Iraqi Resistance Report 1199

muhammad abu nasr | 27.03.2008 00:06 | Iraq

Iraqi Resistance Report for events of Monday, 24 March 2008. Translated and/or compiled by Muhammad Abu Nasr, member, editorial board, the Free Arab Voice.

http://www.freearabvoice.org

Iraqi Resistance Reports Table of Contents

Iraqi Resistance Report 1199

Iraqi Resistance Report for events of Monday, 24 March 2008. Translated and/or compiled by Muhammad Abu Nasr, member, editorial board, the Free Arab Voice.

http://www.freearabvoice.org

Monday, 24 March 2008.

· Bomb destroys US fuel tanker, reportedly killing two American troops near al-Baghdadi.

· Rockets, mortar shells blast into “Green Zone” Monday.

· Details emerge of deadly Sunday night bomb attack on US troops in southern Baghdad.

· Rockets slam into Green Zone Sunday evening.

· US troops kill Iraqi man in house raid in Tikrit at dawn Monday.

· Two US troops reported killed in bomb attack in Bayji.

· Bomb explodes under US patrol in al-Iskandariyah Sunday.

· US Intelligence headquarters in al-Hillah bombarded Sunday evening.

· Jaysh al-Mahdi battles Iraqi regime forces for hours Sunday, Monday as US, Iraqi regime pour reinforcements into al-Basrah.

Al-Anbar Province.
Ath-Tharthar.

US base in ath-Tharthar struck by mortar barrage.

In a dispatch posted at 10:05pm Baghdad time Monday night, the Yaqen News Agency reported that the Iraqi Resistance had mounted a mortar barrage on the US base in ath-Tharthar.

Yaqen reported eyewitnesses as saying that they observed plumes of smoke rising from the environs of the base. US aircraft were seen prowling the skies above the facility, searching for the attackers. Witnesses said that Medevac helicopters also landed in the base and later took off, presumably evacuating casualties.

Al-Hadithah.

Police announce discovery of three mortar shells in al-Hadithah Monday afternoon.

In a dispatch posted at 5:33pm Baghdad time Monday afternoon, the Yaqen News Agency reported that the Iraqi regime police discovered a cache of three mortar shells and light arms in al-Hadithah, 270km northwest of Baghdad on Monday afternoon.

Government police kill man in al-Hadithah midday Monday.

In a dispatch posted at 5:33pm Baghdad time Monday afternoon, the Yaqen News Agency reported that an Iraqi regime police patrol had shot and killed an Iraqi man in the western part of al-Hadithah as he tried to approach them at noon on Monday.

Al-Baghdadi.

Bomb destroys US fuel tanker, reportedly killing two American troops near al-Baghdadi.

In a dispatch posted at 10:50am Baghdad time Monday morning, the Yaqen News Agency reported that a bomb exploded by a US military column southeast of al-Baghdadi, 200km northwest of Baghdad.

Baghdad.

Three policemen wounded in drive-by shooting in eastern Baghdad Monday afternoon.

In a dispatch posted at 7:55pm Baghdad time Monday night, the Yaqen News Agency reported that unknown armed men in an unmarked car opened fire on a number of Iraqi government policemen near the Iraqi Fashion House in the Zuyunah district of Baghdad after noon on Monday. Yaqen reported a source in the police as saying that three policemen were wounded in the shooting.

Murder spree continues: four more bodies found dumped around Baghdad Monday.

In a dispatch posted at 7:35pm Baghdad time Monday evening, the Yaqen News Agency reported that the Iraqi police had recovered the bodies of four more unidentified murder victims that had been dumped around Baghdad on Monday.

Rockets, mortar shells blast into “Green Zone” Monday.

In a dispatch posted at 1:56pm Baghdad time Monday afternoon, the Yaqen News Agency reported that three rockets blasted into the top-security area around the Republican Palace in Baghdad – the area dubbed the “Green Zone” by the Americans.

Policeman wounded in Monday morning bombing in eastern Baghdad.

In a dispatch posted on its Arabic website at 4:52pm Monday afternoon Beijing time (11:52am in Baghdad), the Xinhua News Agency reported that a bomb exploded by an Iraqi regime police patrol near the ash-Sha‘b International Playing Field in eastern Baghdad on Monday morning.

Xinhua reported a source in the Iraqi regime Interior Ministry as saying that the blast wounded one policeman and damaged a patrol vehicle.

Details emerge of Sunday night bomb attack on US troops in southern Baghdad.

