EEK!

EEK! You've landed at Gorilla's Guides old home. But there's nobody here because we've moved. We got really fed up with constant blogger problems so we built a new nest in our very own part of the rainforest and ran away. Somehow or another we forgot to pound out the message to you on the jungle drums. We're truly sorry 'bout that. Please consider yourself warmly invited to visit us in our new home. markfromireland

New Nest

Site News We Have Moved: The tribe of renegade gorillas guilty of responsible for who commit who write Gorilla's Guides has moved permanently to their new home. The new address for Gorilla's Guides is: http://gorillasguides.com/ Or you could try this clicking this link. http://www.gorillasguides.com/ Please alter your bookmarks/favourites for your browsers :-) Similarly if you use a reader please create the new feed for "Guides" from the new site. Comments for postings on this site have been moved to their postings on the new site. You should find any comments you made here playing happily in their new home :-) We'll make one or two postings tomorrow here just to keep you informed. Thereafter we'll keep here"alive" purely as an archive. Erdla

American Troops Kill Sadrist Leader Near Najaf

Breaking News: US Forces Kill Sadrist Leader Near Najaf : Aswat al Iraq: U.S. forces kill a Sadrist leader near Najaf By Haider al-Kaabi Najaf, Dec 27, (VOI) – The U.S. forces killed in the early hours of Wednesday a leader of the Shiite Sadr movement after a raid to the killed Sadrist’s house near Najaf. “The U.S. forces raided on Wednesday 4:00 am the house of Shaheed Allah foundation chief Sahib al-Aamiri in Hiyrah district, 18 km south of Najaf, and shot him dead,” an al-Aamiri’s family member told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). Sahib al-Aamiri is a prominent leader of the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-sadr’s movement. Neither Shaheed Sadr office in Najaf nor the U.S. army made a comment on the incident. VOI correspondent in the Shiite sacred city of Najaf reported the Iraqi security forces immediately went on alert in preparation to any emergency situation. The incident came only one week after the security responsibility in Najaf province, 160 km southwest of Baghdad, was transferred to the Iraqi army from the Multi-National forces. URL [Arabic]   URL [English] This comes under the heading of Uh Oh markfromireland

