11 Iraqis Killed in War Attacks, Including Mother and Two Sons, US Mine-Sweeping Vehicle Destroyed, According to Initial July 31, 2008 News Reports

Editor's Note:

Only God knows how many Iraqis are killed everyday. The following represents part of the reporting but readers are advised that the actual number of deaths should very much exceed what's reported.

Concerning deaths of US soldiers, only those US citizens who die in Iraq are included in the statistics. There are no published statistics about US soldiers who die of their injuries after that. There are no published statistics about the deaths or injuries of the private army soldiers (security contractors), or about those without US citizenship.

It is noteworthy that May 20, 2008 news reports showed that death squads which execute Iraqis on daily basis are no longer hiding themselves. Previously, Sunni leaders pointed to Mahdi Army and Badr militiamen as the perpetrators. Now, death squads are composed of the US-recruited Sahwa fighters and policemen (which is an opportunity for US forces command to sever relations with these fighters).

Despite the fact that there are scores of organizations involved in the Iraq war, the Iraqi government officials prefer to refer to them as Alqaeda gunmen for propaganda purposes, as mentioned in the June 4, 2008 news report. For accuracy purposes, the term "Alqaeda gunmen" may be replaced with "Iraqi fighters."

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Yaqen.net reported the following news:

- A roadside bomb destroyed a US mine-sweeping vehicle near Al-Baghdadi railway station, in Al-Anbar Province, killing or injuring its crew, Ansar Al-Islam statement announced.

- Three US-recruited Sahwa fighters were killed, four were injured in a roadside bomb attack in Samarra.

- Three Iraqis from one family were killed yesterday by US soldiers in the village of Mukaishefah, 10 kilometers south of Samarra. The victims included the wife of Jassem Abdullah Al-Essawi, the 77-year-old Sabeeha Hassan Hussain and two of her sons. Three other members of the family were injured, including a woman. INA mentioned that Sabeeha's two sons were Muhammed Jassem and Ali Jassem.

Amsi.org reported that the government-controlled Iraqiya and Mosuliya tv stations in Mosul were attacked with five mortars, without casualties.

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News Summary

National - Voices of Iraq
Thursday , 31 /07 /2008 Time 4:51:09

BAGHDAD, July 31 (VOI) -

Following is a summary of news reports posted until 4:00 p.m. Baghdad local time Thursday:

* Politics & Security:

WASSIT, Security forces on Thursday raided Shi'i Cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's office in Kut and arrested one of its security guards, a police source said.

NINEWA, Three policemen were killed and four others were wounded on Thursday in a suicide car bomb explosion in south of Mosul, a security source said.

DIALA, More than 100 wanted men were arrested in Ba'aqouba within the wide-scale security operation waged in the province of Diala, the director of the Interior Ministry's national command center said on Thursday.

NINEWA, The judge who was injured by unknown gunmen in northern Mosul died on Thursday of wounds he sustained, a security source said.

BAGHDAD, An Iraqi army force arrested one Thursday one of the individuals involved in blowing up the house of the family of Lawmaker Methal a-Ulusi in western Baghdad, the official spokesman for the Baghdad's operations command said.

BAGHDAD, The massive demonstration staged by thousands of Duhuk residents ended on Thursday by presenting a warrant of protest to the Iraqi parliament against the endorsement of the provincial council elections law.

BAGHDAD, Five wanted men were arrested in the past 48 hours in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Baghdad's operations command said on Thursday.

KARBALA, Four wanted men were arrested on Thursday north of Karbala city and seized 12 Katyusha rockets found in their possession, the commander of Karbala operations and chief of police said.

DIALA, A total of 189 persons were arrested within security operation Bashaer al-Kheir (Promise of Good) operation in Diala, while the curfew was completely lifted, the official spokesman for the Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

NINEWA, Five mortar shells on Thursday hit the building of al-Iraqia and al-Mosuliya satellite channels in eastern Mosul, a police source said.

THI-QAR, Police forces on Thursday arrested four suspected gunmen and found weapons in central Nassiriya, the media spokesman for the Thi-Qar police department said.

SS

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Iraq War Report for events of Wednesday, 30 July 2008.

Translated and/or compiled by Muhammad Abu Nasr,

member, editorial board, the Free Arab Voice.

Wednesday, 30 July 2008.

·        Dozens of prisoners released by US forces, being held by local al-Hadithah police, “Awakening.”

·        Iraqi police, army arrest 54 in second day of offensive against al-Qa‘idah in Diyala Province Wednesday.

·        Iraqi regime troops raid party offices in Sinjar, arrest Yazidi official.

·        Iraqi regime police find rocket launcher north of al-Basrah Wednesday.

Al-Anbar Province.
Al-Hadithah.

Dozens of prisoners released by US forces, being held by local al-Hadithah police, “Awakening.”

