56 killed in Iraq provincial council attack

http://www.reuters.com/news/video/story?videoId=199092695&videoChannel=1
Al Qaeda claims responsibility for Iraq's Tikrit attack
02 Apr 2011 10:09

Source: reuters // Reuters


* Attack was a response to crimes against Sunnis-Qaeda

* Militants stormed provincial council HQ, took hostages


BAGHDAD, April 2 (Reuters) - Al Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate on Saturday claimed responsibility for a siege at a provincial council headquarters in Saddam Hussein's hometown in which 58 people were killed.

Tuesday's attack in Tikrit, a former stronghold of al Qaeda, was the deadliest in Iraq this year. The assailants, who wore security uniforms and set off bombs, stormed the building and grabbed hostages, local officials said.

Hostages who did not die as a result of explosions were executed by the gunmen, they said.

In a statement posted on a website often used by Islamist radicals, the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), a local al Qaeda umbrella group, said the attack was a response to what it said were crimes committed against Sunni prisoners.

Five al-Qaeda militants carried out the attack using a car bomb, explosive belts and hand grenades, the statement said.

The sectarian conflict between minority Sunnis and majority Shi'ites unleashed by the 2003 U.S.-led invasion has largely subsided but a stubborn Sunni Islamist insurgency opposed to Shi'ite dominance of Iraq persists and attacks continue.

Al Qaeda has been strategically weakened by the deaths of leaders, and both its numbers and the territory in which it can manoeuvre have shrunk since 2006-07, when Sunni tribal chiefs turned on it and joined forces with the U.S. military.

But they are still able to carry out attacks aimed at grabbing attention and rattling the population at a time when Iraqi forces take centre stage as U.S. troops prepare to withdraw by year-end.

(Reporting by Muhanad Mohammed; editing by Rania El Gamal)



Journalist for Reuters killed in Iraq attack
29 Mar 2011 22:12

Source: reuters // Reuters


(Updates, edits family details)

BAGHDAD, March 29 (Reuters) - A freelance journalist who worked for Reuters was among more than 50 people killed on Tuesday when gunmen attacked a local government building in Tikrit, the hometown of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Sabah al-Bazee, 30, who had contributed to Reuters in Iraq since 2004 and also worked as cameraman for several other media organisations, suffered shrapnel wounds in an explosion, said his cousin Mahmoud Salah, who confirmed his death.

Bazee was a native of Salahuddin province, north of Baghdad.

"On behalf of the entire team at Thomson Reuters, I wish to convey our sadness at the untimely death of Sabah al-Bazee," said Reuters Editor-in-Chief Stephen Adler.

"He was a valued member of our team in Iraq and will be much missed by colleagues. This tragic incident shows yet again the risks journalists face daily in doing their jobs and to bring news to the world.

"Our thoughts are with Sabah's family and friends."

The building housing the provincial council in Tikrit was the target of an armed group, some wearing Iraqi forces uniforms, who set off car bombs, explosive belts and grenades to storm in and take hostages.

"We urge Iraqi authorities to do their utmost to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice," Mohamed Abdel Dayem, the Committee to Protect Journalists Middle East and North Africa programme coordinator, said in a statement.

The New York-based media rights group ranked Iraq at the top of its Impunity Index last year, which lists countries where journalists are regularly murdered and governments are unable or unwilling to prosecute their killers.

It said that since 1992, not including Bazee, 147 journalists and 54 media workers have been killed in Iraq. (Reporting by Rania el-Gamal in Baghdad and Michelle Nichols in New York; Editing by Alastair Macdonald and Eric Walsh)





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Mar 29, 7:07 PM EDT


Gunmen kill 56 in grisly Iraq hostage siege
By LARA JAKES
Associated Press

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BAGHDAD (AP) -- Gunmen wearing military uniforms over explosives belts charged into a government building in Saddam Hussein's hometown Tuesday in an attack that left 56 people dead, including 15 hostages who were shot execution-style.

The five-hour standoff in Tikrit ended only when the attackers blew themselves up in one of the bloodiest days in Iraq this year.

American troops who were nearby as part of an advising mission with Iraqi forces responded to the attack, and some U.S. soldiers received minor wounds, said military spokesman Col. Barry Johnson. The U.S. troops dropped back after Iraqi forces took control, Johnson said.