December 27th 2006 - Early Morning Round-Up

Selected early morning headlines @ 06:30 CET. With early morning bonus photograph right at the bottom of the post :-) Reuters Alertnet U.S. officials send minister out of Iraq - sources 26 Dec 2006 19:12:11 GMT  Source: Reuters AMMAN, Dec 26 (Reuters) - A fugitive former Iraqi minister, with dual U.S. citizenship, flew to Jordan in an American plane after escaping from a Baghdad jail earlier this month, Jordanian Prime Minister Marouf Bakheet said on Tuesday. "He came to Jordan as an American and on an American plane," Bakheet told reporters. He did not elaborate or say whether Ayham al-Samarraie, an electricity minister in the former Iraqi transitional government of Prime Minister Iyad al-Allawi, was still in Amman. Samarraie, who spent years in exile in the United States, was being held in Iraq on various corruption charges and was reportedly freed by armed, plain-clothes Americans. He said he was being victimised because of his opposition to Iranian influence in Iraq and Shi'ite militias, who are accused of killing thousands of members of his minority Sunni Arab sect. A Western diplomatic source familiar with the case and who requested anonymity said: "American secret service officials put him on board a U.S. military plane from Baghdad airport on Friday and brought him to Jordan". U.S. embassy spokesman Lou Fintor in Baghdad said Washington was not involved in the disappearance of Samarraie, facing trial in up to 12 corruption cases. "There is absolutely no truth to the reports whatsoever. ... We deny any involvement in Mr. Samarraie's disappearance from an Iraqi facility," he said. Another Jordanian intelligence source said American security officials were involved in the operation to whisk Samarraie out of Iraq. U.S. officials have said they were cooperating with Iraq in investigating how Samarraie escaped. Samarraie had been detained at a police station on the outskirts of the Green Zone, the heavily fortified compound that houses the Iraqi government and the U.S. and British embassies. He was convicted in October and sentenced to two years in jail for misuse of public funds. The conviction was overturned on appeal but he was being held pending the other corruption cases. (Additional reporting by Mariam Karouny in Baghdad)  Other Alertnet Reports PRESS DIGEST - Washington Post - Dec. 27 27 Dec 2006 04:00:49 GMT Source: Reuters WASHINGTON, Dec 27 (Reuters) - The Washington Post included the following items on its front page on Dec. 27. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. --- ...  Full article U.S. ready to send 3,500 troops to Kuwait -sources 26 Dec 2006 23:19:37 GMT Source: Reuters (Adds details, comment, byline) By Kristin Roberts WASHINGTON, Dec 26 (Reuters) - The Pentagon is expected to send 3,500 troops into Kuwait to stand ready for use in Iraq, senior defense officials ...  Full article Iraq court says Saddam should hang within 30 days 26 Dec 2006 23:03:11 GMT Source: Reuters (Adds comment on possible US troop movement) By Mariam Karouny and Ibon Villelabeitia BAGHDAD, Dec 26 (Reuters) - An Iraqi appeals court on Tuesday upheld Saddam Hussein's death ...  Full article U.S. ready to send 3,500 troops into Kuwait-source 26 Dec 2006 22:33:45 GMT Source: Reuters WASHINGTON, Dec 26 (Reuters) - The Pentagon is expected to send 3,500 troops into Kuwait to stand ready for use in Iraq, a senior defense official said on Tuesday as the Bush administration weighs ...  Full article U.S. Sen. Biden says intends to run for president 26 Dec 2006 22:03:15 GMT Source: Reuters (Adds Jimmy Carter quote paragraph 15) By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden, one of the Democratic party's leading voices on foreign policy and a sharp critic ...  Full article IRIN IRAQ: Insecurity and poverty put pregnant women in danger BAGHDAD, 26 Dec 2006 (IRIN) - For years Salah Hussein, 26, had dreamed of having a child, but he never imagined that his wish would be marred by the death of his wife in childbirth. Hussein’s wife, Fadiya, died of complications during a delivery which, doctors said, were caused by malnutrition and the stress of living in a war-torn country. “We are a poor family and I couldn’t afford to buy her good food. This was not my fault but the fault of this destroyed country in which the conditions of the health sector are worsening day by day,” said Hussein who works as a barber in the capital, Baghdad. Dozens of pregnant women with life-threatening conditions are being admitted to Iraq’s hospitals every month. Dr. Mayada Youssif, a gynaecologist at Baghdad’s Kadhimiyah hospital, believes that pregnant women are falling ill due to the insecurity and poverty that Iraqis have to live with as a result of the conflict. “Insecurity has forced women to stay at home during their whole period of pregnancy, and they look for a doctor only when they are feeling really ill or feel, near to delivery time, that conditions have become too dangerous,” Youssif said. The UN children’s agency UNICEF has said that Iraq's maternal mortality rates have increased dramatically over the last 15 years. In 1989, 117 Iraqi mothers out of 100,000 died during pregnancy or childbirth. That ratio has now increased by 65 per cent. Full article The Guardian  Saddam to hang within 30 days Brian Whitaker Wednesday December 27, 2006 Saddam Hussein could be hanged within days after the rejection of his appeal by Iraq's highest court yesterday. The former Iraqi dictator was sentenced to death in November over the killing of 148 Shia Muslims from the town of Dujail in 1982. He is facing another trial accused of genocide against the Kurds - but that may now never be completed. The death sentence from the first trial must be implemented within 30 days, the chief judge, Aref Shahin, said yesterday, hinting that it could come even sooner: "From tomorrow, any day could be the day of implementation." Iraq's prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, a member of the Shia majority persecuted under Saddam's Sunni-minority rule, has already said he wants the execution to take place before the end of the year. Read in full Early Morning Bonus Photo From Peace For Palestine Housewife4Palestine posted this photo on Christmas Day under the following heading: A Day in Iraq: Best Trained Military in the World? Well indeed .... Good Queston ... Head on over to her blog to read more about it. markfromireland cross posted to new site.