In a dispatch posted at 5:33pm Baghdad time Wednesday afternoon, the Yaqen News Agency reported that the tribal “Awakening” police and the Iraqi government police in al-Hadithah, 270km northwest of Baghdad, have imprisoned dozens of individuals who have been released from prisons run by the US occupation forces throughout Iraq. The police and “Awakening” contingents refuse to hand over their unauthorized prisoners to their relatives and intend, instead, to put them on trial in kangaroo “courts” that they are rigging up without government involvement.

Yaqen reported that dozens of prisoners originally from al-Hadithah had been released by US forces in the last two days. The Americans turned the released captives over to the government police and “Awakening” contingents without inquiry into the persistent reports that the “Awakening” has been murdering individuals released from prison and kidnapping and killing local citizens.

The dozens of individuals are currently languishing in prisons run by the “Awakening” awaiting an obscure fate, following orders issued by Colonel Faruq al-Jaghifi, the Director of the al-Hadithah police and “Awakening” that they be imprisoned until their cases can be further perused.

Yaqen reported that the “Awakening” in al-Hadithah has murdered every prisoner from the city whom the Americans have released, either directly upon their leaving prison, or by kidnapping and killing them a few days later. Their bodies are then dumped in remote desert areas. The murders are said to be a major factor in the recent increase in attacks on US and Iraqi regime forces in al-Anbar Province, a region of Iraq that has been largely quiet for nearly two years.

Hit.

Family feud leaves one dead, 15 injured near Hit.

In a dispatch posted at 4:50pm Baghdad time Wednesday afternoon, the Yaqen News Agency reported that a feud had escalated into a gun battle two families in the village of Tall al-Aswad near the Euphrates river in the vicinity of Hit, 180km northwest of Baghdad.

Yaqen reported a source in the Hit police as saying that one person was killed and another 15 wounded in the fight between the two mutually related families. The source said that the fight erupted over a sum of money and then escalated into a gun battle that raged until Iraqi regime security forces intervened to put a stop to the feud, arresting seven individuals.

Baghdad.

Resistance group claims to shoot down unmanned US spy plane.

In a dispatch posted at 1:50pm Baghdad time Wednesday afternoon, the Yaqen News Agency reported that the Iraqi resistance group known as the Brigades of the Army of ar-Rahman, a constituent organization in the Jihad and Change Front, had posted a communiqué on Wednesday.

Yaqen reported the communiqué as saying that fighters for the group had shot down an unmanned American reconnaissance drone plane somewhere to the south of Baghdad. The statement did not specify when or where the alleged attack took place.

Bomb kills Iraqi army soldier in eastern Baghdad Wednesday.

In a dispatch posted at 11:50am Baghdad time Wednesday morning, the Yaqen News Agency reported thata bomb exploded by a joint Iraqi army and police patrol in eastern Baghdad on Wednesday.

Yaqen reported a source in the government police as saying that the blast, which occurred near the al-Muthanna police station in the Zuyunah district of eastern Baghdad, killed one soldier and wounded 10 more people, a number of them policemen and soldiers.

Salah ad-Din Province.
Ad-Dulu‘iyah.

Bomb blast claimed to kill two US troops in ad-Dulu‘iyah Wednesday.

In a dispatch posted at 11:16pm Baghdad time Wednesday night, the Association of Muslim Scholars of Iraq (AMSI) reported that a bomb had exploded by a patrol that was halted near a checkpoint manned by the tribal “Awakening” police in ad-Dulu‘iyah, 97km north of Baghdad on Wednesday.

The AMSI reported witnesses in the area as claiming that the blast destroyed an American Humvee and killed two American soldiers.

Tikrit.

Resistance group claims attack on US base in Tikrit.

In a dispatch posted at 1:30pm Baghdad time Wednesday afternoon, the Yaqen News Agency reported that the Iraqi resistance group known as the Army of the Muslims, a constituent member organization in the Jihad and Change Front, published a communiqué on Wednesday.

Yaqen reported the communiqué as claiming that the Army of the Muslims had fired two rockets at a military base of the “assailant, infidel enemy” forces in Tikrit, 180km north of Baghdad. The statement said that the two rockets scored direct hits on the base, but did not indicate when the alleged attack had taken place.

Diyala Province.
Ba‘qubah.

Iraqi police, army arrest 54 in second day of offensive against al-Qa‘idah in Diyala Province Wednesday.

In a dispatch posted at 10:14pm Baghdad time Wednesday night, the Yaqen News Agency reported that Iraqi government forces together with the police had arrested a total of 54 persons in the course of the second day of their two-day old campaign against al-Qa‘idah in Diyala Province.

Yaqen reported Major General Muhammad al-‘Asakri, spokesman for the Iraqi Defense Ministry, a saying that the offensive had begun with the imposition of a curfew in the province, beginning at 5am Tuesday morning and lasting until further notice.

