November 23, 2006
Bloody Thursday: 262 Iraqis Killed, 291 Wounded
Updated at 11:55 p.m. EST, Nov. 23, 2006

In the deadliest attack since the U.S. invaded Iraq, suspected Sunni militiamen killed at least 161 people and wounded 257 others in Shi’ite Sadr City today; the death toll is expected to go much higher. In other events, another 101 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 34 more wounded for a combined total of 262 dead and 291 wounded today.

In the Sadr City district, a series of mortar and bomb attacks left 161 dead and 257 wounded. The explosions rocked the large, Shi’ite slum at 15 minute intervals beginning at about 3:00 p.m. Among the specific attacks were two car bombs that blasted the Jamila and al-Hay markets and another car bomb at Shahidein Square. Sunni militiamen were thought to be behind the attacks.

Shi’ite militiamen responded by firing several mortar rounds at the Sunni Adhamiya neighborhood, killing 20 and wounding seven more people. Also, mortars were dropped on a Sunni mosque, killing one person. Over in northern Baghdad, 30 gunmen laid siege to the Health Ministry in what may be another Sunni-backed attack. The three-hour firefight between the Iraqi Army and the gunmen, who are thought to be Sunni militiamen, left five wounded. A curfew has been imposed and the airports are closed in the hope that it will curb further attacks.

In Coalition news, police reported that Coalition forces fired upon a minibus carrying day laborers; four Iraqis were killed and another eight injured in the incident which occurred before dawn. Also, the Multi-National Force said that Coalition forces killed a suspected terrorist in Balad Ruz. Another 17 suspected terrorists and militiamen were killed in separate events involving Coalition forces around the country.

Other events in the capital included a roadside bomb attack, which wounded five in the Nahdha area. Another roadside bomb, this one in the Bayaa district, wounded four police commandos. On Palestine Street, yet another roadside bomb wounded four people, including two policemen. Gunmen shot dead Najim al-Kinani, a former military pilot, in the Mansour neighborhood. Also, heavy fighting took place in the Hurriyah neighborhood and near Jadriyah bridge, but no casualties were reported. And police recovered 30 dumped bodies late Wednesday into Thursday.

In Baquba, gunmen killed two men selling black market gasoline and their customer. At least nine others were also killed in separate events.

Gunmen killed two policemen and two civilians in separate incidents around Mosul. Colonel Yasin Abd-Ali was also shot dead near his home northeast of the city.

Yashua Mageed Hedaya, the head of the independent Assyrian movement, was gunned down in Qarqash.

In Tikrit, gunmen killed one policemen and wounded another.

And in Diwaniya, eight bodies were recovered.



Compiled by Margaret Griffis

http://www.antiwar.com/updates/?articleid=10053

A bloody day in Baghdad raises fears of all-out civil war
By Hannah Allam
McClatchy Newspapers

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Iraqi government imposed an indefinite citywide curfew Thursday as terrified residents of Baghdad braced for the aftermath of the war's deadliest day, a series of car bombings in a Shiite Muslim enclave that killed up to 160 people and wounded more than 200.


Many Iraqis feared this could be the tipping point for an all-out sectarian war.


In a televised address to his besieged nation, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki pledged to hunt down those responsible for the bloodshed in the Shiite militia stronghold of Sadr City in eastern Baghdad. Al-Maliki urged calm and warned of harsh tactics to deal with sectarian factions, but whether his Shiite-led security forces are able to prevent the spiraling of violence will be the main test of his fragile government.


The attacks came on the eve of a ceremony to commemorate the death of the father of militant Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militia keeps a firm grip on the densely populated warrens of Sadr City. The event was rescheduled for Sunday in the southern Shiite holy city of Najaf, where burials are planned for many of the victims from Thursday's bombings.


The rebel cleric and militia commander issued a statement from Najaf calling Sadr City residents "the lions of Iraq" and ordering his followers not to let further violence blight the anniversary of his father's death.


Earlier in the day, U.S. and Iraqi forces fought off a violent insurgent takeover attempt at the Shiite-led Ministry of Health in Baghdad. About 30 insurgents fired on the building for nearly two hours before fleeing when troops arrived, police and ministry officials said.


In a rare show of unity, Kurdish, Shiite and Sunni political leaders issued a joint statement condemning the attacks and demanding a review of al-Maliki's security plan for Baghdad. Critics have lashed out at al-Maliki, saying he has failed to rein in Shiite militias or aggressively crack down on Sunni insurgents. Both groups have engaged in violence. Civilian deaths reached a record level in October.




Sheikh Abdel Hadi al-Mohammedawi, head of al-Sadr's offices in west Baghdad, said the Mahdi Army has called for patience and self-control among its members, but he predicted individual acts of revenge not condoned by militia leaders.