Main security developments in Iraq on Tuesday December 26th 2006 : Aswat al Iraq

Security developments in Iraq December 26th 2006 Update Voices of Iraq: Iraq-Security (Highlights) 2 Iraq-Security (Highlights) 2 Baghdad, Dec 26, (VOI) – Main security developments in Iraq on Tuesday: Baghdad – An explosive-rigged car went off in a popular market in the Sunni-majority northern Baghdad district of al-Aazamiya, killing 20 people and wounding 35 others, a security source said. Earlier in the day, 15 people were killed and 70 others wounded in a wave of car bombings in al-Baiyaa district in southwestern Baghdad. Falluja – An Iraqi army base in the restive town of Falluja came under an armed attack, but the damage was not immediately known, a police source said. Baghdad – Gunmen shot dead two brothers as they were shopping in a popular market in southwestern Baghdad district of Sidiya, a security source said. Mosul – A civilian was killed in a drive-by shooting attack in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul while four people were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded in the city, Iraqi police sources said. Baiji – A car bomb exploded near Tamim police station in Baiji, Salah Eddin province, wounding five people and causing heavy material damage, a source in Salah Eddin police operations room said. URI Main security developments in Iraq on Tuesday December 26th 2006 : Aswat al Iraq: Baaquba: Seven unidentified corpses were received on Tuesday by the Diala health department's forensic medicine section, a medical source said. Baghdad: A Senior Iraqi police officer was killed and nine people were wounded on Tuesday morning when three explosive charges went off in succession near a major Sunni mosque in downtown Baghdad, a police source said. Baghdad: Fifteen people were killed and 70 others wounded in a chain of successive blasts in al-Baiyaa district in southwest of Baghdad, on Tuesday, Iraqi interior ministry sources said. Baghdad: The U.S. army said on Tuesday three U.S. soldiers were killed and three others wounded in two separate incidents in southwest Baghdad. Baghdad: Unidentified gunmen kidnapped on Tuesday a senior Iraqi trade ministry official in an ambush in western Baghdad, Iraqi interior ministry sources said. Kirkuk: A child was killed and five others wounded in Kirkuk on Tuesday when an explosive device went off near a primary school in north of the city, a security source said. Kirkuk: Two Iraqi policemen were wounded on Tuesday when their patrol vehicle came under attack with small:arms fire in southern Kirkuk, a police source said. Missan: A senior police officer was killed on Tuesday morning when masked gunmen attacked him while driving his car in central Ammara city, 380 km southeast of Baghdad, a security source said. Missan:Unknown gunmen shot dead on Tuesday morning a local leader of the Shiite cleric Muqtada al:Sadr’s Mahdi army in Ammara, capital city of southern Iraqi province of Missan. URL: 85 killed or injured in al-Baiyaa blasts, another kills five in Baghdad (Update) : Aswat al Iraq: Baghdad, Dec 26, (VOI) – Fifteen people were killed and 70 others wounded in a chain of successive blasts in al-Baiyaa district in southwest of Baghdad, on Tuesday, Iraqi interior ministry sources said. TV images shot by a local cameraman showed the powerful explosions that left in its wake a huge blaze devouring a number of civilian vehicles that parked at the scene then. A man who was evacuating a number of charred bodies from the scene said "three car bombs blew up here with only a few minutes apart." Meanwhile, Iraq's interior ministry sources said another explosive charge bombing took place in the usually shopper-thronged al-Bab al-Sharqi area in central Baghdad, killing five and wounding 15 others. Bab al-Sheikh, near al-Bab al-Sharqi, witnessed on Tuesday morning three explosive charge bombings, killing a police lt. colonel and injuring nine others, including a number of policemen. The blasts took place near the mosque and tomb of Sheikh Abdul-Qadir Guilani, said the sources. URL. See immediately below for original report. Baghdad-Blasts : Senior police officer killed in Baghdad blast Aswat al Iraq: Baghdad, Dec 26, (VOI) – A Senior Iraqi police officer was killed and nine people wounded on Tuesday morning when three explosive charges went off in succession near a major Sunni mosque in downtown Baghdad, a police