At-Ta’mim/Kirkuk Province.
Kirkuk.

Three arrested in Kirkuk.

In a dispatch posted at 9:25pm Baghdad time Wednesday night, the Yaqen News Agency reported that the police in the Dumiz area to the south of Kirkuk, 250km north of Baghdad, had arrested three persons on Wednesday.

Yaqen reported Colonel Anwar Qadir, the Chief of Police in Dumiz, as saying that the three had been arrested without disclosing the reason or circumstances of the arrests.

Ninwa Province.
Al-Mawsil.

Official of pro-American Sunni-sectarian party assassinated in al-Mawsil.

In a dispatch posted at 6:19pm Baghdad time Wednesday afternoon, the Yaqen News Agency reported that gunmen assassinated a leader of the pro-American Sunni-sectarian Islamic Party in an attack to the west of al-Mawsil, 420km northwest of Baghdad, on Wednesday.

Yaqen reported Muhammad Shakir al-Ghannam, an official with the Sunni-sectarian party, as saying that gunmen attacked the home of one of their leaders in the as-Sumud neighborhood of western al-Mawsil, shooting and killing the party official and then fleeing the scene. The deceased was a high ranking official in the pro-American party and also a former Colonel in the army under Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

The Islamic Party was formed by the Iraqi Muslim Brotherhood fundamentalist organization following the US invasion of the country in 2003. It agreed to take part in the governing council run by L. Paul Bremer, the US proconsul of Iraq in the first months of the American occupation. It has been the target of attacks by the rival Sunni-sectarian al-Qa‘idah organization.

Since 10 May, the US and its Iraqi regime allies have been waging an offensive against the al-Qa‘idah organization in al-Mawsil and surrounding Ninwa Province.

Gunmen injure judge in Wednesday morning attack.

In a dispatch posted at 11:13am Baghdad time Wednesday morning, the Association of Muslim Scholars of Iraq (AMSI) reported that gunmen wounded a judge and one of his bodyguards in an attack on the car in which they were driving through al-Mawsil, 420km northwest of Baghdad, on Wednesday.

The AMSI reported a source in the security services who asked not to be identified as saying that gunmen opened fire on the car carrying Judge Muhammad Khalf as-Sabil as he drove away from his home in the as-Sadiq neighborhood of northern al-Mawsil on his way downtown to the court building where he worked. The judge and one of his bodyguards were wounded in the attack.

Following the incident, the gunmen fled the scene and the judge was taken to the al-Jumhuriyah Emergency Hospital for treatment.

Sinjar.

Iraqi regime troops raid party offices in Sinjar, arrest Yazidi official.

In a dispatch posted at 8pm Baghdad time Wednesday evening, the Yaqen News Agency reported that Athil an-Nujayfi, the Chairman of the al-Hadba’ [al-Mawsil] United National Coalition political party, said that Iraqi regime forces had raided an office of the party in the city of Sinjar, 110km west of al-Mawsil, on Wednesday.

Yaqen reported an-Nujayfi as saying that Iraqi government troops arrested Murad Kashtu ‘Asi, an official in the al-Hadba’ Coalition in that city. An-Nujayfi noted that ‘Asi is a member of the Yazidi religious minority.

The government troops also closed the offices of the political coalition at the conclusion of their raid.

The al-Hadba’ [al-Mawsil] United National Coalition political party is a coalition of 13 political parties representing various political and ethnic groups. It plans to take part in elections in October on a platform of defending the Arab and Islamic character of Ninwa Province against on-going efforts by Kurdish separatists annex the area.

Al-Basrah Province.
Al-Basrah.

Iraqi regime police find rocket launcher north of al-Basrah Wednesday.

In a dispatch posted at 9:27pm Baghdad time Wednesday night, the Yaqen News Agency reported that Iraqi police forces had found four Grad rockets and nine launchers in the al-Ma‘qal area to the north of al-Basrah on Wednesday.

Yaqen reported a police spokesman as saying that the weapons were discovered on as-Sa‘ah Square, 8km north of al-Basrah. They were found aboard a 2-ton truck that was covered with sheets of iron.

Since March, the US-backed Iraqi regime has been actively engaged in an offensive against the pro-Iranian Sadr Movement and its armed wing, the Jaysh al-Mahdi militia, in Iraq, in what is believed to be preparation for an American attack on Iran.

Iraqi regime announces arrest of two “death squad” members in searches near Shatt al-‘Arab waterway.

In a dispatch posted at 3:45pm Baghdad time Wednesday afternoon, the Yaqen News Agency reported that the Iraqi regime police command announced that its men had arrested two members of unnamed death squads in the Shatt al-‘Arab area to the east of the city of al-Basrah in southern Iraq.

Yaqen reported that the arrests came in the course of raids and searches in the area and that the same forces also located twenty-five 120mm mortar rounds there.

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