Iraq Sees Violence Across the Country

Aljazeera (Qatar) 7aug2005

Fighters have killed at least 35 people in a series of attacks throughout Iraq, while clashes between police and protesters in a poor southern Shia town added to the day's death toll, security officials say.

Seven Iraqi soldiers were killed and 17 wounded when a bomber blew up a truck at the entrance to an Iraqi army headquarters in central Tikrit, 180km north of Baghdad, an Iraqi army officer said.

Three other Iraqi soldiers were killed when armed men attacked their patrol in south Baghdad, while two other people working in the oil ministry were also shot dead in southeast Baghdad.

Samawa protest

In Samawa, at least one civilian was killed and 44 wounded as demonstrators clashed with police during a protest about the lack of jobs and public services in the southern Shia town rife with unemployment, medical sources said.

About 1000 protestors gathered outside local government headquarters in Samawa, 270km southeast of Baghdad. Violence erupted when the crowd started throwing stones at the building.

Samawa is the major urban centre in the area of operations for Japan's military contingent in Iraq.

Two people were killed in Baquba when a roadside bomb targeting a police patrol exploded in the town centre.

Seven Iraqis were killed at Al-Sharqat, 300km north of Baghdad when their bus hit a roadside bomb. The dead included three children.

Baghdad shooting

In Baghdad, three civilians were shot dead when unknown armed men opened fire in an eastern quarter of the city.

Two civilians were also killed in a drive-by shooting in Latifiyah, 40km south of Baghdad.

Nine other people were killed in separate attacks around the country.

Marine killed

The US military also announced on Sunday that a marine had been killed in a car bombing in a village west of Baghdad on Saturday.

The soldier, assigned to Regimental Combat Team 8, 2nd Marine Division, was killed in Amiriyah, just south of Falluja, the statement said.

The marine's name was not released. The death brings to at least 30 the number of American service members to die in Iraq since the beginning of this month.

AFP

source: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6C18E4AC-F519-44E0-8B53-5A78E3C09042.htm 7aug2005

Police, protesters clash in Iraqi town

Aljazeera (Qatar) 7aug2005

About 1000 protesters have clashed with Iraqi police in the town of Samawa, south of Baghdad, leaving at least one person dead and about 60 others injured, police say.

The protest on Sunday was over the poor state of water and power supplies.

Witnesses said police opened fire on the crowd.

At least one person was killed and 46 civilians injured in the fighting, said Captain Hussein Manwar. Thirteen police officers were injured, he said.

Witnesses said the demonstration in front of the governor's offices began peacefully, but when it grew larger, government security guards fired shots into the air to disperse the crowd.

Clashes with police began after demonstrators threw rocks and attacked a police vehicle, setting it on fire, witnesses said.

Iraq's new Shia-led government took power in January elections promising to end violence and restore public services. But frustrations are running high with electricity shortages and high unemployment.

Samawah, 370km southeast of Baghdad, is where about 600 Japanese troops are based.

They have been involved in a series of reconstruction efforts since arriving in the area in January 2004, including paving roads, rebuilding schools and providing hospitals with medical supplies and equipment.

Troops killed

Elsewhere, a roadside bomb killed two US soldiers and injured three others in central Iraq, while in southern Baghdad three Iraqi soldiers were killed.

A US patrol with Task Force Liberty was hit at about 6pm on Saturday in the city of Samarra, about 95km north of Baghdad, the US military said.

All the soldiers were transported to a medical facility, where two of them died from wounds suffered in the attack, a statement said.

On Sunday, three Iraqi soldiers were killed in a drive-by shooting in southern Baghdad, hospital officials said.

The soldiers, who were in civilian clothing, were gunned down as they were heading to work, said Dr Muhammad Jawad of Yarmuk hospital.

A fourth soldier was injured in the morning attack in the southern neighbourhood of Saydida, he added.

Officials shot dead

Also on Sunday, armed men killed two employees of Iraq's Ministry of Oil and wounded two others, police said.

The assailants opened fire on their car in the New Baghdad district of the capital.

Armed groups have assassinated scores of government officials and ministry employees in an effort to topple the fledgling government.

They also frequently blow up pipelines, depriving the government of millions of dollars of crude oil revenues.

US troop reduction

Meanwhile, in a classified briefing to senior Pentagon officials last month, the top American commander in the Middle East outlined a plan that would gradually reduce US forces in Iraq by perhaps 20,000 to 30,000 troops by next spring, The New York Times reported on its website late on Saturday.

Citing unnamed senior military officers and Defence Department officials, the newspaper said the assessment by General John Abizaid, head of the US Central Command, followed a statement made last week by the top American soldier in Iraq, General George Casey.

Casey said the Pentagon could make "some fairly substantial reductions" in troops by next spring and summer, if the political process in Iraq remained on track and Iraqi forces assumed more responsibility for securing the country.

Together, the generals' appraisals offer some of the most concrete indications yet that the Pentagon is moving towards reducing US forces in Iraq, the report said.

They also reflect the Bush administration's growing concerns over how the country's involvement in Iraq is influencing domestic considerations.

