"Iranian exiles blame Iraqis for camp death" Associated Press, December 25, 2012
BAGHDAD — An Iranian exile group representing residents of a refugee camp outside Baghdad alleged Monday that one of its members died after Iraqi authorities prevented him from being hospitalized last month.
The allegation is the latest against the Iraqi government by the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran over what it sees as poor treatment at two refugee camps in Iraq.
Palestinians plead for such coverage in my jewsmedia.
Palestinians plead for such coverage in my jewsmedia.
Members of the group’s Mujahedeen-e-Khalq militant wing, which until recently was labeled a terror organization by Washington, began moving from their longtime home in northeast Iraq to a camp near the capital’s airport this year.
They have very powerful friends.
The new camp is meant to be a temporary way station while the United Nations works to resettle the residents abroad....
Those who harbor terrorists or help them find apartments....
They have very powerful friends.
The new camp is meant to be a temporary way station while the United Nations works to resettle the residents abroad....
Those who harbor terrorists or help them find apartments....
--more--"
"Shi'ite militant threatens Iranian exiles in Iraq" by Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Adam Schreck | Associated Press, February 27, 2013
BAGHDAD — The head of a new Shi’ite militant group in Iraq on Tuesday threatened to carry out more attacks on a camp for Iranian exiles that was struck by dozens of rockets and mortar shells earlier this month.
Seven people were killed in the Feb. 9 attack on the camp near Baghdad airport that houses members of Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, or MEK, the militant wing of a Paris-based Iranian opposition group. Iraq’s government, which maintains friendly ties with Tehran, considers the MEK a terrorist group and wants its members out of country.
Comments on Tuesday from Wathiq al-Batat suggest he shares the government’s goal, even if he disagrees with its handling of the exiles. Batat said his Mukhtar Army group was behind the attack and promised more attacks.
‘‘It is time for the people of the MEK to leave Iraq. We have demanded that the government kick the group out of the country, but the Iraqi government did not respond positively to our demand,’’ he said. ‘‘We will strike them again until they leave.’’
It was not possible to confirm Batat’s claim that his group was behind the attacks, but Iraqi officials and MEK members say they take his threats seriously. No other groups have taken responsibility.
‘‘Mukhtar Army’’ appeared on threatening leaflets delivered to Sunni households in a Baghdad neighborhood last week warning residents to leave or face grave consequences.
--more--"
Time to escape then:
"Officials say escaped Al Qaeda-linked militants had help from inside
Yeah, we never should have left.
"Deadly Iraq prison raids free hundreds of inmates" Associated Press, July 23, 2013
BAGHDAD — Iraqi security forces locked down areas around the infamous Abu Ghraib prison and another high-security detention facility on Baghdad’s outskirts Monday to hunt for escaped inmates and militants after daring insurgent assaults set hundreds of detainees free.
The carefully orchestrated late-night attacks killed dozens Sunday, including at least 25 members of the Iraqi security forces. Insurgents fired dozens of mortar shells and detonated suicide and car bombs, drawing Iraqi forces into firefights that lasted more than an hour.
Attacks elsewhere claimed at least 18 more lives on Monday, many of them soldiers, highlighting the rapidly deteriorating security conditions across Iraq.
The prisons in Abu Ghraib and Taji house thousands of prisoners, including convicted Al Qaeda militants. Exactly one year ago, Al Qaeda’s Iraq arm launched a campaign called ‘‘Breaking the Walls’’ that made freeing its imprisoned members a top priority.
Oh, SAME TIME LAST YEAR for the Al-CIA-Duh campaign?
A surge of violence across Iraq has killed more than 3,000 people since the start of April, and the assaults on the prisons laid bare the degree to which security has eroded in the country in recent months.
The numbers become numbingly mind-boggling at some point.
The rise in bloodshed is intensifying fears of a return to the widespread sectarian killing that pushed the country to the brink of civil war after the 2003 US-led invasion.
Several officials, including lawmakers on Parliament’s security and defense committee, said more than 500 inmates managed to escape from Abu Ghraib. There were no immediate reports of escapes from Taji.
Abu Ghraib? Isn't that where the U.S. tortured Iraqis?
--more--"
"Al Qaeda claims responsibility for pair of prison breaks" by Rick Gladstone and Duraid Adnan | New York Times, July 24, 2013
BAGHDAD — Al Qaeda’s Iraq affiliate asserted responsibility Tuesday for brazen assaults on two prisons on the outskirts of Baghdad two days earlier that freed hundreds of inmates, including many of its own members, in one of the most serious breaches of security since the US military withdrawal from the country more than two years ago.
