attacks. It is not known whether there have been any casualties.
The attack came as 2000 US Marines and 500 Iraqi soldiers launched an offensive against insurgents in Hit, east of the River Euphrates, not far from Ramadi. The US military said the town was "suspected to be an al-Qaeda in Iraq safe area and base of operations for the manufacture of vehicle car bombs." - bbc.co.uk

Security incidents in Iraq, Dec 4
* NAJAF - Former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said gunmen tried to assassinate him while he prayed in Shi'ite Islam's holiest shrine on Sunday. Allawi said 60-70 men in black, armed with guns and knives, set upon his party as he prayed at Najaf's Imam Ali mosque. Police said some of Allawi's guards and police fired in the air as Allawi's group ran for safety under a hail of rocks, tomatoes and shoes.
* BAGHDAD - Two police were wounded in a roadside bomb attack in western Baghdad on Sunday, police said.
* BALAD - Two insurgents were killed after they fired on an army patrol near Balad, 60 km (37 miles) north of Baghdad, on Saturday, the U.S. military said on Sunday. Soldiers engaged the insurgents and then two U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon jets dropped laser-guided bombs, the military said.
BAGHDAD - Two U.S soldiers were killed and several others wounded when their convoy was attacked in a roadside bombing in a southeastern suburb of Baghdad, the U.S. military said. A military spokeswoman said that two Humvees were destroyed in the ambush.
AHMAR - Two Iraqi policemen were killed when gunmen attacked their patrol in Ahmar village, about 40 km (25 miles) east of Baquba, police said.
BAGHDAD - Two civilians were killed and 26 wounded when a bomb placed under a car exploded in central Baghdad, a police source said. The target of the explosion was not clear.
BAIJI - A woman and two children were wounded when U.S forces conducted an air strike, bombing two houses in Baiji, 180 km (112 miles) north of Baghdad, a joint coordination centre statement said. The air strike followed a mortar attack on a U.S base near Baiji.
BAGHDAD - The imam of a Shi'ite mosque was killed by gunmen in eastern Baghdad, police said. Sheikh Abdul Salam abdul Hussein was a follower of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
UDAIM - Two insurgents were killed and 55 suspects detained when the Iraqi army conducted a raid in Udaim, near Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad, the army said. The raid followed an ambush on Saturday that killed 19 Iraqi soldiers.
ZARKUUSH - Two people were killed, including a policeman, when a bomb planted on the side of the road exploded in Zarkuush, a village 70 km (43 miles) east of Baquba, police said. The target of the bomb was not clear.
ISKANDARIYA - Five members of the Iraqi security forces were wounded when a roadside bomb went off near their patrol in Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said. Reports conflicted about whether they were members of the army or police and one source said one wounded man later died. - alertnet.org

Ex-RUC head to review Iraq police

4 December 2005 - The UK is sending a former NI policing chief to Basra in southern Iraq to carry out a review of policing there. The BBC has learned Sir Ronnie Flanagan is going to Iraq because of growing concerns about the infiltration of the country's police force by insurgents. Sir Ronnie is the former chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, formerly the RUC.

He told the BBC it was clear "a lot still has to be done" to improve policing in Iraq.

"In the four provinces for which we are responsible a lot of progress has been made, but a lot still has to be done," he said. "I think there's a recognition that probably in standing up and training the Iraqi army, more progress has been made in that area. "We're probably almost a year behind in terms of progress with policing. "And I think what needs to be done now is that a total concentrated effort needs to be made by all the Coalition forces to ensure that concentration upon policing is provided".

Security forces

Defence Secretary John Reid said Sir Ronnie would be looking at the effectiveness and neutrality of the police. "The vast majority of Iraqi security forces are courageous and are doing a very good job," he told the BBC.

He added: "We are almost 10 years on from the beginnings of the Good Friday Agreement and we don't even have acceptance in Northern Ireland, from the whole community, about policing there.

"So, in a much different situation, with much more difficult problems in Iraq, it would be surprising if we were able to accomplish this overnight, but we are steadily making things better."

On Friday, Mr Reid said Iraqi security forces could take control of some UK-run areas of Iraq in 2006. Mr Reid inspected British troops and met new members of the Iraqi army during a visit to Basra. He said the quality of the 210,000 Iraqi security forces meant the handover could start next year. But he stressed British troops would not leave completely until Iraqi forces could "defend their own democracy".

The trip comes amid a growing debate over how long UK forces should remain on the ground in Iraq. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has said British troops could leave by the end of 2006. Ninety-eight UK soldiers have died since the invasion in 2003. - BBC

'Kidnappers' in Iraq get message from a 'thin' Qatada

BBC reports that a terror suspect held in a British jail has made a video appeal for the release of Briton Norman Kember, taken hostage with three others in Iraq last month. Radical cleric Abu Qatada, detained since 2002, urged the kidnappers to free the hostage "in line with the principle of mercy of our religion". Qatada, described by a Spanish judge as al-Qaeda's ambassador in Europe, was briefly released under a control order earlier this year before being re-arrested facing deportation to Jordan. An Iraqi militant group calling itself the 'swords of truth' holding four has extended a deadline to kill them by another 48 hours to December 10 unless Iraqi prisoners are freed

so here's the conundrum - why would anyone believe a word Abu Qatada has said if he's doing it from a prison cell, looking noticably thinner & bedraggled - giving the impression that he has been told what to say - under duress? Surely it is no different to the many statements we have seen from desperate hostages which have been prepared by their kidnappers. For any progress to be made statements should be made by people expressing their free will to those who are holding prisoners captive, surely?

Isn't that the way it's supposed to work? hmmm...

Thin Qatada

Background: Abu Qatada is linked in a number of reports to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi: both men operated at the top of a terrorist group called al-Tawhid which planned to overthrow the monarchy of Jordan and install a caliphate. In fact, Zarkawi once served seven years in a Jordanian prison for just such a plan. Videos of Mr Qatada's speeches were 'found' in the Hamburg flat of Mohamed Atta, 'Head Hijacker' on September 11

Fat Qatada

After September 11th, Qatada was identified as a 'specially designated global terrorist' by a US executive order. Categorized by the British as 'believed to have committed, or pose, a significant risk of committing or providing material support for acts of terrorism.'. Qatada disappeared in December 2001 from London, just before he could be deported under new antiterrorism legislation. Leaked testimony surfaced from French sources which detailed how Abu Qatada was actually holed up under supervision / protection of British Intelligence.

Britain says cannot meet Iraq kidnappers' demands

08 December 2005 BRUSSELS: Britain said today no government can meet the demands of kidnappers holding a Briton and three other Western aid workers hostage in Iraq. Norman Kember, 74, from Britain, two Canadians, including Auckland student Harmeet Singh Sooden, and an American were kidnapped on Nov. 26 in Baghdad where they were working with a Christian peace group.

An Iraqi group calling itself the "Swords of Truth" has threatened to kill the hostages unless Iraqi detainees are released by Thursday. The group has accused the four of spying for foreign forces in Iraq, a charge denied by their colleagues.

"We are aware of these so-called demands which no government could meet," Straw told reporters before meeting other EU foreign ministers to discuss the European Union budget. "I am afraid I have nothing further to report. We work and we pray for a satisfactory outcome," he said.

Straw said Britain was "always ready to listen" if the hostage-takers had anything to communicate to his government. "This is an appalling time for Mrs Kember and my heart is with her and her family," he said. "We are doing all we can in what is a desperate situation for Mr Kember."

Muslim scholars and activists from around the world, including leaders of the militant Palestinian Hamas group and Lebanon's Hizbollah, appealed earlier this week for the release of the aid workers. A Jordanian cleric jailed in Britain for links to al Qaeda also called for their release, saying the men should not be punished for the policies of their governments. "I, your brother Abu Qatada,. . . beseech my brothers in the Swords of Truth in Iraq, who are imprisoning the four Christian peace activists, to release them in accordance with the fundamental principle of mercy of our faith," he said in an appeal aired on Arab television networks on Wednesday. "Our prophet said mercy should be shown unless there is a reason in Sharia (Islamic law) that prevents it," he added in a videotape supplied to Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya channels by his lawyers. British authorities say Abu Qatada was a leading inspiration for al Qaeda in Europe.

Kember's wife, Pat, also issued a statement calling for his release. "My husband Norman doesn't believe in violence, neither does his family," she said. "We believe everyone should live in peace, and that is why Norman went to Iraq. He wanted the Iraqi people to know that there are many people who feel sorry for their suffering." - stuff.NZ

A group calling itself the Islamic Army in Iraq reads a statement in a tape obtained July 8, 2004. A group with the same name said on Thursday it had killed an abducted US security consultant, according to an Internet statement.