"I believe civil war will happen now, though I pray to God it won't," al-Mohammedawi said. "The ones who conduct these attacks must realize that everybody will lose in the end. Everybody will attack everybody. Neighbors will attack neighbors."




At least four car bombs were detonated Thursday afternoon in a busy shopping district in Sadr City, followed by mortar fire in the same area, Iraqi police officials said. The officials added that a fifth explosives-laden vehicle was disabled.


By late Thursday, no group had claimed responsibility.


The Health Ministry, run by al-Sadr allies, put casualties at 160 dead, with more than 230 wounded. Officials from the Iraqi Interior Ministry issued lower figures of 130 killed and 201 wounded.




Television footage shot in the minutes after the bombings showed pools of blood and human remains scattered in the streets of Sadr City. Locals dug through charred, smoking vehicles in search of survivors. Iraqi news channels broadcast from hospital corridors overflowing with the dead and dying.


-->


Almost immediately after the attacks, suspected Shiite rebels lobbed mortars at a Sunni mosque and a Sunni religious office. Explosions and gunfire could be heard throughout the capital late into the night.


Shiites vowed to break the curfew and head to Najaf to bury their dead Friday. Islamic custom calls for immediate burial.


Under the curfew, all roads in and out of Baghdad were closed until further notice. The airport also was shut down.


Special correspondents Mohamed al Dulaimy, Laith Hammoudi and Mohammed al Awsy contributed to this report.

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/16084502.htm

November 24, 2006
Some Fighters in Iraq Adopt New Tactics to Battle U.S.
By EDWARD WONG

FORWARD OPERATING BASE CALDWELL, Iraq, Nov. 23 — Sunni Arab militant groups suspected of having ties to Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia have established training camps east of Baghdad that are turning out well-disciplined units willing to fight American forces in set-piece battles, American military commanders said Thursday.

American soldiers fought such units in a pitched battle last week in Turki, a village 25 miles south of this Iraqi Army base in volatile Diyala Province, bordering Iran. At least 72 insurgents and two American officers were killed in more than 40 hours of fighting. American commanders said they called in 12 hours of airstrikes while soldiers shot their way through a reed-strewn network of canals in extremely close combat.

Officers said that in that battle, unlike the vast majority of engagements in Diyala, insurgents stood and fought, even deploying a platoon-size unit that showed remarkable discipline. One captain said the unit was in “perfect military formation.”

Insurgents throughout Iraq usually avoid direct confrontation with American troops, preferring to use hit-and-run tactics and melting away at the sight of American armored vehicles.

Lt. Col. Andrew Poppas, commander of the Fifth Squadron, 73rd Cavalry, a unit of the 82nd Airborne Division, said in an interview that the fighters at Turki “were disciplined and well trained, with well-aimed shots.”

“We hadn’t seen anything like this in years,” he said.

The insurgents had built a labyrinthine network of trenches in the farmland, with sleeping areas and weapons caches. Two antiaircraft guns had been hidden away.

Insurgents were apparently able to establish a training camp after American forces moved out of the area in the fall of 2005, Colonel Poppas said. Sunni Arab militants there belong to the fundamentalist Wahhabi strain of Islam and are believed to be led, at least in part, by a man known as Abu Abdul Rahman, an Iraqi-Canadian who moved from Canada to Iraq in 1995 after marrying a woman from Turki, he said.

Abu Abdul Rahman was mentioned on some jihadist Web sites as a possible contender for the leadership of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia after the group’s founder, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in an American airstrike in Diyala Province in June, said Capt. Mike Few, commander of A Troop, Fifth Squadron.

Senior commanders training Iraqi Army units here say other rural areas of eastern and central Diyala where American forces have had little oversight have been transformed into camps similar to the one at Turki. The “graduates,” many of whom belong to an umbrella group called the Sunni Council, then spread to urban areas like Baquba, the provincial capital, said Maj. Tim Sheridan, an intelligence officer. Sectarian violence is rampant in Diyala, where Sunni and Shiite militants are vying for control.

The battle at Turki began after Colonel Poppas and other soldiers flew over the area on a reconnaissance mission on Nov. 12. From the helicopters, they spotted a white car covered by shrubbery and a hole in the ground that appeared to be a hiding place. The colonel dropped off an eight-man team and later sent other soldiers to sweep the area.

Gunfire erupted on Nov. 15 when one unit ran into an ambush. The fighting eventually became so intense that the Americans called in airstrikes. An American captain and a lieutenant, both West Point graduates, were killed by insurgents in separate firefights.

Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company
http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/sf/nyt11_24_6_1.htm