US Soldier, 3 Iraqis Killed, 5 Attacks on US Forces, Clashes Among US-Backed Iraqi Forces, Scores of Arrests, April 4, 2009

Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

US Soldier, 3 Iraqis Killed, 5 Attacks on US Forces, Clashes Among US-Backed Iraqi Forces, Scores of Arrests, April 4, 2009

Yaqen.net reported the following news:

- The 1920s Brigades announced attacking the US military base of Al-Bakr with rockets. It also announced damaging a US minesweeper.

- Four Iraqi policemen were either killed or injured in a roadside bomb targeting their vehicle in Al-Qaem city.

- A US Hummer military vehicle was destroyed by a roadside bomb in Al-Karma area, north of Al-Falloujah, resulting in US casualties.

- An Iraqi fighter was killed, two were injured, a fourth escaped as a result of a clash between them and a US helicopter which attempted to photo them while planting a roadside bomb north of Al-Taji. A US unit came to the area to find the body and the two injured Iraqi fighters in a deserted house.

- The leader of the US-recruited and funded Al-Sahwa fighters in Al-Muqdadiya, Hussam Al-'Azawi, was arrested by Al-Maliki government security forces, following clashes in Baghdad between the two US-backed parties.

The US recruited Sunni Arabs, mainly former Iraqi soldiers, in an attempt to stop their resistance to the US occupation of Iraq. However, the other US-backed party, the Shi'i Maliki government forces, felt the threat of the US arming and funding of Sunni Arabs. Thus, the clashes between them may seem as if they are sectarian between Shi'is and Sunnis, while in fact both represent two forces working for the US in Iraq.

- Al-Rashideen Army group announced killing a US soldier by sniping him in Al-Saqlawiya area, Al-Anbar Province.

- An Iraqi policeman was killed by gunmen inside his home in Al-Dour.

- Clashes erupted between Iraqi fighters and Iraqi army soldiers in Al-Zuhour and Al-Binouk neighborhoods, in Mosul.

- An Iraqi police Scorpion unit arrested the tribal Shaikh, Muhammed Hussain Al-khunfussi Al-Ta-i, of the Babel Province, for refusing plans of dividing Iraq on sectarian lines.

- A US vehicle was destroyed by a roadside bomb between Al-Ghazaliya and Al-Khateeb, west of Baghdad.

- A member of Sahwa councils was injured when a bomb exploded in his car in Al-Muwailha, Al-Iskandariya.

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U.S. army announces 1st casualty in April

April 4, 2009 - 07:24:24

BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq:

A U.S. serviceman has died as a result of non-combat related incident, the first U.S. casualty this month, according to an army statement.

“A 3rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) Soldier died as a result of non-combat related causes Apr. 3,” read the statement that was received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“The Soldier’s name is being withheld pending next of kin notification and release by the Department of Defense,” the statement noted. The death brings the number of U.S. soldiers who have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 to 4,264.

SS (P)

Market blast wounds civilian in Diala

April 4, 2009 - 10:55:53

DIALA / Aswat al-Iraq: One civilian on Saturday was wounded in a blast that tore through a market in Diala province, according to a police commander.

“On Saturday, an improvised explosive device (IED) went off inside a foodstuffs store in a popular market in downtown Ba'aquba, wounding the storekeeper,” Staff Maj. Gen. Abdulhussein al-Shamri told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“The wounded was rushed to the hospital,” the official noted, adding that considerable damage was reported to three other stores. Ba'aquba, the capital city of Diala province, lies 57 km northeast of Baghdad.

SS (P)

Gunmen kill cop in Salah el-Din

April 3, 2009 - 10:40:22

SALAH EL-DIN / Aswat al-Iraq:

A policeman was killed on Friday by unknown gunmen in south of Tikrit city, a police source said.

“Four unknown gunmen attacked a house of a policeman in al-Qadissiya neighborhood in central al-Dour district, south of Tikrit, on the wee small hours of Friday (April 3) and killed him in front of his family,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“They fled to unknown area,” he added, without giving more details.

Tikrit, the capital of Salah el-Din, is 175 km north of Baghdad.