U.S. hostage said killed in Iraq
Thu Dec 8, 2005 6:27 PM GMT - By Paul Tait and Seif Fouad BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An Islamic insurgent group said on Thursday it had killed a U.S. hostage who, if the claim is confirmed, would be the first foreign captive killed in Iraq for four months and the first American in more than a year.
The reported killing came after a suicide bomber killed 30 people in an attack on a crowded bus in central Baghdad, the latest chapter in Iraq's bloody insurgency just a week before Iraqis vote in parliamentary elections.
A statement posted on a Web site often used by insurgents said the Islamic Army in Iraq killed the security consultant, identified as Ronald Schulz, because the U.S. government had not met its demands, which included freeing all Iraqi prisoners.

"War criminal (U.S. President George W.) Bush continues with his arrogance and no one has any value unless they serve his criminal interests, therefore the American security adviser pig at the Housing Ministry has been killed," the statement said.
The statement's authenticity could not be verified and no pictures or video accompanied it. The White House and the U.S. embassy in Baghdad both said they had no official confirmation of the report. If true, Schulz, a 40-year-old electrician who had been working in Iraq before his kidnap on Tuesday, would be the first foreign hostage killed in Iraq since late July, when two Algerians were executed by their captors. Before that, a Japanese hostage was killed in May this year and an Italian hostage in December last year. The last American hostage to die was Jack Hensley, in September 2004. The reported killing follows a spate of foreign hostage-taking in Baghdad and came as Iraqi security forces were braced for a spike in violence ahead of the election.
The bombing on the Baghdad bus took the death toll from suicide attacks in the Iraqi capital to 66 in just three days, after a relative lull in recent weeks. On Tuesday, suicide bombers breached security at Baghdad's police academy and killed 36 police officers and cadets. Police said Thursday's bomber boarded the bus as it was about to leave a bus station for the southern Shi'ite city of Nassiriya and blew himself up. Television pictures showed firefighters pulling charred bodies from the wreckage.
In August, the same bus station was hit by three car bombs, one of which tore through a bus destined for Basra, also in the predominantly Shi'ite south.
"THIS GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN A LOSER"
Growing frustration over the violence and little improvement in the quality of life for Iraqis loom as the main threats to the ruling United Iraqi Alliance in next Thursday's election. The Alliance, tacitly backed by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's top Shi'ite Muslim cleric, includes Iraq's two most powerful religious Shi'ite parties. It swept to power with more than half the seats in parliament in January's interim polls on hopes, largely unrealised, that a democratically elected government would usher in a semblance of stability and revive a crumbling economy.
"This government has been a loser throughout the year. It didn't do anything for the people. Instead things are even worse now," said Inas, a freelance translator in Baghdad.
The Americans, who announced the deaths of two more U.S. Marines -- one in Baghdad and one in Ramadi -- said they are tightening security ahead of the vote. "We are not complacent. The insurgency wants to disrupt the democratic process," Major General Rick Lynch, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq, told Reuters.
For much of this week, Iraqis have been riveted by the televised trial of Saddam on charges of crimes against humanity. The trial was adjourned for two weeks on Wednesday after three highly charged sessions this week which culminated in the former president boycotting the U.S.-funded court after telling judges to "go to hell" over his treatment in detention.
An Iraqi militant group calling itself Swords of Truth is holding four Western Christian aid workers and has said it will kill them if Iraqi prisoners are not freed by Saturday, Al Jazeera television reported. Britain again called for the release of the hostages -- 74- year-old Briton Norman Kember, two Canadians and an American -- but Washington and London have said they will not yield to the demands.
Thousands of civilians have been kidnapped in Iraq since the fall of Saddam, including more than 200 foreigners. Some foreigners were seized by criminal gangs seeking ransom but insurgents also used them to pressure their governments to withdraw their armies from Iraq.
Many hostages have been released, but around 50 have been killed, some by beheadings broadcast on the Internet. reuters.co.uk

Ex-Cuba inmates in hostage plea
British former detainees of Guantanamo Bay, in Cuba, have called for the release of Norman Kember and three other hostages being held in Iraq. Moazzam Begg told the BBC's Newsnight he and his fellow former inmates had been reminded of their ordeal by seeing the 74-year-old Briton in a jumpsuit.
UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has urged the captors to make contact.
Meanwhile, friends and supporters of Mr Kember have been holding a candlelit vigil outside Peterborough Cathedral. The Swords of Truth group had set Thursday as its deadline for the release of all prisoners in Iraq. Al-Jazeera showed a video of two of the hostages - Mr Kember and American Tom Fox - in shackles and said the deadline had been extended.

War opponents
Mr Begg said: "When we were first granted release by Allah's mercy we came home to find that there were people who opposed the government in their brutal war waged against Afghanistan and Iraq and stood on the side of justice, and they were not Muslims. "It is our sincerest belief that Norman Kember, the 74-year-old Briton and those with him are amongst those people, the many people who opposed this war from the beginning and were only in Iraq to promote human rights for the oppressed.
"Just like Sheikh Abu Qatada, we also hope that our words may encourage you to show mercy to these men and let them free."
Mr Straw reiterated on Thursday morning that Mr Kember and his colleagues were peace campaigners, "dedicated to helping others".
"As I've said before, if the kidnappers want to get in touch with us, we want to hear what they have to say," he said.
Mr Kember, along with Mr Fox, 54, and Canadians James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, had travelled to Iraq as a "gesture of solidarity" with Canada-based international peace group Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT).
Their captors have accused the men of being spies, a charge their employers deny.
The latest video shows Mr Kember and Mr Fox dressed in orange jump suits with their hands shackled and wearing blindfolds, echoing film of British kidnap victim Ken Bigley who was shown wearing similar clothes before his murder. Mr Kember is shown telling the camera he is "a friend of Iraq".
"I have been opposed to this war, Mr Blair's war, since the very beginning but I ask him now, and the British government, to do all that they can to work for my release and the release of the Iraqi people from oppression," Mr Kember says.
On Thursday, a radical cleric detained in the UK made an appeal for the hostages' release. In a video filmed in prison, Abu Qatada urged the kidnappers to free them "in line with the principle of mercy of our religion". Abu Qatada, described by a Spanish judge as al-Qaeda's ambassador in Europe, faces deportation to Jordan.
- bbc.co.uk

Security incidents in Iraq, Dec 8

* RAMADI - A U.S. Marine was killed when a makeshift bomb hit his vehicle on Wednesday, the U.S. military said.

BAGHDAD - A U.S. soldier was killed when a convoy hit a makeshift bomb in east Baghdad on Thursday, the U.S. military said.

BAGHDAD - A suicide bomb attack on a Baghdad bus killed 30 people and wounded at least 18 others on Thursday, police said. The bus was leaving the busy Nahda bus station in the city centre for the Shi'ite city of Nassiriya when the bomber detonated himself, they said. - alertnet.org

Iraq ready for decisive election in a week

BAGHDAD, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Iraq's preparations are complete for its parliamentary election, the Electoral Commission said on Thursday, a week before a vote that may set the balance of power for years to come in a nation at risk of all-out civil war.

"Our preparations have ended and everything is now ready," Commission chairman Hussein Hindawi told Reuters.

A suicide bombing that killed at least 30 people in Baghdad on a bus headed for the Shi'ite south and the reported killing of a kidnapped American were reminders if they were needed that the threat remains high of violence from al Qaeda and other Sunni Arabs opposed to the U.S.-installed political system.

But unlike January's interim poll, the first since the U.S. invasion of 2003 that overthrew Saddam Hussein, the Dec. 15 election for a full-term parliament is likely to see much of the once dominant Sunni minority come out and vote, hoping to punch their full weight in bruising political battles to come.

A profusion of candidates and a sense that, with a four-year term and a likely reduction in the U.S. presence over that time, this election offers real power to the victors, have meant that Baghdad and other cities are wallpapered in political posters, giving an air of import and expectation to the campaign.

While U.S. President George W. Bush and his officials are quick to note the contrast with Iraq's authoritarian past -- of which voters have been reminded this week by intensive coverage of Saddam's trial -- the bitterness of the campaign rhetoric, along with violence and threats, are troubling for the future. Bush, in a speech on Wednesday answering domestic critics with a rundown of where he saw economic progress in Iraq, acknowledged the problems posed by sectarian militias -- many of which owe allegiance to Shi'ite Islamist parties now in power. His envoy to Iraq has mediated in sectarian and ethnic feuds that, were it not for the presence of massive American firepower, are bitter enough to spark all-out civil war.

"We do hope leaders emerge who can work for national unity ... to help heal the divisions of the past and build bridges among different communities for a positive future," ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said in an election address to Iraqi media.

