85 Killed, 108 Wounded Across Iraq As Political Rally Attacked

by Margaret Griffis, April 25, 2014 Print This | Share This The Pentagon has sent a team to Iraq to assess the situation in Iraq. The U.S. military appears keen to help Iraq counter the Sunni extremists. Today, at least 85 Iraqis were killed and 108 more were wounded. Many of them were killed at a political rally in Baghdad. Elections take place next week, except in Anbar where the situation is too volatile. In Anbar: Clashes broke out in Ramadi, but the number of casualties is unknown. Mortars and Katyusha rockets struck an army base. A clash left four soldiers dead and two wounded; nine militants were also killed. In Falluja, six militants were killed and six more were wounded in artillery fire. Four civilians were wounded in a shelling attack. Shelling continued later. At least 18 more militants were killed. A roadside bomb wounded a council member in Rutba. Three gunmen were killed near Qaim. Elsewhere: In Baghdad, three bombs killed 33 people at a political rally held by the Shi’ite militant group Asaib Ahl al-Haq in the Industrial Stadium. At least one suicide bomber was involved, and 90 other spectators were wounded. Also, guards fired their guns in the air after the attack. A militant-linked website claimed the attack was in revenge for killing and displacing Sunnis. It did not help to have one speaker tying some Sunni politicians to terrorism. The group has also sent fighters to support Assad in Syria and is apparently planning to do the same in Anbar province. In Basra, a senior Sunni politician was killed in what may have been a revenge attack. A police major and three bodyguards were shot dead at a polling station in al-Hay. A bomb in Dibis wounded two soldiers. A suicide bomber managed to only kill himself. A roadside bomb killed one civilian and wounded another in Hamrin. Gunmen attack the home of a senior judge in Zab, where they wounded him. Four militants were killed and one more was wounded in a clash in Teli Ttasah. ============= Revenge Killings in Baghdad Raise Casualties to 69 Killed, 37 Wounded by Margaret Griffis, April 26, 2014 Print This | Share This Attacks against provincial councilmen and polling centers continued. Today, a councilman from Salah ad Din province was targeted and killed. A number of dumped bodies were found in Baghdad. Some of the attack may have been in revenge for an attack on a political rally yesterday. At least 69 people were killed and 37 more were wounded. In Anbar: Near Falluja, a clash at a checkpoint left two soldiers and six gunmen dead; another two soldiers were wounded. A militant commander and four aides were killed in a security operation. Clashes took place in Ramadi but the death toll is unknown. Six militants were killed during an attack in a policeman’s home. Several polling station were blown-up around the province, including a private one in Qaim. Elsewhere: In Baghdad, a bombing left four dead and at least 11 more wounded at a Nasser neighborhood restaurant. A bomb in Saidiya killed one policeman and wounded five people. Two civilians were shot dead and three more were wounded in Amil. Gunmen killed two more elsewhere. A policeman was killed in a Shura bombing. A dumped body was found in Shoala, but at least eight more bodies were discovered in other neighborhoods. Three more deaths were attributed to yesterday’s massacre at a political rally. Extra security forces were deployed to the international Green Zone ahead of elections. Gunmen in Samarra attacked a Salah ad Din provincial councilman. He and two guards were killed, while his son was wounded. Four soldiers were killed during an attack on a Mazraa checkpoint. A roadside bomb killed four people and wounded one more in Dour. Three policemen were killed and two more were wounded when militants blew up polling stations in Saniya and Baiji. A bomb in al-Hajaj killed two soldiers and wounded three more. In Imam Weis, a bomb killed one civilian and wounded two more. A sheikh was killed in a roadside explosion in the Muror village. Three people were wounded in a small arms attack on a polling station in Kirkuk. In Baghdad, two civilians were wounded by a blast. A bomb in Arab Jabour wounded two soldiers. Ten ISIS/DAASH militants were killed in Tal al-Zalat. =============== تبصرے صفحہ شیئر کریں صفحہ پرنٹ کریں دوستوں کو بھیجئے عرب لیگ کے بنیادی ایجنڈے میں عرب اقوام کا معیار زندگی بلند کرنے کا نکتہ شامل ہونے کے باوجود تنظیم کے ایجنڈے پرسیاسی معاملات ہمیشہ چھائے رہے ،فوٹو: فائل خلیج، مشرق وسطیٰ اور افریقا کی مکمل آزاد اور نیم خود مختار عرب ریاستوں کی مجموعی تعداد تیس کے قریب ہے ، لیکن ان میں سے 22 ممالک سعودی عرب، بحرین، مصر ، کویت، جزائر القمر، اردن، عراق، یمن، جیبوتی، لبنان، لیبیا، موریتانیہ،مراکش، اومان ، قطر، سومالیہ، سوڈان، فلسطین، شام، تیونس اور متحدہ عرب امارات لیگ کے رُکن ہیں۔ البتہ شام میں جاری موجودہ خانہ جنگی کے باعث عارضی طور پر اس کی رکنیت معطل ہے ۔ زبان، کلچر، مذہب، تہذیب وثقافت کی یکجائی کے باوجود وسائل اور معیار زندگی کے اعتبار سے ان ملکوں میں زمین آسمان کا فرق ہے۔ دولت و ثروت اور غربت وافلاس میں ان دو درجن عرب ممالک میں ایک گہری خلیج حائل ہے۔ عرب برادری میں پائے جانے والے اس منفرد تضاد میں ایک ملک کی دولت کا کوئی حساب نہیں اور دوسرے کے عوام زندگی کی سانسیں بحال رکھنے کے لیے روٹی کے ایک ایک لقمے کو ترس رہے ہیں۔ 1945ء میں جب عرب لیگ کی قاہرہ میں اساس رکھی گئی تو عرب اقوام میں غربت کا خاتمہ، وسائل کی منصفانہ تقسیم، عرب ممالک کے مابین سیاسی اور جغرافیائی تنازعات کا پرامن حل اور لیگ کے فورم کے ذریعے کسی بھی تیسری طاقت کے ساتھ مذاکرات یا طاقت کا استعمال جیسے نکات بنیادی مقاصد قرار پائے تھے۔اب عرب لیگ کی عمر70 برس ہورہی ہے۔ ان ستر برسوں میں لیگ کے مقاصد اور اہداف میں ان بنیادی نکات کے ساتھ کئی دوسرے نکات بھی شامل ہوئے لیکن عملاً یہ اتحاد کوئی بڑا معرکہ سر نہیں کرسکا ہے۔ عرب لیگ کے ہوتے ہوئے فلسطین میں یہودیوں کے لیے قومی وطن کا اعلان کیا گیا۔ اسی یونین کی موجودگی میں آٹھ سال تک عراق اور ایران ایک دوسرے کے شہریوں کا قتل عام کرتے رہے۔ عرب لیگ کے رکن ممالک کو اسرائیل نے تین جنگوں میں شکست دی۔ سنہ 2011ء میں عرب ریاستوں میں انقلاب کی تحریک اٹھی تو لیگ تماشا دیکھتی رہ گئی۔ لیبیا میں کرنل معمرقذافی نے عوام پر طاقت کا استعمال کیا تو نیٹو کو مداخلت کرنا پڑی۔ شام میں خونی تحریک چوتھے سال میں داخل ہوچکی اور اب تک ڈیڑھ لاکھ افراد لقمہ اجل بن چکے ہیں لیکن عرب لیگ کے رہنمائوں کی نشست وبرخاست کوئی رنگ نہیں دکھا سکی۔ یوں دفاعی اور تزویراتی اعتبار سے بھی یہ اتحاد بدترین ناکامی سے دوچار ہوا۔ اس لیے یہ تنظیم عربوں کی قوت میں اضافے کا موجب بننے کے بجائے مفاداتی گروپوں کے بلاکس میں بٹی اور بڑے عرب ملکوں کے بوجھ تلے دب کررہ گئی۔ العربیہ ڈاٹ نیٹ کی ایک رپورٹ کے مطابق عرب لیگ کے بنیادی ایجنڈے میں عرب اقوام کا معیار زندگی بلند کرنے کا نکتہ شامل ہونے کے باوجود تنظیم کے ایجنڈے پرسیاسی معاملات ہمیشہ چھائے رہے ، اس لیے لیگ اپنے رُکن ممالک میں غربت و افلاس اور بھوک وننگ کی خلیج نہیں پاٹ سکی ہے۔ لیگ کے رُکن ممالک میں ایک طرف سعودی عرب، متحدہ عرب امارات، کویت، بحرین، اومان، قطر اور لیبیا جیسے قدرتی تیل، گیس اور معدنیات کی دولت سے مالا مال ملک ہیں۔ وہاں پر صومالیہ، سوڈان،یمن، عراق اور موریتانیہ جیسے ممالک میں بسنے والے کروڑوں لوگوں کو دو وقت کی روٹی بھی میسر نہیں۔ سعود ی عرب فی کس سالانہ آمدن 25ہزار ڈالر، کل جی ڈی پی 09 کھرب ، 27 ارب ، 76 کروڑ ڈالر۔ بحرین 28 ہزار 691 ڈالر، کویت ایک لاکھ19 ہزار ایک سو ایک ڈالر، مراکش3260 ڈالر، متحدہ عرب امارات ایک لاکھ چھبیس ہزار سات سو ڈالر، سلطنت اومان24 ہزار 700 ڈالر، قطر ایک لاکھ 53 ہزار اور لیبیا18ہزار 130 ڈالر فی کس آمدنی کے اعتبار سے سر فہرست ممالک ہیں۔ ان میں کویت، سعودی عرب، قطر، اور دیگر خلیجی ریاستیں بے پناہ قدرتی وسائل کی مالک ہیں۔ یہاں کے لوگوں کی امارت اور دولت و ثروت کا اندازہ لگانے کے لیے’’گلف نیوز‘‘ کی ایک رپورٹ کے اعدادو شمار ملاحظہ کیجئے۔رپورٹ میں بتایا گیا ہے کہ اگر صرف کویت، قطر اور سعودی عرب اپنی مجموعی دولت کا 10 فی صد خیرات کردیں تو افریقا کے صومالیہ جیسے چھ غریب ملکوں کی آٹھ کروڑ آبادی کو تیس سال تک خوراک فراہم کی جا سکتی ہے۔ امریکی بزنس جریدے’’فوربز‘‘ کی رپورٹ کے مطابق فی خاندان دولت کے اعتبار سے سعودی عرب خلیجی ممالک میں پہلے نمبر پر ہے۔ ’’سوئس کریڈٹ ریسرچ انسٹیٹیوٹ‘‘ کی رپورٹ کے مطابق پوری دنیا کی فی کنبہ دولت 241 ٹریلین ڈالر سے زیادہ ہے۔ جبکہ سعودی عرب کا اس میں حصہ چھ کھرب ڈالر ہے۔ جو کسی بھی دوسرے عرب ملک کی فی خاندان دولت کے اعتبار سے سب سے زیادہ ہے۔ اگر اس خطیر رقم کا عشر عشیربھی غریب ملکوں کے عوام کو دے دیا جائے تو ان کی زندگیاں بدل سکتی ہیں۔ فی کس دولت کے اعتبار سے قطر عرب ممالک میں پہلے نمبر پرہے ۔2013ء کے دوران قطر میں فی کس آمد ن سالانہ ایک لاکھ 53 ہزار 294 ڈالر بتائی گئی۔ فی کس دو لت کے اعتبار سے متحدہ عرب امارات ایک لاکھ26 ہزار 791 ڈالر کے ساتھ دوسرے اور کویت ایک لاکھ 19 ہزار 101 ڈالر کے ساتھ تیسرے نمبر پر ہے۔ یمن دوسرا افغانستان خلیجی ممالک کی ان گنت دولت کے بیچ یمن کے ایک طرف سعودی عرب او ر دوسری جانب کویت واقع ہیں۔ دوسرے خلیجی ممالک سے بھی یمن کا فاصلہ زیادہ نہیں، لیکن آج تک یمن کو خلیج کارپوریشن کونسل(جی سی سی) میں بھی شامل نہیں کیا گیا۔ ایسا کیوں ہے؟ جی سی سی کے ایک سرکردہ لیڈر کا یہ بیان توجہ کے لائق ہے کہ ’’یمن سے بہتر ہے ہم افغانستان کو کارپوریشن میں شامل کرلیں‘‘۔ یمن کے حالات افغانستان سے کافی حد تک مماثلت رکھتے ہیں۔ یمنی فوج پچھلے کئی سال سے القاعدہ اور علیحدگی پسند حوثیوں سے نبرد آزما ہے ۔ امریکا بھی ڈرون کے ذریعے القاعدہ ارکان کو نشانہ بنا رہا ہے لیکن آج بھی سعودی عرب اور یمن کے درمیان سنگلاخ پہاڑوں اور لق و دق صحراء کو القاعدہ کی محفوظ پناہ گاہیں خیال کیا جاتا ہے۔ یوں یمن کی کمزوری کی بڑی وجہ سال ہا سال سے جاری خانہ جنگی ہے۔ یمن کی دوسری کمزوری جس کے باعث اسے دوسرا افغانستان قرار دیا جاتا ہے وہ ’’قات‘‘ نامی ایک نشہ آور بوٹی ہے۔ جس طرح افغانستان میں پوست کی کاشت باقاعدہ ایک پیشہ کی حیثیت رکھتی ہے، اسی طرح یمن کی ’’قات‘‘ نامی یہ بوٹی بھی پوست کی دوسری شکل ہے۔ قات نہ صرف مقامی لوگوں میں عام استعمال کی جاتی ہے بلکہ غریب دیہاتیوں کا ذریعہ روزگار ہے۔ مقامی سطح پر اس کی زیادہ قیمت نہیں البتہ اسے منشیات کی دوسری اقسام میں ڈھال کر خطیر رقوم کے بدلے میں اسمگل کیا جاتا ہے۔دلچسپ بات یہ ہے کہ ’’قات‘‘ کا بے دریغ استعمال خود سعودی باشندے بھی کرتے ہیں اور یہ بوٹی انہیں صرف یمن سے ملتی ہے۔ یمن کے صحراء میں تیل اور گیس کے بھی وسیع ذخائر موجود ہیں مگر ملک کے پاس اتنے وسائل نہیں کہ وہ سعودی عرب اور کویت کی طرح انہیں اپنے استعمال میں لاسکے۔ایک رپورٹ کے مطابق یمن کی 40 فی صد آبادی خط غربت سے نیچے زندگی بسر کر رہی ہے۔ یمن کی یہ غربت خلیجی ممالک کی دولت و ثروت کا منہ چڑا رہی ہے مگرمجال ہے کہ انہیں اپنے پڑوسی کا کچھ بھی خیال ہو۔ دولت علم سے دوری اور شہ خرچیوں کا موجب مثل مشہور ہے کہ ’’علم بھوک سے حاصل ہوتا ہے لوگ اسے سیری میں تلاش کرتے ہیں بھلا کیسے پائیں گے‘‘۔بے پناہ دولت کے مالک عربوں نے اس ضرب المثل کو سچ کردکھایا۔ ان کی دولت سیر سپاٹوں اور عیاشیوں پرصرف ہورہی ہے۔یہ کوئی جذباتی تخیل نہیں بلکہ اقوام متحدہ جیسے مستند ادارے کے اعدادو شمار ہیں۔ اقوام متحدہ کے ادارہ برائے سائنس و ثقافت’’یونیسکو‘‘ کی حال ہی میں سامنے آنے والی رپورٹ میں بتایا گیا ہے کہ بہ کثرت دولت کے باوجود عرب ملکوں کے 43 فی صد بچے نا خواندہ ہیں۔’’تعلیم سب کے لیے‘‘ کے زیرعنوان اقوام متحدہ نے پوری دنیا میں شرح خواندگی کا ایک جائزہ پیش کیا ہے۔ رپورٹ کے مطابق دنیا بھر میں ایک ارب کے قریب بچے بنیادی تعلیمی سہولیات سے محروم ہیں ان میں پانچ کروڑ بچے عرب ممالک کے بھی شامل ہیں ۔ ان میں یمن کا نام پھر سرفہرست ہے کیونکہ یمن میں صرف 36 فی صد بچوں کو بنیادی تعلیم کی سہولیات میسر ہیں اور باقی نور علم سے یکسر محروم۔ یمن میں جس رفتار سے تعلیمی سہولیات کا نیٹ ورک پھیل رہا ہے اگر اس میں اضافہ نہ ہوا تو سو فی صد شرح خواندگی میں 58 سال کا عرصہ لگ سکتا ہے۔ ناخواندگی اور بچوں کی بنیادی تعلیمی سہولیات کے فقدان کے اعتبار سے نائیجیریا دوسرے نمبر پر ہے لیکن مقامِ حیرت ہے کہ دنیا بھر میں شرح خواندگی کے اعتبار سے پاکستان کی حالت نائجیریا سے بھی بدتر ہے کیونکہ بچوں میں شرح خواندگی اور بنیادی تعلیمی سہولیات کے فقدان کی فہرست میں پاکستان دنیا کا دوسرا بڑا ملک قرار پایا ہے۔ یونیسکو کی رپورٹ کے مطابق مجموعی طورپر عرب ممالک 129 ارب ڈالر کی رقم تعلیم پرصرف کرتے ہیں لیکن اس کا نتیجہ صفر ہے۔ اس کی بنیادی وجہ حکومتوں کے اللے تللے ہیں۔ تعلیم کے لیے بجٹ منظور کر لیا جاتا ہے مگر اسے صرف کرتے ہوئے نہایت بخل سے کام لیا جاتا ہے۔ اربا ب اختیا ر بچوں کی تعلیم کا بجٹ اپنے عالمی دوروں اورعیش و عشرت پر صرف کردیتے ہیں، جس کے نتیجے میں ناخواندگی کی شرح مسلسل بڑھ رہی ہے۔ جس رفتار سے عرب ممالک میں شرح خواندگی بڑھ رہی ہے اگر رفتار وہی رہی تو اسے سو فی صد تک لانے میں 70 سال کا عرصہ درکار ہوگا ۔ یہ ان عرب ملکوں کی حالت ہے جو دولت و ثرولت کے ڈھیر پر پلتے ہیں جنہیں خود بھی اپنی دولت کا اندازہ نہیں۔ رہے افریقا کے غریب عرب ممالک تو ان کے پاس تعلیم کے لیے بجٹ بچتا ہی نہیں ہے۔ صومالیہ جیسے شورش زدہ ملکوں میں جتنی کچھ تعلیمی سرگرمیاں ہو رہی ہیں وہ غیرملکی این جی اوز کے تحت ہیں۔ سرکاری سکولوں کا معیا ر اس قدر پست ہے کہ تیس تیس مربع کلو میٹر کے علاقوں میں صرف ایک مڈل اسکول بھی دستیاب نہیں ہے۔ تعلیم کا یہ معیار اور دوسری طرف عربوں کی شہ خرچیاں دیکھ کریہ اندازہ لگانا مشکل ہے کہ ان کے ہاں بچوں کی بنیادی تعلیمی سہولیات کا فقدان ہے۔رپورٹ میں بتایا گیا ہے کہ خلیجی ممالک کے 70 فی صد لوگ بیرون ملک سیرو سیاحت پر جاتے ہیں اور سالانہ تین کھر ب ڈالر کی رقم عیاشیوں پر اڑاتے ہیں۔ان میں سعودی عرب، متحدہ عرب امارات، قطر، بحرین کویت او ر اومان سر فہرست ہیں۔ بات صرف شہ خرچیوں تک محدود نہیں بلکہ اس سے بھی ایک خوفناک شکل خوراک کا ضیاع ہے۔ اس ضمن میں اسرائیل کے عبرانی میگزین’’ہارٹز‘‘ کی رپورٹ میں ہوش ربا اعدادو شمار بیان کیے گئے ہیں۔ رپورٹ میں بتایا گیا ہے کہ خلیج کے امیر ممالک سالانہ چار ملین ٹن خوراک ضائع کرتے ہیں جبکہ خود اسرائیل میں سالانہ نصف خوراک ضائع کردی جاتی ہے۔ گو کہ رپورٹ میں پوری دنیا میں خوراک کے ضیاع کے خوفناک اعدادو شمار بیان کیے گئے ہیں مگر عرب ممالک کے بارے میں بیان کردہ حقائق ناقابل یقین ہیں۔ رپورٹ میں بتایا گیا ہے کہ سعودی عرب متحدہ عرب امارات، مصراور لیبیا میں ضائع کی جانے والی سالانہ خوراک اگر مستحق لوگوں تک پہنچائی جائے توتین کروڑ لوگوں کی ایک سال کی خوراک کی ضروریات پوری کی جا سکتی ہیں۔ ایک طرف خوراک کے ضیاع کا یہ عالم ہے او ر دوسری جانب انہی عرب ملکوں کے بیچ ایسے خطے بھی موجود ہیں جہاں لوگ مردار کھا کر پیٹ بھرتے ہیں۔ اس باب میں تازہ ترین خطہ شام کا ہے جہاں لاکھوں لوگ پچھلے ایک سال سے خوراک سے محروم ہیں اور قحط کے نتیجے میں مرر ہے ہیں۔ شام میں خوراک کی قلت کی بنیادی وجہ وہاں پر جاری شورش ہے لیکن شام سے باہر یمن، عراق، سوڈان اور صومالیہ میں سالانہ 10 لاکھ بچے ، بوڑھے اور عورتیں علاج کے فقدان اور خوراک نہ ملنے کے باعث زندگی کی بازی ہا ر جاتے ہیں اور عرب ملکوں کے کھرب پتیوں کی دولت جیت جاتی ہے۔