source said. “Three explosive charges went off in succession near sheikh Abdul-Qadir al-Guilani mosque in downtown Baghdad today morning killing a police lieutenant colonel and wounding nine people, including policemen,” the source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). The third explosive device went off while policemen and civilians were helping take to a nearby hospital the wounded from the explosion of a double charge in the location, the source added. URL Iranian diplomats detained in al-Hakim's guesthouse : Aswat al Iraq: Iranian diplomats detained in al-Hakim's guesthouse – legislator By Kawther Abdul-Amir Baghdad, Dec 26, (VOI) – The Iranian diplomats arrested by the U.S. forces were detained inside the guesthouse of Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of the Shiite Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), an Iraqi legislator said. "The diplomats had come to Iraq upon an official invitation from President Jalal Talabani, and accordingly their arrest represents a violation of Iraqi sovereignty," Mahmoud Othman, a member of the Iraqi parliament for the Kurdistan Coalition, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). The New York Times newspaper had reported on Monday that the U.S. army arrested a number of Iranian diplomats for their suspected involvement in operations targeting Iraqi forces last week. Diplomats working in the Iranian embassy in Baghdad were released but a number others who were invited by the Iraqi president are still remanded in custody. The U.S. State Department, in a statement on Monday, said the U.S. forces in Iraq detained a number of Iranians, including two diplomats who were released over their diplomatic immunity. Iraq's National Security Advisor Muwafaq al-Rubai’i was supposed to hold a press conference on this issue on Tuesday but he postponed it till Wednesday due to developments, a source close to Rubaie said. URL Detained Reuters correspondent in Ramadi released : Aswat al Iraq: Ramadi, Dec 26, (VOI) – U.S. forces released Ramadi-based-Reuters correspondent Ammar al-Dulaimi after one week of detention in the restive Anbar’s city of Ramadi, a security source said. “Reuters correspondent Ammar al-Dulaimi was released last night after the U.S. forces detained him at his house in Ramadi one week ago,” the source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). Ammar al-Dulaimi was arrested on December 19 from his house at Albo Alwan village in Ramadi, 110 km west of Baghdad. URL Wassit: Unknown bodies buried in Wassit reach 177 : Aswat al Iraq: Unknown bodies buried in Wassit reach 177 By Abdul-Jabbar al-Sufrani Wassit, Dec 26, (VOI) – The number of unidentified bodies buried in a mass grave in the province of Wassit reached 177 since August, a source in Wassit on Tuesday. "Seven unidentified bodies found in different areas in the province were buried on Monday," Maamoun Ojail, the official in charge of the forensic medicine unit in al-Zaharaa public hospital, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). The number of unidentified corpses buried since last August reached 177, he said, adding a committee was set up to write down the available information on a tag attached to each corpse to make it easier for relatives to identify the bodies. The majority of corpses are for men wearing civilian clothes. Their bodies were retrieved from the rivers Tigris and Malih in northern Suwayra. Kut, the main city in the province of Wassit, is 180 km southeast of the capital Baghdad. URL Diyala: Seven bodies found in Diala: Aswat al Iraq: Seven bodies found in Diala By Asim Taha Baaquba, Dec 26, (VOI) – Seven unidentified corpses were received on Tuesday by the Diala health department's forensic medicine section, a medical source said. "The forensics in the Baaquba public hospital received seven bodies from different areas in the province of Diala (57 km north of the capital Baghdad)," a source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) on condition of anonymity. "Some of the bodies bore marks of torture and others were blindfolded and hand-tied and had bullet holes," the source added. URL: Senior Iraqi trade ministry official kidnapped in western Baghdad : Aswat al Iraq: Senior Iraqi trade ministry official kidnapped in western Baghdad By Wathiq Ismael Baghdad, Dec 26, (VOI) – Unidentified gunmen kidnapped on Tuesday a senior Iraqi trade ministry