CONSTITUTIONAL DIVIDE

The risk remains, however, that an influx in numbers of leaders of the 20-percent Sunni minority to the new parliament will not break the stalemate over competing demands. Khalilzad constantly assures Sunni leaders they will be able to negotiate amendments to the constitution in the new assembly -- a promise he extracted from the Shi'ite and Kurdish interim government to help defuse a Sunni veto in October's referendum. Yet the campaign, in its rhetoric at least, leaves little room to suppose a peaceful compromise will be easy among Kurds set on virtual independence, Shi'ites keen to assert majority rule, Islamic law and a big share of oil revenues and Sunnis anxious to regain a prominent role in a centralised Iraqi state.

The polarisation of the electorate in different regions has meant in effect a series of parallel campaigns are being waged that has exposed splits, however, within all the communities. Mob violence against a minority Islamist party in Kurdistan this week showed up the ugly side of a drive by the region's two main parties, both secular though long at war with each other, to monopolise Kurdish votes and maximise their say in Baghdad. Similarly, Shi'ite leaders campaigning against the ruling Alliance coalition, formed mainly by the Islamists of SCIRI and Dawa, have complained of violence and intimidation in the south.

Prominent among those voicing outrage has been Iyad Allawi, the secular Shi'ite appointed prime minister under U.S. rule in 2004; he has welded a broad, non-sectarian coalition with conspicuously deep pockets and has mounted a serious challenge to the Alliance, which won an outright majority in January.

U.S.-led Coalition officials in Iraq have made little secret of their disappointment with the interim government, feeling it has done too little to appease Sunnis, not least through its ties to Washington's adversaries in Shi'ite Iran, and has failed to show Iraqis economic benefits from the advent of democracy. Though his government was tarred with accusations of graft, Allawi, a former agent of U.S. and British intelligence with a strongman image, might well suit Washington as prime minister.

Bush and his officials are adamant Iraqis will choose their own government. And few doubt the Alliance will win most votes. But with a broad coalition government likely, Western officials in Baghdad are talking of a new Allawi administration:

"It certainly hasn't been an auspicious transitional government," one said on Thursday. "Allawi ... could emerge as an acceptable candidate for prime minister. To some he's maybe not their man; but he's not the other guy's man either." - alertnet.org

Security incidents in Iraq, Dec 9

* BAGHDAD - Iraqi soldiers found two dead bodies in a western Baghdad neighbourhood where insurgents were seen roaming the streets on Friday morning, Interior Ministry sources said.

Witnesses said insurgents and security forces clashed in an apparent shootout in the area.

BALAD - Iraqi police found the body of an intelligence officer on Friday. He was shot dead the previous day after gunmen ambushed his car, police said.

BALAD - U.S. forces arrested a senior Iraqi police officer and five civilians in connection with an attack on a U.S. patrol.

RAMADI - A U.S. army truck caught fire after a makeshift bomb struck a convoy, the military said in a statement. There were no serious injuries from the attack. - alertnet.org

Suicide Bomber Kills 32 on Bus in Baghdad

By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer - 9th Dec 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A suicide bomber detonated explosives Thursday inside a packed bus bound for a southern Shiite city, killing 32 people and wounding 44, police said. The blast pushed the three-day death toll from suicide attacks in the capital to at least 75.

Meanwhile, a statement posted on the Internet in the name of the Islamic Army in Iraq claimed to have killed an American hostage. The statement did not name him or provide photos, but the group earlier identified its captive as Ronald Alan Schulz and threatened to kill him unless all prisoners in Iraq were released.

On Friday a U.S. military medical evacuation helicopter made a hard landing north of Baghdad with no injuries reported, the military said. The military confirmed a report on an incident involving a Blackhawk helicopter in Tarmiyah, 30 miles north of Baghdad. Thursday's suicide attack occurred as the bus was pulling away from east Baghdad's Nadhaa station bound for Nasiriyah, 200 miles to the south. A man carrying a bag suddenly jumped on the vehicle through the open door, apparently waiting until the last moment to board to avoid security checks.

He was challenged by the conductor but insisted on taking a seat, police Lt. Wisam Hakim said. "He sat in the middle of the bus and then the explosion took place," Hakim said.

Police Lt. Ali Mitaab said 32 people were killed and 44 wounded. Most of those killed were on the bus, which was gutted by flames, but several people around a food stall also died, police said.

Officials at the scene said the death toll was especially high because the blast triggered secondary explosions in gas cylinders at the stall.

Several other explosions rumbled through the heart of the capital Thursday morning, including one that struck an American convoy killing a U.S. soldier, the military said. The U.S. command also said that a Marine was killed the day before in a bombing in Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad.

The bus attack occurred two days after a pair of suicide attackers wearing explosives belts killed 43 people and wounded more than 70 at Baghdad's police training academy. Most of those dead in the academy and on the bus were believed to be Shiite Muslims. Most of the insurgents are Sunnis.

The station, the main departure point for buses heading to the Shiite south, was the scene in August of a horrific triple car bombing that killed at least 43 people and wounded 89.

At least 1,819 Iraqis have been killed in suicide attacks since the new government took office on April 28, according to a count by The Associated Press. During that period, at least 4,676 Iraqis were killed in war-related violence, including suicide attacks.

The latest attacks broke a relative lull in suicide missions in the capital, a respite that U.S. authorities had attributed to military operations against al-Qaida-led insurgents west of Baghdad. U.S. and Iraqi officials had predicted a surge in insurgent attacks ahead of the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections. U.S. officials hope a large turnout, especially among Sunni Arabs, will help take the steam out of the insurgency and set the stage for a drawdown of American forces next year.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said he could not confirm the death of the American hostage. Schulz's family in North Dakota said he was an electrician and was last heard from in Amman, Jordan.

It was the first time in more than a year that a group from the Sunni-led insurgency announced the slaying of an American hostage. Another American, freelance writer Stephen Vincent of New York City, was abducted and killed in August, and police blamed Shiite militants.

In September 2004, al-Qaida in Iraq killed Jack Hensley of Marietta, Ga., and Eugene "Jack" Armstrong, formerly of Hillsdale, Mich. They had been abducted days before in Baghdad along with a Briton Kenneth Bigley, who also was killed.

The Web statement posted Thursday said the Islamic Army killed "the American security consultant for the Housing Ministry" after the United States failed to respond to its demand of the release of Iraqi prisoners. "The war criminal Bush continues his arrogance, giving no value to people's lives unless they serve his criminal, aggressive ways. Since his reply (to the demands) was irresponsible, he bears the consequences of his stance," the statement said. "Therefore the American security consultant for the Housing Ministry was killed after the end of the deadline set to respond to the Islamic Army's demands," it said.

On Tuesday, Bush said the United States will work for the return of captive Americans in Iraq but would not submit to terrorist tactics. "We, of course, don't pay ransom for any hostages," Bush said.

Another group, the Swords of Righteousness, has set a Saturday deadline, threatening to kill four Christian humanitarian workers abducted two weeks ago, including an American, two Canadians and a Briton. A French aid worker and a German citizen are also being held by kidnappers.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw on Thursday appealed again for communication from the group holding the four Christian peace activists.

"If the kidnappers want to get in touch with us, we want to hear what they have to say," Straw said. "We have people in Iraq itself and in the region, and they are ready to hear from the kidnappers." - news.yahoo.com

Security incidents in Iraq, Dec 11

BAGHDAD - A U.S. soldier was killed when his patrol hit a roadside bomb in west Baghdad on Sunday, the U.S. military said.

RIYADH - One Iraqi soldier was killed and another wounded when gunmen attacked a checkpoint near Riyadh, a small town 60 km (40 miles) southwest of the northern city of Kirkuk, police said.

BAIJI - Two members of the Iraqi army were killed and one wounded when gunmen attacked them as they drove in an unmarked car in Baiji, 180 km (112 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

TIKRIT - Iraqi police found a charred body on Saturday in the city of Tikrit, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, the body had gunshot wounds, police said.

