Iraqi leaders say bombing will unite them
By Mussab Al-Khairalla and Yara Bayoumy
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Leaders from across Iraq's sectarian divide pleaded for unity at a special session of parliament on Friday, gathering under high security to condemn a suicide bombing that tore through the building the day before.
A senior government source said authorities had intelligence that militants were planning an attack on parliament before Thursday's bombing, which killed a member of parliament and wounded two dozen other people in the building's restaurant.
An al Qaeda-backed group, the self-styled Islamic State in Iraq, claimed responsibility in a Web statement for the worst breach of security in Baghdad's most secure area -- the Green Zone that also houses government offices and embassies.
Three workers in the cafe had been detained, a top lawmaker from the ruling Shi'ite Alliance bloc said. The Interior Ministry said it would not give details of the investigation.
"We had prior intelligence that there would be an attack on the parliament," the government source told Reuters, without giving specific details of when the information had been received or what the nature of the threat was.
Security was heavy on Friday as parliament met. Vehicles and their drivers were thoroughly searched and mobile checkpoints set up. Police raided houses inside the sprawling compound.
The bombing came two months into a crackdown in Baghdad that U.S. officials hope will give the government breathing space to pull Iraq back from the brink of civil war between majority Shi'ites and once dominant minority Sunni Arabs.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Who is Responsible for Parliament Bomb?
Is Terse Chat Post "Islamic State of Iraq" Claim?
)
Screenshot of the Internet chat posting attributed to Islamic State of Iraq.
A terse posting on an Internet chat site that frequently carries messages from militant Sunni organizations in Iraq seems to suggest that the group known as the "Islamic State of Iraq" carried out the attack on the Iraqi parliament today. However, without further details, IraqSlogger cannot refer to this as a credible claim of responsibility.
The message appeared approximately an hour after news of the attack broke.
The subject of the message reads: "Breaking News: Huge Explosion against the Iraqi Parliament Building, Tens of Victims, Among Them Deputies."
The full text of the message reads: "This is a message from the Islamic State of Iraq to the Islamic Army, that all who will negotiate with the occupiers and their agents, we will reach them wherever they are."
Time Magazine was the first to report on this Internet posting, and apparently stands by its interpetation of the message as a claim of responsiblity by the Islamic State of Iraq for the Parliament attack.
Statments from the Islamic State of Iraq have appeared before on this particular Internet forum. The statements are usually more detailed statements with more verifiable information, often containing florid prose and multiple references to the Qu'ran. For example, see IraqSlogger's report on a statement apparently issued last month by the group which contains translated excerpts.
Until further evidence surfaces, IraqSlogger cannot report that the posting translated in full above is a credible claim of responsibility.
The Islamic Army of Iraq, referred to in the Internet posting, apparently issued a statement last week condemning the actions of al-Qa'ida in Iraq, calling on Osama bin Ladin to intervene personally to rein in al-Qa'ida's activities in Iraq.
Suicide bomber kills 3 MPs at Iraq parliament
I wonder if the bomber will be rewarded by Allah for killing Iraqi MPs.
Suicide bomber kills 3 MPs at Iraq parliament
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed three Iraqi lawmakers at a cafe in the parliament building on Thursday in the most serious breach of security in the heavily fortified Green Zone since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
Witnesses said dozens had been hurt in the blast, which tore through the restaurant as many lawmakers were having lunch. Police said 10 people were wounded.
How explosives and the bomber were smuggled into the Green Zone, a sprawling compound that is surrounded by U.S. and Iraqi checkpoints, will be the focus of investigations. The zone houses parliament, government offices and the U.S. embassy.
Earlier, a truck bomb killed at least seven people on a main bridge in northern Baghdad, destroying most of the steel structure and sending several cars plunging into the River Tigris below, police said.
The blasts come amid a U.S.-backed security crackdown in Baghdad that is regarded as a last-ditch attempt to halt Iraq's plunge into all-out sectarian civil war.
Iraqiya state television said three lawmakers had been killed. Officials have named one as Mohammed Awadh, a member of the Accordance Front, the biggest Sunni bloc in parliament.
A security official confirmed Awadh had been killed and said another parliamentarian was missing and presumed dead. Two other lawmakers were critically wounded, the official said.
"Suddenly we heard a huge blast inside the restaurant. I saw a lot MPs wounded and bleeding," said Fouad al-Massoum, leader of the Kurdish bloc in parliament.
He said security officials, fearing there might be a second explosion, ordered everyone out of the building. But no one, including lawmakers, was allowed to leave the area straight after the blast so they could be questioned, officials said.
