Finaliza Julio en Iraq

Troops deployed in Kirkuk amid upsurge in violence in oil-rich city
By Kareem Abed-Zair
31 July 2008 (Azzaman)

Iraqi troops are being deployed in Kirkuk to ward off attacks and bombings which have disturbed this city’s relative quiet in the past few months.

A suicide bomber targeted a demonstration organized by Kurdish factions in the city on Monday. At least 22 people were killed and 150 others injured.

Shortly after, Kurdish militiamen opened fire on offices belonging to the Turkmen Front which opposes the Kurdish dominance of the city. Several of the front’s offices were burned and vandalized.

The government decision to send in troops signals a rise in tension among the city’s disparate in occasionally warring groups.

The mixed city is crucial to Iraq’s economy. Its old but still prolific fields are currently producing nearly half a million barrels a day most of it shipped to terminals in Turkey for export.

The Kurds want to annex the city to their semi-independent enclave but Arab and Turkmen are fiercely resisting the move.


What happened in Kirkuk?
Hundreds wounded, dozens injured in what began as a peaceful demonstration.
By Qassim Khidhir
31 July 2008 (Kurdish Globe)


Barzani and Talabani urge Kirkuk residents to maintain stability and the spirit of brotherhood among all ethnicities in Kirkuk.

About 200, 000 people, mainly Kurds and a number of original Arabs, Turkmen, and Christians, demonstrated on Monday in Kirkuk city to protest the provincial council elections law.

When protesters neared the Turkmen Front main office in the city, a suicide attacker blew herself up amid them. After that, guards inside the Turkmen Front office opened fire on the protestors. As a result of both events, 23 Kurdish civilians were killed and more than 150 were wounded.

Gen. Sarhad Qadir, the police chief of Kirkuk's outskirts and towns, stated that the female suicide attacker wore a bomb belt. Police forces had detained seven guards of the Turkmen Front office because of the shooting.

The demonstration was peaceful until both incidents occurred, said Gen. Qadir. People then became angry, attacked the Turkmen Front office, burned an office, and wounded several guards inside.

Some of the wounded protestors were immediately taken to hospitals in Erbil and Suleimaniya, and people rushed to hospitals to donate blood for the victims.

After the attacks, security forces in Kirkuk imposed a curfew from 5:00 p.m. on Monday until 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, and a cautious calm dominated Kirkuk after the curfew took effect.

Meanwhile, a source in the Asayish (Security) Department in Kirkuk said their forces neutralized a BMW rigged with explosives at the North Terminal in downtown Kirkuk province.

Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani urged Kirkuk residents to maintain security and stability.

Barzani, currently in Baghdad to discuss Iraq-U.S. security agreements and the provincial council elections law, condemned the security incidents in Kirkuk and demanded Kirkuk residents maintain the spirit of brotherhood among Kurd, Arab, and Turkmen, and not allow terrorists and the enemies of Kurdistan and Iraq to achieve their goals.

Kurdistan Parliament and the Kurdistan Council of Ministers condemned the security incidents in Kirkuk. Also, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and the Multi-National Forces strongly condemned the suicide bombings that occurred in both Baghdad and Kirkuk.

"The targets of these vicious and cowardly attacks were innocent Iraqi men, women, and children who were freely practicing their democratic rights and religious faith," read a joint statement issued by Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker and Gen. David H. Petraeus, a copy of which was received by the Globe.

Kurds blamed Iraqi Parliament for what happened in Kirkuk; Kurdish politicians stated that if Iraqi Parliament had not secretly voted for Article 24, the incidents would not have occurred in Kirkuk.

On July 22, Iraqi Parliament passed the provincial council elections law and secretly voted for Article 24, which delays elections in Kirkuk and divides authority there based on percentages of ethnic Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, and Christians. This occurred after the Kurdistan Coalition (KC) withdrew from the session and without any KC agreement on the vote.

The law was illegally passed by Parliament since Article 24 was voted on secretly. According to the Iraqi Constitution, no article can be voted on secretly except to elect a head of Parliament or an Iraqi president.

"The Parliamentary blocs that inserted item 24 in the provincial election bill bear the responsibility for the security disturbance that took place in Kirkuk and the resulting casualties," said Saad Barznji, a member of Iraqi Parliament's Kurdistan Coalition list.

"The attack on the Turkmen Front's headquarters was conducted by angry demonstrators after they came under fire from sources within the headquarters," Barznji said.

Barznji accused those whom he described as "dark forces" of being responsible for the suicide bombing that targeted the demonstrators because "democratic expression did not suit them."



Police forces nab 3 armed group operatives in Kirkuk
Kirkuk, 31 July 2008 (Voices of Iraq)


Police forces captured 3 operatives of a newly-founded armed group in Kirkuk, a security official said on Wednesday.

"Police forces arrested three gunmen of a newly-founded armed group proclaimed as Nisoor al-Majd (Glory Eagles) in Dumeez district, south Kirkuk," Brig. Anwar Qadir Ahmed, chief of Dumeez police station, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).

The local security official pointed out "police seized documents and threatening fliers which the group aimed to send to the upper-class figures in the city to extort money and to buy explosive for their armed operations."

"Authorities believed the detainees were involved in car bomb operations that took place in the city," he added.

Kirkuk, 250 km north of Baghdad, is a center for ethnic rivalry between Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen, and has recently witnessed a of car bombs.


4 rockets, 9 launchers found in Basra
Basra, 31 July 2008 (Voices of Iraq) -- Police forces on Wednesday found four rockets and nine launchers in Basra's northern area of al-Maqal, a local police media source said.

Government keen to protect Iraqi Christians - PM
Baghdad, 31 July 2008 (Voices of Iraq) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said on Wednesday that his government is keen to provide appropriate security atmosphere to protect Iraqi Christians.

35 wanted men detained in Diala
Diala, 31 July 2008 (Voices of Iraq) -- A total of 35 wanted men were arrested, 12 large depots were detonated and 10 bombs were found within large-scale security operation in Diala, the official spokesman.

Iraqi security forces arrested yesterday 35 wanted men, suspected of being members in terrorist organizations, including al-Qaeda, using arrest warrants, detonated weapons caches, defused 10 bombs and seized amounts of weapons and equipments within the security operation in Diala," General Mohamed al-Askari said at a press conference in Baghdad.

"Gunmen in Diala started to escape to neighboring provinces wearing women's dresses and fake IDs," the general noted.