SAMARRA - Fighting broke out between a joint Iraqi-U.S patrol and gunmen in the city of Samarra, 100 km (62 miles) north of Baghdad on Saturday. One Iraqi soldier was killed and two suspects were arrested, the Iraqi and U.S. military said. - alertnet.org

Security incidents in Iraq, Dec 12
* FALLUJA - A suicide car bomber targeted a U.S. patrol as it passed through the city on Monday, killing himself and injuring one U.S. Marine, the U.S. military said.
BAGHDAD - A U.S soldier was killed when a patrol was struck by a roadside bomb, south of Baghdad, the U.S military said in a statement.
BAGHDAD - Two civilians were killed and 15 others wounded, including five policemen, when a car bomb exploded near a police station in eastern Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - Three policemen and a civilian were killed and nine people wounded in clashes between Iraqi police and gunmen in the western Ghazaliya district of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - Seven Iraqi policemen were wounded in clashes with gunmen in Baghdad's western Amiriya district, police said.
RAMADI - A U.S. soldier assigned to the Marines was killed on Sunday in a suicide car bomb attack, the U.S military said in a statement.
BAGHDAD - Police said they found the bodies of four people in southern Baghdad on Monday. The families of the four told police they had been taken on Sunday by men posing as members of the Iraqi Major Crime Unit.
NAHRAWAN - Three civilians were wounded when a car bomb exploded near an Iraqi police check point in Nahrawan, a suburb in southeastern Baghdad, police said. - alertnet.org

Sunni candidate gunned down in Iraq
ISN SECURITY WATCH (Wednesday, 14 December: 10.20 CET) -
Sunni Arab candidate for palriamentary elections Mezher al-Dulaimi has been killed by insurgents in the embattled city of Ramadi, according to local reports.
Al-Dulaimi was reportedly shot while filling his car's gas tank on Wednesday. The slaying of the Sunni candidate was followed by an failed bombing attack on Sheik Jalal Eddin al-Sagheer, a Shi'ite member of the National Assembly. Violence has been on the rise in Iraq ahead of the elections, as Sunni insurgent groups have condemned the vote set for Thursday.

Nineteen U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq in past week

Big News Network.com Wednesday 14th December, 2005

Nineteen U.S. soldiers have been killed in separate incidents in Iraq in the past week, 11 by improvised explosive devices. Four U.S. Task Force Baghdad soldiers were killed in Iraq Tuesday, the U.S. military reported. The four were patrolling an area northwest of Baghdad when they fell victim to an improvised explosive device.

The latest deaths take the number of U.S. servicemembers fatalities in Iraq to 2,150.

The past week has been one of the deadliest for the U.S. military as Iraq prepares for the parliamentary elections on Thursday.

One Task Force Baghdad soldier was killed south of Baghdad Monday when an improvised explosive device detonated near his M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle during patrol operations. He was Spc. Jared W. Kubasak, 25, of Rocky Mount, Va., Kubasak was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.

Spc. Lex S. Nelson, 21, of Salt Lake City, Utah, was killed in Tikrit Monday when he fell from a guard tower. Nelson was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery, 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga. He had been in Iraq for a year and was scheduled to leave in two weeks time.

Sgt. 1st Class James S. Moudy, 37, of Newark, Del., was killed Sunday in western Baghdad when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device. Moudy was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

Staff Sgt. Keith A. Bennett, 32, of Holtwood, Pa., died in Ar Ramadi on Sunday as the result of a suicide car bombing. Bennett was assigned to the Army National Guard's 28th Military Police Company, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, Johnstown, Pa.

Sgt. Clarence L. Floyd, Jr., 28, of Newark, N.J., was killed in Taji on Saturday, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces using small arms fire during combat operations. Floyd was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Staff Sgt. Travis L. Nelson, 41, of Anniston, Ala., and Sgt. Kenith Casica, 32, of Virginia Beach, Va., were killed Saturday by small arms fire in Baghdad. Both soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Sgt. Julia V. Atkins, 22, of Bossier City, La., was killed in Baghdad also Saturday, when an improvised explosive device detonated near her HMMWV during patrol operations. Atkins was assigned to the 64th Military Police Company, 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.

Sgt. Adrian N. Orosco, 26, of Corcoran, Calif., was killed in Baghdad on Friday when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his dismounted position during combat operations. Orosco was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Irwin, Calif.

Sgt. Spencer C. Akers, 35, of Traverse City, Mich., died at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, on Thursday, of injuries sustained in Habbaniyah, Iraq, on Nov. 21, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations. Akers was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry Regiment, Saginaw, Mich.

Also Thursday Staff Sgt. Milton Rivera-Vargas, 55, of Boqueron, Puerto Rico, died in Kalsu from a non-combat related cause while on guard duty. Rivera-Vargas was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 296th Infantry Regiment, Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico.

Cpl. Joseph P. Bier, 22, of Centralia, Wash., was killed Wednesday by an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations in Ar Ramadi. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Biers unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

Sgt. Michael C. Taylor, 23, of Hockley, Texas, was killed in Balad Wednesday, when an improvised expolsive device detonated near his Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck while his unit was conducting combat operations. Taylor was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 13th Field Artillery, 214th Field Artillery Brigade, III Corps Artillery, Fort Sill, Okla.

Spc. Brian A. Wright, 19, of Keensburg, Ill., was killed in Ramadi on Tuesday, when his HMMWV struck a mine during combat operations. Wright was assigned to the Army National Guard's 135th Engineer Company, Lawrenceville, Ill.

Pfc. Thomas C. Siekert, 20, of Lovelock, Nev., died in Bayji Tuesday, from non-combat related injuries. Siekert was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky. - BNN

Election campaigning comes to a halt in Iraq
14/12/2005 - Campaigning came to a stop today around Iraq to give the country's 15 million voters an opportunity to reflect before deciding who will govern their country for the next four years. Streets in Baghdad were eerily quiet one day before the election, with police strictly enforcing a traffic ban. Only the noise from an occasional police siren, sporadic gunshot or US helicopter could be heard. Borders and airports have also been closed and the night-time curfew has been extended.
Iraq's election commission said that it had registered 6,655 candidates running on 996 lists and had certified 307 political groups - either in the form of single candidates or parties - and 19 coalitions. Baghdad is Iraq's biggest electoral istrict with 2,161 candidates running for 59 of the 275 seats in Iraq's parliament, according to commission's executive director, Adel Ali al-Lami. There are 33,000 polling stations around Iraq.
On the last day of campaigning, a roadside bomb killed four American soldiers and gunmen assassinated a candidate for parliament in this week's election. A Shiite politician escaped injury in a bombing south of Baghdad. The US ambassador, meanwhile, said today the total number of abused prisoners found so far in jails run by the Shiite-led Interior Ministry came to about 120. The statement by Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad reinforced Sunni Arab claims of mistreatment by security forces - a major issue among Sunnis in the election campaign.
Despite the violence, more than 1,000 Sunni clerics issued a religious decree instructing their followers to vote, boosting American hopes the election will encourage more members of the disaffected minority to abandon the insurgency.
Three of Iraq's leading politicians agreed today that a speedy withdrawal by foreign troops before Iraqi forces are ready would cause chaos. But the three - former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani and Sunni Arab politician Tariq al-Hashimi - disagreed on the description of US and other foreign troops. Barzani described them as "forces of liberation," while al-Hashimi said they were occupiers. The three leaders, speaking from Baghdad, appeared in a debate on the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television. Such debates are rare in the Arab world, where candidates mainly rely on rallies attended by hand-picked followers. Their comments were noteworthy because they represent important constituencies in the vote.
Barzani heads the Kurdish autonomous region in the north and is among the country's most powerful politicians. Allawi heads a religiously mixed ticket in the election. Al-Hashimi represents a major Sunni Arab coalition.
Allawi, a secular Shiite, said an early US withdrawal "will lead to a catastrophic war." And al-Hashimi, whose party has been sharply critical of the US role, said he looked forward to "my country's liberation" but not "to be followed by chaos." Allawi also said early US withdrawal "will lead to a catastrophic war."
Al-Hashimi criticised President George Bush for saying the United States is fighting terrorism in Iraq.
"Why should Iraqis pay a bill for something they have nothing to do with?" said al-Hashimi, a candidate for parliament. "Terrorism is not the problem of Iraqis."
A US military statement said four soldiers from Task Force Baghdad died yesterday in a blast north-west of the capital, bringing to at least 2,149 the number of US service members to have died since the start of the war in 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
The attacks occurred on the second anniversary of the capture of Saddam Hussein, an event hailed at the time as a turning point in an insurgency which actually grew in wake of the arrest.
The Bush administration hopes the election will draw a large turnout among Sunni Arabs and produce a government that can win the trust of the minority community that is the backbone of the insurgency. That would in turn allow the United States and its coalition partners to begin bringing their troops home next year.
Iraqis living outside the country began voting yesterday in the United States and 14 other countries.
Strong turnout was seen in polling stations around the world, including in Syria, Jordan and Iran, where Associated Press reporters witnessed heavier turnout compared to Iraq's January elections. Many Sunnis boycotted the January election, enabling rival Shiites and Kurds to win most of the seats in the interim parliament - a development that sharpened communal tensions and fuelled the insurgency. But unlike January's vote, which elected a government which was to last for less than one year, the term of the new government will be four times that.
In an encouraging sign, more than 1,000 Sunni clerics issued a religious edict, or a fatwa, yesterday urging followers to vote. While some prominent clerics with links to the insurgency have avoided calling on their followers to vote, the edict is likely to encourage many Sunnis to go to the polls. They hope that more participation will lessen the ability of the Shiite majority to abuse them.
Ambassador Khalilzad said on the prisoner abuse issue that "over 100" of the detainees found last month at an Interior Ministry jail in Baghdad's Jadriyah district were suffering signs of abuse. An additional "21 or 26 people" were found three days ago at another Interior Ministry lockup, he said. Khalilzad said the United States would "accelerate the investigation" to determine who was responsible for abuses - a long-time Sunni Arab demand.
The Islamic Army in Iraq, a prominent insurgent group, said yesterday it would not attack polling stations. But it vowed to continue its war against US-led coalition forces.
On Monday, five Islamic militant groups, including al-Qaida in Iraq, also promised not to try to disrupt the voting, even though it branded the election a "satanic project." - IOL

Iraqis go to the polls amid sporadic violence

By Reuters Thu Dec 15, 2005 - A steady stream of Iraqi voters walked to polling sites nationwide on Thursday to elect their first full-term parliament since Saddam Hussein’s overthrow, ignoring sporadic violence such as a mortar attack in Baghdad.