The Iraqi security official said the bomber was wearing a belt packed with explosives. Recently, the U.S. military said two suicide vests had been found inside the Green Zone.
Militants have rarely managed to penetrate the various checkpoints and carry out attacks inside the zone, although they frequently fire mortars and rockets into the area.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the attack was carried out by those "who wish to stop the Iraqi people having a future that would be based on democracy and stability."
She said the Baghdad security plan was in its early stages and "we have said there will be good days and bad days."
"BALL OF FIRE"
A Reuters witness said the blast took place at the cashier's register in the cafe, which is near parliament's main assembly hall. Parliament was in session on Thursday.
"I saw a ball of fire and heard a huge, loud explosion. There were pieces of flesh floating in the air," said the witness who was lightly wounded in the arm.
Iraqi security guards seized a television camera from a Reuters journalist and refused to give it back.
One of Iraq's vice presidents survived a bomb attack at a government ministry outside the Green Zone in February. A deputy prime minister was wounded last month in a suicide bomb attack at a prayer hall in his compound in the capital.
Two main sections of the Sarafiya bridge, a main artery linking east and west Baghdad, collapsed into the river after the truck bomb exploded just before the morning rush hour.
One army officer on the scene said explosive charges might have also been used to bring down a bridge that local residents said was built by the British in the early 1900s.
Among the dead were four policemen who drowned after their car toppled into the river's muddy waters, police said.
U.S. and Iraqi forces launched a security crackdown in the capital two months ago that has reduced death squad killings, but car and truck bombs still kill and wound scores.
The destruction of the bridge will cause major disruption in northern Baghdad. Two other bridges across the Tigris in that part of the capital are shut for security reasons while another is regarded by many residents as too dangerous to use.
"There is a conspiracy to isolate the two halves of Baghdad," parliament Speaker Mahmoud Mashhadani, an outspoken Sunni politician, told lawmakers.
A dozen bridges cross the Tigris in Baghdad, linking the east and west of the city.
Police said seven people had been killed in the bridge blast. They said up to 22 people were wounded. At least five cars had fallen into the river, including the police vehicle.
Suicide bomber kills 3 MPs at Iraq parliament
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed three Iraqi lawmakers at a cafe in the parliament building on Thursday in the most serious breach of security in the heavily fortified Green Zone since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
Witnesses said dozens had been hurt in the blast, which tore through the restaurant as many lawmakers were having lunch. Police said 10 people were wounded.
How explosives and the bomber were smuggled into the Green Zone, a sprawling compound that is surrounded by U.S. and Iraqi checkpoints, will be the focus of investigations. The zone houses parliament, government offices and the U.S. embassy.
Earlier, a truck bomb killed at least seven people on a main bridge in northern Baghdad, destroying most of the steel structure and sending several cars plunging into the River Tigris below, police said.
The blasts come amid a U.S.-backed security crackdown in Baghdad that is regarded as a last-ditch attempt to halt Iraq's plunge into all-out sectarian civil war.
Iraqiya state television said three lawmakers had been killed. Officials have named one as Mohammed Awadh, a member of the Accordance Front, the biggest Sunni bloc in parliament.
A security official confirmed Awadh had been killed and said another parliamentarian was missing and presumed dead. Two other lawmakers were critically wounded, the official said.
"Suddenly we heard a huge blast inside the restaurant. I saw a lot MPs wounded and bleeding," said Fouad al-Massoum, leader of the Kurdish bloc in parliament.
He said security officials, fearing there might be a second explosion, ordered everyone out of the building. But no one, including lawmakers, was allowed to leave the area straight after the blast so they could be questioned, officials said.
The Iraqi security official said the bomber was wearing a belt packed with explosives. Recently, the U.S. military said two suicide vests had been found inside the Green Zone.
Militants have rarely managed to penetrate the various checkpoints and carry out attacks inside the zone, although they frequently fire mortars and rockets into the area.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the attack was carried out by those "who wish to stop the Iraqi people having a future that would be based on democracy and stability."
She said the Baghdad security plan was in its early stages and "we have said there will be good days and bad days."
"BALL OF FIRE"
A Reuters witness said the blast took place at the cashier's register in the cafe, which is near parliament's main assembly hall. Parliament was in session on Thursday.
"I saw a ball of fire and heard a huge, loud explosion. There were pieces of flesh floating in the air," said the witness who was lightly wounded in the arm.
Iraqi security guards seized a television camera from a Reuters journalist and refused to give it back.
One of Iraq's vice presidents survived a bomb attack at a government ministry outside the Green Zone in February. A deputy prime minister was wounded last month in a suicide bomb attack at a prayer hall in his compound in the capital.
