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Special Report:
Suicide bomber kills 25 at banquet
By Yasser Faisal
August 25, 2008 08:55am
A SUICIDE bomber in an explosive vest killed 25 people at a dinner banquet in
western Baghdad's Sunni Arab Abu Ghraib district on Sunday, police said.
The attack, the biggest in weeks, took place at the home of a local sheikh who was holding the feast to celebrate the release of his
son from US detention, police said.
They said women and children were among the dead, as were some men believed to be members of US-backed neighbourhood patrols.
Police colonel Dawood Suleiman in the
nearby city of Fallujah gave the initial death toll as 21. A police source in Baghdad who declined to give his name later said 25 had died and 32 were injured.
Iraqi police said US helicopters had flown in to evacuate the wounded.
Abu Ghraib is a largely Sunni Arab district located between central Baghdad and Fallujah on the highway heading west from the capital
into Anbar province, an area once in the grip of al Qaeda but now controlled by US-backed tribal groups.
US and Iraqi authorities say suicide bombings are the signature tactic of al Qaeda Sunni Arab
militants, who frequently target other Sunnis since Sunni tribes turned against them over the past two years.
Iraq has become far less dangerous over the past year, but militants still retain the capability
to conduct large-scaled bombings.
Four roadside bombs in other parts of Iraq - a double bomb attack in central Baghdad and two separate strikes in Diyala province north of the capital - killed 11 people on
Sunday.
Diyala, where US forces say al Qaeda has regrouped since being pushed out of other parts of the country, has been the scene of a major crackdown by US-backed Iraqi forces and a bombing campaign by
militants over the past few weeks.
Source: Reuters
Special Report:
10 soldiers killed in Lebanon blast
By Omar Ibrahim, Tripoli
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Grim task: Lebanese Red Cross
officers and firefighters search for survivors of the blast in Tripoli that killed at least 18 people. Photo: AFP
A BOMB killed at least 18 people in the north Lebanese city of Tripoli yesterday, rocking the
country just hours before a landmark visit by President Michel Suleiman to neighbouring Syria.
Another 40 people were wounded by the blast, which struck a busy shopping street in the heart of the city during
the morning rush hour, a security official said. The bomb was placed near a bus stop in the Masarif Street commercial district and exploded near a bus carrying Lebanese soldiers. Ten of the dead and many of the
wounded were soldiers.
Israel clears troops in TV killing
Israeli soldiers who fired on Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana will not face legal action after an investigation found their actions were
justified.
The blast raised suspicions that al-Qaeda-inspired Islamist militants may have sought revenge on the military for clashes last year at a nearby Palestinian refugee camp.
"According to
initial estimates, the bomb was made up of 20 kilograms of explosives," the official said, adding that it remained unclear whether it was set off by a timer or by remote control.
Tripoli has been rocked
by deadly violence between anti-Syrian supporters of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and his Syrian-backed rivals. Last month, 23 people were killed in battles between Sunni Muslim supporters of the PM and Alawite
opponents in the neighbourhoods of Bab al-Tebbaneh and Jabal Mohsen, which lie 1.5 kilometres from Masarif Street.
There were reports that the Bab al-Tebbaneh district was hit by a hand grenade and two
rockets during the night.
Bab al-Tebbaneh is a Sunni stronghold, while Jabal Mohsen is mainly Alawite. There has been tension between the communities ever since Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war.
Alawites
are an offshoot of Shiite Islam and straddle the border into neighbouring Syria, whose president, Bashar al-Assad, is a follower of the faith.
Yesterday's explosion came hours before the Lebanese President, a
former army chief, was due to head to Damascus for a landmark summit with Mr Assad amid moves to establish diplomatic relations between the two countries for the first time.
It also came a day after a new
national unity government, formed by Mr Siniora following 18 months of deadly tensions with his Shiite-led rivals, finally won a vote of confidence in parliament. The stand-off between the two sides had pushed the
country to the brink of a new civil war and was only ended by an Arab-brokered power-sharing agreement.
"Now the army and the people are being targeted, when it used to be the politicians who were the
targets," Tripoli MP Mesbah al-Ahdab told public radio.
He was referring to a spate of assassinations of anti-Syrian public figures since 2005, most notably five-time prime minister Rafiq Hariri, that
has widely been blamed on Damascus.
"This explosion is not in either Lebanon or Syria's interests," Mr Ahdab added.
The agenda in Damascus includes prickly issues such as border demarcation
and Lebanese detainees in Syria, diplomatic sources said.
Source: AFP
Special Report:
Russia 'annexes' a fifth of Georgia
Russia altered the balance of power in Europe when the Kremlin halted its attack on Georgia after its forces had effectively annexed 18 per cent of the country.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
By David Blair, Diplomatic Editor
The Telegraph's foreign correspondent, Damien McElroy, says
Russia's presence is still strong as clashes continue in Georgia despite claims of a peace deal being reached.
Russia closed its Five Day War in full control of Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia
and Abkhazia, which total more than 4,800 square miles of the neighbouring state.