Increase before polls

In his assessment, given as part of a larger regional analysis, Abizaid also warned that it was possible that the Pentagon might have to keep the current levels of about 138,000 American soldiers in Iraq throughout 2006 if security and political trends were unfavourable for a withdrawal, The Times said.

The number of soldiers will temporarily increase this December to provide security for Iraqi elections.

And some troops leaving Iraq could be held in Kuwait as a reserve force, the paper added.

It said senior administration and Pentagon officials, as well as political leaders in both parties, say there is mounting anxiety over the $5-billion-a-month cost of the war.

There are also concerns about an overtaxed military, dismal recruiting in the army and national guard, dwindling public support for the operation, and a steadily growing number of casualties.

Agencies

source: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8383D78D-6FF6-496F-9A60-977ED3698971.htm 7aug2005

Iraq's Kurds to insist on federalism

Aljazeera (Qatar) 7aug2005

Iraq's leaders will be attempting to break the deadlock on a new draft constitution at a national conference amid signs that Iraq's Kurds are unwilling to compromise on their demands for autonomy.

Iraqi Kurds have rejected suggestions the country should be proclaimed an Islamic state in the new constitution and refused to compromise on the incorporation of oil-rich Kirkuk into their autonomous northern region.

Massoud Barzani, the president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan, assured Kurdish MPs that he would insist on federalism and retaining the Kurdish Peshmerga militia when he meets Iraqi leaders to discuss the constitution on Sunday in Baghdad.

Identity

"We will not accept that Iraq's identity is Islamic," Barzani told the autonomous Kurdistan parliament in Arbil on Saturday. He also rejected suggestions that Iraq be termed an Arab nation.

"Let Arab Iraq be part of the Arab nation - we are not," the Kurdish leader said.

"This is a golden chance for Kurds and Kurdistan - if we don't do what is important for Kurdistan, there will be no second chance. We will not make our final decision in Baghdad, the Kurdish parliament will decide," he said.

Autonomy demands

Iraqi Kurds, who number about 4.5 million, want a constitution that will guarantee federalism and preserve their region's autonomy.

Barzani also insisted his region would retain the Peshmerga, despite calls by Baghdad that they be incorporated into the national army.

The emergency meeting of the Kurdish parliament had prompted a two-day postponement of the national conference to break the constitutional deadlock.

The deadlock revolves around federalism, the official languages of the new Iraq, the relation between religion and state, the rights of women and the future of Kirkuk.

"There are many things which need more discussion and dialogue," said the regional parliament's speaker, Adnan Mufti, a senior official in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the political party of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.

Kirkuk

Mufti said the Kurds would be ready to endorse the charter "if everyone thinks like us - that the new constitution should be for all Iraqis".

One potential stumbling block could be the future status of oil-rich Kirkuk, which Kurds want incorporated into their territory.

During the 1980s, former president Saddam Hussein pursued a policy of "Arabisation" in Kirkuk, driving out thousands of Kurds and replacing them with Arabs to consolidate his hold over the city.

Kurds are determined to make good on proposals laid out in the country's interim law, signed in March 2004, that this policy be reversed and Kurds returned to the city.

"We believe the new constitution must uphold [the interim agreements made over Kirkuk] and nothing less - we want normalisation," Mufti said.

The national conference is due to report back by 12 August, and Iraqi leaders have insisted they are on track to complete a final draft for debate by parliament by 15 August ahead of a referendum in mid-October.

The referendum will be followed by nationwide elections in December.

More violence

Meanwhile, about 1000 US marines and Iraqi soldiers combed the areas of Haditha, Haqliniyah and Barwanah in western Iraq, where 40 US soldiers were killed by Iraqi fighters in the past fortnight.

In other violence on Saturday, a British soldier was injured in an attack in the southern city of Basra, London said.

Eight Iraqis were killed and 30 wounded in attacks in Baghdad and the Sunni heartland to the north of the capital.

Also, the US military said one soldier died on Thursday in Mosul.

AFP

source: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6B76E7C6-85E4-4C76-859B-E432B93DD2EC.htm 7aug2005

Iraq Sunnis reject federal proposal

Aljazeera (Qatar) 7aug2005

Sunni members of the committee drafting Iraq's new constitution have rejected Kurdish demands for a federal state, saying it cannot be implemented under foreign military occupation and an unstable security situation.

The proposal came a day before Sunni, Shia and Kurdish political leaders were scheduled to meet to try to thrash out differences on such sensitive issues as Iraq's identity, the role of Islam, federalism and the distribution of wealth to meet the 15 August deadline for parliamentary approval.

The Sunnis said federalism could be implemented in the future when there is a parliament that represents all Iraqis, said member Kamal Hamdan, in reference to the National Assembly that only has 17 Sunni Arab members of the 275 legislators.

"The proposal rejects federalism at the present time because it is difficult to implement it when the country is occupied and the security situation is unstable," Hamdan said.

Most Kurds and some Shia are for federalism, but Sunnis have been against it from the beginning, fearing it will lead to dividing the country.