The assault was reminiscent of the bloodshed that was common during the worst days of the conflict as Iraq was pushed to the brink of civil war. Attacks have ebbed in recent years, but the looming deadline for the U.S. troops to withdraw from the country along with political unrest elsewhere in the Mideast have raised fears the country could return to violence.

The standoff in Tikrit, the capital of Salahuddin province 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Baghdad, began around 1 p.m. when the attackers blew up a car outside the council headquarters to create a diversion before launching their raid.

Wearing military uniforms - including one with a high rank - the gunmen identified themselves as Iraqi soldiers at a security checkpoint outside the government compound but opened fire on guards when they were told they needed to be searched.

They later set fire to the bodies of the three slain provincial councilmen in a defiant show of how insurgents maintain the ability to carry out brutal attacks despite years of U.S.-Iraqi military efforts against them.

"Why did they shoot him and set fire to his poor body?" said Salahuddin government spokesman Mohammed al-Asi, trying not to weep when confirming the killing of lawmaker Mehdi al-Aaran, an elderly man who headed the council's religious affairs committee.

Speaking in a muted voice, Salahuddin Gov. Ahmed Abdullah called the attack "a tragic incident carried out by ruthless terrorists."

Iraqi officials were quick to blame al-Qaida in Iraq for the slaughter, noting that execution-style killings and suicide bombers are hallmarks of the extremist group. A senior intelligence official in Baghdad likened the attack to al-Qaida's hostage raid last fall on a Catholic church in Baghdad that left 68 dead and stunned the nation.

Tuesday's attack left 56 people dead and 98 wounded, including government workers, security forces and bystanders, said Salahuddin health director Dr. Raied Ibrahim. Many died in the volleys of gunfire and explosions.

Among the dead were councilman Abdullah Jebara, a vocal al-Qaida foe; the council's health committee chairman, Wathiq al-Sammaraie; and Iraqi journalist Sabah al-Bazi, a correspondent for Al-Arabiya satellite TV channel and a freelancer for CNN and Reuters.

Members of Iraq's parliament immediately called for an investigation into how the band of eight or nine insurgents could pull off the attack and paralyze a mostly Sunni Muslim city that was once a hotbed for al-Qaida in Iraq and Saddam sympathizers.

Officials are particularly sensitive about the ability of Iraqi security forces to protect the country as U.S. troops plan to leave at the end of the year.

"We denounce this sorrowful act, where insurgents with military uniforms could break into the council building," said parliamentarian Suhad al-Obedi, who represents Salahuddin province. "This is a security breach."

It's not hard to buy uniforms on Iraqi streets, and the ease and deadliness of the attack demonstrated sophisticated planning by the gunmen.

"The gunmen were armed with grenades and began their raid by firing at random at a reception room," said Ali Abdul-Rihman, a spokesman for the governor. "Then they opened fire inside."

The provincial council meets at the headquarters every Tuesday, but Abdul-Rihman said local lawmakers ended their discussion early because there was little on their agenda. As a result, he said, most of the lawmakers had already left the headquarters when the assault began.

Al-Asi, the provincial spokesman, said 15 people were taken hostage on the headquarters' second floor, where the gunmen hurled grenades and fired at security forces below. The hostages, including three lawmakers, were each shot in the head, al-Asi said.

Parliament lawmaker Qutayba al-Jabouri said security forces did not try to negotiate with the gunmen since they were under assault. Gov. Abdullah described a fierce shootout between the gunmen and Iraqi security forces who surrounded the building.

Baghdad University political analyst Hassan Kamil called Tuesday's attacks "another indication that the insurgents are no way thinking of giving up the struggle in Iraq."

"It is a show of force aiming at convincing people that despite the setbacks, the insurgency is still active," Kamil said. "Security is still fragile."---

Associated Press writers Hamid Ahmed, Mazin Yahya and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad and Sameer N. Yacoub in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.







============
29 Mar 2011 13:52

Source: reuters // Reuters


BAGHDAD, March 29 (Reuters) - At least 20 people were killed in an attack by gunmen on the provincial council headquarters in former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's home city of Tikrit, a health official said.

Jasim al-Dulaimi, head of the health operation centre in Salahuddin, said at least 65 were wounded.

Gunmen used car bombs, explosive belts and hand grenades in the attack as they stormed into the building and held people hostage, officials said earlier. (Reporting by Aseel Kami; writing by Rania El Gamal)

===

BAGHDAD – Gunmen wearing military uniforms and suicide bomb belts stormed a local government headquarters in northern Iraq on Tuesday in an attempt to take hostages that killed at least 21 people, officials said.

