36 posts tagged “iraq”

Iraqi leaders are being accused of turning a blind eye to a spate of murders of homosexuals after 25 young men and boys were killed in recent weeks.

Baghdad-based artist Laith al-Amari built a fibreglass-and-copper monument in honor Muntadhar al-Zeidi, the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at Bush during a news conference. (Jan. 29)

Video of a journalist in Iraq who threw his shoes at President Bush today; during a press conference.  (Just to be clear, I do not think this is cool.  However, I have no idea what that journalist and his family have been through since the war started.)

In case anyone thought otherwise...

US troops to stay in Iraqi cities after June
By ROBERT H. REID – December 13, 2008

BAGHDAD (AP) — Some American troops will remain in Iraqi cities after a June 30 deadline for combat soldiers to leave urban areas, the top U.S. commander said Saturday.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, meanwhile, dismissed suggestions by his own spokesman that the Iraqi government may ask some U.S. troops to remain behind as trainers after the Dec. 31, 2011 deadline for the withdrawal of all American troops set by the new U.S.-Iraq security agreement.

Those comments are likely to rekindle debate here about the agreement, which was ratified by parliament last month and takes effect Jan. 1. But Iraqi voters must approve the deal in a referendum by the end of July.

Suggestions of loopholes in the withdrawal timeline could be exploited by Iraqi politicians seeking to undermine al-Maliki ahead of the referendum. A number of Sunni and Shiite politicians, as well as the powerful Shiite clergy, accepted the deal after assurances from al-Maliki that the timeline for the U.S. departure was firm.

Gen. Raymond Odierno, commander of coalition forces in Iraq, told reporters that troops who serve in training and mentoring teams would not be included in the mandate to pull combat troops from the cities.

"We believe that's part of our transition teams," Odierno said at the U.S. Balad air base where he met with Defense Secretary Robert Gates. He said the training and mentoring teams would stay at urban security stations to support Iraqi soldiers and police.

He did not say how many troops would remain in urban security stations but said all locations would be coordinated with the Iraqi government based on its requirements and needs. He said repeatedly that he expects to have all U.S. troops out of Iraq by the end of 2011...

"It's important that we maintain enough presence here that we can help them get through this year of transition," Odierno said...

Injured veterans engaged in new combat

In a little-noticed regulation change, the Pentagon's definition of combat-related disabilities is narrowed, costing some wounded veterans thousands of dollars in lost benefits.

By David Zucchino
November 25, 2008

Marine Cpl. James Dixon was wounded twice in Iraq -- by a roadside bomb and a land mine. He suffered a traumatic brain injury, a concussion, a dislocated hip and hearing loss. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Army Sgt. Lori Meshell shattered a hip and crushed her back and knees while diving for cover during a mortar attack in Iraq. She has undergone a hip replacement and knee reconstruction and needs at least three more surgeries.

In each case, the Pentagon ruled that their disabilities were not combat-related.

In a little-noticed regulation change in March, the military's definition of combat-related disabilities was narrowed, costing some injured veterans thousands of dollars in lost benefits -- and triggering outrage from veterans' advocacy groups.

The Pentagon said the change was consistent with Congress' intent when it passed a "wounded warrior" law in January. Narrowing the combat-related definition was necessary to preserve the "special distinction for those who incur disabilities while participating in the risk of combat, in contrast with those injured otherwise," William J. Carr, deputy undersecretary of Defense, wrote in a letter to the 1.3-million-member Disabled American Veterans.

The group, which has called the policy revision a "shocking level of disrespect for those who stood in harm's way," is lobbying to have the change rescinded.

Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said the Pentagon's "more conservative definition" limited benefits for some veterans. "That was not our intent," Levin said in a statement.

He added: "When the disability is the same, the impact on the service member should be the same no matter whether the disability was incurred while training for combat at Ft. Hood or participating in actual combat in Iraq or Afghanistan."

