Another bloody entry in Ansar al-Islam‘s bid to extend the “insurgent” terror campaign to Iraq’s (relatively) stable Kurdish autonomous zone. The need to mollify these thugs may explain the increasing conservative Islamist tilt of the supposedly secular Kurdish regional authorities… Read moreIraq: truck bomb in Irbil —Ansar al-Islam strikes again?
Major General Rick Lynch, who commands US forces south of Baghdad, told reporters May 7 recent history indicates that it takes an average of nine years to put down internal insurgencies, and there is “no instantaneous solution” in Iraq. “You… Read moreUS could be in Iraq for years: general
In a new video posted on the Internet by al Qaeda’s propaganda arm, as-Sahab, the organization’s number-two man Ayman al Zawahiri mocks the bill passed by Congress setting a timetable for the pullout of US troops in Iraq. “This bill… Read moreIraq: al-Zawahiri opposes pull-out
From the Iraq Freedom Congress (IFC) and US Labor Against the War (USLAW): Joint Report to the IFC and USLAW on the 2007 Manila International Peace Conference, April 27-29 The 2007 International Peace conference was held in Manila from April… Read moreManila peace conference calls for solidarity with Iraq’s civil resistance
The Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella insurgency group consisting of various jihadi factions including al-Qaeda in Iraq, issued a statement May 3 denying the killing of its “emir,” Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, but confirming the death of its official spokesman,… Read moreIraq: Abu Omar al-Baghdadi dead?
Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the head of al-Qaeda in Iraq, is reported to have been killed in an “internal battle” between militants in northern Baghdad, the Iraqi interior ministry has disclosed. United States officials have long speculated about rising tensions between… Read moreIraq: Abu Ayyub al-Masri dead?
From the Iraq Freedom Congress (IFC), April 27: Safety Force Rescues Innocent People in Baghdad On April 11, 2007, the Safety Force was deployed to Alatba’a suburb of Baghdad after a fierce fighting erupted between the US troops and unknown… Read moreIraq: IFC Safety Force protects civilians
The Iraqi government has refused to provide the UN with civilian casualty figures for its 10th report on the human rights situation in the occupied country since August 2005, but numbers from various ministries indicate more than 5,500 people were… Read moreIraq: regime withholds civilian death count
From the Iraq Freedom Congress (IFC), April 27: The Discriminatory Wall of Adamya Must be Abolished Immediately In an unprecedented action in the history of Iraq, the U.S.-led occupying troops have begun the building of a wall made of concrete… Read moreIraq: civil resistance rejects Baghdad wall
Mark Kurlansky writes for the Los Angeles Times, April 26: Seventy years ago, on April 26, 1937, at 4:40 in the afternoon when the stone-walled, medieval Basque town of Guernica was packed with peasants, shoppers and refugees for its Monday… Read moreFrom Guernica to Baghdad: 70 years of “shock and awe”
Journalists in Iraq’s Kurdistan face arrest and harassment for reporting on government corruption and poor public services, the UN says in a new report on the autonomous region. The report also criticises Kurdish officials for failing to respond to growing… Read moreIraq: Kurds limit women’s rights, press freedom
Defying President Bush’s veto threat, the House of Representatives April 25 narrowly approved a war funds bill that sets a timeline for the withdrawal of all US combat troops from Iraq by March 31, 2008. “Tonight, the House of Representatives… Read moreUS House wants US out; al-Sadr wants US in?