Three lawmakers who were inside the Salahuddin provincial council building in Tikrit when the gunmen overran the compound are missing, said provincial governor Ahmed Abdullah. He said the lawmakers were not answering their mobile phones and could not immediately be located — indicating they may be held hostage.

"We've lost contact with three provincial council members who were inside the building when the attack took place," Abdullah said in a telephone interview from Amman, Jordan, where he was receiving updates on the assault via mobile phone.
He described a fierce shootout between at least eight gunmen, who have overtaken the council headquarters' second floor, and Iraqi security forces who surrounded the building. He said the attackers were hurling grenades at Iraqi forces.

Salahuddin province media adviser Mohammed al-Asi said 21 have been killed in the siege, which was still ongoing more than three hours after it began. Sixty-five people have been wounded, he said.
Among the dead was journalist Sabah al-Bazi, a correspondent for Al-Arabiya satellite TV channel and a freelancer for CNN, according to the two news outlets.
A senior intelligence official in Baghdad the gunmen were holding some hostages inside the building but did not know how many.

"The goal of the attackers was apparently to take hostages," Salahuddin government spokesman Ali al-Saleh said. At least some officials and government employees escaped before they the gunmen could capture them, he said.

Tikrit is 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Baghdad.

Authorities said the attackers blew up a car outside the council headquarters to create a diversion before launching their raid. Wearing military uniforms — including one with a high rank — the gunmen identified themselves as Iraqi soldiers at a security checkpoint outside the government compound but opened fire on guards when they were told they needed to be searched.
The provincial council meets at the headquarters every Tuesday, but a spokesman for the governor, Ali Abdul Rihman, said local lawmakers called off their discussion early because there was little on their agenda. As a result, he said, most of the lawmakers had already left the headquarters when the assault began.

"The gunmen were armed with grenades, and began their raid by firing at random at a reception room," Rihman said. "Then they opened fire inside."

Police immediately imposed a curfew to prevent all road and pedestrian traffic in Tikrit as security forces moved into the building. The senior intelligence official said forces began an operation to free any hostages about two hours after the start of the siege.

He likened the attack to a horrifying hostage raid last fall on a Catholic church in Baghdad that left 68 dead and stunned the nation.

Tikrit, which is Saddam Hussein's hometown, is mostly populated by Sunni Muslims and is was a hotbed for insurgents and anti-American extremists at the height of the Iraq war.

City policemen said U.S. troops were at the scene to assist Iraqi forces but a spokesman for the American military in Baghdad could not immediately verify that information.

___

Yacoub reported from Amman, Jordan. Associated Press writers Hamid Ahmed and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.


====


Hostages killed execution-style in Iraq siege
By LARA JAKES and SAMEER N. YACOUB
Associated Press

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BAGHDAD (AP) -- Gunmen wearing explosives belts under military uniforms took hostages at a local government headquarters in Saddam Hussein's hometown, killing 15 of them execution-style before blowing themselves up in a fiery end to an hours-long siege, Iraqi officials said. In all, 45 people were killed.

The attackers set fire to the bodies of three slain councilmen at the Salahuddin provincial council headquarters in Tikrit, said the province's media adviser, Mohammed al-Asi. Among the lawmakers was an official who was known for his tough stance against al-Qaida in Iraq, which some officials blamed for the attack. Another was an elderly politician who headed the council's committee on religion.

"He was just an old man - he did nothing," al-Asi said in an interview, trying to keep from weeping. "Why did they shoot him and set fire to his poor body?"
Salahuddin Governor Ahmed Abdullah called the attack "a tragic incident carried out by ruthless terrorists."

Also among the dead was Iraqi journalist Sabah al-Bazi, a correspondent for Al-Arabiya satellite TV channel and a freelancer for CNN and Reuters, according to the three news outlets.

Officials said the standoff in Tikrit, located 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Baghdad, began around 1 p.m. when the attackers blew up a car outside the council headquarters to create a diversion before launching their raid.

Wearing military uniforms - including one with a high rank - the gunmen identified themselves as Iraqi soldiers at a security checkpoint outside the government compound but opened fire on guards when they were told they needed to be searched.

The provincial council meets at the headquarters every Tuesday, but a spokesman for the governor, Ali Abdul Rihman, said local lawmakers ended their discussion early because there was little on their agenda. As a result, he said, most of the lawmakers had already left the headquarters when the assault began.