SH (P)

3 blasts damage power tower in Kirkuk

April 3, 2009 - 08:49:50

KIRKUK / Aswat al-Iraq:

Three improvised bombs blew down a power tower in southwest of Kirkuk, causing material damage to it, a source from the joint coordination center said on Friday.

“Three bombs, planted by unknown gunmen under a power tower, went off on Thursday night (April 3) in southwest of Kirkuk,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“The explosion caused material damage to the tower,” he added.

“Police forces found another bomb in al-Murra village in Riyadh district, southwest of Kirkuk, and defused it without casualties,” the source said.

Kirkuk is 250 km north of Baghdad.

SH (P)

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Arrests:

Suspected armed group members arrested in Falluja

April 4, 2009 - 11:41:38

ANBAR / Aswat al-Iraq:

Eight suspected members of armed groups on Saturday were arrested in different parts of Falluja city, according to a police source.

“The arrests were made in light of intelligence tips…,” Maj. Hamid al-Jamily told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “Investigations are currently underway,” the major added. Falluja was a scene of armed conflict between U.S. and Iraqi forces on the one hand and al-Qaeda gunmen on the other. Falluja, the largest city in Anbar, lies 45 km west of Baghdad; while Ramadi, the capital of the province, lies 110 km west of Baghdad.

SS (P)

8 suspects arrested, explosives seized in Missan

April 4, 2009 - 10:18:50

MISSAN / Aswat al-Iraq:

Iraqi army forces arrested eight suspects and seized very explosive materials throughout Missan province, said a source from the army.

“Iraqi army forces arrested eight suspects and seized three rockets and two mortars at Al-Majaral-Kabeer suburb, 35 km south of Amara,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The arrests took place after the suspects fired two rockets at a U.S. army combat location in the suburb,” he said.

“The forces also seized 22 bags in central Amara city, each weighs 50-70 lb, loaded with the C4 very explosive material,” he added. Amara, the capital city of Missan province, lies 390 km south of Baghdad.

MH (P) /SS

23 AQI fighters arrested

April 4, 2009 - 09:18:17

DIALA / Aswat al-Iraq:

Twenty-three al-Qaeda in Iraq members were arrested in different parts of Diala province, a local police chief said on Saturday.

“Today, police forces raided AQI strongholds in Diala and arrested 23 wanted persons under Article IV of the Terrorism Law,” Staff Maj. Gen. Abdulhussein al-Shamri told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “Two caches of ammunition containing seven improvised explosive devices (IEDs), 28 mortar shells, and small and medium arms, were found during the operation,” Shamri added.

Ba'aquba, the capital city of Diala province, lies 57 km northeast of Baghdad.

SS (P)

7 AQI members captured, cannon seized in Diala

April 3, 2009 - 05:53:18

DIALA / Aswat al-Iraq:

Police forces in Diala arrested seven members of Al-Qaeda Organization in Iraq (AQI) and seized a cannon during an operation conducted on Friday, a senior security official said.

“The operation has targeted AQI strongholds in different areas of Diala,” Maj. General Abdulhussain al-Shimari, the Diala police chief, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The seized cannon was ready for firing shells in the direction of security facilities in Ba'aquba,” Shimari added. Ba'aquba, the capital city of Diala province, lies 57 km northeast of Baghdad.

AmR (P)

Munitions cache seized, suspected arrested near Thi-Qar

April 3, 2009 - 05:06:09

THI-QAR / Aswat al-Iraq: Personnel from the Thi-Qar Police Department on Friday seized a cache containing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in an orchard south of Thi-Qar and arrested its owner, the TQPD information & relations director said.

“The Souk al-Shyoukh police and the 4th Thi-Qar emergency police forces seized 80 IEDs inside a cache in a field in the area of al-Washah, western Souk al-Shyoukh, (30 km) south of al-Nassiriya, and arrested a suspected owner of the field,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“The IEDs are weighing 2-4 kg, six of them were ready for detonation and contained C4 explosives,” the source said, adding the operation was conducted based on intelligence tip-offs. “These charges were removed and will be defused,” he said. Nassiriya, the capital city of Thi-Qar province, lies 385 km south of Baghdad.

AmR (P)

Yaqen.net reported that five Iraqis were arrested by police in Diala.

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