Al-CIA-Duh said that, huh?
In a statement posted on jihadist websites titled “Conquering the Tyrants,” the Qaeda branch in Iraq, a largely homegrown organization of Sunni militant extremists, said the assaults on the two high-security prisons, Taji and Abu Ghraib, had been planned for months.
The audacity of the assaults underscored the deterioration of Iraq’s stability, punctuated recently by an almost daily litany of car bombings and other violence tied to a resurrection of sectarian tensions in the country, largely between the majority Shi’ites and minority Sunnis.
The Qaeda claim came as an emergency committee formed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to investigate the prison breaks said in a statement that its initial findings suggested that “some of the guards were involved with the terrorist attackers.”
There were conflicting accounts by Al Qaeda and Iraqi security officials on the number of escapees and casualties, but there appeared to be little dispute that hundreds of Al Qaeda militants, some of whom had been captured by the Americans during the war, were now on the loose.
Al Qaeda said 500 prisoners had escaped, all of them mujahedeen, or holy warriors. Iraqi officials said 800 prisoners had fled from Abu Ghraib but 400 had been recaptured or killed, implying that at least 400 were at large.
I thought Ghraib was to be closed afters the horrors of Saddam and the U.S.
Maliki’s committee said no prisoners had escaped from Taji and an unspecified number had been killed there.
Al Qaeda’s account also asserted that its fighters had killed at least 120 Iraqi security guards in the assaults, while Iraqi Interior Ministry officials said 20 had been killed.
--more--"
Still stuck in Iraq:
"Six killed in attack on Iranian refugees in Iraq" by Sinan Salaheddin | Associated Press, February 10, 2013
BAGHDAD — Rockets and mortar rounds struck a refugee camp for Iranian exiles next to Baghdad’s international airport before dawn Saturday, killing six people and wounding about 40, police and UN officials said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack. He urged Iraqi officials to investigate and bring the attackers to justice, noting that the government is responsible for the safety of the camp residents.
Hmmmmm.
The government said it launched an investigation, but that there was little it could do to shield the camp, which is home to about 3,100 people, from rocket attacks. It asked the international community to speed up the resettlement of the refugees.
Iran doesn't want them?
The camp houses members of Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, or MEK, the militant wing of a Paris-based Iranian opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran. Iraq’s Shi’ite-led pro-Iranian government considers MEK a terrorist group and is eager to have it out of the country.
The refugee camp, located in a former American military base known as Camp Liberty, is meant to be a temporary way station while the United Nations works to find host countries for the refugees. They are unlikely to return to Iran because of their opposition to the regime....
Meaning Iran won't take them back. They don't want them inside the country.
Before being moved to the Baghdad area camp, members of the MEK lived in another camp, called Ashraf, in northeastern Iraq. Camp Ashraf was twice raided by Iraqi security forces trying to impose control, leaving more than three dozen people dead.
Iraq’s government says MEK members are living in Iraq illegally....
--more--"
"Iranian exile camp in Iraq hit by violence; Dissidents blame security forces" by Adam Schreck | Associated Press, September 02, 2013
BAGHDAD — Deadly violence erupted at a disputed Iranian exile camp inside Iraq early Sunday, leaving international observers scrambling to determine the cause of the bloodshed and the number of casualties.
Provincial police said 24 people in Camp Ashraf were killed, but representatives of the group, known as Mujahedeen Khalq, or the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran, said more than 50 people had been killed.
The dissidents accused the Iraqi government of the killings. Baghdad said an internal dispute was to blame.
The United Nations mission to Iraq, which has been closely involved in trying to find a viable long-term solution for dissidents, said it did not have a clear picture what happened.
‘‘The only thing we can confirm is there are a lot of casualties,’’ said Eliana Nabaa, the spokeswoman for the UN mission to Iraq. ‘‘How, why, when? It’s difficult to assess.’’ Camp Ashraf, a Saddam Hussein-era center northeast of Baghdad, had been home to about 100 members of the MEK before Sunday’s events. It once held about 3,000 of the group’s followers.
The MEK opposes Iran’s clerical regime and until last year was labeled a terrorist group by the United States. Thousands of other MEK members who had lived in Camp Ashraf agreed to move to a Baghdad-area camp last year. They remain in a country that does not want them as a resettlement abroad drags on.
A spokesman for the MEK’s parent group, the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran, alleged that those killed died in a raid launched by Iraqi security forces early Sunday. The spokesman, Shahin Gobadi, said some of those killed were found with hands cuffed behind their backs.