In a dispatch posted on its Arabic website at 4:52pm Monday afternoon Beijing time (11:52am in Baghdad), the Xinhua News Agency reported that a bomb exploded by a US patrol near the al-Bayya‘ neighborhood in southern Baghdad on Sunday evening.

Xinhua reported eyewitnesses as saying that the explosion was a very powerful blast that set fire to an American Humvee and burned it up. US forces closed off the area and helicopters were seen hovering over the area for many hours after the attack.

The US announced that four more of its troops had been killed in a bomb attack in southern Baghdad at 10pm local time Sunday night, killing four US troops and wounding a fifth, and bringing the official total of US deaths in Iraq to 4,000. In keeping with the American practice of concealing facts about their losses, the US announcement of that attack provided no further details of the incident, which apparently was the al-Bayya‘ bombing.

Rockets slam into Green Zone Sunday evening.

In a dispatch posted on its Arabic website at 4:03pm Monday afternoon Beijing time (11:03am in Baghdad), the Xinhua News Agency reported that the top-security area around the Republican Palace in central Baghdad – the area dubbed the “Green Zone” by the US forces – had come under renewed rocket barrage on Sunday evening.

Xinhua reported a source in the “Green Zone” as saying that two Katyusha rockets of unknown origin blasted into the “Green Zone” on Sunday evening. A third rocket landed near the Diana Hotel on Abu Nuwwas Street across the Tigris from the “Zone,” causing no casualties or losses. No information on the nature or extent of casualties or damage inside the “Green Zone” was available.

Earlier, on Sunday morning, the “Green Zone” had been blasted in a barrage of Katyusha rockets and mortar shells.

In a 4:31pm Beijing time dispatch Monday (11:31am in Baghdad), Xinhua reported that a series of mortar shells of unknown origin landed in residential neighborhoods around the “Green Zone” on Sunday evening.

Xinhua reported a source in the police as saying that several mortar shells landed in the areas of al-Karradah, al-‘Arasat, and Sab‘ Qusur – all located opposite the “Green Zone.” The blasts killed two civilians and wounded seven more of them. The source added that one mortar round destroyed a house in the al-Qasr al-Abyad section of central Baghdad, killing five civilians, all of them members of the same family.

Rockets take toll among civilians in unexplained attacks on Baghdad neighborhoods Sunday.

In a dispatch posted on its Arabic website at 4:38pm Monday afternoon Beijing time (11:38am in Baghdad), the Xinhua News Agency reported that Katyusha rockets had landed in various parts of Baghdad taking a toll on civilian residents of the Iraqi capital on Sunday evening.

Xinhua reported that two Katyusha rockets slammed into the central Baghdad district of al-Karradah, killing a woman and wounding three other people.

Four other people were wounded when a Katyusha rocket struck the al-Fadiliyah area of eastern Baghdad. Three people were hurt when a Katyusha landed in the al-Baladiyat area of eastern Baghdad Sunday.

Another Katyusha rocket blasted into a building on al-Andalus Square in central Baghdad Sunday, starting a fire but causing no casualties.

The barrages of rockets throughout the day Sunday aroused fears among local residents of a repeat of the rocket and mortar war that raged in the city more than a year ago.

Torture, murder spree continues: six more bodies found in Baghdad Sunday.

In a dispatch posted on its Arabic website at 4:03pm Monday afternoon Beijing time (11:03am in Baghdad), the Xinhua News Agency reported that the Iraqi government police recovered the bodies of six more unidentified murder victims that had been dumped around Baghdad on Sunday.

Xinhua reported a source in the regime police as saying that four of the bodies were recovered in the eastern Baghdad district of ar-Rusafah and the other two in west Baghdad’s al-Karakh. The bodies showed signs of having been tortured.

Salah ad-Din Province.
Tikrit.

US troops kill Iraqi man in house raid in Tikrit at dawn Monday.

In a dispatch posted on its Arabic website at 4:45pm Monday afternoon Beijing time (11:45am in Baghdad), the Xinhua News Agency reported that US troops raided a house in the al-Qadisiyah neighborhood to the north of Tikrit, 180km north of Baghdad, at dawn on Monday.

Xinhua reported that the Americans arrested a member of the family living in the home, prompting vehement protests from his brother, who began to scream in the fact of the American troops. In response one of the Americans shot the brother, Kan‘an ‘Ali Sulayman, killing him on the spot. The US troops took Sulayman’s body to Tikrit General Hosptial. They offered no explanation of the incident.

Bayji.