"The gunmen were armed with grenades, and began their raid by firing at random at a reception room," Rihman said. "Then they opened fire inside."

The governor described a fierce shootout between at least eight gunmen, who overtook the council headquarters' second floor, and Iraqi security forces who surrounded the building. He said the attackers were hurling grenades at Iraqi forces.

Salahuddin Health Director Dr. Raied Ibrahim said the attackers killed 45 people and wounded 98 in the attack that lasted more than five hours.

Officials were quick to blame al-Qaida in Iraq for the siege, noting that executions and suicide bombers are hallmarks of the extremist group.

A senior intelligence official in Baghdad likened the attack to a horrifying hostage raid last fall on a Catholic church in Baghdad that left 68 dead and stunned the nation. An al-Qaida-linked group claimed responsibility for that massacre on Oct. 31, which drove thousands of Iraq's already dwindling Christian population from their homeland in fear.

Tikrit, which is Saddam Hussein's hometown, is mostly populated by Sunni Muslims and was a hotbed for insurgents linked to al-Qaida and anti-American extremists at the height of the Iraq war.

City policemen said U.S. troops were at the scene to assist Iraqi forces but a spokesman for the American military in Baghdad could not immediately verify that information.
---

Yacoub reported from Amman, Jordan. Associated Press writers Hamid Ahmed, Mazin Yahya and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.

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==


TIMELINE-Deadliest attacks in Iraq in last year
30 Mar 2011 09:38

Source: reuters // Reuters


March 30 (Reuters) - Here is a timeline of some of the deadliest attacks in Iraq in the last year:

Jan. 25, 2010 - Three suicide bombs hit the Babylon, the (Sheraton) Ishtar, and al-Hamra hotels in Baghdad. At least 36 are killed. Al Qaeda-linked insurgents claim responsibility. Feb. 1 - A female suicide bomber blows herself up among Shi'ite pilgrims starting a trek to Kerbala for the religious rite of Arbain. At least 41 people are killed and 106 wounded.

April 23 - Thirteen blasts hit different areas of Baghdad around the time of Muslim prayers, mostly near Shi'ite mosques and at a marketplace, killing at least 56 people. Eight people are killed by bombs in the Sunni west of the country.

May 10 - Two suicide car bombers drive into the entrance of a textile factory in Hilla, 100 miles (60 km) south of Baghdad, killing at least 35 people and wounding 136.

-- Earlier, a suicide bomber wearing a vest laden with explosives and another driving a car kill at least 13 people and wound 40 in al-Suwayra, 50 km (30 miles) southeast of Baghdad.

-- In all, around 125 people are killed across Iraq with more than 200 wounded.

July 18 - A suicide bomber attacks government-backed Sunni militia as they line up to be paid on Baghdad's southwestern outskirts, killing at least 39 and wounding 41.

-- Four other anti-al Qaeda militia members are killed by a suicide bomber in western Iraq, near the Syrian border.

Aug. 7 - At least two explosions strike the popular market in the centre of Basra killing at least 45 and wounding up to 200 people.

Aug. 17 - Suicide bombers strike outside an army recruitment centre near Maidan square in Baghdad, killing at least 57 people and wounding 123. On Aug 20, the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), an al Qaeda umbrella group, claims responsibility.

Oct. 31 - Gunmen linked to an Iraqi al Qaeda group seize hostages during Sunday mass at the Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad during Sunday mass. Around 52 hostages and police are killed and 67 wounded in the incident that ended when security forces raid the church to free around 100 Iraqi Catholics. Al Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate, the Islamic State of Iraq, claims responsibility for the attack on "the dirty den of idolatry". Nov. 2 - A series of bombs rocks mainly Shi'ite areas of Baghdad, killing at least 64 people and wounding around 360 people.

Jan. 18, 2011 - A suicide bomber attacks Iraqi police recruits in Tikrit, killing 50 people and wounding over 100.

Jan. 27 - A car bomb explosion at a funeral wake in a Shi'ite neighbourhood in Baghdad kills more than 45 people and wounded scores of others.