Nearly 50 killed in Iraq bombings

Tue, Jul 02 15:46 PM EDT 1 of 2 By Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 45 people were killed in bomb attacks across Iraq on Tuesday, most of them in busy markets and commercial areas of the capital Baghdad, police and medics said. The deadliest assault took place in the predominantly Shi'ite Shaab neighborhood of northern Baghdad, where two car bombs killed eight people. There were also explosions in the mainly Shi'ite districts of Abu Dsheer, Kamaliya, Tobchi and Shula. "A blast hit near a crowded market full of people shopping," said Ali Sadoun, a policeman whose patrol was stationed in Shula. "When police and people gathered to help the wounded, a second bomb went off, tearing through bodies." Sunni Muslims were the apparent targets of blasts in Amriya and Abu Ghraib, on the city's western outskirts. A sustained campaign of attacks since the start of the year has increased fears of wider conflict in a country where ethnic Kurds, Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims have yet to find a stable power-sharing compromise. Insurgents including al Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate have been recruiting from the country's Sunni minority, which resents Shi'ite domination since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. Intercommunal tensions have been inflamed by the civil war in neighboring Syria, which is increasingly been fought along sectarian lines, drawing in Shi'ite and Sunni fighters from Iraq and elsewhere to fight on opposite sides of the conflict. Outside Baghdad, a bomb blast near a funeral tent in the city of Baquba killed six people. Further south, a car bomb in Amara province killed four people and in the city of Basra, three blasts hit a hotel frequented by foreigners working in the oil industry, wounding three guards. Violence is still well below its height in 2006-07, but Sunni insurgents are striking on a daily basis, seeking to destabilize the Shi'ite-led government and provoke further confrontation. On Monday, attacks targeting Shi'ites left at least 27 people dead. The number of people killed in militant attacks across Iraq in June reached 761. Iraqi military forces are now better equipped and trained, but lack the comprehensive intelligence resources and air cover to track insurgents that they enjoyed before U.S. troops withdrew in December 2011. (Additional reporting by Aref Mohammed in Basra, a Reuters reporter in Baquba and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad; Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Iraq attacks kill more than 30

