New attacks in Iraq kill 5 Sunni militiamen.

New attacks in Iraq kill 5 Sunni militiamen.

Iraqi boys look inside of a destroyed vehicle the day after a car bomb
attack near an outdoor market in Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City, Iraq, Friday, May 16, 2014. Bombings and shootings

BAGHDAD | AP | 16 may 2014 : :  Separate attacks in Iraq killed five members of an anti-militant Sunni militia on Friday as an al-Qaida splinter group claimed responsibility for a spate of Baghdad bombings that killed at least 19 people the day before.

Insurgents frequently attack members of the Sunni militia, also known as Sahwa, which joined forces with U.S. troops at the height of the Iraq war to fight al-Qaida.

In one of Friday's attacks, gunmen opened fire from a speeding car, targeting a security checkpoint manned by anti-al-Qaida Sunni fighters near the town of Balad, 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Baghdad. Three Sunni fighters were killed and four were wounded in that attack, police officials said.

Hours later, a roadside bomb targeted a patrol of Sunni militiamen just north of Baghdad, killing two fighters and wounding four.

Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to media.

Also Friday, in a statement posted on a militant website, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant said it had carried out attacks in the Iraqi capital the day before in retaliation for the military operations against the city of Fallujah in western Anbar province. Fallujah has been in the hands of the Islamic State and other Sunni insurgents since last December.

Thursday's violence included bombings near several government offices and an outdoor market in Baghdad.

The statement's authenticity could not be independently verified but it appeared on websites commonly used by the group.

"We tell the spiteful Shiites and their government... that our lions are craving the taste of your flesh and blood," it said.

Iraq has seen a spike in violence since April 2013, with the death toll climbing to its highest levels since the worst of the country's sectarian bloodletting in 2006-2008. The United Nations says violence killed 8,868 people in 2013. ( Courtesy : Yahoo News ) 

Suicide attack in Baghdad cafe kills 12 people.

Suicide attack in Baghdad cafe kills 12 people.

BAGHDAD | 21 March 2014 : : A suicide bomber struck inside a Baghdad cafe overnight where customers were watching a football game on TV, killing at least 12 people and wounding 38, Iraqi officials said Thursday.

The attack in the western Washash neighborhood took place late on Wednesday night, two police officers said. The bomber had mingled with the cafe crowd and set off his explosives-laden belt as they watched the game.

A medical official confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the media.

Iraq has been struck by a surge in violence unseen since 2007, relentless attacks that have become the Shiite-led government's most serious challenge.

Violence has spiked since last April, when security forces cracked down on a Sunni protest camp north of Baghdad in clashes that left 45 dead.

Scores of people have been killed in the Iraqi capital, in recent attacks that have targeted busy areas, restaurants and other public places.

On Tuesday, a series of bombings struck both commercial streets and security forces in Baghdad and its surroundings, killing 15 people.

No one has claimed responsibility for the latest attacks, but they bear the hallmarks of an Al Qaeda breakaway group that frequently uses car bombs and suicide attacks to target public areas such as cafes, restaurants, mosques and markets to undermine the government's efforts to maintain security in the country.

According to the UN 8,868 people were killed in Iraq last year the country's highest death toll since a peak of sectarian bloodletting in 2007. ( Courtesy : Dawn )

                 

Iraq suicide blasts 27 including children killed.

27 including children killed in Iraq suicide blasts.

An Iraqi soldier stands guard a road in Baghdad
 northern district of Kadhimiya as Shiite pilgrims
 walk toa shrine to commemorate the death of
 Imam Mohammed al-Jawad, the ninth
 Shiite imam.  Photo: AFP/GETTY

Reuters | 06 Oct 2013 :: Suicide car bombers attacked an elementary school and a police station in a small northern Iraqi village on Sunday while another on foot detonated his payload among Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad, killing at least 27 people including children, officials said.

The attacks are the latest in a relentless wave of killing that has made for Iraq's deadliest outburst of violence since 2008. The mounting death tolls are raising fears that the country is falling back into the spiral of violence that brought it to the edge of civil war in the years after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

Sunday's blasts began around 9:30 a.m. in the Shiite Turkomen village of Qabak, just outside the town of Tal Afar. The area around the stricken village has long been a hotbed for hard-to-rout Sunni insurgents and a corridor for extremist fighters arriving from nearby Syria.

One car bomb in the tiny village targeted an elementary school while children ages 6 to 12 were in class as another struck a nearby police station, Tal Afar mayor Abdul Aal al-Obeidi said.