Gobadi said that 52 people inside the camp were killed, and he provided photos allegedly from the scene that showed several people that appeared to have been killed with gunshots. It was not possible to independently verify the authenticity of the photos.
Iraqi officials offered conflicting accounts.
Ali al-Moussawi, a spokesman for Iraq’s prime minister, said a preliminary inquiry suggests several camp residents died as a result of infighting inside the facility. He denied that Iraqi forces were involved in the violence, and said authorities are still trying to determine the number of casualties.
Gobadi dismissed the government spokesman’s claim as ‘‘absolute lies.’’
Major General Jamil al-Shimari, a provincial police chief who oversees the external protection of the camp, reported at least 24 people killed.
Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard welcomed news of the MEK members’ deaths, which it called ‘‘divine revenge.’’
--more--"
"Iraq promises inquiry on Iranian exile killings" by Adam Schreck | Associated Press, September 03, 2013
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s prime minister ordered an investigation Monday into the slaying of half of the roughly 100 remaining residents at an Iranian dissident camp north of Baghdad, where a UN team got its first look at the aftermath of the large-scale bloodshed.
The promised inquiry will do little to appease backers of the more than 3,000 exiles left inside Iraq who believe they remain targets in a country whose government wants them gone.
Supporters of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq members living at Camp Ashraf say the Saddam Hussein-era facility came under attack Sunday from Iraqi forces. Iraqi officials have denied involvement, with some suggesting there was an internal dispute at the camp.
Iraqi police entered the camp Monday and began to investigate, said Jamil al-Shimari, the police chief of Diyala province, where the camp is located. He confirmed 52 people had been killed inside the camp, the first time an Iraqi official has provided a death toll that matched that given by representatives for the exiles.
In a separate development Monday, authorities said a prominent militia leader opposed to Al Qaeda escaped an assassination attempt in Baghdad Monday that killed six of his body guards and one civilian and wounded eight people, authorities said. Two suicide bombers attacked the motorcade of Wisam al-Hardan, the militia leader, near his house in Baghdad’s western Harthiyah neighborhood.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s office said a special committee is being set up to investigate what happened at Camp Ashraf, about 60 miles northeast of the Iraqi capital.
In a statement, it said the Iraqi government is committed to ensuring the safety of people living within its borders. But the terse remarks also made clear Baghdad’s impatience with resolving the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq issue, stressing ‘‘the necessity of transferring the MEK members who are staying in Iraq illegally.’’
--more--"
Related:
"Iranians in camp set to be relocated
BAGHDAD — Iraqi authorities plan to relocate the remaining residents of a camp with dozens of Iranian exiles where 52 people were killed last week, the United Nations mission to the country said. The Shi’ite-led Iraqi government long has wanted to remove the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq dissident group from Camp Ashraf, 60 miles northeast of the Iraqi capital, but the exiles have been reluctant to go (AP)."
"Shi'ite militant threatens Iranian exiles in Iraq" by Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Adam Schreck | Associated Press, February 27, 2013
BAGHDAD — The head of a new Shi’ite militant group in Iraq on Tuesday threatened to carry out more attacks on a camp for Iranian exiles that was struck by dozens of rockets and mortar shells earlier this month.
Seven people were killed in the Feb. 9 attack on the camp near Baghdad airport that houses members of Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, or MEK, the militant wing of a Paris-based Iranian opposition group. Iraq’s government, which maintains friendly ties with Tehran, considers the MEK a terrorist group and wants its members out of country.
Comments on Tuesday from Wathiq al-Batat suggest he shares the government’s goal, even if he disagrees with its handling of the exiles. Batat said his Mukhtar Army group was behind the attack and promised more attacks.
‘‘It is time for the people of the MEK to leave Iraq. We have demanded that the government kick the group out of the country, but the Iraqi government did not respond positively to our demand,’’ he said. ‘‘We will strike them again until they leave.’’
It was not possible to confirm Batat’s claim that his group was behind the attacks, but Iraqi officials and MEK members say they take his threats seriously. No other groups have taken responsibility.
‘‘Mukhtar Army’’ appeared on threatening leaflets delivered to Sunni households in a Baghdad neighborhood last week warning residents to leave or face grave consequences.
--more--"
Time to escape then:
"Officials say escaped Al Qaeda-linked militants had help from inside
BAGHDAD — Iraqi officials said Saturday that a jailbreak in which Al Qaeda-linked militants escaped death row had help from inside, further tarnishing state authority and raising new concerns over corruption. A day after the escape in Tikrit, scores of prisoners were still at large. The Interior Ministry said there had been ‘‘clear collusion’’ between some guards and inmates in the Tasfirat prison. The escape occurred after a riot and gunfight that left 20 dead, including 16 inmates and four guards (AP)."