Police said the mortar round was aimed at the capital’s Green Zone compound, where the Iraqi government is based and senior politicians were voting. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage and voting was not interrupted. There was also an explosion in Ramadi, a city west of the capital where the insurgency is strong, and a mortar round landed near a polling station in Tikrit, Saddam’s hometown. Several blasts shook the turbulent northern city of Mosul. But overall, the election began in a secure, if tense, atmosphere with traffic banned and all work at a halt.

Sunni Arabs voted in numbers for the first time, with crowds gathering at polling stations even in rebel strongholds like Ramadi. Most of the once dominant minority boycotted a January 30 election for an interim assembly to draft a new constitution.

“I am very happy to vote for the first time because this election will lead to the American occupation forces leaving Ramadi and Iraq,” said 21-year-old voter Jamal Mahmoud. “I hope we can have a government that will help me and give me my rights,” said Hadi Mishaal, who suffered spinal injuries while serving in Saddam’s army in 1991 and who walked 2 km (over a mile) with a crutch to vote in Baghdad with his wife.

This election, the first held under Iraq’s new constitution, is for a four-year parliament, ushering in a long-term government to tackle the insurgency and other crucial issues. It also marks the formal completion of the U.S. timetable for setting up democratic institutions in postwar Iraq.

Some 15 million Iraqis are eligible to vote in the election, which many hope will end decades of suffering, lift living standards, rebuild the oil industry, and lead to a pullout of the U.S.-led troops who toppled Saddam in April 2003.

“Ballot boxes are a victory of democracy over dictatorship,” said Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari as he cast his vote. “The real triumph is that people are casting ballots -- whoever they choose -- and that they’ve chosen voting over bombs.”

In the northern, ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk, there were emotional scenes. Hussein Garmiyani, dressed in traditional Kurdish clothes, entered a voting centre and cut his finger with a pin before stamping his ballot paper in blood.

“I was a victim of the Anfal campaign. These past years were all years of blood and I signed for freedom with my blood,” he said, referring to Saddam’s campaign against the Kurds in the late 1980s. Garmiyani voted for the main Kurdish alliance.

The priority for any new government will be to strengthen Iraqi security forces so that they can quell the bloody two-year-old insurgency without relying on U.S.-led troops.

TIGHT SECURITY

From the Gulf shores to the mountainous borders of Turkey and Iran, voters will file to more than 6,000 polling stations, dip their index fingers in purple ink to guard against multiple voting and drop their votes into plastic ballot boxes. Security is tight. About 150,000 Iraqi soldiers and police officers are on duty to stop the suicide bombings and shootings which killed around 40 people on polling day on January30.

Nearly 160,000 U.S. soldiers are on hand to support Iraq’s security forces, and although they aim to keep their distance from polling booths, they will intervene if needed. U.S. President George W. Bush defended his decision to invade Iraq even though he accepted it was based on faulty intelligence, saying he was right to topple Saddam.

“We are in Iraq today because our goal has always been more than the removal of a brutal dictator,” he said, hours before Iraqi polling stations opened.

Al Qaeda and other Islamist militant groups have vowed to disrupt the poll but have stopped short of threatening, as they did in January, to kill anyone who votes. The run-up to the election has, by Iraq’s bloody standards, been calm.

“There is a quiet confidence that things are going to go well,” U.N. envoy to Iraq Ashraf Qazi told Reuters on the eve of a poll which the U.N. and Washington hope will serve as an example to other Middle East states moving towards democracy.

Despite voters having to walk to vote, turnout could be high -- perhaps even 70 percent compared with 58 percent in January and 64 percent in October’s constitutional referendum.

WHO’S IN THE RACE?

However, insecurity kept some polling stations shut in the Sunni Arab province of Anbar, where turnout was just two percent in January. Of the 207 polling sites in Anbar, whose capital is Ramadi, only 162 opened, Iraq’s Electoral Commission said.

There are no reliable opinion polls but the United Iraqi Alliance, a grouping of Shi’ite Islamist parties currently in government, is expected to win the most votes. Its share is expected to fall, however, from the 48 percent it won in January to perhaps about 40 percent.

The Kurds are predicted to win about 25 percent of the vote, and will be pushed hard for second place by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, whose broad, largely secular coalition took 14 percent in January but is expected to make ground.

The election is for 275 members of parliament. Most seats are allocated on the basis of the population in Iraq’s 18 provinces but under a complex proportional representation system 40 seats will be set aside for smaller parties.

Shi’ites, who make up about 60 percent of Iraq’s 27 million people, are likely to dominate the vote in southern provinces, while Sunni Arabs are strong in west and central regions. Non-Arab Kurds dominate the northeast.

(Additional reporting by Michael Georgy and Luke Baker in Baghdad, Aref Mohammed in Kirkuk, Ammar al-Alwani in Ramadi and Baghdad bureau) - ft.com

UK commander warns of Iraq split threat

By Peter Spiegel in Basra Published: December 16 2005

The commander of all British ground forces in southern Iraq warned on Friday that, in spite of the success of Thursday’s national elections, provincial polls early next year in the south could be violent if Shia parties splinter into factional fighting.

Brigadier Patrick Marriott, commander of the UK’s 7th Armoured Brigade, said he would recommend against “significant reductions” of British troops from Iraq until those elections are held, which are likely to be held next March or April. “They’re going to be fighting for local power; they’re going to be fighting within their lists,” Brig Marriott said of the provincial elections. “It’s going to be a very bumpy ride.”

British military officials have said in recent days that southern Iraq has witnessed rising tensions between rival Shia factions – particularly between those allied to radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and the so-called Badr Brigade, a militia loyal to the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq.

The two groups are allied nationally as part of a coalition of Shia Islamic parties that is expected to gain the most votes once the tally from Thursday’s election is counted. But in spite of that alliance, the Mehdi Army, Mr al-Sadr’s militia, has had intense skirmishes with Badr as recently as August, when the two groups engaged in open warfare in southern Maysan province.

Brig Marriott said the provincial elections could see fragmentation within Badr and Mehdi, as elements within the militias who are seeking local power independent of the national coalition broke from the alliance. “There are certain minorities within those lists that, if it fragments, will end up fighting,” he said.

Brig Marriott was second in command of British ground forces during the 2003 invasion, and he acknowledged “a tinge of sadness” that more progress had not been made since his first deployment to Iraq. “The expectations of myself and some of the soldiers were probably too high,” he said. “To expect to get southern Iraq and Basra up to a sufficient standard, and to expect to be able to do that in a few days was folly, real folly.” He said recent attacks against British forces, which included a series of roadside bombs that have killed 10 soldiers since May, had forced him to redeploy more troops to protection duties, rather than training and reconstruction in Iraq.

As recently as six months ago, he said up to 60 per cent of his forces were working on training and related missions, a percentage that had now dropped to “not higher than 40 per cent”. FT.com

IRAQ WRAPUP 3-Shi'ites eye power as killings continue

By Gideon Long BAGHDAD, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Bombs exploded in three Iraqi cities and two senior officials survived assassination attempts on Monday as partial election results suggested the new government will be dominated by Islamist Shi'ite Muslims.

An Iraqi lawyer said two women known as "Dr. Germ" and "Mrs. Anthrax", weapons experts under Saddam Hussein, were among 26 senior aides being released. A U.S. military spokesman said only that eight "high-value detainees" were freed on Saturday.

A German woman hostage released on Sunday was safe and well in Baghdad, but an Iraqi militant group posted an Internet video claiming to show the killing of an American abducted this month.

Hundreds of angry Iraqis staged protests as the government hiked fuel prices to bolster an economy battered by war, sanctions, under-investment and widespread violence.