The dead included 12 children, the school principal and two policemen. Another 90 people were wounded, he said.

The village is home to only about 200 residents, and part of the single-story school collapsed as a result of the blast, he said. Tal Afar is 420 kilometers (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad.

"We and Iraq are plagued by al-Qaida," al-Obeidi said. "It's a tragedy. These innocent children were here to study. What sins did these children commit?"

Another suicide bomber, this time on foot, blew himself up hours later as Shiite pilgrims walked through the largely Sunni neighborhood of Waziriyah in the north of the Iraqi capital.

At least 12 people were killed and 23 wounded in that attack, according to police and hospital officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to brief reporters.(Courtesy:The Indian Express)

Deadly blasts hit Baghdad markets.

Deadly blasts hit Baghdad markets.

BBC News | AP | 26 Sep 2013 :: At least 23 people have been killed in blasts targeting markets in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, officials say.

Bombs in the Shia Sabaa al-Bour area, north of Baghdad, killed up to 16 people. More than 40 others were reportedly injured as the area was packed with shoppers.

A blast in the Sunni Dora district, south of Baghdad, killed seven people.

Sectarian violence has surged across Iraq in recent months, reaching its highest level since 2008.

More than 5,000 people have died so far this year in Iraq, 800 of them in August alone, according to the United Nations.

The worsening violence is also seen a spill-over from the conflict in Syria, which has taken on increasingly sectarian overtones.

There are fears of a return to the all-out Sunni-Shia sectarian violence that peaked in 2006-2007 and killed tens of thousands of people.

In recent weeks, Iraqi security forces have reportedly arrested hundreds of alleged al-Qaeda members in and around Baghdad as part of a campaign which the Shia-led government is calling "Revenge for the martyrs".

But the operations, which have taken place mostly in Sunni districts, have angered the majority Sunni community and failed to halt the violence.

Diplomats say that the government's failure to address Sunni grievances - both their political exclusion and abuses against them by the security forces - are the main factors behind the rise in violence.(Courtesy:BBC News)

Iraq clashes, attacks kill 25.

Iraq clashes, attacks kill 25.

Eight people, including seven policemen, were killed
 on Tuesday during attacks on two police stations
 and a local official's house northwest of
 Baghdad. — File photo

BAGHDAD | 24 Sep 2013 ::  Violence, including fighting between security forces and militants, killed 25 people in Iraq on Tuesday, as the UN warned that sectarian attacks threaten to force more Iraqis from their homes.

Violence in Iraq has reached a level this year not seen since 2008, when the country was emerging from a brutal sectarian conflict.

Militants attacked two police stations and a local official's house in the towns of Rawa and Aana near the highway to Syria in Anbar province, killing seven police and the official's brother, officers and doctors said.

Deputy Interior Minister Adnan al-Assadi told journalists a large group of militants had attacked Aana, seeking to take control of security positions.

Security forces killed six of the militants, Assadi said, adding that SWAT units were deployed to the area.

Separately, soldiers battled militants in the Hamreen area north of Baghdad, killing four, while two soldiers were killed and nine wounded, officers said.

A helicopter pilot was wounded by gunfire in the operation, during which two militants were arrested and weapons seized, army Staff Lieutenant General Abdulamir al-Zaidi told AFP.

Two officers said a helicopter had been shot down, but Zaidi insisted that it was able to return to base.

Militants, including those linked to Al-Qaeda, frequently target security forces and other government employees, and security forces have carried out major operations against them in recent months.(Courtesy:Dawn)

Iraq mosque blasts kill 16 people.

Iraq mosque blasts kill 16 people.

According to the Associated Press, violent attacks in Iraq have
 killed more than 3,000 people since April. (File photo: AFP)

Iraq | AFP | 21 Sep 2013 :: Two bombs exploded in a Sunni mosque in Iraq as worshippers entered for prayers on Friday, killing 16 people, police and a doctor said.

The bombs, which hit the Musab bin Omair mosque near Samarra, north of Baghdad, also wounded 15 people, the sources said.

Militants have carried out numerous attacks on both Sunni and Shiite mosques this year, raising fears of a return to all-out sectarian conflict, which peaked in 2006-2007 and killed thousands of people.

The February 2006 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra itself sparked the wave of brutal violence.

The blasts came a day after the bodies of 10 young men who had been shot dead were found in Baghdad, another reminder of the sectarian conflict in Iraq, during which militants frequently carried out summary executions.

Violence in Iraq has reached a level not seen since 2008, killing more than 4,200 people since the beginning of the year, according to an AFP toll based on security and medical sources.(Al Arabiya )

Egyptian soldiers kill 9 militants in Sinai operation.