Iraq attacks kill more than 30 Sat, Jun 22 16:49 PM EDT BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a Shi'ite mosque in northern Baghdad killing at least 12 people during evening prayers, police and medics said, in the deadliest of a series of attacks that claimed more than 30 lives across Iraq on Saturday. Sectarian tensions in Iraq and the wider region have been inflamed by the civil war in Syria, where mainly Sunni Muslim rebels are fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, whose Alawite sect derives from Shi'ite Islam. Insurgents including al Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate have been regaining ground and recruits from the country's Sunni minority, which feels sidelined since the U.S.-led invasion toppled former dictator Saddam Hussein and empowered majority Shi'ites. "A suicide bomber blew himself up among the worshippers in the middle of evening prayer. There were bodies drenched in blood and others shouting for help while smoke filled the mosque," said a policeman at the scene. A further 25 people were wounded in the attack, which took place in the Sab al-Bor district near Taji, 20 km (12 miles) north of Baghdad. Scattered attacks across the country throughout the day killed at least 22 others, around half of them in or near the northern city of Mosul, where a suicide bomber killed four people at a police checkpoint. In the western province of Anbar, which shares a border with Syria, militants detonated two car bombs near a checkpoint and attacked it with rocket-propelled grenades, killing five policemen. Two people were killed when gunmen hurled a hand grenade at a gathering of laborers in Tikrit, 150 km (95 miles) north of Baghdad, and a roadside bomb near some restaurants in the center of the capital killed two more. More than 1,000 people were killed in Iraq in May alone, making it the deadliest month since the sectarian bloodletting of 2006-07. (Reporting by Kareem Raheem, Kamal Naama and Ziad al-Sanjary; Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Gunmen attack Baghdad liquor stores, 12 killed