Two main sections of the Sarafiya bridge, a main artery linking east and west Baghdad, collapsed into the river after the truck bomb exploded just before the morning rush hour.
One army officer on the scene said explosive charges might have also been used to bring down a bridge that local residents said was built by the British in the early 1900s.
Among the dead were four policemen who drowned after their car toppled into the river's muddy waters, police said.
U.S. and Iraqi forces launched a security crackdown in the capital two months ago that has reduced death squad killings, but car and truck bombs still kill and wound scores.
The destruction of the bridge will cause major disruption in northern Baghdad. Two other bridges across the Tigris in that part of the capital are shut for security reasons while another is regarded by many residents as too dangerous to use.
"There is a conspiracy to isolate the two halves of Baghdad," parliament Speaker Mahmoud Mashhadani, an outspoken Sunni politician, told lawmakers.
A dozen bridges cross the Tigris in Baghdad, linking the east and west of the city.
Police said seven people had been killed in the bridge blast. They said up to 22 people were wounded. At least five cars had fallen into the river, including the police vehicle.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
I Am Not Pro War
I am so sick of people accusing me of being pro war, as if I WANTED to see the US drop bombs all over Iraq and kill innocent Iraqis. I have lived through two years of war, and I know how frightening war is. War is horrible, insane, devastating. I remember a friend of mine (an ex Marine) asking me in February of 2003 if I was for the war or not - I was conflicted because I wanted to see the end of Saddam's regime, yet I did not want to see innocent Iraqis die. I hated Saddam Hussein's regime, and I was glad that he and his thugs were finally overthrown after 24 years of murderous rule. But I was not in favor of bombing, invading, and occupying Iraq to see the end of the despotic regime. I believe that there were alternatives to war, and the US should have pursued those alternatives long ago. I have written about how the US, under George Bush Senior, betrayed Iraqis who were against Saddam's regime, and even prevented Iraqi rebels from overthrowing him in 1991. Instead of finding ways to topple Saddam, President Bill Clinton chose to continue imposing cruel sanctions on Iraq, which only made Saddam Hussein stronger, and resulted in the deaths of only God knows how many innocent Iraqis. Sanctions is a form of war, but not nearly as many people were against the sanctions as they have been against the 2003 invasion. The US bombed Iraq for 40 consecutive days and nights in 1991. I do not remember as many Arabs calling the Saudis 'traitors' for helping the US in that war. I did not support Iraq's invasion of Iran either, nor did I support Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. I don't remember as many people being against America's relationship with Saddam Hussein in the 1980s. I find it odd that very few people spoke out against Saddam's war with Iran, which cost a million lives. Why the hypocrisy? What is it about this war that is less acceptable than all previous wars? There is no 'right' war or 'good' war. All wars are horrible. All wars result in the violent death of innocent humans. I am not pro war, and I never have been.
Women and Children Suffer the Most in Wars
I found this on Baghdad Treasure's blog. Be prepared to cry if you watch this. It kills me that women and children are suffering so much in this war.
Sunni Clerics Counter Al Qaeda
Good news: Sunni clerics set up a fatwa council to counter Al Qaeda
Published: Tuesday, 10 April, 2007, 07:53 AM Doha Time
AMMAN: Mainstream Sunni Muslim clerics in Iraq have formed a body to issue edicts aimed at curbing the influence of Al Qaeda militants whose activities kill civilians, not only foreign troops, a leading cleric said yesterday.
Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Ghafour al-Samarrai said the “council of ulema of Iraq”, set up by a founding committee of 40 prominent religious scholars in Amman last week, was prompted by a need for balanced fatwas - religious edicts - within his community as violence grew in Iraq.
“It’s high time our clerics unify their utterances. Religious scholars have to work on teaching Muslims respect for the others ...,” he said referring to radical Islamists with ideological links to Al Qaeda.
Sunni Islamist Al Qaeda in Iraq wields influence in several western and central provinces. Its militants are gaining support by their preaching in a country beset by US-led foreign troops and sectarian fighting with Shia militia. But their indiscriminate killing of civilians has alienated traditionally minded tribal leaders and escalated a power struggle in Sunni ranks.
Suicide bombings by Sunni militants have not only killed Shias indiscriminately, but also have been directed at fellow Sunnis seen as collaborators with the Iraqi government or US-led forces.
Samarrai, who ran a state body that oversaw Sunni religious sites in Iraq but was fired last February for criticising Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shia Islamist, said extremist groups who killed on flimsy evidence must be fought.