Egyptian soldiers kill 9 militants in Sinai operation.

File photo shows Egyptian soldiers in military vehicles
 proceedin toward the al-Jura district in el-Arish in northern Sinai.

Press Tv | 11 Sep 2013 ::The Egyptian military has killed nine militants in the Sinai Peninsula, where the army has launched a major clearing operation against extremist insurgents.

The strike was carried out by army troops, who backed by helicopter gunships, attacked militant hideouts in the restive area, a military source said, on condition of anonymity, on Tuesday. 

Ten others were also arrested in the raids, he added. 

On Monday, the army also discovered explosives, weapons and ammunition during its operation in the villages of el-Mahdiya and Naga Shabana. 

Egypt launched a major military offensive against extremists in Sinai on September 7, after months of clashes with militants. 

The army has described the campaign as "the largest military operation to purge Sinai of terrorism." 

Nearly 30 militants have been killed in the operations over the past three days. 

Violence in Sinai has intensified since Egypt’s first democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi was ousted by the military in early July, with militants launching near-daily attacks on security forces. (Courtesy:PressTv)

Communal riots spread in north India, 28 killed.

Hindus and Muslims riots spread in north India, 28 killed.

Indian army conducts a flag march following
 communal clashes at Muzaffarnagar in India,
 Sept 8, 2013. — Photo by AP

MUZAFFARNAGAR | India | 09 Sep 2013 :: Communal violence was spreading into new areas of northern India on Monday, despite an army-enforced curfew put in place after deadly weekend clashes broke out between Hindus and Muslims.

Gunfire and street battles that erupted Saturday in villages around Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh state have killed at least 28 people and left many more missing, police said.

Soldiers deployed to the region have been given orders to shoot rioters on sight, state government official Kamal Saxena said.

By Monday morning police had arrested 90 people. Still, the violence spread to the neighbouring districts of Shamli and Meerut overnight.

Dozens of rioters attacked a group of soldiers who were evacuating people Sunday night from the riot-torn village of Wazidpur, Saxena said.

The soldiers responded by opening fire on the rioters, but no one was hit, he said.

The violence began Saturday night after a meeting of thousands of Hindu farmers called for justice in the killing of three young men from Kawal village who had objected when a woman was being verbally harassed.

Officials said some of the farmers had given hate-filled speeches against Muslims at the meeting.

Clashes with Muslims broke out after the meeting, with many participants carrying guns, swords and knives, senior police officer Arun Kumar said.

Incendiary rumours being spread by mobile phones and social media were fuelling the spread of violence and making it difficult for soldiers to restore calm, state police inspector Ashish Gupta said.

Shops and schools were closed Monday in Muzaffarnagar, about 125 kilometres north of New Delhi. Soldiers are searching homes for weapons.(Courtesy:Dawn)Read More>>>

Iraq market car bomb kills 16.

Iraq market car bomb kills 16.

SAMARRA  | 30 Aug 2013 :: A car bomb ripped through a popular fruit and vegetable market north of Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 16 people as Iraqis searched for cut-price groceries.

The blast, which also wounded 25 people, struck in the predominantly Sunni Arab city of Samarra at about 6:45 pm (1545 GMT). It came a day after a wave of nationwide violence – including a spate of bombings in the Iraqi capital – killed at least 75 people. The attack was the latest in a surge of unrest, with more than 3,700 people killed so far this year.

It follows security operations targeting militants in Baghdad and to the north and west, though the government has faced charges of not dealing with the root causes of the country’s worst violence since 2008.

Thursday evening’s attack struck the Samarra market, locally known as the Mraydi, at a time when struggling Iraqis typically frequent it in order to take advantage of reduced prices as surplus stock is sold before closing.

In all, 16 people were killed, including three women and two children, and 25 people were wounded, a police officer and a doctor said.

The market, the city’s biggest grocery shopping area, lies in the Jiberia neighbourhood of eastern Samarra.

Attacks elsewhere in Iraq left three others dead — a soldier, a civilian and a militant who was shot dead as he was trying to plant a roadside bomb.

On Wednesday, at least 75 people were killed and more than 200 wounded in a wave of shootings and bombings across Iraq, with the violence mostly targeting the country’s Shiite Muslim majority.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the latest bloodshed.

Sunni militants linked to Al-Qaeda frequently trigger car bombs in the middle of crowded areas packed with civilians, ostensibly in a bid to undermine confidence in the Shiite-led authorities and security forces.