official in an ambush, Iraqi interior ministry sources said. "Unknown armed men boarding two vehicles intercepted Muhannad Ahmed Saleh, the director of the Baghdad International Fair, when he was driving from home to work in the western Baghdad district of al-Amiriya," an interior ministry source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). Saleh, who was alone in his car, was led to an unknown place, the source added. Al-Amiriya, of a Sunni majority, is witnessing non-stop armed operations nearly on a daily basis. An offshoot of Iraq's trade ministry, the Baghdad International Fair used to be concerned with the inviting a large number of Iraqi, Arab and foreign companies to participate regularly in the annual 15-day exhibit. The fair held earlier this month a round attended only by Iraqi companies, and was the first of its kind since the outbreak of the U.S.-led war on Iraq in March 2003. URL: Baghdad: Car bombing in Baghdad Sunni district leaves 20 dead, 35 wounded : Aswat al Iraq: Car bombing in Baghdad Sunni district leaves 20 dead, 35 wounded By Wathiq Ismael Baghdad, Dec 26, (VOI) – An explosive-rigged car went off on Tuesday in a popular market in the Sunni-majority northern Baghdad district of al-Aazamiya, killing 20 people and wounding 35 others, a security source said. The car bomb “was left near the popular market facing Imam Abu Hanifa al-Nouman mosque in al-Aazamiya and it exploded as worshippers were leaving the mosque after Maghreb (sunset) prayers,” the source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). “The blast killed 20 civilians and wounded 35 others, mostly worshippers. Also four cars parked nearby were damaged while the shrine did not sustain any damage,” he added. Security forces cordoned off the area as ambulances rushed the wounded to al-Nouman hospital. The blast occurred about two hours after the court of appeals upheld the death sentence against former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and two former aides for committing crimes against humanity in the Dujail case. Earlier in the day, 15 people were killed and 70 others wounded in a cluster of car bombings in al-Baiyaa district in southwestern Baghdad. The URL for this story: Western Agency Reports AP: Bombings kill 54 Iraqis; 7 Americans die on Yahoo! News: By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA, Associated Press Writer 39 minutes ago At least 54 Iraqis died Tuesday in bombings, officials said, including a coordinated strike that killed 25 in western Baghdad. Separately, the U.S. military announced the deaths of seven American soldiers, raising the death toll significantly in one of the bloodiest months for the military this year. The three coordinated car bombs in western Baghdad injured at least 55 people, a doctor at Yarmouk hospital, where the victims were taken, said on condition of anonymity because of safety concerns. The attacks occurred in a mixed Sunni and Shiite neighborhood. In other attacks, a car bomb exploded near a Sunni mosque in northern Baghdad at the beginning of the evening rush hour, killing 17 people and wounding 35, a doctor at Al-Nuaman hospital said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. A bomb also exploded in a central Baghdad market, killing four people and wounding 15, police said. Two roadside bombs targeted an Iraqi police patrol in an eastern neighborhood of the capital, killing four policemen and injuring 12 people. In Kirkuk, 180 miles north of the Iraqi capital, a roadside bomb killed three civilians — including an 8-year-old girl — and wounded six other people, police said. [snip] American troops fought gunmen in a Shiite militia stronghold in east Baghdad on Tuesday, witnesses said. Fighters loyal to the anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr engaged in the clashes with U.S. forces in and near Sadr City, an official in al-Sadr's office said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. There was no immediate word on casualties. British soldiers were on alert for reprisals a day after they raided a police station in the southern city of Basra, killing seven gunmen in an effort to stop renegade Iraqi officers from executing their prisoners. [snip] A spokesman for Iraq's defense minister said Monday that the Iraqi Interior and Defense ministries approved the Basra operation, but some members of the Basra provincial council said they were not notified. "We