Two US troops reported killed in bomb attack in Bayji.

In a dispatch posted at 8:34pm Baghdad time Monday night, the Yaqen News Agency reported that a homemade bomb exploded by a US patrol in Bayji, 200km north of Baghdad.

Yaqen reported a source in the regime police as saying that the blast killed two US troops and wounded three more of them in addition to inflicting heavy damage on the Americans’ vehicle. The US casualties were evacuated to a nearby military hospital, the source said.

Earlier, in a 3:20pm dispatch, Yaqen reported that the Iraqi Resistance group the Jaysh al-Muslimin, a constituent group in the Front of Jihad and Change, announced that its fighters had ambushed a US column on the road from Kirkuk to Bayji.

Yaqen reported the Jaysh al-Muslimin communiqué as saying that a bomb planted by the fighters had exploded under a US Humvee, completely destroying the vehicle and killing the four troops and an officer who were aboard it. The statement said that the rest of the American column left the smashed vehicle and the bodies aboard it as the attack unfolded. The communiqué said that its fighters were able to seize two M-16 rifles and ammunition as well as other gear from the wrecked vehicle.

Mortar shells kill civilian in Bayji Sunday night.

In a dispatch posted on its Arabic website at 6:45pm Monday afternoon Beijing time (1:45pm in Baghdad), the Xinhua News Agency reported that three mortar rounds blsted into a residential neighborhood on the outskirts of the city of Bayji, 200km north of Baghdad, on Sunday night. Xinhua reported that the barrage killed one civilian and damaged several houses.

Diyala Province.
Diyala.

US troops gun down tribal police commander in Buhriz.

In a dispatch posted at 6:14pm Baghdad time Monday afternoon, the Yaqen News Agency reported that US troops shot and killed a commander of the pro-American “Popular Committees” tribal police in Buhriz, 60km northeast of Baghdad

Ba‘qubah.

Mortar shell of unknown origins kills two civilians in Ba‘qubah late Sunday.

In a dispatch posted at 11:51am Baghdad time Monday morning, the Yaqen News Agency reported that a mortar shell blasted into a house in the al-Katun neighborhood fo Ba‘qubah, 65km northeast of Baghdad late on Sunday night.

Babil Province.
Al-Iskandariyah.

Bomb explodes under US patrol in al-Iskandariyah Sunday.

In a dispatch posted at 2:28pm Baghdad time Monday afternoon, the Association of Muslim Scholars of Iraq (AMSI) reported that a bomb exploded by a US patrol in al-Iskandariyah, 40km south of Baghdad, on Sunday.

Al-Hillah.

US Intelligence headquarters in al-Hillah bombarded Sunday evening.

In a dispatch posted at 2:03pm Baghdad time Monday afternoon, the Association of Muslim Scholars of Iraq (AMSI) reported that seven mortar shells slammed into the US Intelligence headquarters in al-Hillah, 100km south of Baghdad on Sunday evening.

At-Ta’mim Province.
Kirkuk.

Mysterious rocket wounds two in Kirkuk.

In a dispatch posted at 11:05am Baghdad time Monday morning, the Yaqen News Agency reported that a Katyusha rocket slammed into a house in the middle of Kirkuk, 250km north of Baghdad, wounding two people.

Ninwa Province.
Al-Mawsil.

Car bomber targets US patrol, wounds five Iraqi civilians in al-Mawsil.

In a dispatch posted at 6:35pm Baghdad time Monday evening, the Yaqen News Agency reported that a car bomber had attacked a patrol of US troops in southeastern al-Mawsil.

As-Sulaymaniyah Province.
As-Sulaymaniyah.

Iranian artillery resumes shelling of border areas, targeting Kurdish separatist PJAK gunmen.

In a dispatch posted at 11:15am Baghdad time Monday morning, the Yaqen News Agency reported that Iranian artillery resumed its bombardment of areas on the Iraqi side of the border as Tehran continues to respond to Kurdish separatist cross-border attacks.

Yaqen reported Azad Wasu ‘Abdallah, the Director of the Zarawah border area in as-Sulaymaniyah as saying that Iranian artillery pounded areas near Zarawah in the Qal‘at Dazzah area along the border. The barrage caused no casualties, but was still going on as of the time of reporting.

‘Abdallah said that the border villages of Razkah, Mardu, Shannawah, Surkulah, and Basi in the Qal‘at Dazzah area were bombarded in response to the presence of PJAK Kurdish separatists.

