20 Iraqis Killed in War Attack, Including 4 Executed by Death Squads, According to May 17, 2008 News Reports

Yaqen.net reported the following news today:

- 2 Iraqi soldiers were killed, four were injured in an attack east of Baghdad.

- 2 people were killed, 30 were injured in Sadr City fighting between US-backed Iraqi forces and Mahdi Armi fighters.

- An Iraqi farmer from Al-Buheshma village, which is close the Anaconda US base, was killed by fire from a US plane.

- 4 bodies of Iraqis executed by death squads were found in Baghdad.

- A mass grave was discovered in Basra.

- A woman was killed by a mortar attack in Sadr City.

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Iraqi army commander killed in Diala clashes

Diala - Voices of Iraq
Sunday , 18 /05 /2008 Time 12:33:53
Diala, May 17, (VOI) -

A senior officer from the Iraqi army was killed on Saturday during clashes with armed groups in Diala province, central Iraq, a security source said.
“Clashes erupted between gunmen, believed to be from al-Qaeda organization, and an Iraqi army force in Khan Bani Sa'ad,” the source, who asked not to be named, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq- (VOI).
The source added that the clashes left one battalion commander with the rank of colonel dead.
“Two escorts were wounded in the clashes,” he said.
Khan Bani Sa'ad is a district located 30 km south of Ba’aqouba, capital city of Diala province.
SK/SR

Blast kills civilian, wounds another in northern Baghdad

Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Sunday , 18 /05 /2008 Time 12:33:53
Baghdad, May 17, (VOI) -

At least one civilian was killed and another wounded on Saturday evening when a roadside bomb exploded near an Iraqi army vehicle patrol in northern Baghdad, a police source said.
“An explosive charge went off, this evening, near an Iraqi army vehicle patrol in al-Sha'ab neighborhood, killing a civilian and wounding another,” the source, who requested anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).
The source gave no further details.
SK/SR

Woman killed, 15 wounded by violence in Iraq

Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Sunday , 18 /05 /2008 Time 2:04:27
Baghdad, May 17, (VOI) –

A woman was killed, 15 persons were wounded, and 48 other were arrested by security forces in different parts of the country, official sources said commenting on the security highlights from 09:00 p.m. on Friday until Saturday noon.

In Diala, a woman was killed and 15 others were wounded when a female suicide bomber blew herself up near an Awakening Council headquarters in downtown Ba'aquba, a security source said on Saturday.
In Wassit, a joint force from the Iraqi army and police arrested 36 suspects and seized a large amount of arms and ammunition during a raid in the northern part of the province.
In Basra, an official police source said that security forces captured 12 wanted persons and seized significant amounts of ammunition during raid-and-search campaigns in different parts of the southern city.
SS/SR

3 Sahwa fighters killed, 7 wounded in attack in Diala

Diala - Voices of Iraq
Sunday , 18 /05 /2008 Time 2:04:27
Diala, May 17, (VOI) –

Three (US-recruited) Sahwa (Awakening) tribal fighters were killed and seven others, including four Sahwa members, wounded in an armed attack that targeted their headquarters in al-Wajihiya district, northeast of Baaquba, on Saturday, police said.

"An armed attack by al-Qaeda network targeted a Sahwa headquarters in Wajihiya, in the district of al-Muqdadiya, (45 km) northeast of Ba'aqouba, leaving three Sahwa fighters killed," a security source, who requested anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).

"The attack was followed by a volley of mortar shells fired by the gunmen near the scene, wounding seven people – four Sahwa fighters and three civilians," the source added.
Baaquba, the capital of Diala, lies 57 km northeast of Baghdad.

The Sahwa councils were set up in a number of Iraqi provinces such as al-Anbar, Diala, Ninewa, and Salah al-Din with the aim of bolstering political and local tribal powers to fight armed groups, particularly al-Qaeda network, in those areas.

These councils are usually led by tribal chiefs or notables in the provinces.
Following the assassination of his father and six of his brothers by al-Qaeda Organization in Iraq in 2004, Sheikh Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha founded the Anbar Sahwa Council and chaired the Iraq Sahwa Congress, an alliance encompassing 42 clans that pledged to fight al-Qaeda members.
The Sahwa fighters managed to flush out armed groups from a number of areas once considered strongholds of gunmen for years.

Abu Risha, however, was killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack that targeted his house in al-Ramadi, capital of the predominantly Sunni Anbar. The attack also left his bodyguard and two other escorts killed and his nephew seriously wounded.
AE

2 Iraqi soldiers killed in Salah al-Din blast

Salah al-Din - Voices of Iraq
Sunday , 18 /05 /2008 Time 2:04:27
Salah al-Din, May 17, (VOI) –

Two Iraqi army servicemen were killed when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off beneath a military vehicle in the province of Salah al-Din on Saturday, according to a statement by the Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I).