The level of violence has risen since the successful and largely peaceful poll on Dec. 15, the first parliamentary election since the war in which Sunni Arabs voted in strength.

In the latest attacks, a suicide car bomber targeted a convoy carrying an Iraqi police colonel in Baghdad. Two civilians were killed by the blast, which left the smoking wreckage of eight cars strewn across a street. The colonel, two bodyguards and five civilians were wounded.

In another district, gunmen fired on the convoy of Baghdad's deputy governor Ziyad al-Zawbai. Three of his bodyguards were killed and Zawbai was wounded.

Attackers also set off bombs in Basra, Iraq's second city, wounding three bodyguards of an adviser to the defence minister, and in Miqdadiya, 90 km (56 miles) northeast of Baghdad, wounding four civilians.

Partial results from the election suggested the government tasked with taming the violence will be dominated again by Iraq's main Shi'ite Islamist coalition, at odds with Washington over human rights and ties to Iran.

The coalition, the United Iraqi Alliance, may hold on to a slim parliamentary majority despite a big turnout by minority Sunni Arabs who boycotted the last election in January.

The alliance has been criticised by U.S. officials for its record in government this year and by Sunni Arab rebels who accuse it of backing sectarian militias.

The partial results showed the alliance had won 58 percent of the vote in Baghdad against just 14 percent for former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, who had been expected to mount a stronger challenge in the capital.

In its southern heartland, site of some of Shi'ite Islam's holiest shrines, the UIA appeared to have swept the board, and in one province, Maysan, it took over 20 times more votes than its nearest rival.

HOSTAGE SAFE

Germany, which opposed the U.S.-led invasion of 2003, said 43-year-old archaeologist Susanne Osthoff was safe in Baghdad after being held hostage since Nov. 25. While the Osthoff family feted her release, an insurgent group said it had killed an American hostage.

The Islamic Army in Iraq posted a video on the Internet showing a gunman firing repeatedly into the back of a blindfolded man kneeling on the ground. The group said the man was U.S. contractor Ronald Schulz. The video was posted 11 days after the group said it had killed him because the U.S. government had failed to meet its demands, including the release of prisoners in Iraq.

At least six other Western hostages -- two Canadians, a Briton, two Americans and a Frenchman -- are believed to be held in Iraq. Their fate remains unknown.

U.S. and Iraqi forces say they are making headway against the Sunni Arab-led insurgency in a conflict that has killed many thousands of Iraqis in the past three years and made life dangerous and miserable for millions more.

On Sunday they began "Operation Moonlight", a strike against suspected militants along the banks of the Euphrates river in Iraq's vast western province of Anbar, near the Syrian border. (Additional reporting by Mussab al-Khairalla, Omar al-Ibadi, Aseel Kami, Mariam Karouny, Deepa Babington and Alastair Macdonald in Baghdad and Philip Blenkinsop in Berlin) - alertnet.org

Security incidents in Iraq, Dec 22

* BAGHDAD - A U.S. soldier was killed by an improvised bomb while on patrol in the capital, the U.S. military said.

LATIFIYA - A former member of the governing council, Ahmed Shiyaa' al-Barak, survived an assassination attempt when gunmen attacked his motorcade in Latifiya, southwest of Baghdad. Police said two of his guards were killed and three wounded in the attack.

BAGHDAD - Four policemen were killed and six wounded when gunmen attacked a checkpoint in the southern Dora district of Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - Three women employed in the Green Zone government and diplomatic compound were kidnapped along with their driver by gunmen in the south of the capital, police said.

TIKRIT - Iraqi police found the bodies on Wednesday of two Iraqi contractors working with the U.S forces in Tikrit, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, local security forces said.

BAIJI - One civilian was killed and another was wounded on Wednesday when gunmen opened fire on them in the oil-refining town of Baiji, 180 km (112 miles) north of Baghdad, local security forces said.

SAMARRA - Three Iraqi police commandos were killed and four wounded on Wednesday when a makeshift bomb went off near their patrol in the city of Samarra, local security forces said.

DUJAIL - A Shi'ite shrine was blown up in the town of Dujail, 90 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, as Saddam Hussein was on trial in Baghdad for crimes against local people in the 1980s, local security forces said.

ISKANDARIYA - Four civilians were killed on Wednesday when gunmen opened fire on two trucks in Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - Two civilians were wounded on Tuesday when the car they were travelling in was struck by a roadside bomb in the east of Baghdad, the U.S military said in a statement. - alertnet.org

Security incidents in Iraq, Dec 24

HILLA - Saboteurs blew up an oil pipeline on the outskirts of Hilla 100 km (62 miles) south of Baghdad, fires are still raging. Police said a makeshift bomb was used in the attack.

KIRKUK - One civilian was killed and three wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near an Iraqi army patrol in central Kirkuk, Police Colonel Taha Abdullah said.

BAGHDAD - Two people were killed, including an aide to the Ministry of Justice, when gunmen opened fire on their car in the centre of Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - Three Ministry of Health employees were shot dead when gunmen opened fire on their car, police said.

*BAGHDAD - A U.S. soldier was killed in a rocket-propelled grenade attack while on patrol near Hawija in northern Iraq, the U.S. military said.

BAGHDAD - Seven bodies of civilians with bullets wounds were found in southern Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - Two civilians were killed when gunmen opened fire on an electronics shop in Baghdad's wealthy Mansour district, police said.

FALLUJA - A Lt. colonel in the Iraqi army was shot dead when gunmen broke into his house and opened fire, police said.

BAGHDAD - A U.S. soldier was killed by a bomb while on patrol on Thursday, the U.S. military said. - alertnet.org

Iraq militants' video shows hostage

24/12/2005 - Militants in Iraq tonight released a video of a Jordanian hostage, giving Jordan three days to cut ties with the Baghdad government and free a woman would-be suicide bomber involved in attacks in Amman.

The video, part of which was aired on the Al-Arabiya satellite channel, showed Mahmoud Suleiman Saidat, a driver for the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad, who was snatched on Tuesday by gunmen.

Saidat read a statement while sitting on the floor, surrounded by three armed men holding automatic weapons and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

A banner hanging in the background identified Saidat's kidnappers as the previously unknown group, the Hawk Brigades.

"I ask the Jordanian government to withdraw its diplomatic mission from Iraq and not to deal with this illegitimate government (in Baghdad)," Saidat said after identifying himself.

He also called for Jordan to release Sajida al-Rishawi, a would-be suicide bomber whose explosives belt failed to go off in attacks on Amman hotels on November 9 that killed 60 people.

Al-Arabiya said the statement in the video gave the Jordanian government three days to meet the demand.

Saidat, a Jordanian citizen, was kidnapped by more than a dozen masked men as he drove to work at the embassy in Baghdad.

Afterwards, Jordan said it was considering moving its embassy into the Green Zone, the heavily fortified Baghdad neighbourhood where the US and British missions are located.

In Amman, the Jordanian government immediately rejected the threat.

"Jordan will not succumb to any blackmail or pressure whatever the source is," Nasser Judeh, the government spokesman, said. He said the kidnappers should release the driver immediately. - IOL

CHRONOLOGY-Al Qaeda messages in 2005

Dec 24 (Reuters) - Al Qaeda's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri praised the Taliban, saying the Islamic movement still controlled large parts of Afghanistan, according to an audio tape aired by Al Arabiya television on Saturday.

Al Arabiya said the date of the tape, which it said it had just obtained, could not be determined and made no mention of recent events. Following is a chronology of major statements attributed to Osama bin Laden or his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri in 2005. Around 30 messages have been broadcast since Al Jazeera aired the first statement by bin Laden in September 2001.

2005

Feb 10 - Al Jazeera broadcasts audiotape attributed to Zawahri in which he says Iraqi elections held under foreign occupation are a sham.

Feb 20 - Al Jazeera broadcasts videotape in which Zawahri says governments cannot stop al Qaeda attacks, and the security of the West depends on respect for Islam and an end to aggression against Muslims.

June 17 - Al Jazeera broadcasts videotape in which Zawahri says reform and the expulsion of "invaders" from Muslim states cannot happen peacefully. He says any reform must be based on Islamic law and Muslim states should be free to govern themselves without interference or the presence of foreign troops.

Aug 4 - Zawahri warns Britons of more attacks, in the first video to focus on Britain's policies. He also tells Britain and the United States they will not have peace until they pull their troops out of Iraq and other Muslim states.

Sept 19 - Zawahri says in a videotape aired on Al Jazeera that Al Qaeda carried out the July 7 suicide bombings in London to strike at "British arrogance". He denounces Britain for "the historical crime of setting up Israel and the continuing crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq".