Gunmen attack Baghdad liquor stores, 12 killed Tue, May 14 15:25 PM EDT BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Gunmen using silenced weapons attacked at least nine liquor stores in Baghdad on Tuesday, killing 12 people, police and medical sources said. Police sources said the attack targeted a row of stores selling alcohol in Zayona district of eastern Baghdad, which has a majority Shi'ite population. Even though most people shun alcohol, forbidden under Islamic law, Iraq is a generally less conservative Muslim society than neighbors such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, thanks to its mix of Shi'ites, Sunnis, ethnic Kurds and Christians. But Islamist parties have risen to the fore since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 after the U.S.-led invasion and many fear they could encourage hardline Islamists to exert more influence over aspects of Iraqi life. Saddam legally allowed shops to sell alcohol, although bars and nightclubs were banned towards the end of his rule. "Gunmen in four SUV vehicles stopped near the liquor stores and gunmen equipped with silenced weapons started shooting at everybody near the stores," Furat Ahmed, a policeman at the scene, said. Police and medical sources said at least nine customers and three liquor store owners were killed, and three others were seriously wounded. Violence is still well below its height in 2006-7, but provisional figures from rights group Iraq Body Count put violent deaths in April at more than 400 - the highest monthly toll since 2009. About 1,500 people have been killed this year. (Reporting by Kareem Raheem; Wriring by Ahmed Rasheed; Editing by) ========================= Car bombs target Iraq Shi'ites, killing 43 Mon, May 20 09:04 AM EDT 1 of 5 By Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 43 people were killed in car bomb explosions targeting Shi'ite Muslims in the Iraqi capital and the southern oil hub of Basra on Monday, police and medics said. The attacks brought the number of people killed in sectarian violence in the past week to almost 200. Tensions between Shi'ites, who now lead Iraq, and minority Sunni Muslims have reached their highest level since U.S. troops pulled out in December 2011. No group claimed responsibility for the bombings. Iraq is home to a number of Sunni Islamist insurgent groups, including the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq, which has previously targeted Shi'ites in a bid to provoke a wider sectarian confrontation. Nine people were killed in one of two car bomb explosions in Basra, a predominantly Shi'ite city 420 km (260 miles) southeast of Baghdad, police and medics said. "I was on duty when a powerful blast shook the ground," said a police officer near the site of that attack in the Hayaniya neighborhood. "The blast hit a group of day laborers gathering near a sandwich kiosk," he told Reuters, describing corpses littering the ground. "One of the dead bodies was still grabbing a blood-soaked sandwich in his hand." Five other people were killed in a second blast inside a bus terminal in Saad Square, also in Basra, police and medics said. In Baghdad, a parked car exploded in a busy market in the mainly Shi'ite eastern district of Kamaliya, killing seven people, police said. A further 22 people were killed in blasts in Ilaam, Diyala Bridge, al-Shurta, Shula, Zaafaraniya and Sadr City - all areas with a high concentration of Shi'ites. CORPSES FOUND In the western province of Anbar, the bodies of 14 people kidnapped on Saturday, including six policemen, were found dumped in the desert with bullet wounds to the head and chest, police and security sources said. When Sunni-Shi'ite bloodshed was at its height in 2006-07, Anbar was in the grip of al Qaeda's Iraqi wing, which has regained strength in recent months. In 2007, Anbar's Sunni tribes banded together with U.S. troops and helped subdue al Qaeda. Known as the "Sahwa" or Awakening militia, they are now on the government payroll and are often targeted by Sunni militants as punishment for co-operating with the Shi'ite-led government. Three Sahwa members were killed in a car bomb explosion as they collected their salaries in the city of Samarra, north of Baghdad, police said. Iraq's delicate intercommunal fabric is under increasing strain from the conflict in neighboring Syria, which has drawn Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims from across the region into a proxy war. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's main regional ally is Shi'ite Iran, while the rebels fighting to overthrow him are supported by Sunni Gulf powers Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Iraq says it takes no sides in the conflict, but leaders in Tehran and Baghdad fear Assad's demise would make way for a hostile Sunni Islamist government in Syria, weakening Shi'ite influence in the Middle East. The prospect of a shift in the sectarian balance of power has emboldened Iraq's Sunni minority, embittered by Shi'ite dominance since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein by U.S.-led forces in 2003. Thousands of Sunnis began staging street protests last December against Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, whom they accuse of marginalizing their sect. A raid by the Iraqi army on a protest camp in the town of Hawija last month ignited a bout of violence that left more than 700 people dead in April, according to a U.N. count, the highest monthly toll in almost five years. At the height of sectarian violence in 2006-07, the monthly death toll sometimes topped 3,000. (Additional reporting by Kamal Naama in Ramadi and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad; Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Angus MacSwan) ============== Bomb attacks kill more than 70 Shi'ites across Iraq Mon, May 20 14:15 PM EDT 1 of 7 By Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD (Reuters) - More than 70 people were killed in a series of car bombings and suicide attacks targeting Shi'ite Muslims across Iraq on Monday, police and medics said, extending the worst sectarian violence since U.S. troops withdrew in December 2011. The attacks increased the number killed in sectarian clashes in the past week to more than 200. Tensions between Shi'ites, who now lead Iraq, and minority Sunni Muslims have reached a point where some fear a return to all-out civil conflict. No group claimed responsibility for the bombings. Iraq has a number of Sunni Islamist insurgent groups, including the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq, which has targeted Shi'ites in a bid to kindle a wider sectarian conflagration. Nine people were killed in one of two car bombings in Basra, a predominantly Shi'ite city 420 km (260 miles) southeast of Baghdad, police and medics said. "I was on duty when a powerful blast shook the ground," said a police officer near the site of that attack in the Hayaniya neighborhood. "The blast hit a group of day laborers gathering near a sandwich kiosk," he said, describing corpses littering the ground. "One of the dead bodies was still grabbing a blood-soaked sandwich in his hand." Five other people were killed in a second blast inside a bus terminal in Saad Square in Basra, police and medics said. In Baghdad, at least 30 people were killed by car bombs in Kamaliya, Ilaam, Diyala Bridge, al-Shurta, Shula, Zaafaraniya and Sadr City - all areas with a high concentration of Shi'ites. A parked car bomb also exploded in the mainly Shi'ite district of Shaab in northern Baghdad, killing 12 people and wounding 26 others, police and hospital sources said. In Balad, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, a parked car blew up near a bus carrying Shi'ite pilgrims from Iran, killing five Iranian pilgrims and two Iraqis who were travelling to the Shi'ite holy city of Samarra, police said. Eleven people were killed by a car bomb and a suicide bomber in Hilla, 100 km (60 miles) south of Baghdad, police and medics said. Both attacks occurred near a Shi'ite place of worship and an outdoor market. CORPSES FOUND In the western province of Anbar, the bodies of 14 people kidnapped on Saturday, including six policemen, were found dumped in the desert with bullet wounds to the head and chest, police and security sources said. When Sunni-Shi'ite bloodshed was at its height in 2006-07, Anbar was in the grip of al Qaeda's Iraqi wing, which has regained strength in recent months. In 2007, Anbar's Sunni tribes banded together with U.S. troops and helped subdue al Qaeda. Known as the "Sahwa" or Awakening militia, they are now on the government payroll and are often targeted by Sunni militants as punishment for co-operating with the Shi'ite-led government. Three Sahwa members were killed in a car bomb explosion as they collected their salaries in the city of Samarra, north of Baghdad, police said. And a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt detonated himself at a Sahwa checkpoint, killing two fighters and wounded another seven in Baiji, 180 km (112 miles) north of Baghdad. Iraq's fragile intercommunal fabric is under increasing strain from the conflict in nearby Syria, which has drawn Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims from across the region into a proxy war. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's main regional ally is Shi'ite Iran, while the rebels fighting to overthrow him are supported by Sunni Gulf powers Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Iraq says it takes no sides in the conflict, but leaders in Tehran and Baghdad fear Assad's demise would make way for a hostile Sunni Islamist government in Syria, weakening Shi'ite influence in the Middle East. The prospect of a shift in the sectarian balance of power has emboldened Iraq's Sunni minority, which is embittered by Shi'ite dominance since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein by U.S.-led forces in 2003. Thousands of Sunnis began staging street protests last December against Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, whom they accuse of marginalizing their sect. A raid by the Iraqi army on a protest camp in the town of Hawija last month ignited a spate of violence that left more than 700 people dead in April, according to a U.N. count, the highest monthly toll in almost five years. At the height of sectarian violence in 2006-07, the monthly death toll sometimes topped 3,000. (This story has been corrected to show that not all those killed in the attacks were Shi'ites) (Additional reporting by Aref Mohammed in Basra, Kamal Naama in Ramadi, Ghazwan Hassan in Tikrit, Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad and Ali al-Rubaie in Hilla; Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Mark ================= Attacks in Iraq kill over 40, sectarian tensions high Tue, May 21 17:21 PM EDT 1 of 4 By Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - A series of bomb and gun attacks across Iraq killed more than 40 people on Tuesday, a day after over 70 died in violence targeting majority Shi'ites that has stoked fears of all-out sectarian war with minority Sunnis. Nearly 300 people have been killed in the past week as sectarian tensions, fuelled by the civil war in neighboring Syria, threaten to plunge Iraq back into communal bloodletting. Ten years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, Iraq's Sunnis, Shi'ites and Kurds have yet to find a stable power-sharing deal and violence is again on the upswing. In the biggest single incident on Tuesday, a car bomb exploded near a Sunni mosque in the Abu Ghraib area of western Baghdad killing 11 people and wounding 21, police and medics said. "I heard a powerful bang and a fireball near the main gate of the mosque," said Uday Raheem, a policeman whose patrol was stationed near the mosque. "We held back a while fearing a second explosion and then rushed to the blast location. The bodies of worshippers were scattered and some were shouting for help. bleeding to death." Another bomb outside a cafe in the Doura district of southern Baghdad killed six more and wounded 18. In Diyala province northeast of the capital, at least eight people, including two policemen, were killed in bombs and shootings, and in Kanaan, also to the northeast, two roadside bombs detonated in quick succession claiming three lives. In the north of the country, three roadside bombs exploded near a livestock market in the ethnically-mixed city of Kirkuk, killing six people and shredding the bodies of humans and animals alike. Mahmoud Jumaa, whose cousin was killed in the multiple bombings, appeared bewildered by their random nature. "I heard the explosions, but never thought this place would be targeted since these animals have nothing to do with politics, nothing to do