It's the whole 9/11 narrative in Iraqi scale.
Now they gotta smoke out those terrerists!
"Wave of bombings kills 26 across Iraq; Death toll for month near 200" by Lara Jakes | Associated Press, October 01, 2012
BAGHDAD — A series of coordinated bombings shattered Shi’ite neighborhoods and struck at Iraqi security forces Sunday, killing at least 26 in attacks that one official described as a rallying call by Al Qaeda just days after dozens of militants escaped from prison.
The blasts brought September’s death toll from sectarian violence to nearly 200 people — an above-average monthly total for the period since US troops left last year. The steady pace of attacks has worked to undermine confidence in the government.
And who benefits? I'm smelling a Saudi-$upported plot in money and manpower for other certain interests as well.
‘‘The people are fed up with the killings in Iraqi cities,’’ said Ammar Abbas, 45, a Shi’ite and government employee who lives in a Baghdad neighborhood near one of the bombings. ‘‘The government officials should feel shame for letting their people die at the hands of terrorists.’’
Yeah, strange how most people feel that way.
Police said the wave of explosions stretched from the restive city of Kirkuk in the north to the southern Shi’ite town of Kut, wounding at least 94 people. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but bombings are a hallmark of Al Qaeda in Iraq, the Sunni insurgency that has been struggling for years to goad Shi’ite militias back toward civil war.
YUP!
A key Shi’ite lawmaker said the bombings probably sought to galvanize Al Qaeda following a prison break last Friday in Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit.
Scores of inmates escaped — including as many as 47 convicted Al Qaeda militants — in a massive security lapse that the government acknowledged had help from inside. Many of the fugitives remain at large.
‘‘Al Qaeda leaders have no intention of leaving this country or letting Iraqis live in peace,’’ said Hakim al-Zamili, a Shi’ite member of Parliament’s security committee. ‘‘The jailbreak in Tikrit has boosted Al Qaeda’s morale in Iraq and thus we should expect more attacks in the near future.’’
‘‘The situation in Iraq is still unstable,’’ Zamili added. ‘‘And repetition of such attacks shows that our security forces are still unqualified to deal with the terrorists.’’
Spokesmen for the government and Baghdad’s military command could not immediately be reached for comment.
Sunday’s deadliest attack struck the town of Taji, a former Al Qaeda stronghold just north of Baghdad. Police said three explosive-rigged cars in a Shi’ite neighborhood went off within minutes of each other, killing eight and wounding 28 in back-to-back blasts that began around 7:15 a.m.
At almost the same time, in Baghdad, police said a suicide bomber set off his explosives-packed car in the northwest Shi’ite neighborhood of Shula. One person was killed and seven wounded. Police could not immediately identify the target.
Another suicide bomber drove a minibus into a security checkpoint in Kut, 100 miles southeast of Baghdad. Three police officers were killed and five wounded.
A military patrol hit a roadside bomb in Tarmiyah, about an hour north of Baghdad, killing two soldiers and wounding six passersby, officials said.
And car bombs exploded outside Kirkuk, the northeastern towns of Balad Ruz and Khan Bani Saad in Diyala Province, and in the town of Madain outside Baghdad. In all, seven people were killed.
Also in Baghdad, a double car bomb struck the mostly Shi’ite neighborhood of Karradah. The first explosion came as a security patrol passed, killing a police officer and a bystander, and wounding eight other people.
As emergency responders rushed to the scene, the second car blew up, killing three passersby and injuring 12, according to officials.
Five dead on that tricky little hallmark of Al-CIA-Duh?"
Earlier this summer, the Iraqi wing of Al Qaeda, also called the Islamic State of Iraq, launched a campaign dubbed ‘‘Breaking the Walls,’’ which aimed at retaking strongholds from which it was driven by the American military after sectarian fighting peaked in 2007.
The insurgent group has for years had an uneasy relationship with the global terror network’s leadership.
Pfft!
It's the whole 9/11 narrative in Iraqi scale.
Now they gotta smoke out those terrerists!
"Wave of bombings kills 26 across Iraq; Death toll for month near 200" by Lara Jakes | Associated Press, October 01, 2012
BAGHDAD — A series of coordinated bombings shattered Shi’ite neighborhoods and struck at Iraqi security forces Sunday, killing at least 26 in attacks that one official described as a rallying call by Al Qaeda just days after dozens of militants escaped from prison.
The blasts brought September’s death toll from sectarian violence to nearly 200 people — an above-average monthly total for the period since US troops left last year. The steady pace of attacks has worked to undermine confidence in the government.