Pentagon officials argue that benefits should be greater for veterans wounded in combat than for "members with disabilities incurred in other situations (e.g., simulation of war, instrumentality of war, or participation in hazardous duties, not related to combat)," Carr wrote.

But veterans like Dixon and Meshell said their disabilities were a direct result of wounds suffered in combat.

Dixon said he was denied at least $16,000 in benefits before he fought the Pentagon and won a reversal of his noncombat-related designation.

"I was blown up twice in Iraq, and my injuries weren't combat-related?" Dixon said. "It's the most imbecile thing I've ever seen."

Meshell, who is appealing her status, estimates she is losing at least $1,200 a month in benefits. Despite being injured in a combat zone during an enemy mortar attack, she said, her wounds would be considered combat-related only if she had been struck by shrapnel.

Meshell said the military had suggested that at least some of her disability was caused by preexisting joint deterioration. "Before I went over there, I was fine -- I was perfectly healthy," Meshell said. "This whole thing is causing me a lot of heartache."

Kerry Baker, associate legislative director of Disabled American Veterans, has accused the Pentagon of narrowing the definition of combat-related disabilities to save money. He said the change would reduce payments for tens of thousands of veterans -- those already wounded and those injured in the future...

Iraq- Wednesday October 15, 2008
Baghdad

- A roadside bomb detonated in Jisr Diyala neighborhood (southeast Baghdad). One civilian was killed and four others were injured.

- Around 8am, five mortar shells hit the Baghdad International Airport (west Baghdad). No casualties reported.

- Around 10:30 am, five mortars hit the International Zone (IZ) in downtown Baghdad. No casualties reported.

- Around 11:30 am, two roadside bombs detonated in one of the Sahwa headquarters in Dora (south Baghdad). Six were injured (two Sahwa members and four Iraqi army soldiers who were in the nearby area).

- Around 3 pm 2 mortars hit Adhamiyah neighborhood(north Baghdad) near Abu Hanifa mosque and shrine. Two people were killed and 6 others were injured.

- A roadside bomb detonated in Beirut intersection in Palestine Street( east Baghdad)with no casualties but another roadside bomb detonated when a police patrol arrived. Two policemen were killed and two civilians were wounded.

-Police found 2 dead bodies in Baghdad today: one in Yarmouk(west Baghdad) and one in Palestine street( east Baghdad).

Diyala

- Around 10:30 am a roadside bomb detonated in Balad Ruz (28 miles east of Baquba). One civilian was killed and four others wounded.

- Gunmen killed two people including a police officer and injured another person near Sadiya town police station( about 45 miles east of Baquba ).

Karbala

- Iraqi army found a mass grave containing the remains of at least 20 people in Abu Aisha wells (north of Karbala) last night. The remains are delivered to the morgue of the Hussein hospital in Karbala. The dead people were Shiite shepherds who were kidnapped by the Qaeda about 18 months ago in Nikhaib (south west of Ramadi and west of Karbala), police and medical sources said.

Mosul

- A roadside bomb targeted a police patrol in Yabsat neighborhood in Mosul city. Four policemen were injured.

- Gunmen opened fire in Khazraj neighborhood in Mosul. One civilian was killed and four others were wounded.

- A roadside bomb detonated near Maskana church in Al-Noor neighborhood in Mosul city. No casualties reported but some damage with the church.

- A roadside bomb targeted an army patrol in Intisar neighborhood in Mosul city. Two Iraqi soldiers were wounded.

- A roadside bomb targeted an army patrol in Risala neighborhood in Mosul. Nine people were wounded.

2008 McClatchy Newspapers
By Hussein Kadhim | McClatchy Newspapers

The daily Iraq violence report is compiled by McClatchy Newspapers Special Correspondents in Baghdad from police, military and medical reports. This is not a comprehensive list of all violence in Iraq, much of which goes unreported. It's posted without editing as transmitted to McClatchy's Washington Bureau.