The PJAK, a Kuridish separatist group that fights against Iran, originated in the ranks of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK). In the year 2004, the PJAK split from the PKK following the arrest by Turkish authorities of PKK chief, ‘Abdallah Ocalan. The PJAK launched an armed struggle against Iran with the aim of splitting the areas in Iran with large Kurdish populations away from Tehran’s rule. The PJAK is said to have 3,000 fighters.

From time to time, Iran unleashes artillery barrages on PJAK gunmen along the border, targeting villages whose populations have fled due to the fighting in the area.

Karbala’ Province.
Karbala’.

Four members of Jaysh al-Mahdi militia arrested in Karbala’.

In a dispatch posted at 1:41pm Baghdad time Monday afternoon, the Yaqen News Agency reported that the US-backed Iraqi regime police had arrested four members of the Jaysh al-Mahdi militia in the southern city of Karbala’.

Yaqen reported a source in the Karbala’ police as saying that the four Jaysh al-Mahdi members were arrested with a quantity of Iranian-made weapons and ammunition, some of it indicating that it had been manufactured in the years 2006. The source said that the men were found with 15 Kalashnikov assault rifles, three Simonov rifles, ammunition and five locally-made explosive devices as well as five anti-tank rockets.

The head of the Jaysh al-Mahdi militia, Shi‘i religious leader Muqtada as-Sadr, imposed a six-month freeze on the Jaysh al-Mahdi in August 2007. That freeze was extended for another six months at the end of February. Nevertheless, as the US takes steps to square off for a confrontation with Iran, American and regime forces have been increasingly targeting the pro-Iranian Jaysh al-Mahdi militia, the armed wing of the movement led by Shi‘i cleric Muqtada as-Sadr, which for some time had been a part of the US-backed government.

In Baghdad and the cities of southern Iraq the Americans and their Iraqi regime allies have killed or captured a large number of the militia’s commanders and cadres in recent months. The Jaysh al-Mahdi has also come into conflict with other, rival Shi‘i sectarian militias backed by the US and its Iraqi government as they vie for control of the southern part of the country.

Al-Basrah Province.
Al-Basrah.

Jaysh al-Mahdi battles Iraqi regime forces for hours Sunday, Monday as US, Iraqi regime pour reinforcements into al-Basrah.

In a dispatch posted at 11:15am Baghdad time Monday morning, the Yaqen News Agency reported that fierce armed clashes between Iraqi regime forces and the Jaysh al-Mahdi militia in the town of al-Qurnah, 60km north of al-Basrah from 9pm Sunday night to 5am Monday morning.

Yaqen reported a source in the al-Basrah government police as saying that one person was killed and one Iraqi policeman wounded in the fighting.

Meanwhile, a source in the al-Basrah police reported that Adnan al-Asadi, the Deputy Minister of the Interior and Major General ‘Abd al-Karim Khalaf, the Director of the Operations Center in the Ministery arrived on Sunday in the city. At the same time large numbers of Iraqi regime troops also poured into al-Basrah from the north and numerous American military planes landed at the city airport.

Then, in a 12:45pm dispatch, Yaqen reported that the US-installed Prime Minister of Iraq, Nuri al-Maliki, had arrived in al-Basrah on an “inspection tour.” Columns of armored vehicles and troop transports were arriving in the southern city amid reports in the British press that the US had been calling on the British occupation authorities to reverse their departure from Iraq and boost the British presence in the southern part of the country.

Sources:

http://www.iraq-amsi.org/news.php?action=view&id=23590&89617a4c0bc5c2c52a89a7c04e6c1018

http://www.iraq-amsi.org/news.php?action=view&id=23587&aca77b3c01216d0af95590716af1cd07

http://www.iraq-amsi.org/news.php?action=view&id=23586&144b7e83a768f8c4400f9ed6a9670bf7

http://www.iraq-amsi.org/news.php?action=view&id=23583&8465fe3a2e8f4232e33082bd9483f369

http://www.iraq-amsi.org/news.php?action=view&id=23582&d10eca16510a6457d139d4842e584ace

http://www.iraq-amsi.org/news.php?action=view&id=23581&3159a3f05010d3b29a9a00cccd30e659

http://www.arabic.xinhuanet.com/arabic/2008-03/24/content_602526.htm

http://www.arabic.xinhuanet.com/arabic/2008-03/24/content_602510.htm

http://www.arabic.xinhuanet.com/arabic/2008-03/24/content_602505.htm

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http://www.arabic.xinhuanet.com/arabic/2008-03/24/content_602382.htm