Oct 23 - Zawahri urges Muslims in a video broadcast on Al Jazeera to help Pakistan's earthquake victims even though its government is an "agent" of the United States. He also denounces Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

Dec 24 - Zawahri praises the Taliban in an audio tape aired by Al Arabiya television, saying the Islamic movement still controls large parts of Afghanistan. - alertnet.org

Military and civilian deaths in Iraq

24 Dec 2005 18:16:05 GMT

A U.S. soldier was killed in a rocket-propelled grenade attack while on a routine patrol near Hawija in northern Iraq on Saturday, the U.S. military said.

The following are the latest figures for military deaths in the Iraq campaign since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, in line with the most recent information from the U.S. military.

U.S.-LED COALITION FORCES:

United States 2,164

Britain 98

Other nations 94

IRAQIS:

MILITARY Between 4,895 and 6,370#

CIVILIANS Between 27,569 and 31,088*

# = Think-tank estimates for military under Saddam killed during the 2003 war. No reliable official figures have been issued since security forces were set up in late 2003.

* = From www.iraqbodycount.net, run by academics and peace activists, based on reports from at least two media sources.

alertnet.org

IMF approves £391m loan for Iraq

23/12/2005 - The International Monetary Fund today approved a new £391m (€571.4) loan for Iraq, giving the country a critical endorsement of its economic performance.

The loan, approved by the IMF's 24-member executive board, represents the lending agency's seal of approval that the Iraq government is taking the proper approach to reviving its war-torn economy.

The loan should open the door to more funds from countries interested in funding reconstruction.

"The Iraqi authorities were successful in promoting macroeconomic stability in 2005, despite the extremely difficult security environment," IMF Deputy Managing Director Takatoshi Kato said in a statement announcing the agreement.

The loan will cover a 15-month period and was awarded under regular IMF procedures to provide assistance to nation's facing economic difficulties. IOL

Rumsfeld Serves Up Grub to Troops in Iraq

By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer [Christmas day 2005] MOSUL, Iraq -

In a festively bedecked dining hall, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld served Christmas Eve dinner to dozens of U.S. soldiers, then fed them his view - with a mix of optimism, caution and emotion - of why the war that has cost more than 2,150 U.S. lives must be won.

"We will win this war. It's a test of wills, and let there be no doubt that is what it is," he said. Rumsfeld told the troops that "generations before you have persevered and prevailed, and they too were engaged in a test of wills." "In this fight, the vast majority of Iraqis stand on the side of freedom," he said over the roar of helicopters flying over a regional U.S. military headquarters that once was a palace of Saddam Hussein.

Rumsfeld, winding up a five-day trip that began in Pakistan and included stops in Afghanistan and Jordan, said the battle for Iraq is part of the wider global war on terrorism, which he called "this long war against terrorism and it will be a long war. Repeating a theme he struck throughout his visit, Rumsfeld cautioned against an early exit from Iraq. He said that giving up would mean allowing terrorists to impose "their dark vision on the rest of the world.

"Let there be no doubt: if the United States were to withdraw from Iraq today the terrorists emboldened by their victory would attack us elsewhere in the region and at home in the United States, he said.

With an emotion that sometimes creeps into his voice when he talks about the human cost of the Iraq war, Rumsfeld said the Christmas season was a time to remember those who have been lost in combat

"You folks have helped liberate some 25 million people for whom hope was never there before," he added.

Before he spoke, Rumsfeld helped serve the soldiers a dinner of rib-eye steak, lobster, crab legs, Cornish game hens and all the seasonal fixings. Grinning widely and wearing a white cooks hat, he worked his tongs as many of the soldiers snapped pictures of him and politely asked for their helpings.

"Steaks the big seller tonight," he declared after the first several dozen soldiers had gone through the line.

It was the second straight year that Rumsfeld served Christmas Eve dinner to troops in Iraq. Last year it was in Baghdad at a time of hope that the election of an interim government in January would deal a heavy blow to the insurgency, which nonetheless remained resilient and deadly throughout 2005. On his current visit, Rumsfeld and senior military commanders appeared even more optimistic that Iraqi progress on the political front will soon translate to greater success in neutralizing, if not defeating, the insurgency.

It was clear from Rumsfeld's three-day visit that the U.S. military is shifting its focus from fighting the war to preparing the Iraqis for the day when they will be left to fight it largely on their own.

Lt. Gen. John Vines, commander of Multinational Corps-Iraq, told reporters Saturday in Baghdad that there is no hard assurance that the Iraqis will manage the transition without collapsing into civil war, although he is optimistic. He said it may take 30 days or more before he can judge whether the Iraqis are putting together a truly representative and viable government, based on the constitution that voters approved Oct. 15.

Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said on Friday that he foresees a period of "churn" in the political process. That is why he has decided to keep the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Armored Division at its staging base in Kuwait rather than sending those soldiers home. The brigade originally was scheduled to deploy to Iraq, but Casey put them on hold after reaching Kuwait, as part of a decision announced Friday by Rumsfeld to reduce the number of combat brigades in Iraq next year from 17 to 15.

Before he left Baghdad on Saturday, Rumsfeld said in an interview with Fox News that he had a private dinner Friday with a group of leading Iraqi politicians. He said they had a lively discussion.

"You know people didn't do that here four years ago," he said. "If people expressed themselves they would be killed and put into these mass graves, imprisoned and as a result it created a whole element of fear that prevented people from expressing themselves, the way that these folks were expressing themselves at the dinner." - news.yahoo.com

Security incidents in Iraq, Dec 25

BAGHDAD - A U.S. Abrams tank was blasted by a roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad, eyewitnesses said. Reuters reporters saw the tank in flames. The U.S. military said it was aware of an incident with a tank but had no details on any casualties.

KIRKUK - One civilian was killed and seven others wounded when a car bomb exploded targeting a police patrol in the northern oil city of Kirkuk, police said.

KIRKUK - One gunman was killed when gunmen attacked the motorcade of a police colonel in Kirkuk, police said.

MOSUL - A police officer was killed when a makeshift bomb went off near a police patrol in the northern city of Mosul, police said. The number of the wounded was not clear yet.

MOSUL - The body of Qusay Salahaddin, president of the Students Union of Mosul University, was found shot dead two days after he was abducted by gunmen, the Students Union said. On Dec. 21 he led a demonstration on the campus complaining of alleged fraud in last week's parliamentary election. - alertnet.org

Iraqis find 31 bodies in "mass grave" at Kerbala

KERBALA, Iraq, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Iraqi officials said they found the skeletal remains of 31 people in what they described as a mass grave in the Shi'ite holy city of Kerbala on Tuesday.

A senior official at the laboratory to which the bodies were taken said the people appeared to have died during the suppression of a Shi'ite uprising against Saddam Hussein after the 1991 Gulf War.

"There are 31 bodies. We're still testing but it appears they are victims of the events of 1991," the official told Reuters.

There had been confusion over the scale of the find at a building site for a sewage project in the city centre, with police initially saying there were 150 bodies; police spokesman Rahman Mishawi later revised that to "dozens" of sets of remains.

A Reuters reporter at the scene saw one sack filled with what appeared to be human bones.

With Saddam on trial for crimes against humanity, the Shi'ite-led government is keen to remind Iraqis of their suffering under his Sunni-dominated administration.

Some minority Sunni Arab leaders have accused police and other government officials of exaggerating accounts of atrocities and of using Saddam's trial for sectarian political advantage.

Some 300 possible mass graves have been reported since Saddam's fall in April 2003, many in southern Shi'ite areas of the country and in Kurdish areas of the north.

Human rights activists estimate that hundreds of thousands of people disappeared during Saddam's rule. - alertnet.org

Iraqi leaders to meet as protests in Baghdad

Tue Dec 27, 2005 - By Aseel Kami BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi political leaders will meet the president in his Kurdish homeland over the next few days to prepare the ground for the formation of a new government, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

The announcement, part of efforts ease sectarian and ethnic friction following this month's election, came as around 5,000 supporters of former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi marched through Baghdad in the latest protest against the results.

Sunni and secular parties are insisting the vote should be rerun -- at least in some key provinces where they say results were fixed to favor the powerful Shi'ite Alliance which forms the backbone of the interim government.

As political leaders prepared to talk to interim President Jalal Talabani in separate, bilateral meetings at his power base in the relatively peaceful Kurdish north, the violence afflicting much of the rest of the country continued.

At least three Iraqis were killed and six wounded in attacks in the northern oil city of Kirkuk and the town of Mahaweel, 75 km (50 miles) south of Baghdad. The U.S. military said four Americans died on Monday, two of them in a helicopter crash in western Baghdad.