And who benefits? I'm smelling a Saudi-$upported plot in money and manpower for other certain interests as well.
‘‘The people are fed up with the killings in Iraqi cities,’’ said Ammar Abbas, 45, a Shi’ite and government employee who lives in a Baghdad neighborhood near one of the bombings. ‘‘The government officials should feel shame for letting their people die at the hands of terrorists.’’
Yeah, strange how most people feel that way.
Police said the wave of explosions stretched from the restive city of Kirkuk in the north to the southern Shi’ite town of Kut, wounding at least 94 people. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but bombings are a hallmark of Al Qaeda in Iraq, the Sunni insurgency that has been struggling for years to goad Shi’ite militias back toward civil war.
YUP!
A key Shi’ite lawmaker said the bombings probably sought to galvanize Al Qaeda following a prison break last Friday in Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit.
Scores of inmates escaped — including as many as 47 convicted Al Qaeda militants — in a massive security lapse that the government acknowledged had help from inside. Many of the fugitives remain at large.
‘‘Al Qaeda leaders have no intention of leaving this country or letting Iraqis live in peace,’’ said Hakim al-Zamili, a Shi’ite member of Parliament’s security committee. ‘‘The jailbreak in Tikrit has boosted Al Qaeda’s morale in Iraq and thus we should expect more attacks in the near future.’’
‘‘The situation in Iraq is still unstable,’’ Zamili added. ‘‘And repetition of such attacks shows that our security forces are still unqualified to deal with the terrorists.’’
Spokesmen for the government and Baghdad’s military command could not immediately be reached for comment.
Sunday’s deadliest attack struck the town of Taji, a former Al Qaeda stronghold just north of Baghdad. Police said three explosive-rigged cars in a Shi’ite neighborhood went off within minutes of each other, killing eight and wounding 28 in back-to-back blasts that began around 7:15 a.m.
At almost the same time, in Baghdad, police said a suicide bomber set off his explosives-packed car in the northwest Shi’ite neighborhood of Shula. One person was killed and seven wounded. Police could not immediately identify the target.
Another suicide bomber drove a minibus into a security checkpoint in Kut, 100 miles southeast of Baghdad. Three police officers were killed and five wounded.
A military patrol hit a roadside bomb in Tarmiyah, about an hour north of Baghdad, killing two soldiers and wounding six passersby, officials said.
And car bombs exploded outside Kirkuk, the northeastern towns of Balad Ruz and Khan Bani Saad in Diyala Province, and in the town of Madain outside Baghdad. In all, seven people were killed.
Also in Baghdad, a double car bomb struck the mostly Shi’ite neighborhood of Karradah. The first explosion came as a security patrol passed, killing a police officer and a bystander, and wounding eight other people.
As emergency responders rushed to the scene, the second car blew up, killing three passersby and injuring 12, according to officials.
Five dead on that tricky little hallmark of Al-CIA-Duh?"
Earlier this summer, the Iraqi wing of Al Qaeda, also called the Islamic State of Iraq, launched a campaign dubbed ‘‘Breaking the Walls,’’ which aimed at retaking strongholds from which it was driven by the American military after sectarian fighting peaked in 2007.
The insurgent group has for years had an uneasy relationship with the global terror network’s leadership.
Pfft!
--more--"
"Iraqi terrorists escape from prison" By Sameer N. Yacoub | Associated Press, January 12, 2013
BAGHDAD — A dozen prisoners including Al Qaeda-linked death row inmates escaped from a prison near Baghdad on Friday, the latest sign that Iraq still struggles with basic law and order more than a year after American troops withdrew, officials said.
The brazen prison break happened hours before thousands of mostly Sunni protesters rallied in the capital and other parts of the country, keeping pressure on the Iraqi government. Among the demands of the three-week wave of protests are the release of detainees held in Iraqi jails and changes to a tough counterterrorism law that Sunnis believe unfairly targets their sect.
Saudis behind those agenda-pushing protests that got way too much coverage in my jewspaper.
Saudis behind those agenda-pushing protests that got way too much coverage in my jewspaper.
The prisoners managed to escape through windows in their cells early in the morning and then seized the weapons of guards manning two observation towers, according to a police official.
He said all of the prisoners had been convicted on terrorism charges and that some were awaiting execution.
A guard chief in Taji prison confirmed the account. He said a number of guards were arrested and are being questioned to see if they helped the prisoners escape.
Again?
Again?
Security forces launched a manhunt to arrest the escapees. He and the police official agreed to discuss the incident on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to media.