"One of the two soldiers was killed instantly while the other died later of his wounds," read the MNF-I statement as received by Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).

"The Iraqi army searched the area and captured eight people to investigate them on the incident," added the statement.
Salah al-Din province lies 175 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
AE

Diala suicide bombing casualties up to 15

Diala - Voices of Iraq
Sunday , 18 /05 /2008 Time 2:04:27
Diala, May 17, (VOI)-

The casualties of the suicide bombing that took place earlier on Saturday in Diala province, central Iraq, rose up to 15 according to a local police source.

Earlier, a police source told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq- (VOI)- that a female suicide bomber attacked a (US-recruited) Sahwa fighters’ headquarters in Ba’aquba, capital city of Diala, killing a woman and wounding 7 people.

Sahwa – Awakening- councils are U.S.-recruited fighters who fought al-Qaeda gunmen in the Sunni-dominated areas like Anbar, Salah al-Din and Diala.

Ba'aquba, capital city of Diala province, is 57 km northeast of Baghdad.
SK

UIC backs decision to U.S. forces pullout: other blocs prefer timetable

Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Sunday , 18 /05 /2008 Time 2:04:27
Baghdad, May 17, (VOI)-

The Shi'i Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC) on Saturday Welcomed a non-binding Congressional resolution to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2009, while the other parliamentary blocs preferred working out a timetable.

“The U.S. Congress resolution to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq is a correct decision,” said MP Ali al-Adeeb from the UIC, calling for the completion of the Iraqi army capabilities in preparation for the U.S. troops Pullout.

"The Iraqi government intends for this year to be the last for the foreign forces mandate renewal in Iraq" added al-Adeeb, whose bloc occupies 83 seats out of a total of 275 in the Iraqi parliament.

The Shi'i lawmaker noted, "The Iraqi forces have proved that they are capable of taking over the security file in more than one occasion particularly in the events of Basra, Sadr City, Mosul, and Diala."
He went on to say, "It is possible to complete the capabilities of Iraqi forces through providing them with heavy weapons, including aircraft.”

Basra witnessed bloody confrontations, in the last week of March between Iraqi security forces and groups believed to be from the Shi'i cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army.

Also Iraqi troops are launching a wide-scale military operation in Mosul, to crack down on (anti-US) armed groups in the northern Iraqi city.

For his part, MP Abdul Karim al-Samarra-e of the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF), linked the “proper time” for the U.S. troops pull-out from Iraq to the ”the readiness of Iraqi forces and their ability to take over the security file."

Samarra-e’s bloc holds 44 seats in the Iraqi parliament.

"All Iraqis want the withdrawal of American forces after building the security forces", according to Samarra-e, but "the subject of the U.S. forces’ withdrawal depends on the coordination between Iraq and these forces."

The Sunni lawmaker told Aswat al-Iraq- Voices of Iraq- (VOI) "We need time to purge the security services from bad elements and to tackle administrative and financial corruption within these services before receiving the security file as a whole."

But the key member of the Kurdistan Alliance, Mahmoud Othman described the resolution as a U.S. “elections propaganda” denying that it would have "any impact on the situation in Iraq”.
Othman added, "I do not think that this resolution will affect the Iraqi situation, but it is meant for the American home as its implementation needs a vote in the Senate."

He continued that the "non-binding resolutions must receive two-thirds votes in the Senate and it is very difficult to obtain such votes with the Republican majority in the Senate."

Othman, who belongs to the Kurdistan Alliance, which holds 55 seats in the Iraqi House of Representatives, argued that an early withdrawal, without coordination with the Iraqis, would have negative impacts on the Iraqi situation, calling for a timetable for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.

"The majority of Iraqis support a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq," Othman concluded.

The Los Angeles Times said on its website, on Thursday evening, that the U.S. House of Representatives which is dominated by a democratic majority, approved a plan aimed at a non-binding exit from Iraq by December next year.

The newspaper added that 224 MPs against 196 deputies, voted for a resolution that does not keep American troops in Iraq more than one additional year, hinting that the new resolution, which is a non-binding resolution, meaning that U.S. President George W. Bush Could veto it.
SK

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Iraqi Resistance Report for events of Friday, 16 May 2008.

Translated and/or compiled by Muhammad Abu Nasr,

member, editorial board, the Free Arab Voice.

·        Five Iranian diplomats wounded in shooting incident in Baghdad Thursday evening.

·        Iraqi commander admits 1,068 arrested in Ninwa Province in week-long security sweep, among them children and elderly persons, detained purely because of “suspicion.”

Al-Anbar Province.
Al-Fallujah.

Car bomb explodes near checkpoint in al-Fallujah, wounding seven.

In a dispatch posted on its Arabic website at 8:29pm Friday evening Beijing time (4:29pm in Baghdad), the Xinhua News Agency reported that a car bomber blew up in his explosives-laden vehicle near a police station in the city of al-Fallujah, 60km west of Baghdad on Friday afternoon.