object to the way the operation was conducted," council member Hakim al-Maiyahi told The Associated Press. "There was no need to bring in such a huge number of forces and break down the station." [snip] Elsewhere, Jordanian Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit said Tuesday that a former Iraqi Cabinet minister who escaped from a Baghdad prison this month had arrived in Jordan on a U.S. plane. Ayham al-Samaraie, a former minister of electricity with dual U.S. and Iraqi citizenship, had been serving time for corruption when he escaped mid-December. Lou Fintor, spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, said the U.S. government was not involved in al-Samaraie's escape "in any way." He denied in "unequivocal terms" the claim that al-Samaraie flew out of Iraq on an American plane. Reuters AlertNet - FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Dec 26: Following are security developments in Iraq as of 1700 GMT on Tuesday: * denotes a new or updated item. * BAGHDAD - A car bomb in the mainly Sunni Arab district of Adhamiya in Baghdad killed 15 people and wounded 30, hospital sources said. * BAGHDAD - One U.S. soldier was killed and two injured when their vehicle rolled over during a combat mission south of Baghdad on Tuesday, the U.S. military said. BAGHDAD - Three simultaneous car bombs exploded in southwestern Baghdad, killing 16 people and wounding 70, Interior Ministry and police sources said. BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb killed five people and wounded 15 others in a crowded area in central Baghdad, police said. BAGHDAD - Three U.S. soldiers looking for roadside bombs were killed northwest of Baghdad, the U.S. military said. One soldier was wounded. BAGHDAD - Two U.S. soldiers were killed and one wounded in a roadside bomb attack southwest of Baghdad on Monday, the military said. Another roadside bomb in the same area killed one U.S. soldier and wounded two on Monday. BAGHDAD - Three roadside bombs in quick succession killed a police lieutenant colonel and wounded nine people in central Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said. BAGHDAD - A total of 40 bodies were found, shot dead and most of them showing signs of torture, on Monday in different districts of Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said. BAGHDAD - Gunmen kidnapped Muhanad Ahmed Saleh, director of the Baghdad International Fair, on his way to work in Amiriya district in western Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said. BAGHDAD - U.S. forces captured a suspected leader of a murder and kidnapping cell along with four suspected insurgents near Baghdad, the U.S. military said. BAGHDAD - A mortar round killed two people on Monday in northern Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said. BAGHDAD - A bodyguard of Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi was killed by a "foreigner assailant" on Sunday near the office of Abdul Mahdi in Baghdad, the vice president's office said. BAIJI - A car bomb near a police station wounded a policeman and four civilians in the oil refining city of Baiji, 180 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. NEAR KIRKUK - Gunmen wounded two policemen in a drive-by shooting in a town near Kirkuk, police said. BAQUBA - The bodies of six people, gagged and bound, were found in two districts in Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad, a hospital source said. KIRKUK - A roadside bomb killed a child and an elderly man and wounded three university students in the northern oil city of Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. RIYADH - Police found the body of a policeman, shot dead and tortured, on Monday in the town of Riyadh, 70 km ( 40 miles) southwest of Kirkuk, police said. BASRA - Gunmen kidnapped a bank manager and two employees and stole $750,000 on Monday in the southern city of Basra, police said. MOSUL - The bodies of a soldier and a civilian were found shot dead on Monday in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: * BAGHDAD - An Iraqi appeals court upheld Saddam Hussein's death sentence for crimes against humanity and said he should hang within 30 days. Saddam, 69, was sentenced to death on Nov. 5 for crimes against humanity over the killings of 148 Shi'ites from the town of Dujail after he escaped assassination there in 1982. This posting has been crossposted markfromireland