“They kill by suspicion and commit senseless bloodletting and boast about it ... Whoever kills a Muslim believer should be penalised by going to Hell,” he added.
The new grouping includes some of the most illustrious Sunni scholars in the first such body to be formed since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Sheikh Abdul Malik al-Saadi, Iraq’s leading Sunni cleric who is regarded as the de facto mufti of the community, will head a group within the council that was empowered with issuing fatwas drawing on Islamic beliefs and Shariah doctrine.
Samarrai said he believed Iraq’s mainstream nationalist insurgent groups that focused their energies on fighting US troops, and not on fellow Iraqis, would regard the scholars’ edicts as their sole religious authority.
“Our scholars will meet and issue fatwas and I am full of hope the proper resistance that does not kill fellow Iraqis will heed the views of these scholars,” he said. -Reuters
Published: Tuesday, 10 April, 2007, 07:53 AM Doha Time
AMMAN: Mainstream Sunni Muslim clerics in Iraq have formed a body to issue edicts aimed at curbing the influence of Al Qaeda militants whose activities kill civilians, not only foreign troops, a leading cleric said yesterday.
Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Ghafour al-Samarrai said the “council of ulema of Iraq”, set up by a founding committee of 40 prominent religious scholars in Amman last week, was prompted by a need for balanced fatwas - religious edicts - within his community as violence grew in Iraq.
“It’s high time our clerics unify their utterances. Religious scholars have to work on teaching Muslims respect for the others ...,” he said referring to radical Islamists with ideological links to Al Qaeda.
Sunni Islamist Al Qaeda in Iraq wields influence in several western and central provinces. Its militants are gaining support by their preaching in a country beset by US-led foreign troops and sectarian fighting with Shia militia. But their indiscriminate killing of civilians has alienated traditionally minded tribal leaders and escalated a power struggle in Sunni ranks.
Suicide bombings by Sunni militants have not only killed Shias indiscriminately, but also have been directed at fellow Sunnis seen as collaborators with the Iraqi government or US-led forces.
Samarrai, who ran a state body that oversaw Sunni religious sites in Iraq but was fired last February for criticising Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shia Islamist, said extremist groups who killed on flimsy evidence must be fought.
“They kill by suspicion and commit senseless bloodletting and boast about it ... Whoever kills a Muslim believer should be penalised by going to Hell,” he added.
The new grouping includes some of the most illustrious Sunni scholars in the first such body to be formed since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Sheikh Abdul Malik al-Saadi, Iraq’s leading Sunni cleric who is regarded as the de facto mufti of the community, will head a group within the council that was empowered with issuing fatwas drawing on Islamic beliefs and Shariah doctrine.
Samarrai said he believed Iraq’s mainstream nationalist insurgent groups that focused their energies on fighting US troops, and not on fellow Iraqis, would regard the scholars’ edicts as their sole religious authority.
“Our scholars will meet and issue fatwas and I am full of hope the proper resistance that does not kill fellow Iraqis will heed the views of these scholars,” he said. -Reuters
Sadrist Bloc Threatens Withdrawal From Gov
Sadrist Bloc Threatens Withdrawal From Gov
The Sadrist bloc is threatening to pull out of the ruling Shi'ite Alliance, condemning Prime Minister Maliki's recent statements on Coalition troops staying in Iraq, and criticizing the ineffectiveness of the Baghdad security plan.
Maliki recently said on his trip to Japan that he would not support a timetable for withdrawal of US troops because they will provide critical assistance until the Iraqi security forces are prepard to stand on their own.
The statement from the Sadrists accused Maliki of "ignoring the will of the people," and said, “We reject these statements which coincide with the failure of security performance through not implementing the security plan in all parts of Baghdad."
“We discussed withdrawing from the Iraqi government, which will not be able to fulfill citizens’ demands in the security and services fields,” adding that they are "serious" in their consideration of withdrawing support.
The Sadrist bloc is threatening to pull out of the ruling Shi'ite Alliance, condemning Prime Minister Maliki's recent statements on Coalition troops staying in Iraq, and criticizing the ineffectiveness of the Baghdad security plan.
Maliki recently said on his trip to Japan that he would not support a timetable for withdrawal of US troops because they will provide critical assistance until the Iraqi security forces are prepard to stand on their own.
The statement from the Sadrists accused Maliki of "ignoring the will of the people," and said, “We reject these statements which coincide with the failure of security performance through not implementing the security plan in all parts of Baghdad."
“We discussed withdrawing from the Iraqi government, which will not be able to fulfill citizens’ demands in the security and services fields,” adding that they are "serious" in their consideration of withdrawing support.
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