Xinhua reported a source in the police as saying that policemen stationed at a checkpoint in front of the al-Harith police station in the ad-Dubbat neighborhood in central al-Fallujah spotted what they regarded as a suspicious car heading towards them at unusually high speed. They fired warning shots, but the driver ignored their orders to halt and accelerated. The policemen then opened fire directly into the car, which blew up before it reached its target.

The source said that the explosion of the car wounded four policemen and three civilians in addition to damaging several nearby buildings.

Abu Ghurayb.

Resistance group claims attack on minesweeper in Abu Ghurayb area.

In a dispatch posted at 11:55am Baghdad time Friday morning, the Yaqen News Agency reported that the Iraqi resistance group known as the Brigades of the 1920 Revolution announced that its fighters had disabled a minesweeping vehicle in the Abu Ghurayb area.

Yaqen reported a communiqué issued by the resistance group dated 15 May as saying that a bomb was used to disable the vehicle. No further details were included in the communiqué, which failed to specify when the attack supposedly took place.

Baghdad.

Mortar shells target US base in eastern Baghdad’s ash-Sha‘ab district Friday morning.

In a dispatch posted at 6:45pm Baghdad time Friday afternoon, the Yaqen News Agency reported that three mortar shells landed on the US base in the ash-Sha‘ab area of eastern Baghdad on Friday morning.

Mortar shells land on joint US-Iraqi police post in western Baghdad Friday.

In a dispatch posted at 6:45pm Baghdad time Friday afternoon, the Yaqen News Agency reported that three mortar shells landed in the area of a joint center used by the Iraqi government police and the US military in the western Baghdad district of al-Ghazaliyah on Friday morning.

Bomb kills one, wounds three in eastern Baghdad.

In a dispatch posted at 4:10pm Baghdad time Friday afternoon, the Yaqen News Agency reported that a bomb exploded near the al-Nahdi car park in eastern Baghdad.

Yaqen reported a source in the Iraqi government police as saying that one person was killed and three more wounded in that attack.

Bomb targets army patrol in eastern Baghdad, wounding two.

In a dispatch posted at 4:10pm Baghdad time Friday afternoon, the Yaqen News Agency reported that a bomb exploded near a patrol of Iraqi government army troops near the al-Hay al-‘Azim Mosque in the al-Za‘afaraniyah district of eastern Baghdad.

Yaqen reported a source in the police as saying that the blast wounded two people.

Five Iranian diplomats wounded in Baghdad in shooting incident Thursday evening.

In a dispatch posted on its Arabic website at 8:51am Friday morning Beijing time (4:51am in Baghdad), the Xinhua News Agency reported that unknown gunmen opened fire on two late-model cars near the Buratha Shi‘i Mosque in the al-‘Atifiyah district of northern Baghdad at 9:30pm Thursday evening. Five people who were in the cars were wounded in the attack, all of them staff members of the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad. Also wounded in the attack was an Iraqi driver.

Xinhua reported a source in the Iraqi police as saying that the Iranian diplomats said that they had been on their way to visit the shrine of the Shi‘i Imam Musa al-Kadhem in the northern Baghdad district of al-Kadhemiyah when the attack took place.

A source in the Iraqi regime’s Law Imposition Plan agency declared, however that a checkpoint manned by Iraqi army troops came under fire Thursday evening. The source said that the troops at the checkpoint returned fire and wounded five people who, when the soldiers went to arrest them, turned out to be five Iranian Embassy diplomats.

That source said that either the shooting was a mistake or that gunmen had used the moment when the Iranian diplomatic cars were passing to open fire on the checkpoint. The source said that the incident was under investigation.

Diyala Province.
Jalawla’.

Bomb wounds five family members near Jalawla’ Friday.

In a dispatch posted at 2:10pm Baghdad time Friday afternoon, the Yaqen News Agency reported that five people were wounded when a bomb exploded in the al-‘Asri neighborhood near Jalawla’, 120km northeast of Baghdad on Friday.

Yaqen reported a source in the police as saying that the blast wounded five members of one family, four of them children, but he gave no further details nor any indication as to the reasons for the bombing.

Ninwa Province.
Al-Mawsil.

Iraqi commander admits 1,068 arrested in Ninwa Province in week-long security sweep, among them children and elderly persons, detained purely because of “suspicion.”

In a dispatch posted at 8:30pm Baghdad time Friday evening, the Yaqen News Agency reported that the Iraqi regime had arrested 1,068 people since launching its security sweep against al-Qa‘idah in the city of al-Mawsil, 420km northwest of Baghdad, last Saturday.

Yaqen reported the commander of Ninwa Province Operations as saying that most of those arrested since 10 May were civilians who were detained purely on the basis of suspicion and doubt and these included elderly individuals, youths and children under 15 years of age.

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