Jailbreaks are not uncommon in Iraq. In September, scores of inmates escaped following clashes at a prison in Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit that left 12 people, including 10 guards, dead. The government acknowledged the inmates in that escape had help from the inside.
Meanwhile, several thousand demonstrators took to the streets for the third Friday in a row in the western province of Anbar and in other predominantly Sunni parts of the country.
The protests began last month following the arrests of bodyguards assigned to Finance Minister Rafia al-Issawi, one of the central government’s most senior Sunni officials.
He has since become a rallying point for the demonstrators, who are angry over perceived second-class treatment by the Shi’ite-led government.
Issawi roused a crowd of several hundred people gathered at a Baghdad mosque after midday prayers Friday, saying the demonstrations ‘‘will be able to shake any throne.’’
Without naming Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki or other officials directly, he warned that anyone who threatens the protesters could face the same downfall as Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president who was pushed from power by the Arab Spring protests in 2011.
That means the Iraqi Army will be taking over at the behest of Amerika.
That means the Iraqi Army will be taking over at the behest of Amerika.
"Iraq freeing hundreds of inmates; Government offers concession as Sunnis protest" by Adam Schreck | Associated Press, January 15, 2013
BAGHDAD — Iraq has begun setting free hundreds of inmates, officials said Monday, offering a concession to Sunnis demonstrating against the Shi’ite-led government.
Protesters from Iraq’s Sunni minority have been rallying for more than three weeks against what they see as unfair treatment by the government.
The release of detainees has been one of their main demands. Some of those freed Monday came from areas of anti-government unrest.
The size and staying power of the latest rallies present a growing challenge to the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Many demonstrators are tapping into Arab Spring sentiments by demanding the downfall of the government.
Once you decode the intelligence agency operation that is an Amerikan jewspaper it is easy to see the agenda at work.
The unrest is raising fears of an upsurge in sectarian bloodshed.
I no longer buy the Zionist Jew narrative of sectarianism no matter where it is found, and certainly not among Muslims who respect all religions have have intermarried for centuries. Ever notice the violent sectarianism seems to follow USraeli penetration?
Violence has dropped overall in Iraq since the nation neared a civil war several years ago, but attacks still happen frequently, usually in the form of Sunni militants targeting Shi’ites or security forces.
Once you decode the intelligence agency operation that is an Amerikan jewspaper it is easy to see the agenda at work.
The unrest is raising fears of an upsurge in sectarian bloodshed.
I no longer buy the Zionist Jew narrative of sectarianism no matter where it is found, and certainly not among Muslims who respect all religions have have intermarried for centuries. Ever notice the violent sectarianism seems to follow USraeli penetration?
Violence has dropped overall in Iraq since the nation neared a civil war several years ago, but attacks still happen frequently, usually in the form of Sunni militants targeting Shi’ites or security forces.
Iraqi authorities occasionally free inmates, but the latest move had added significance because of the timing and high-profile nature of the release.
Deputy Prime Minister Hussain al-Shahristani announced the releases at a ceremony at a Baghdad prison attended by dozens of detainees, including some dressed in bright yellow prison jump suits. Those being freed were handed boxed Korans and showered with candy as television cameras rolled.
‘‘I hope that this will be an opportunity for you as Iraqis, who are keen to see the security and safety of the country and the stability of Iraq, to participate with us in spreading the spirit of forgiveness and hope,’’ Shahristani said.
One of the prime minister’s most trusted allies, he oversees a committee, formed this month, charged with looking into protesters’ demands.
He said 335 detainees have gained their freedom in the past week, but he did not give details on their backgrounds or alleged crimes. More will be released in coming days, he said, and he encouraged citizens to come forward with details of detainees they believe are being unfairly held.
Some of those released had finished their sentences but had not been set free because of bureaucratic snags.
--more--"
Related:
"The security breach drew sharp criticism of Iraqi security forces, which have been unable to stabilize the country nearly a year after US troops withdrew. Iraq has been struggling to keep terror suspects behind bars since US forces turned over legal custody of their detainees to the Iraqi government."
"The security breach drew sharp criticism of Iraqi security forces, which have been unable to stabilize the country nearly a year after US troops withdrew. Iraq has been struggling to keep terror suspects behind bars since US forces turned over legal custody of their detainees to the Iraqi government."
Yeah, we never should have left.
"Deadly Iraq prison raids free hundreds of inmates" Associated Press, July 23, 2013
BAGHDAD — Iraqi security forces locked down areas around the infamous Abu Ghraib prison and another high-security detention facility on Baghdad’s outskirts Monday to hunt for escaped inmates and militants after daring insurgent assaults set hundreds of detainees free.