Please Excuse The Mess

Gorilla's Guides Is Moving! We've been busy arranging to move from blogger to our new premises. There might be some irregularity in posting over the next week or so. Starting tomorrow we'll be parallel running all our current English language sites — including here. However getting the new site for "Gorilla's Guides" right has to come first as we want to provide you with better facilities than will ever be available with blogger. We'll keep you posted. Erdla, Dubhaltach, markfromireland, and the rest of the team.

December 25th 2006 Main Security Stories of The Day Aswat al Iraq

Iraq-Security (Main Items of The Day) : December 25th 2006: Aswat al Iraq: Samawa – Two policemen were killed and 13 others wounded in armed clashes in the Iraqi towns of Samawa and Rumaytha as the local government in Samawa insisted on disarming Mahdi Army militia, eyewitnesses said. More than 40 people were killed or wounded in Samawa on Sunday in heated clashes between Mahdi army and Iraqi police forces. Baghdad – Four Iraqi civilians were killed and 18 others wounded in a suicide bombing inside a bus in east Baghdad, a security source said. Baghdad – Baghdad police patrols found 29 unidentified bodies in different parts of Baghdad during the last 24 hours, a police source said on Monday. Ramadi – A suicide bomber blew himself up at a police checkpoint in Anbar University in Ramadi town, killing five people including four policemen and wounding five others, a security source in the western Iraqi province of Anbar said. Baghdad – A gunman was killed and three others suspected to be members of al-Qaeda group were arrested in Baiji town, Salah Eddin province, the U.S. army in Iraq said. Falluja – Unidentified gunmen attacked a U.S. patrol in central Falluja, damaging one of its vehicles, a security source said. Baghdad – Three U.S. soldiers were killed and two others wounded in separate military operations in Baghdad and the western Iraqi province of Anbar, the U.S. army in Iraq said. Karbala – A new batch of 73 bodies arrived in the Shiite-sacred town of Karbala for burial as nobody claimed them from Baghdad forensic department, a security source in Karbala said. Basra – Gunmen kidnapped three bank employees in the southern Iraqi city of Basra along with one billion dinars ($667,000) of the bank’s money, a security source in Basra said. Falluja – A U.S. hummer vehicle was destroyed in a roadside bomb explosion in the southern Iraqi village of Alous, but it was not immediately clear if there were casualties. Baaquba – One Iraqi soldier was killed and four others wounded when an explosive charge went off at an Iraqi army patrol in Diala province, a security source said. markfromireland

Baghdad December 25th 2006

markfromireland

Christmas Eve Round Up News Translated and Summarised from Arabic (truncated)

Christmas in Iraq 2006 Iraqi Red Cresent workers distributing humanitarian aid to the poor in Iraq, December 23rd 2006. Note the boxes - those are boxes of food. Not very good food. But enough to survive on. What they're handing out at the risk to their own lives are survival rations. Many in Iraq depend completely on the food handouts because of the economic chaos caused by the American occupiers deciding to completely rewrite the laws governing economic activity especially anything to do with oil to suit their own economic purposes. Most of the poverty in Iraq is a direct consequence of the corrupt racist and illegal American war against Iraq and her people. The massive economic disruption caused by the resistance against the American invaders is coupled with the massive economic disruption caused by internecine strife. Most of the people who die in Iraq today die of poverty. They die of malnutrition related diseases. They die of water-borne disease. They die because the Americans fucked over the pharmaceutical system to suit their own selfish economic interests. They die because the Americans fucked over their previously free medical system to suit their own selfish economic interests. People who can't afford food or water can't afford medical treatment either. Soon they are going to start to die of cold - in fact some already have. The Iraqi Red Crescent does not know the fate of the 13 of its staff kidnapped a week ago at gun point from one ofits Baghdad offices in an area massively controlled by the Americans and their political allies in Iraq. Today December 24th 2006 the Red crescent in Fallujah held a sit-in protest to demonstrate their grief, their horror, and their outrage, at the things they see and hear and smell on a daily basis. The treatment they have to put with on a daily basis. The fear with which they live on a daily basis. markfromireland December 24th 2006. Baghdad : Director of Institute of Toxicology Assasinated :Aswat al Iraq: Ali Abdel Amir Assadi the director of the toxicology institute was murdered by gunmen in Palestine street (East Baghdad) who shot him in his car. URI: Fallujah : Workshop Orphan Care : Aswat al Iraq: There were 80 participants at day one of the workshop organised principally by the Iraqi foundation for human development and the Iraqi society for the care of orphans. The workshop is geared to increasing the coordination of the Islamic charities in Fallujah and to increasing their effectiveness. URI: Fallujah : Saqlawiyah : American Patrol Bombed : Aswat al Iraq: An American army of occupation patrol was attacked by a roadside bomb near the Saqlawiyah bridge 15 km north-west of Fallujah. No reports of casualties no comment from the American army of occupation spokesweasels as yet either. URI: Kirkuk : Huayjah : Two Brothers Shot Dead : Aswat al Iraq: Two brothers who owned shops the city centre were shot dead near the Technical Institute in Al-Huwayjah. URI: Dohuk : Survivors of Anfal Demand Compensation : Aswat al Iraq: A group representing survivors of the Saddam regime's Anfal campaign are demanding compensation from the green zone government. They say their preliminary data indicates tens of thousands of Kurds were killed or went missing during the Anfal campaign. URI: Mosul : Fuel Convoy Bombed : American Army of Occupation Patrol Attacked : Aswat al Iraq: A convoy of Turkish trucks carrying fuel (kerosene) on the road to Mosul from Dohuk governorate was attacked by a roadside bomb. One of the trucks burst into flames as a result. The driver escaped unhurt. An American army of occupation patrol was attacked by a bomber in north-east Mosul. No reports of casualties yet. URI Salahadin : Baijii : Civilian Shot By American Forces : 4 Seized in Raids : 1 Kidnapping : Aswat al Iraq: American army of occupation forces shot and killed a civilian as he was leaving a mosque in his neighborhood in the town of Baiji. Four people were arrested during raids in the city. Unknown armed men kidnapped one civilian this morning. The article on Aswat al Iraq points out that the area is under stringent "security" by occupation troops for the last two months. URI: At which point Aswat Al Iraq's server went down. It looks like they used a cheap DNS service and haven't renewed their account. Ho hum ... onward on second thoughts ... not onward ... I'm traveling, tired, cold, very pissed off, and the battery on this thing is running low needs recharging urgently, and come to that I could do with some recharging myself. Goodnight folks "peace on earth to men of good will" this grumpy middleaged Irishman aka "the charming only when feeling refreshed gorilla" needs to get some sleep. markfromireland