While Russian troops have been deployed in these enclaves since 1992, they have never previously controlled their entire
territory.
Having achieved this by force, Moscow's terms for a permanent truce would cement its gains. The Kremlin has also demonstrated its indifference to western opinion and its willingness to use force
to prevent a former Soviet republic from joining Nato.
President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia declared a ceasefire and agreed six principles for peace during a meeting in Moscow with President Nicolas Sarkozy
of France, which currently holds the presidency of the European Union. Under these proposals, all forces must return to their positions at the outset of the war on August 7 and allow full access for humanitarian
aid.
But Russia's foreign ministry had additional demands.
The Kremlin wants a buffer zone around South Ossetia and Abkhazia, from which all Georgian forces would be excluded. Russia also seeks a
treaty guarantee that Georgia will never use force to recapture them.
These demands would safeguard what amounts to Moscow's de facto annexation of the two enclaves.
After the mauling suffered by his
army during five days of fighting, President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia may have little choice but to agree.
Mr Sarkozy flew from Moscow to Georgia's capital, Tbilisi last night. He was expected to
present his six points and Russia's additional demands to Mr Saakashvili. For his part, Georgia's leader declared a unilateral ceasefire on Sunday.
Mr Medvedev halted operations after Russia's army achieved
its primary aim - controlling Abkhazia and South Ossetia and inflicting severe damage on Georgia's forces. Moscow says its army acted only after Georgian forces struck inside South Ossetia and killed
"thousands" of Russian citizens. Mr Saakashvili did send his army into the enclave last Thursday - although Georgia denies any atrocities.
"I've decided to finish the operation to force the
Georgian authorities to peace. The safety of our peacekeeping forces and civilian population has been restored. The aggressor has been punished, having sustained considerable losses. Its armed forces have been
disorganised," Mr Medvedev said.
But the president ordered his defence minister, Anatoliy Serdukov, to respond to any Georgian attempt to fight back. "Should centres of resistance or other
aggressive attempts arise, you must take the decision to destroy them," said Mr Medvedev.
Earlier, Russian troops pulled out of Georgian territory, leaving the crucial road junction at Senaki in the
west of the country, and returning to positions in the two breakaway regions.
Mr Sarkozy described the ceasefire as "good news" and said that a "permanent cessation" was now needed.
Before meeting the French leader, Mr Medvedev betrayed his scorn for Mr Saakashvili. Calling the Georgian a "lunatic", Mr Medvedev said: "You know, the difference between lunatics and other people
is that when they smell blood it is very difficult to stop them. So you have to use surgery."
Observers believe Mr Saakashvili's decision to move into South Ossetia last week followed about two weeks of
provocation by Russian forces and their client militias. "Russia wanted to manoeuvre Saakashvili into a situation where he would be seen to be making the first move and then provide a pretext for Russian
action," said an observer.
Mr Medvedev said it was now "up to Georgia" to accept the peace terms. Shortly after he declared the ceasefire, Russian shells landed in the central square of the
town of Gori, 15 miles inside Georgia. At least five people were killed - but most of Gori's inhabitants had already fled.
By last night, however, the ceasefire appeared to be taking hold.
David
Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, broke off his holiday in Minorca, joining a conference call with foreign ministers from the G7 group of rich nations yesterday. He is expected to meet European Union foreign
ministers in Brussels today.
David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party, called on Nato to respond to Russia by "accelerating the path" to membership Georgia and Ukraine.
The war is
thought to have claimed about 2,000 lives since last Thursday. Mr Saakashvili addressed a defiant rally attended by tens of thousands of people in Tbilisi yesterday. He accused Russia of trying to conquer Georgia
and vowed to uphold the nation's independence. "Georgia will never surrender," he said.
Source: The Telegraph
Special Report:
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
As President Saakashvili of Georgia appeals to America and the "world community" to intervene to stop
the war in his country, the Security Council is mired in a Cold War-like paralysis that will likely lead in the next few days to a Russian veto on a proposed cease-fire resolution, diplomats say.
In yesterday's emergency session, the American U.N. ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, accused Moscow of attempting to orchestrate a "regime
change" in Tbilisi and said Russia's "campaign of terror" in Georgia could have a serious effect on its relations with America and the rest of the world.
Georgia, America, the United Nations,
and France as the president of the European Union have called for a cease-fire and a return to the situation that existed before the latest hostilities in Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia region were launched on
Friday. France is said to be preparing a Security Council resolution along those lines.
But the Russian U.N. ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, said such calls miss the "complex" nature of the situation.
The only acceptable solution, he said, is a complete and unilateral withdrawal of Georgian troops. Former Russian "peacekeepers" in South Ossetia, he added, are now on a "peacemaking" operation.
In the course of yesterday's council session, Mr. Churkin said the United Nations itself was biased against his country, scoring America on its actions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Russia's ally Serbia. Also,
he said, America barred the council for more than a month in 2006 from imposing a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Moscow is reportedly pressuring Jerusalem to withdraw all its support of
Georgia. Earlier this year, an Israeli-made Georgian drone was downed in the breakaway Abkhazia region, highlighting Israel's arms sale network to Georgia. Several ex-Israeli army officials have trained Georgian
troops, and the Georgian defense minister, Davit Kezerashvili, is a former Israeli citizen.