The carefully orchestrated late-night attacks killed dozens Sunday, including at least 25 members of the Iraqi security forces. Insurgents fired dozens of mortar shells and detonated suicide and car bombs, drawing Iraqi forces into firefights that lasted more than an hour.
Attacks elsewhere claimed at least 18 more lives on Monday, many of them soldiers, highlighting the rapidly deteriorating security conditions across Iraq.
The prisons in Abu Ghraib and Taji house thousands of prisoners, including convicted Al Qaeda militants. Exactly one year ago, Al Qaeda’s Iraq arm launched a campaign called ‘‘Breaking the Walls’’ that made freeing its imprisoned members a top priority.
Oh, SAME TIME LAST YEAR for the Al-CIA-Duh campaign?
A surge of violence across Iraq has killed more than 3,000 people since the start of April, and the assaults on the prisons laid bare the degree to which security has eroded in the country in recent months.
The numbers become numbingly mind-boggling at some point.
The rise in bloodshed is intensifying fears of a return to the widespread sectarian killing that pushed the country to the brink of civil war after the 2003 US-led invasion.
Several officials, including lawmakers on Parliament’s security and defense committee, said more than 500 inmates managed to escape from Abu Ghraib. There were no immediate reports of escapes from Taji.
Abu Ghraib? Isn't that where the U.S. tortured Iraqis?
--more--"
"Al Qaeda claims responsibility for pair of prison breaks" by Rick Gladstone and Duraid Adnan | New York Times, July 24, 2013
BAGHDAD — Al Qaeda’s Iraq affiliate asserted responsibility Tuesday for brazen assaults on two prisons on the outskirts of Baghdad two days earlier that freed hundreds of inmates, including many of its own members, in one of the most serious breaches of security since the US military withdrawal from the country more than two years ago.
Al-CIA-Duh said that, huh?
In a statement posted on jihadist websites titled “Conquering the Tyrants,” the Qaeda branch in Iraq, a largely homegrown organization of Sunni militant extremists, said the assaults on the two high-security prisons, Taji and Abu Ghraib, had been planned for months.
The audacity of the assaults underscored the deterioration of Iraq’s stability, punctuated recently by an almost daily litany of car bombings and other violence tied to a resurrection of sectarian tensions in the country, largely between the majority Shi’ites and minority Sunnis.
The Qaeda claim came as an emergency committee formed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to investigate the prison breaks said in a statement that its initial findings suggested that “some of the guards were involved with the terrorist attackers.”
There were conflicting accounts by Al Qaeda and Iraqi security officials on the number of escapees and casualties, but there appeared to be little dispute that hundreds of Al Qaeda militants, some of whom had been captured by the Americans during the war, were now on the loose.
Al Qaeda said 500 prisoners had escaped, all of them mujahedeen, or holy warriors. Iraqi officials said 800 prisoners had fled from Abu Ghraib but 400 had been recaptured or killed, implying that at least 400 were at large.
I thought Ghraib was to be closed afters the horrors of Saddam and the U.S.
Maliki’s committee said no prisoners had escaped from Taji and an unspecified number had been killed there.
Al Qaeda’s account also asserted that its fighters had killed at least 120 Iraqi security guards in the assaults, while Iraqi Interior Ministry officials said 20 had been killed.
--more--"
Still stuck in Iraq:
"Six killed in attack on Iranian refugees in Iraq" by Sinan Salaheddin | Associated Press, February 10, 2013
BAGHDAD — Rockets and mortar rounds struck a refugee camp for Iranian exiles next to Baghdad’s international airport before dawn Saturday, killing six people and wounding about 40, police and UN officials said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack. He urged Iraqi officials to investigate and bring the attackers to justice, noting that the government is responsible for the safety of the camp residents.
Hmmmmm.
The government said it launched an investigation, but that there was little it could do to shield the camp, which is home to about 3,100 people, from rocket attacks. It asked the international community to speed up the resettlement of the refugees.
Iran doesn't want them?
The camp houses members of Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, or MEK, the militant wing of a Paris-based Iranian opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran. Iraq’s Shi’ite-led pro-Iranian government considers MEK a terrorist group and is eager to have it out of the country.
The refugee camp, located in a former American military base known as Camp Liberty, is meant to be a temporary way station while the United Nations works to find host countries for the refugees. They are unlikely to return to Iran because of their opposition to the regime....
Meaning Iran won't take them back. They don't want them inside the country.
Before being moved to the Baghdad area camp, members of the MEK lived in another camp, called Ashraf, in northeastern Iraq. Camp Ashraf was twice raided by Iraqi security forces trying to impose control, leaving more than three dozen people dead.