December 22nd Update2 News In English From Aswat Al Iraq Together With Peace Takes Courage

Aswat al Iraq: Iraq-Security (Highlights) 2 Security developments in Iraq Baghdad, Dec 21, (VOI) – Main security developments in Iraq on Thursday:Baaquba – The Baaquba public hospital received 20 bodies that had been found in different parts of the city, a medical source in the Diala health department said.Iraq-Security (Highlights) 2Security developments in IraqBaghdad, Dec 21, (VOI) – Main security developments in Iraq on Thursday: Baaquba – The Baaquba public hospital received 20 bodies that had been found in different parts of the city, a medical source in the Diala health department said. Baghdad – Iraqi and Multi-National forces killed seven gunmen and arrested three in Jebinat near Baaquba in operations in which an Iraqi soldier was killed and seven others were wounded. Hit – A land mine planted by gunmen exploded at a U.S armored vehicle east of Hit town in Anbar province, destroying it, eyewitnesses said. Mosul – An employee was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in southwestern Mosul, while an unidentified body was found in the north part of the town. Kirkuk – Telecommunications between Kirkuk and Mosul were cut due to sabotage on telephone lines between the two northern Iraqi cities, an official source in Kirkuk telecommunication department said. Karbalaa –Two gunmen shot dead an ex-member of the now-dissolved Baath party in central Karbalaa, eyewitnesses said. Kirkuk – A security official in Kurdistan Democratic Party was wounded when an explosive device went off at his motorcade in southern Kirkuk, a security source said. Baghdad- One person was killed and two others wounded when a home-made bomb exploded south of Baghdad, witnesses said. Ramadi – U.S. troops killed two people in the western city of Ramadi as a siege continued on the western district of Theela. Moqdadiya – Two bodyguards of the deputy governor of Diala province were killed during an armed attack in central Moqdadiya, northeast of Baaquba. Mosul – Two civilians were wounded when an explosive charge blew up at a U.S. army patrol southwest of Mosul while gunmen in a car killed a civilian west of the city. Amara – A former member of the dissolved Baath party was killed by gunmen in central Amara, witnesses said. Peace Takes Courage: It's one week before Christmas. 2,948 American families will be missing a family member this Christmas due to this immoral war in Iraq. According to a recent study it is estimated that around 650,000 Iraqis have also died since the war begin. This Christmas we need to all take time out of our busy holiday schedules to think about those who have been killed in the Iraq war. It is up to us to make sure that this coming year brings many changes to help get our country back on track. Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ - who taught love, compassion, understanding, and most of all PEACE. Let this holiday remind us that peace is a possible goal and that we have much work to do in order to achieve it. 6 Comments Posted on 18 Dec 2006 by Ava She has the windows media player file here or you can watch it on youtube. Or you can watch it here: I have a lot of respect for her - she is very brave. Site News: I will not be able to make any postings today. I think Sabah is due to make the posting but I haven't been able to contact him to confirm. Erdla