with sect, nothing to do with ethnicity or religion," he said. Kirkuk is in a disputed oil-rich swathe of Iraq claimed both by the Shi'ite-dominated government in Baghdad and ethnic Kurds who run their own autonomous administration in the north. Two car bomb blasts killed three people in a residential part of the town of Tuz Khurmato, also in the disputed area. North of Baghdad, a suicide bomber killed three soldiers at a checkpoint in Tarmiya, police and medics said, and in Khalis gunmen broke into a house and killed and man and his wife, both of them Sunni Muslims. The conflict in Syria, where mostly Sunni rebels are fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad, is turning in part into a regional proxy war between Sunni and Shi'ite powers. Lebanon's Iranian-backed Shi'ite Hezbollah group is now openly fighting alongside Assad's forces, which are dominated by members of his minority Shi'ite-linked Alawite sect. Iraq's Sunnis who resent their treatment by Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government have staged mass protests since December. Sunni militants, some of them linked to al Qaeda, have exploited the unrest, urging Sunnis to take up arms. More than 700 people died violently in April, according to the United Nations, the highest monthly figure in almost five years. Iraq suffered a frenzy of Sunni-Shi'ite violence in 2006-07, when monthly death tolls sometimes topped 3,000. (Reporting by Mustafa Mahmoud; Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Mike Collett-White) ============== Bombs, kidnappings, mistrust shake fragile nation Mourners in Najaf pray over the coffin of a victim killed in a May 20 bomb attack. (AHMAD MOUSA/Reuters) By Staff of Iraq Oil Report Published Tuesday, May 21st, 2013 Iraq's capital and major cities suffered a bloody day of bombings and assassinations Monday, as sectarian conflict and political dysfunction continued to feed a vicious cycle of violence.At least 65 people were killed and 227 injured by the attacks, which targeted predominately Shiite areas around Iraq. The bombings followed a violent weekend in Anbar province, where Iraqi police were kidnapped and murdered and the government attempted to arrest a powerful sheik. Persistent attacks agai... In Syria's shadow, Iraq violence presents new test for U.S. Sat, May 25 01:05 AM EDT By Warren Strobel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saddled with Middle East problems ranging from Iran to Syria and beyond, President Barack Obama now faces one that is both old and new: Iraq. Unresolved sectarian tensions, inflamed by the raging civil war in neighboring Syria, have combined to send violence in Iraq to its highest level since Obama withdrew the last U.S. troops in December 2011, U.S. officials and Middle East analysts say. A Sunni Muslim insurgency against the Shi'ite-led Baghdad government has also been reawakened. The insurgents' defeat had been a major outcome of then-President George W. Bush's troop "surge" in 2007. The deteriorating situation - largely overshadowed by a Syrian civil war that has killed 80,000 people - has prompted what U.S. officials describe as an intense, mostly behind-the-scenes effort to curb the violence and get Iraqis back to political negotiations. The United States spent hundreds of billions of dollars and lost nearly 4,500 soldiers during an eight-year war to try to bring a semblance of democracy to strategically placed, energy-rich Iraq. But Iraqis have failed to agree on a permanent power-sharing agreement, threatening the country's long-term stability. Vice President Joe Biden, who has been Obama's point man on Iraq, called Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani and Osama Nujayfi, the head of Iraq's parliament, in a round of calls on Thursday and Friday, the White House said. To Maliki, the vice president "expressed concern about the security situation" and "spoke about the importance of outreach to leaders across the political spectrum," Biden's office said in a statement on Friday. U.S. diplomacy is aimed in part at persuading Maliki, a Shi'ite, and his security forces not to overreact to provocations. Maliki's opponents accuse him of advancing a sectarian agenda aimed at marginalizing Iraq's minorities and cementing Shi'ite rule. The latest uptick in violence began in late April at a Sunni protest camp in Hawija, near the disputed city of Kirkuk, where a clash between gunmen and Iraqi security forces killed more than 40 people. A U.S. official said the Obama administration was "very actively engaged" after the Hawija clash in preventing a further escalation, when Iraqi forces surrounded insurgents who had seized control of a nearby town. Washington urged the Iraqi forces not to go in with massive firepower, and the stand-off was settled through a deal with local tribal leaders. "I don't want to exaggerate our influence, but this is the kind of stuff we do behind the scenes," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "When there is a real crisis, they all run to us. ... We're a neutral party." Others say Washington's influence in Iraq, which began waning even when U.S. troops were still there, has plummeted. "What is lacking is the lack of confidence of trust among the politicians," Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told CNN on Tuesday. "And we have lost the service of an honest broker. Before, it used to be the United States." 'ZOMBIE INSURGENCY' Most worrying to U.S. officials and analysts who follow Iraq closely is the rebirth of the Sunni insurgency and of groups such as al Qaeda in Iraq, thought to be behind lethal suicide bombings aimed at reigniting civil conflict. "What you're really looking at here is a kind of zombie insurgency - it's been brought back to life," said Michael Knights of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, who has studied Iraq for years and travels there frequently. By his count, violent incidents have escalated to about 1,100 a month from 300 monthly at the end of 2010. After the Hawija clashes, the U.S. official said, "For the first time really in a few years, we saw people with their faces covered and RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) and heavy weapons, coming into the streets in a very visible way." The official called the increase in suicide bombings by al Qaeda in Iraq "very concerning," adding that such sophisticated insurgent groups could "wreak havoc" on political efforts to solve the conflict. "I wouldn't call it a strategically significant increase, yet," the official said of the violence. "We're in this post-civil war, pre-reconciliation interregnum, gap, period, in which Iraq can tilt either way." The setbacks in Iraq have revived criticism from those who opposed Obama's decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from the country, rather than leave behind a residual force. The White House has said it could not secure political agreement from Iraq's Sunni, Shia and Kurds for a law allowing a continued troop presence. At a Senate hearing last month, Senator John McCain, who opposed the troop withdrawal, asked Assistant Secretary of Defense Derek Chollet how things turned out in Iraq. McCain, an Arizona Republican, cited Obama's dictum that "the tide of war is receding." "I think Iraq is more stable today than many thought several years ago," Chollet replied. "Really? You really think that?" McCain pressed. When Chollet said he did, the senator shot back, "Then you're uninformed." The violence, which includes confrontations stemming from the Sunni protest movement, near-daily car bombings and attacks on mosques, is nowhere near the level of Iraq's 2006-2008 civil war. Still, Kenneth Pollack, a former CIA and White House official now at the Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy said: "I think we're going to see great sectarian violence. The question is, how bad does it get?" SYRIA IS 'AN ACCELERANT' Syria's increasingly sectarian civil war, pitting mostly Sunni rebels against the government of President Bashar al-Assad, is not the prime cause of Iraq's troubles, officials and analysts said. Iraq's failure to find a stable power-sharing deal among the country's ethnic and sectarian groups is to blame, they said. Iraq's Sunnis, ascendant during dictator Saddam Hussein's rule, feel excluded and threatened, and started staging protests in December. But Syria's war "is an accelerant" in Iraq, Pollack said. "We're seeing both Shia and Sunnis going over to fight" in Syria, the U.S. official said. "It's kind of encouraging this sectarian polarization in a way." Iraqis often experience the Syrian conflict via YouTube video clips, he said. Sunnis see the violence perpetrated by Assad's government, dominated by members of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shia Islam, he said. Iraq's Shia see often gruesome excesses perpetrated by the rebels. "They're seeing two entirely different parallel universes," the official said. (Additional reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Alistair Bell and Peter Cooney) =========================== Baghdad bombs kill 25 in Sunni-Shi'te bloodletting Thu, May 30 12:29 PM EDT 1 of 8 By Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A series of bombs battered Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim neighborhoods across Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 25 people in the worst wave of sectarian violence since civil war five years ago. The bloodletting reflects increasing conflict between Iraq's majority Shi'ite leadership and the Sunni minority, many of whom feel unfairly marginalized since the 2003 fall of strongman Saddam Hussein, a Sunni. The latest surge in violence began in April when Iraqi forces raided a Sunni protest camp in the northern town of Hawija, angering Sunni leaders and triggering clashes that spread across the country. Civil war in Syria between Sunni rebels and President Bashar al-Assad, whose Alawite sect derives from Shi'ite Islam, has aggravated the strife in Iraq. Sunni and Shi'ite Iraqis have been crossing the border to fight on opposing sides in Syria. No group claimed responsibility for Thursday's attacks, but Sunni Islamist insurgents and al Qaeda's Iraqi wing have increased their operations since the beginning of the year as part of a campaign to exacerbate inter-communal tensions. The violence prompted the United Nations envoy in Baghdad to warn about the risk of a broader confrontation if the country's political leadership does not negotiate to ease sectarian tensions at the heart of the crisis. "Systemic violence is ready to explode at any moment if all Iraqi leaders do not engage immediately to pull the country out of this mayhem," United Nations representative Martin Kobler said. Early on Thursday, a car bomb exploded in the mainly Sunni district of Binoog in north Baghdad, killing at least four people. Throughout the day, at least six more bombs killed another 20 people in mainly Shi'ite and Sunni districts across the capital, police said. Most of the victims were civilians, but soldiers and police were also targeted in the car bomb and roadside bomb attacks that hit north, south and central Baghdad. A further seven people, including three policemen, were killed in clashes between gunmen and security forces in the northern city of Mosul, and two bombs killed four more in the town of Tal Afar. SUNNIS DIVIDED The Sunni governors of Anbar and Salahuddin provinces escaped assassination attempts unhurt on Thursday when their convoys were attacked with car bombs. The two men have been cooperating with Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in an effort to defuse Sunni discontent. More than 1,100 people have been killed since April, raising the risk of a relapse into outright sectarian warfare of the kind that killed thousands of people in 2006-2007. Attempts to ease the political crisis have been hampered by deep divisions among Sunni leaders. Moderates who favor negotiations have sometimes been attacked by hardliners and insurgents who oppose Maliki. Security officials blame Sunni Islamists and al Qaeda's local wing, the Islamic State of Iraq, for most of the violence. Thousands of Sunnis have protested weekly in the streets in western provinces since December, and the country's government - split among Shi'ite, Sunni and ethnic Kurds - is locked in disputes over how to share power. Many Sunnis feel sidelined since the Shi'ite majority rose to power through elections, and say their sect has been mistreated by Shi'ite-dominated security forces who use tough anti-terrorism laws unfairly against them. (Additional reporting by Suadad al-Salhy in Baghdad and a reporter in Mosul; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Michael Roddy) ===================