Iraq’s government says MEK members are living in Iraq illegally....
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"Iranian exile camp in Iraq hit by violence; Dissidents blame security forces" by Adam Schreck | Associated Press, September 02, 2013
BAGHDAD — Deadly violence erupted at a disputed Iranian exile camp inside Iraq early Sunday, leaving international observers scrambling to determine the cause of the bloodshed and the number of casualties.
Provincial police said 24 people in Camp Ashraf were killed, but representatives of the group, known as Mujahedeen Khalq, or the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran, said more than 50 people had been killed.
The dissidents accused the Iraqi government of the killings. Baghdad said an internal dispute was to blame.
The United Nations mission to Iraq, which has been closely involved in trying to find a viable long-term solution for dissidents, said it did not have a clear picture what happened.
‘‘The only thing we can confirm is there are a lot of casualties,’’ said Eliana Nabaa, the spokeswoman for the UN mission to Iraq. ‘‘How, why, when? It’s difficult to assess.’’ Camp Ashraf, a Saddam Hussein-era center northeast of Baghdad, had been home to about 100 members of the MEK before Sunday’s events. It once held about 3,000 of the group’s followers.
The MEK opposes Iran’s clerical regime and until last year was labeled a terrorist group by the United States. Thousands of other MEK members who had lived in Camp Ashraf agreed to move to a Baghdad-area camp last year. They remain in a country that does not want them as a resettlement abroad drags on.
A spokesman for the MEK’s parent group, the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran, alleged that those killed died in a raid launched by Iraqi security forces early Sunday. The spokesman, Shahin Gobadi, said some of those killed were found with hands cuffed behind their backs.
Gobadi said that 52 people inside the camp were killed, and he provided photos allegedly from the scene that showed several people that appeared to have been killed with gunshots. It was not possible to independently verify the authenticity of the photos.
Iraqi officials offered conflicting accounts.
Ali al-Moussawi, a spokesman for Iraq’s prime minister, said a preliminary inquiry suggests several camp residents died as a result of infighting inside the facility. He denied that Iraqi forces were involved in the violence, and said authorities are still trying to determine the number of casualties.
Gobadi dismissed the government spokesman’s claim as ‘‘absolute lies.’’
Major General Jamil al-Shimari, a provincial police chief who oversees the external protection of the camp, reported at least 24 people killed.
Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard welcomed news of the MEK members’ deaths, which it called ‘‘divine revenge.’’
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"Iraq promises inquiry on Iranian exile killings" by Adam Schreck | Associated Press, September 03, 2013
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s prime minister ordered an investigation Monday into the slaying of half of the roughly 100 remaining residents at an Iranian dissident camp north of Baghdad, where a UN team got its first look at the aftermath of the large-scale bloodshed.
The promised inquiry will do little to appease backers of the more than 3,000 exiles left inside Iraq who believe they remain targets in a country whose government wants them gone.
Supporters of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq members living at Camp Ashraf say the Saddam Hussein-era facility came under attack Sunday from Iraqi forces. Iraqi officials have denied involvement, with some suggesting there was an internal dispute at the camp.
Iraqi police entered the camp Monday and began to investigate, said Jamil al-Shimari, the police chief of Diyala province, where the camp is located. He confirmed 52 people had been killed inside the camp, the first time an Iraqi official has provided a death toll that matched that given by representatives for the exiles.
In a separate development Monday, authorities said a prominent militia leader opposed to Al Qaeda escaped an assassination attempt in Baghdad Monday that killed six of his body guards and one civilian and wounded eight people, authorities said. Two suicide bombers attacked the motorcade of Wisam al-Hardan, the militia leader, near his house in Baghdad’s western Harthiyah neighborhood.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s office said a special committee is being set up to investigate what happened at Camp Ashraf, about 60 miles northeast of the Iraqi capital.
In a statement, it said the Iraqi government is committed to ensuring the safety of people living within its borders. But the terse remarks also made clear Baghdad’s impatience with resolving the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq issue, stressing ‘‘the necessity of transferring the MEK members who are staying in Iraq illegally.’’
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Related:
"Iranians in camp set to be relocated
BAGHDAD — Iraqi authorities plan to relocate the remaining residents of a camp with dozens of Iranian exiles where 52 people were killed last week, the United Nations mission to the country said. The Shi’ite-led Iraqi government long has wanted to remove the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq dissident group from Camp Ashraf, 60 miles northeast of the Iraqi capital, but the exiles have been reluctant to go (AP)."