Mr. Churkin yesterday accused America of giving the "wrong signal" to Mr. Saakashvili by conducting a
joint military exercise with the Georgian army days before the Friday morning incursion into South Ossetia, which is said to have triggered the current round of hostilities. Secretary of State Rice, he said,
actually watched the joint exercise last week.
"The United States and the world community should stop intervention and invasion of my sovereign country," Mr. Saakashvili told CNN yesterday.
"This is not about Georgia anymore. This is about basic values of humanity," he said, adding, "We proclaim cease-fire."
Russian jets reportedly struck targets in Tbilisi, while its troops
entered Abkhazia yesterday, and Russian tanks rolled in from South Ossetia into Georgia proper. Russian officials reported sinking a Georgian missile boat that threatened Russian ships in the Black Sea. Georgian
officials said Russia planned a blockade of their country. Georgia, which has aspired to NATO membership, announced it would withdraw troops from Iraq, where it was one of the allies that remained supportive of the
American-led coalition. Another NATO aspirant, Ukraine, said it might join Georgia's fight against Russia.
In a telephone conversation between Ms. Rice and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov yesterday,
Mr. Lavrov said that "Saakashvili must go," Mr. Khalilzad told the council. "This is completely unacceptable," Mr. Khalilzad said. "I want to ask Ambassador Churkin, is your government's
objective regime change in Georgia, the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Georgia?"
Regime change "is purely an American invention," Mr. Churkin told reporters afterwards.
But the fact that Mr. Khalilzad made the point publicly "may be an interesting signal," he added. "There are democratically elected — or semi-democratically elected — leaders who do things which
create grave problems for their countries."
Mr. Churkin angered most council members when he said a report that U.N. undersecretary general for political affairs, Lynn Pascoe, an American, delivered
yesterday showed "that the Secretariat of the United Nations and its leadership was not able to adopt that objective position that is required by the substance of this conflict." In closed-door
consultations, Mr. Churkin acknowledged that his objection to Mr. Pascoe was because of his nationality, a diplomat said, asking for anonymity.
Mr. Khalilzad's assertion that Russia conducts a "war of
terror" in Georgia "is absolutely unacceptable," Mr. Churkin told the council, "particularly from the lips of the permanent representative of a country whose actions we are aware of, including
with regard to civilian populations in Iraq and Afghanistan and Serbia."
In 2006, "there was a 34-day war in the course of which an entire country was destroyed," Mr. Churkin said, referring to
Lebanon, "and all the while the United States was opposing a cease-fire for some geopolitical or other reasons." These two conflicts are not "analogous," Mr. Khalilzad said.
Source: NA
Special Report:
Baghdad Elementary School Reopens After Refurbishment By Army Spc.
By David Hodge
The Harat Elementary School in southern Baghdad's Rashid district reopened July 31 after two months of refurbishment.
Hashem
Mahmood, deputy district chairman for the Rashid district in southern Baghdad, marks the reopening of the Harat Elementary School July 31, 2008, in the Jazair community. Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division's 1st
Brigade Combat Team provided security during the refurbishment efforts, which lasted two months. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Hodge, Multinational Division Baghdad
More than 1,000 Iraqi boys and girls from
7 to 12 years old and 60 teachers will start school in the refurbished building in September.
Among the improvements made to the school are air conditioners, interior and exterior paint, new doors, new
chalkboards and a generator to supply the school with electricity.
"The school looks very good," said Ali, who has served as the school's principal for 25 years. "It is like a new house for
the students. Now that we have a new-looking school, it will allow the students to work harder and better."
The funds for the project came from the Iraqi government, Army Lt. Col. Timothy Watson, a
battalion commander with the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team, said.
"This is one of the first schools to be refurbished in this area," Watson said. "We hope to work our way
through all the schools."
The school refurbishment is a testament to the level of care for the neighborhood, Army Capt. Parsana Deoki, a company commander with the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Brigade
Combat Team, said. "My soldiers have taken the time to ensure work is done correctly and according to the scheduled scope of work," Deoki added.
The commander of the community's "Sons of
Iraq" citizen security group, who also serves as a neighborhood councilman, said improved security made the project possible. "With the help of both coalition forces and the district council, this place
has become a school again," Capt. Yousif Ibrahim said. "On behalf of our neighborhood, principal and teachers, we give special thanks for giving us the security to make it happen."
Ibrahim
said efforts to improve security in his neighborhood have had recent success and that he hopes that success will lead to further improvements in his area.
"We have to give more attention to essential
services and take the weapons and fighting away from here," Ibrahim said.
With members of the neighborhood and district councils and 60 teachers at his side, the school principal said he has plans to
add five new classrooms with the hope of giving the children the best opportunity to learn.
(Army Spc. David Hodge serves in Multinational Division Baghdad with the 4th Infantry Division's, 1st Brigade
Combat Team Public Affairs Office.)
Source: AFPS
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