Baghdad suicide bomb blast at Internet cafe kills 27

Baghdad suicide bomb blast at Internet cafe kills 27 Thu, Apr 18 17:21 PM EDT By Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomber blew himself inside a Baghdad cafe popular with young people using the Internet, killing a least 27 and wounding dozens more in one of the worst single attacks in the Iraqi capital this year. The late evening blast in west Baghdad came just two days before provincial elections that will be a major test of Iraq's political stability more than a year after the last American troops left the country. Police and witnesses said emergency workers struggled to extricate victims trapped when the blast collapsed part of the building that also housed a shopping center below the Dubai cafe which was on the third floor. "It was a huge blast," a police official at the scene said. "Part of the building fell in and debris hit people shopping in the mall below." Ten years after the U.S.-led invasion, Sunni Islamists linked to al Qaeda carry out at least one major attack a month, but insurgents have stepped up suicide attacks since the start of the year as part of a campaign to provoke confrontation between the country's Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims. More than 30 people were killed in a series of bombings across Iraq on Monday and more than a dozen election candidates have been killed in the run-up to the vote. Security officials have been expecting more attacks before Saturday's ballot for provincial councils that will be a measure of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's political muscle before the parliamentary vote in 2014. A surge in violence in Iraq has accompanied the political crisis in the Shi'ite premier's government, where Shi'ite, Sunni and ethnic Kurds share posts in a fragile power-sharing deal that has been mostly paralyzed since U.S. troops left in December 2011. Al Qaeda's local wing, Islamic State of Iraq, has said it will keep up attacks and security officials say the group is gaining ground and recruits in the western desert bordering Syria, thanks in part to a boost from the flow of insurgents and funds into the neighboring country's war. (Reporting by Kareem Raheem; Editing by Michael Roddy; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Michael Roddy) =============== How stable is Iraq? 13 candidates killed ahead of elections Iraq's provincial elections tomorrow, the first since the US withdrawal, are considered a strong indicator of the country's stability. Pre-election violence does not bode well. By Jane Arraf, Correspondent / April 19, 2013 Workers carry ballot boxes as they prepare for the upcoming provincial elections, in Baghdad Friday. Saturday's ballot will be a test of Iraq's political stability with the government mired in crisis over power-sharing among Shiite, Sunni and ethnic Kurds more than a year after the last US troops left. Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters Baghdad Iraq holds provincial elections tomorrow, the first elections since the pullout of US troops, against a backdrop of widening violence, a record number of assassinations of political candidates, and deepening political division. In Pictures: Iraq's delicate balance Sunni and Shiite Islam: Do you know the difference? Take our quiz. Terrorism & Security Pre-election violence rocks Baghdad, capped with cafe bombing today Iraq: At least 22 wounded, 60 injured in election-related suicide bombing Although overall attacks are at roughly similar levels as they were for the last provincial elections in 2009, at least 13 candidates and two political party officers have been killed in targeted attacks in the past few weeks – a record number. Almost 150 candidates have so far been struck off the list of candidates, most of them for alleged ties to the banned Baath Party of Saddam Hussein. “It’s a showdown,” says Iraqi political analyst Saad Eskander. “They use 'legal' methods – expelling the ones they don’t want or by force – physical liquidation. This is an extension of politics, not an extension of terrorism.” Violent politics In Baghdad, where explosions in Shiite areas have become common, residents were jarred last night by a bomb that ripped through a crowded internet café in the almost exclusively Sunni neighborhood of Amariyah. Police said at least 25 people were killed and more than 50 wounded when the explosion tore through a three-story complex packed with young men and families relaxing at the start of the weekend. RECOMMENDED: Sunni and Shiite Islam: Do you know the difference? Take our quiz. Amariyah was an Al Qaeda in Iraq stronghold and the first urban neighborhood in which Sunni neighborhood fighters joined US soldiers to drive out the organization. No group has taken responsibility for the blast, though an interior ministry official linked the explosion to the provincial elections. “I think this is a conflict between competing political parties,” said the official. He described it as a warning to supporters of moderate Sunni politicians allied with the Shiite-led government. Baghdad has been under heightened alert for weeks ahead of elections for provincial council, with restricted access to many Sunni neighborhoods believed by the Shite-led government to be particular security risks. Armored vehicles and tens of thousands of extra troops are being deployed in the capitol. The interior ministry says it has arrested several Al Qaeda leaders and seized more than 100 bombs over the past week. The elections will be the first secured completely by Iraqi forces since US troops pulled out of the country in 2011. It is also seen as a test of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s chances for re-election in national polls next year. A different story outside Baghdad In an indication of the growing divide between Iraqi provinces and the central government, the Iraqi cabinet decided to postpone elections in the mainly Sunni provinces of Anbar and Ninevah for security reasons. The move, though, is also seen as propping up unpopular incumbent politicians and Prime Minister Maliki’s own hold on power. With the Kurdish region holding separate elections in September, voters in only 12 of Iraq’s 18 provinces will be going to the polls tomorrow. Elections have also been postponed indefinitely in the disputed city of Kirkuk. In Baghdad, campaign posters have plastered roundabouts and concrete walls for weeks. Among the most prominent are those for Mohammad Rubai’e, elected four years ago on a campaign he modeled on President Obama’s slogan of "Change." “We aimed to produce change in four years but it’s difficult because there was so much destruction,” says Rubai'e, who switched allegiances from the largely Sunni Iraqiya to one of the main Shiite coalitions with wider support. “Iraq needs political reform that starts at the top to achieve visible change.” At a recent campaign event on the southern outskirts of Baghdad, Rubai’e, a secular Shiite, met with Sunni tribal leaders, pledging to bring clean water to their agricultural area. “We will vote for whoever listens to us and brings us services. We don’t trust the thieves. We know who they are now,” says Sheikh Raad Mutar al-Mehdi. 'Most democratic elections' Despite the fact that voter turnout is expected to be around only 50 percent, this election is considered to be perhaps the most democratic in Iraq’s post-war history. Parties and candidates needed a certain percentage of votes to win seats in previous provincial elections, meaning that if they did not reach that threshold, votes cast for them were discarded. That clause was removed after legal challenges. In a more controversial move, the percentage of guaranteed seats for women has also been raised to 25 percent of the total in each province and for the first time, Shiite Kurds have been included in seats set aside for Iraqi minorities. The guaranteed seats for women potentially mean that female candidates who won very few votes will be given seats over male candidates with more support. ================= Bombs, mortars fail to stop first Iraq vote since U.S. exit Sat, Apr 20 14:51 PM EDT 1 of 10 By Patrick Markey BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bomb attacks and mortar fire failed to prevent Iraqis voting on Saturday in the first nationwide elections since the last U.S. troops left more than a year ago. The provincial elections will measure political parties' strength before a parliamentary election in 2014 to chose a new government in a country deeply divided along sectarian lines. A dozen small bombs exploded and mortar rounds landed near polling centers in cities north and south of the capital. Three voters and a policeman were injured by mortars in Latifiya, south of Baghdad, police said. The violence was relatively low key for a country where a local al Qaeda wing and other Sunni Islamists have stepped up their efforts to undermine the Shi'ite Muslim-led government and stoke confrontation along religious and ethnic divides. Preliminary results were not due for several days, but election authorities said 50 percent of eligible voters -- more than 6.4 million -- took part in Saturday's poll, a similar rate to the last vote for provincial councils in 2009. After polls closed, a local official in Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, said disgruntled voters who were unable to find their names on the electoral lists burned four boxes of ballots at one polling station. Since