March 29 - At least 53 people are killed and 98 wounded when gunmen take hostages at a provincial council headquarters in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, precipitating a battle with security forces who swept in to end the siege. (Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit;)

====

Iraqi PM Maliki vows to punish Tikrit attackers
30 Mar 2011 12:28

Source: reuters // Reuters


* Iraqi officials say al Qaeda behind assault

* Analysts blame weak Iraqi security forces

* Committee is investigating attack - prime minister


By Khalid al-Ansary

BAGHDAD, March 30 (Reuters) - Iraq's prime minister vowed on Wednesday to punish those behind an attack on a provincial council headquarters in Saddam Hussein's hometown in which 58 people were killed after gunmen stormed in and took hostages.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki did not say who was behind the attack. But officials and analysts pointed fingers at al Qaeda.

"All initial indications show that it is al Qaeda, but maybe there are also other elements cooperating with them," said Ali al-Moussawi, a media adviser to Maliki, adding that Iraqi security forces may have been infiltrated by militants.

Tuesday's attack in Tikrit, a former stronghold of al Qaeda, was the deadliest in Iraq this year. It was also the first hostage-taking since 52 people were killed in a Baghdad church raid by al Qaeda-linked gunmen last October. "Once again the terrorist murderers commit an atrocious crime by targeting innocent civilians in Salahuddin province," Maliki said in a statement.

"The criminals who planned and carried out this crime will not escape punishment and the investigation committee must submit its findings as soon as possible."

The attackers set off car bombs, explosive belts and hand grenades as they stormed into the building and grabbed hostages, local officials had said. Hostages who did not die as a result of explosions were executed by the gunmen, they said.

The death toll stood at 58 with 98 people wounded, said Jasim al-Dulaimi, head of the health operations centre in the northern Iraqi province of Salahuddin, on Wednesday.

Sabah al-Bazee, a freelance Iraqi journalist who worked for Reuters and other media, was among those killed [ID:nLDE72S1ZW]


AL QAEDA DOWN BUT NOT OUT

Al Qaeda has been strategically weakened by the deaths of leaders, and both its numbers and the territory in which it can manoeuvre have shrunk since 2006-07, when Sunni tribal chiefs turned on it and joined forces with the U.S. military.

But they are still able to carry out lethal attacks eight years after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam, a Sunni, who was hanged in 2006.

Their assaults are aimed at grabbing attention and rattling the population at a time when Iraqi forces take centre stage as U.S. troops prepare to withdraw by year-end, analysts say.

Iraqi political analyst Ibrahim al-Sumaidaie blamed a weak Iraqi security force and warned such attacks may happen again.

"It was expected that al Qaeda would stage a big show to attract attention after a reconciliation between the government and some Sunni armed groups, who were close to al-Qaeda," Sumaidaie said. "They wanted to say that the reconciliation announced by these groups are baseless."

Salahuddin province continues to suffer frequent attacks by suspected Sunni Islamist insurgents opposed to the Shi'ite-led authorities in Baghdad. Tikrit is dominated by Sunni Muslims, a minority in Iraq who were favoured under Saddam.

Overall violence in Iraq has declined sharply since the peak of sectarian slaughter in 2006-07, but bombings and killings remain a daily occurrence.

(Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed and Aseel Kami; writing by Rania El Gamal; editing by Mark Heinrich)

==

Gunmen kill 6 Iraqi security officers
Sat Apr 2, 2011 4:41PM
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Iraqi security forces stand guard outside the provincial council building in Tikrit after gunmen attacked the building and killed 58 people on Wednesday, March 30, 2011.Six Iraqi security officers have been killed in an attack on a control post in al-Anbar Province 200 kilometers west of the capital, Baghdad.


Three soldiers and three police officers were killed in the dawn attack in the city of Kabisa on Friday. Eight other people, including four civilians, have also been injured, DPA reported.

None of the gunmen were killed or captured.

The interior ministry has also reported a bomb attack close to Al Mustansiriya University, which left one soldier dead and wounded three others in Baghdad.

Last week, 58 people were killed and nearly 100 more were wounded in an attack on the provincial council headquarters of Tikrit in the province of Salahuddin. Gunmen stormed the government building, using car bombs, explosive belts and hand grenades.

Iraq has witnessed growing violence since the US-led invasion of the country in 2003. Since the war began, more than one million civilians have lost their lives and about five million children have been orphaned according to recent research.

A security agreement between Baghdad and Washington specifies that all American troops will leave Iraq by 2012.

Some analysts believe that in an attempt to portray the country as unstable, the US has continued to fuel violence in the country in order to extend its stay in Iraq beyond the 2011 deadline.