Police in the capital found three corpses bearing marks of torture and bullet wounds, while in Sunni Arab bastion of Samarra, 100 km (60 miles) north of Baghdad, gunmen abducted the head of a pharmaceuticals factory and six of his bodyguards. Quelling such violence will be the main task of the incoming government, expected to emerge over the coming weeks or possibly months once the election results are finalised.

Though much of the recent bloodshed appears to be the work of al Qaeda-linked Sunni Islamists dedicated to wrecking the U.S.-backed political process, U.S. and Iraqi officials are keen to stem any resurgence in violence by other Sunni Arab groups, which observed an informal truce in the hope of establishing a strong voice for their minority in the new parliament.

Partial but near-complete tallies have disappointed many Sunnis, showing the Shi'ite Islamist Alliance has done better than expected, particularly in Baghdad, where it took 59 percent of the vote to just 19 for its nearest Sunni rivals and 14 percent for Allawi's broad, non-sectarian secular coalition.

Accounting for nearly a quarter of the electorate and with a broad ethnic and sectarian mix, Baghdad was the key prize in a vote in which results were otherwise polarised along predictable lines, with Shi'ites dominating the south, Kurds the far north and Sunnis their heartlands west and north of the capital.

Sunni politicians expressed outrage at the results. Some warned that if their demand for a rerun was not met, the rebel groups would lose patience and step up their attacks.

PRIVATE TALKS

Behind the scenes, however, Sunni politicians have continued to talk to their rivals, and appear to be jockeying for power more than trying to derail the process of forming a new government. U.S. diplomats are also closely involved in trying to find a stable, consensus government that could stabilize the country and allow Washington to start withdrawing its 160,000 troops.

Leading Sunni and secular politicians met Talabani in Baghdad last week and, in public at least, spoke in conciliatory terms about the importance of finding consensus among all Iraq's sectarian and ethnic groups.

This week's talks will begin later on Tuesday when Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, leader of one of the main Shi'ite Islamist parties, meets Kurdish regional President Masoud Barzani, according to Planning Minister Barham Saleh, a leading figure in Talabani's party. Barzani shares leadership of the Kurdish bloc with Talabani.

Talabani will then meet Hakim on Wednesday and plans to meet secular and Sunni leaders later in the week, Saleh said.

Those leaders will include Allawi, a secular Shi'ite and Adnan al-Dulaimi and Tariq al-Hashemi of the main Sunni coalition, the Iraqi Accordance Front.

"The Kurdish Alliance is making contacts with the political blocs to prepare for a national unity government," Saleh said. "These are preliminary and bilateral discussions between the Kurds and other groups ... There are expectation that at the beginning of next year there will be bigger meetings."

(Additional reporting by Mussab al-Khairalla and Mariam Karouny) - reuters

Security incidents in Iraq, Dec 27

*BAGHDAD - Three dead bodies, bearing marks of torture and bullet wounds, were found in the Shu'ula district of the capital, police said. The victims were from Kalidiya, west of Falluja, and disappeared after travelling to Baghdad a week ago, their families said.

*SAMARRA - Gunmen abducted the head of a pharmaceuticals factory in Samarra along with six bodyguards while he was heading to the factory, 100 km (62 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

*TIKRIT - A female pharmacist was kidnapped by gunmen on Monday in Tikrit, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

*KIRKUK - An Iraqi police officer was killed and two others including a soldier wounded, when gunmen attacked their patrol in the northern city of Kirkuk, police said.

*KALIDIYA - A U.S soldier died on Monday from injuries sustained from gunfire in Khalidiya, 85 km (53 miles) west of Baghdad, U.S military said in a statement.

MAHAWIL - A policeman was killed and two others wounded when a makeshift bomb went off near their patrol on a highway near Mahawil, 75 km (50 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

KIRKUK - A civilian was killed and two employees were wounded on Monday when gunmen attacked a petrol station with rocket-propelled grenades in the northern oil city of Kirkuk, police said.

BAGHDAD - A U.S. soldier died on Monday when his patrol vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, the U.S. military said.

BAGHDAD - Two U.S pilots died in a helicopter accident in west Baghdad on Monday, the U.S military said in a statement.

NAJAF - Sultan al-Thabhawi, a member of Iraq's biggest Shi'ite party, the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, died of wounds sustained in an attack by gunmen on Monday, another member of the party said. - alertnet.org

Chalabi Named Iraq Oil Minister

By Jonathan Finer and Naseer Nouri - 31 December 2005

Fuel crisis spurs mandatory leave for incumbent.

Baghdad - As a fuel crisis deepened in Iraq, the government replaced its oil minister with controversial Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Chalabi, whose poor performance in the Dec. 15 elections was a setback in his recent attempt at political rehabilitation. The oil minister, Ibrahim Bahr Uloom, was put on a mandatory, month-long leave. He had previously threatened to resign over the government's recent decision to increase gasoline prices sharply, a move that has outraged motorists and sparked attacks on gas stations and fuel convoys.

Violence has escalated across Iraq since the elections. On Friday, two US soldiers were killed, one by a bomb south of Baghdad and another by small-arms fire in the western city of Fallujah. Two mortar shells hit near a bus station in the capital, killing five people and wounding 24, police at the scene said.

Threats by insurgents seizing on the unpopularity of the gasoline price increase led to a shutdown this month of the country's most productive oil refinery, in Baiji, north of Baghdad. Assim Jihad, an Oil Ministry spokesman, said the shutdown would cost $20 million a day until the refinery reopened. Meanwhile, foul winter weather has halted oil exports from the southern city of Umm Qasr, Iraq's only major seaport. Many of Iraq's largest power plants, already struggling to meet even a fraction of the country's energy demands, run on refined fuels.

"If these issues are not solved soon, the country will be facing an uncontrollable situation," Jihad said. "Dr. Chalabi will be here for the short term, but this will need to be solved by the new government, by the Ministry of Defense and by the coalition forces."

Chalabi, whose government portfolio already includes heading the country's energy committee and overseeing security for oil infrastructure such as refineries and pipelines, will temporarily take the reins of Iraq's only major industry. He had briefly led the Oil Ministry earlier this year while the current government was being assembled.

Jihad suggested that Uloom would probably resign rather than return, meaning Chalabi's appointment would last until the parties that prevailed in the recent elections formed a new government.

Negotiations toward that end continued Friday in the northern city of Sulaymaniyah between Abdul Aziz Hakim, who heads the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a dominant Shiite Muslim party, and Kurdish leaders. Also Friday, an ally of the influential Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, whose political followers joined the Supreme Council's election ticket, said Shiite parties should pursue an alliance with Iraq's Sunni Arabs, rather than with Kurds.

Iraq's leaders have said no major decisions would be made while the composition of a new governing coalition was being determined.

"I don't think there will be any drastic changes," said Chalabi aide Haidar Moussawi when asked about Chalabi's intentions for his new post. "But I will say we have seen a lot of problems facing the industry with security and weather, and the focus will be on trying to get things under control and exports back to a level Iraq can do."

Once tabbed by some US officials as a future leader of Iraq, Chalabi suffered a series of blows following the US-led invasion, beginning when intelligence he provided to the Pentagon about Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction proved false. He was later accused of passing US secrets to the government of Iran. But in recent months, several US officials have praised Chalabi's technical expertise and ability to facilitate agreements among feuding factions within the government.

"He has proven himself quite capable and experienced in dealing with all aspects of Iraq's energy sector and is well-qualified for this position," a US official said on the condition that he not be named because he was commenting on an Iraqi government decision.

Based on preliminary results from the December elections, Chalabi received 8,645 votes in Baghdad, well below the threshold a top UN official suggested this week would be required to win a seat.

Moussawi said Friday that Chalabi could still end up in the parliament, depending on how officials interpret a technical detail of election rules relating to how remaining seats are allocated after each party meeting a specific threshold is awarded its seats.

"There is still confusion, even today at the election commission, about this, but we are hearing the party will have at least one seat," Moussawi said.

Meanwhile, in Baghdad, mortar shells fell a few minutes apart late Friday afternoon - one on a cafe and the other on the roof of a car - in a crowded section of the city center. Sadoon Ali, 48, was playing backgammon in a nearby restaurant when he heard the explosion. "We were standing there wondering what happened when another explosion surprised us," he said.

A man who police said was drunk and angry because a friend had been wounded in the explosion began firing shots into a crowd, sending people scattering in all directions and wounding one man in the left leg.

Also in Baghdad, the government of Sudan said it would close its embassy to meet a demand issued by the insurgent group al Qaeda in Iraq, which claimed to have abducted six Sudanese citizens last week, the Associated Press reported. Five of the men were shown in a video released by the group in recent days. Insurgents have carried out a wave of abductions and attacks that they say is designed to compel diplomats to leave Iraq. - washingtonpost.com

- The Truth About Ahmed Chalabi

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