U.S. troops left in December 2011, Iraqi politics has been paralyzed by infighting over power-sharing agreements, with Maliki's rivals accusing the Shi'ite premier of consolidating power at the expense of Sunni and Kurdish partners. For Maliki, a strong showing by his Shi'ite State of Law alliance may consolidate his plans to abandon the unwieldy power-sharing deal to form a majority government. Sunni rivals, deeply divided over how to work with his government, will look to chip away at Maliki's hold over provincial councils. Many voters appeared caught between hope for improvement, apathy and resignation about how much would change after the election of nearly 450 provincial council members who have the power to elect state governors. "People are not patient, they were not ready for how quickly we came to democracy," said Ahmed Abdel Hameed, voting in Baghdad a decade after U.S. troops crossed the border in an invasion that ousted President Saddam Hussein. "They thought everything would change in one election. We still need time, maybe we need three or four more elections," he said. "STRATIFIED, SECTARIAN POLITICS" Most Iraqis are frustrated with insecurity, unemployment, corruption and the lack of basic services 10 years after the invasion that was followed by sectarian bloodshed that killed tens of thousands of people. Violence has eased since a peak in 2006-2007 but insurgents are still capable of inflicting major damage. Attacks on one Sunni and one Shi'ite mosque on Friday killed at least eight people. A suicide bomber killed 32 at a cafe in a mostly Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad a day before. "Overall the elections are likely to see Iraq stumble further along the trajectory on which it has already been headed for some time: to stratified, sectarian politics," Eurasia Group analyst Crispin Hawes wrote in a report. Voting was postponed in two mostly Sunni provinces because local officials warned they could not provide security there, a decision that prompted Washington to call on the government to ensure it did not alienate Sunni voters. Since December, tens of thousands of Sunnis have taken to the streets each week to demonstrate against what they say is the marginalization of their minority, sidelined by the majority Shi'ite leadership and discriminated against by Iraqi security forces and tough anti-terrorism laws. Election authorities said voting that was suspended in Anbar and Nineweh provinces may go ahead in a month. "Suspending elections was the coup de grace for the demonstrations. We've lost everything," said Maitham Jalal, a college student in Anbar province. "Elections are a legitimate right which was taken away by the government without any fear." (Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed and Raheem Salman in Baghdad, and Aref Mohammed in Basra; Editing by Louise Ireland and Jason Webb) ================= Iraq on edge after raid fuels deadly Sunni unrest Wed, Apr 24 16:54 PM EDT By Patrick Markey and Suadad al-Salhy BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - More than 30 people were killed in gun battles between Iraqi forces and militants on Wednesday, a day after a raid on a Sunni Muslim protest ignited the fiercest clashes since American troops left the country. The second day of fighting threatens to deepen sectarian rifts in Iraq where relations between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims are still very tense just a few years after inter-communal slaughter pushed the country close to civil war. The clashes between gunmen and troops were the bloodiest since thousands of Sunni Muslims started protests in December to demand an end to what they see as marginalization of their sect by Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. On Tuesday, troops stormed one of the Sunni protest camps and more than 50 people were killed in the ensuing clashes which spread beyond the town of Hawija near Kirkuk, 170 km (100 miles) north of Baghdad, to other areas. Sporadic battles continued on Wednesday and hardline tribal leaders warned that protests could turn into open revolt against the Baghdad government even as Sunni moderates and foreign diplomats called for restraint. Militants briefly took over a police station and an army base and burned a small Shi'ite mosque in Sulaiman Pek, 160 km (100 miles) north of Baghdad, before army helicopters drove gunmen out of the town. At least 18 were killed, including 10 gunmen and five soldiers, officials said. An ambush on an army convoy near Tikrit with roadside bombs and rocket-propelled grenades killed three more soldiers. Three more troops were killed in an attack in Diyala province. Later on Wednesday, clashes erupted in the northern city of Mosul, where gunmen launched an attack after using a mosque loudspeaker to call Sunnis to join their fight. At least three police and four soldiers died in the assault, officials said. In a separate attack, at least eight people were also killed and 23 more wounded when a car bomb exploded in eastern Baghdad, police and medical sources said. A surge in Sunni militant unrest has accompanied growing turmoil among the Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish parties that make up Maliki's power-sharing government. A decade after the U.S.-led invasion, sectarian wounds are still raw in Iraq, where just a few a years ago violence between Shi'ite militias and Sunni Islamist insurgents killed tens of thousands of people. Sectarian bloodshed reached its height in Iraq in 2006-2007 after al Qaeda bombed the Shi'ite Askari shrine in Samarra, triggering a cycle of retaliation. Thousands of Sunnis have been protesting since December, venting frustrations building up since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and the empowerment of Iraq's Shi'ite majority through the ballot box. "We are staying restrained so far, but if government forces keep targeting us, no one can know what will happen in the future, and things could spin out of control," said Abdul Aziz al-Faris, a Sunni tribal leader in Hawija. SS The two main Shi'ite militias, Asaib al-Haq and Kataeb Hizbullah, appear to have stayed out of the latest violence. But former fighters said they could take up arms again if needed. Maliki has set up a committee headed by a senior Sunni leader to investigate the violence at the Hawija camp, which left 23 people dead. He has promised to punish any excessive use of force and provide for victims' families. The prime minister has offered some concessions to Sunni protesters, including proposed reforms to tough anti-terrorism laws, but most Sunni leaders say they will not be enough to appease the demonstrators. The Shi'ite premier may also seek to consolidate his position before 2014 parliamentary elections by taking a tough stance against hardline Sunni Islamists. That may be a risk which could further alienate Sunnis. "What we are now likely to see in western Iraq is a deteriorating cycle of confrontation between the central government and protesters that will benefit extremist groups," said Crispin Hawes at Eurasia Group. Iraq's Sunni community is deeply divided between moderates more keen to work within Maliki's government and those who see resistance as the only way to confront Baghdad. "The Maliki government's aggression against our people in Hawija has forced us to take our uprising on another course," said Sheikh Qusai al-Zain, a protest leader in Anbar province. "We call upon all tribes and armed groups to begin supporting our brothers in Hawija." (Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad,; Gazwan Hassan in Samarra and Mustafa Mohammed in Kirkuk; Editing by Jon Hemming) ================ crackdowns Sectarian conflict ignites amidst protest crackdowns Mourners at a funeral procession in Hawija on April 24, 2013. (KAMARAN AL-NAJAR/Iraq Oil Report) By Kamaran al-Najar, Adam al-Atbi, Jamal Naji and Staff of Iraq Oil Report Published Thursday, April 25th, 2013 Violence continued to spread throughout Iraq's Sunni-majority provinces Wednesday, as militant protesters retaliated against government security forces in a swell of insurrections that raised the specter of a sectarian civil war. Peaceful protests have been supplanted by a call to arms against the Shiite-dominated government, which has recently escalated a crackdown on demonstrations. The crisis boiled over Tuesday when dozens of people were killed in a prolonged battle between protesters and... ===================

Foreign firms vie for $15 billion construction contract

By Mohamed Fadhil



Azzaman, May 29, 2008



International firms are competing for one of the largest construction schemes in the country at a total cost of nearly $15 billion, a statement by Baghdad Municipality said.



The statement said 14 firms have supplied tenders to construct the Al-Rasheed City to be built on a former massive military camp bearing the same name.



The city will include a 4000-bed hospital and as well 21 specialized clinics to form the largest medical complex the Middle East in the future, the statement said.



The residential complex that will include six residential sectors with hundreds of 3-6 story building is expected initially to house 60,000 people, it added.



The return of some semblance of normalcy to Baghdad is encouraging some firms to submit offers.



Most foreign firms had fled Iraqi due to mounting insecurity. Many have migrated to the more peaceful Kurdish north, taking a wait-and-see attitude.