Rights

The Sunni proposal came two days after Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani said "the Kurdish people have the right to secede".

Saturday's move by Sunni Arabs to keep the decision on federalism for the future parliament seems to be because they fear that the predominantly Kurdish and Shia parliament can approve it easily.

Sunni Arabs, many of whom boycotted the 30 January general elections after calls by some of their leaders and threats by fighters, are expected to participate in bigger numbers on the 15 December elections.

Humam Hammoudi, chairman of the 71-member committee drafting the constitution, had called political leaders from the Kurdish, Sunni Arab and Shia communities to meet to see whether they can forge compromises to finish the document by the 15 August deadline.

Hamdan said the Sunni proposal suggests decentralised administrations in each province that work closely with the central government in Baghdad.

He added that the northern Kurdish provinces of Irbil, Sulaimaniyah and Dahuk continue running their affairs as they have since 1991, when they established an autonomous region.

AP

source: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3E8A2595-59FE-4A6E-B60E-A8E03957BE8A.htm 7aug2005

US troops hunt fighters in west Iraq

Aljazeera (Qatar) 7aug2005

US and Iraqi soldiers are being deployed in the Euphrates valley to sweep fighters out of western Iraq as the top Shia cleric agreed to federalism, key to cutting a deal on a new constitution.

At least 1000 marines and Iraqi soldiers spearheaded operation Quick Strike, the US military said, in the regions of Haditha, Haqliniyah and Barwanah in western Iraq, where US forces have suffered heavy casualties.

About 40 US soldiers have been killed in western Iraq in the past 10 days, including 14 in a roadside bombing near Haditha, a town 270km northwest of Baghdad.

The military said the operation was an attempt to "disrupt insurgents and foreign terrorists' presence in these regions".

On Friday, a spokesperson said recent intelligence indicated that fighters were operating in these areas, adding: "This morning, Iraqi forces directed an air strike on insurgents hiding in buildings outside of Haqliniyah."

Al-Sistani's support

Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said the leading Shia cleric Ayat Allah Ali Sistani had expressed willingness for a federal constitution.

Sistani does not disagree with the principle of federalism if the Iraqi people choose it," al-Jaafari said after meeting the reclusive cleric at his home in the southern town of Najaf.

The comments could boost hopes of agreement among members of a committee tasked with drafting the constitution by a 15 August deadline.

Aljazeera has learned that al-Jaafari also met with Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Najaf to discuss the latest on the drafting of the new constitution.

Sources close to al-Sadr said his movement would not directly participate in the political process because of the presence of foreign troops in the country.

Iraq's Kurds, keen to preserve a level of autonomy within their northern territory, are insisting on a federal structure, an issue that has proved divisive for writers of the new post-Saddam constitution.

Many of Iraq's Shia and Sunni Arabs are worried federalism could open the way to a breakup of the country.

Conference discussion

Federalism and some other contentious issues were to be discussed at a national conference of Iraqi leaders on Friday in Baghdad.

But the meeting was postponed by two days because of an emergency meeting on Saturday of the Kurdish autonomous parliament.

Mahmud Othman, a Kurdish member of the constitutional committee, said the delay was to permit the Kurdish parliament to discuss the charter.

"We are worried about comments from some on the committee," said Adnan Mufti, head of the Kurdish regional parliament and senior official of Talabani's party.

He said the Kurds were ready to endorse the charter "if all parties understand a constitution should be based on rights for all Iraqis".

He added: "There is no way to have a unified Iraq without federalism."

Key issues

Other issues to be resolved include official languages, the relation between religion and state, the rights of women and the question of the oil centre of Kirkuk, which Kurds want included in their own autonomous region.

Iraqi leaders have pledged to draft the new basic law by 15 August ahead of a referendum in mid-October, to be followed by national elections in December and the possible formation of a new government by early 2006.

The conference is to report back by 12 August, and any matters still unresolved will be put to parliament for decision by a majority vote.

Fresh attacks

At least four Iraqis, including two soldiers and a police officer, were killed and 11 wounded in a spate of attacks on Saturday, one of them targeting a US patrol in Baghdad, security sources said.

Clashes between fighters and security forces in the central city of Samarra left two Iraqi soldiers dead and four civilians wounded, Iraqi army Captain Salam Hadi said.

A civilian was also killed and three more wounded when a shell struck their home in the city, which was recaptured from fighters in a major US-backed offensive late last year, police said.

West of Samarra, the corpses of two Iraqi soldiers were found at the side of a road, the Iraqi army said.

In Baquba, one police officer was killed and another wounded by unknown gunmen while security forces conducted raids in a district where several killings had taken place, police Lieutenant-Colonel Khaled Walid said.

In the capital, three Iraqi civilians were wounded when a bomber blew himself up in a vehicle as a US army patrol was passing, an interior ministry spokesman said.

The attack took place on a road in the southeast of the city but there were no immediate reports of any US casualties.

Aljazeera + Agencies

source: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/2F57915B-65E6-4B10-8B3D-1B222488BCE8.htm 7aug2005