Iraqi Gay Activist Murdered in Baghdad
September 26, 2008
Michelle Garcia, The Advocate

A coordinator of an Iraqi LGBT advocacy group was assassinated Thursday. The 27-year-old university student, known only as Bashar, was assassinated in a barbershop in Baghdad. Militia members burst into the barbershop and "sprayed his body with bullets at point blank range," Peter Tatchell of the U.K gay advocacy OutRage! told the Guardian newspaper.

The student organized safe houses for gays and lesbians in Baghdad, where many seek refuge from militias that seek out and kill LGBT people...

A United Nations report on human rights, released in 2006, showed that while gays and lesbians are supposed to be protected by law in Iraq, LGBT residents must still live in hiding or face extreme brutality.

...gays and lesbians in Iraq are often threatened because "homosexuality is sometimes interpreted by people in Iraq as being a Western import...

Dazed Iraqi teen suicide bomber says she didn't want to die
By Leila Fadel | McClatchy Newspapers
Monday, August 25, 2008

 BAQOUBA, Iraq — The 15-year-old girl had the chubby cheeks of a child who hadn't lost her baby fat when she was arrested Sunday by an alert policeman. Around her chest was a vest packed with explosives. The policeman chained her to the bars of a window, stripped off her dress, found the vest and deactivated the bomb. Had he not intervened, Rania would have been this year's 31st suicide bomber in Iraq.

A day later, Rania seemed in a daze as she spoke about the people who put her up to it: the relatives who forced her to don the vest and apparently drugged her, her husband, whom police accuse of being a member of the group al Qaida in Iraq, and her mother, who seemed to play a central role in turning Rania into a human bomb but whom she looked to as a rescuer...

Today in Iraq
Tuesday 26 August 2008
By Sahar Issa | McClatchy Newspapers
This is not a comprehensive list.

Baghdad

A roadside bomb targeted a Sahwa patrol, the U.S. backed militia, in al-Mowasalat neighbourhood, western Baghdad at 10 a.m. Tuesday injuring two Sahwa members.

A roadside bomb targeted a police patrol in Ghadeer neighbourhood at noon injuring two policemen and two civilians.

Diyala

A suicide car bomb targeted a recruiting centre in the town of Jalowlaa, 70 km to the northeast of Baquba at 10.30 a.m. Tuesday killing 27 recruits, wounding 45.

Salahuddin

A car bomb parked near the entrance of the health department in Tikrit exploded at 7.30 a.m. killing two guards and two civilians, injuring thirteen civilians.

Nineveh

Gunmen open fire at a policeman near his home in Bab Legesh, central Mosul. The policeman was injured. A police force cordoned the neighbourhood, found the gunmen and engaged them, killing one gunman, injuring another.

Monday August 18, 2008

Baghdad

Five people (3 policemen and 2 civilians) were injured by a roadside bomb in al Riwad intersection in Mansour neighborhood in west Baghdad around 9:00 a.m.

Around 10:00 a.m. Gunmen opened their machineguns fire targeting the car of Faris Jabir Thahir; a member in Shaheed al Mihrab organization (one of the organizations in ISCI ) in Zafaraniyah town in southeast Baghdad. Faris was killed at one and his wife was injured seriously.

Around 10:30, an IED exploded targeting an American convoy in al Ordin intersection (Jordan intersection) in Yarmouk neighborhood in west Baghdad. Nine Iraqi were injured including three policemen. No American casualties were reported.

Three people were injured (2 policemen and a civilian) by a roadside bomb near the national theater in Karrada neighborhood in downtown Baghdad around 1:00 p.m.

Basra

A director of an election center and his deputy were killed and a companion was inured when gunmen attacked them while they were going to work in Bahadriyah area south of Basra on Monday morning. The election commission confirmed the incident.

Kirkuk

Gunmen killed Raheem Thyab al Bayati; one of the leaders of Sahwa south of Tuz city north of Baghdad around 2:00 p.m.

Timeless? song included... eh??? *sigh*