Iraq has seen a marked rise in the level of violence this year, coinciding with demonstrations by the Sunni Arab minority against alleged ill treatment at the hands of the Shiite-led government and security forces.

More than 600 people have already been killed so far this month, according to an AFP tally.

Though diplomats and analysts have urged broad-reaching moves to tackle Sunni frustrations, which they say give militant groups room to recruit and carry out attacks, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has vowed to press on with an anti-militant campaign.

Officials say security forces have dismantled militant training camps and bomb-making sites, arrested hundreds of alleged insurgents and killed dozens of others in recent weeks.(Courtesy:The Nation)

Iraq officials: 2 vehicle bomb blasts kill 23.

Iraq officials: 2 vehicle bomb blasts kill 

23.

Baghdad | 30  Aug 2013 :: Iraqi officials say bomb blasts at a market north of Baghdad and another on the outskirts of the capital have killed 23 people.

Police say the bigger explosion happened when a bomb hidden in a pickup truck hauling vegetables tore through a market in Samarrah, 95 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad. Police say that blast killed 18 and wounded 32.

Police say another car bomb went off in Abu Ghraib, on the western outskirts of Baghdad. They say it killed five and wounded eight.

Hospital officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to release the information.

More than 4,000 people have been killed in attacks in Iraq since April, when the pace of killing accelerated to levels unseen since 2008.(Courtesy:Dawn)

Bolivia Prison Violence Kills 29, Including One Child.

Bolivia Prison Violence Kills 29, Including One Child.

LA PAZ  | 24 Aug 2013 ::  Violent clashes between inmates in a maximum-security prison in Bolivia killed at least 29 people, including one child, officials said on Friday.

Children live intermingled with prisoners in the Palmasola Penitentiary Complex outside Santa Cruz, Bolivia's biggest city.

An explosion and the sound of gunfire broke out early in the morning as prisoners from rival cell blocks fought for control of part of Palmasola, an inmate told news website El Deber.

Flames severely injured 35 people, who were evacuated to hospitals, according to officials' latest report.(Courtesy:The New York Times)

Car Bomb Kills Ten, Wounds Dozens in Pro-Assad Syrian Suburb.

Car Bomb Kills Ten, Wounds Dozens in Pro-Assad Syrian Suburb.

DAMASCUS | Syria | 25 Jul 2013 :: A powerful car bomb exploded in a suburb of the Syrian capital Thursday, killing 10 people and wounding dozens of others, Syria’s state-run news agency said.

The explosion in Jaramana, just few kilometers (miles) southeast of Damascus, came as the United Nations’ top official said more than100,000 people have been killed in the ongoing civil war gripping Syria.

The state news agency SANA reported that the explosion caused heavy damage to nearby buildings and destroyed many cars. It said 62 people were wounded.

Jaramana, a neighborhood that overwhelmingly supports the government of President Bashar Assad, has been targeted by a series of explosions before. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an anti-government activist organization, said the blast killed seven and wounded more than 30. It said the blast caused heavy material damage and started a fire.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing.

More than 100,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict started in March 2011, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday, calling for a political solution to end the conflict. So far, however, the violence in Syria has defied all international attempts for a political solution.

The conflict began largely as peaceful protests against Assad’s rule. It escalated into a civil war after opposition supporters took up arms to fight a brutal government crackdown on dissent.

Meanwhile, the Syrian government lashed out Thursday at the U.S. decision to send arms to rebels fighting troops loyal to Assad, saying Washington is unsuitable to act as a broker at any peace negotiations in Geneva.

“The American intensions seek to continue the cycle of violence and terrorism in Syria in order to destabilize security and stability in the region,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The U.S. government opposed providing any lethal assistance to Syria’s rebels until last month, but is moving ahead now with sending weapons to vetted rebels after securing the approval of the House and Senate Intelligence committees.

The White House acknowledged that momentum in the conflict has shifted as the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group and Iran have helped Assad’s forces.

President Barack Obama and his national security team still have yet to say publicly what weapons they’ll provide the Syrian opposition and when they’ll deliver them. There has also been concern in the West that U.S. weapons could end up in the hands of al-Qaida-linked groups.

At the same time, the U.S. and Russia have been working to set up a peace conference in Geneva to try to end the civil war. No official date has been set for the conference as the opposition refuses to attend any talks that are not about Assad’s departure. Government officials say participation in the conference should be without preconditions.

“Washington’s decision to send arms to terrorists in Syria confirms that the American administration is not fair in efforts to find a political solution and hold an international conference in Geneva,” said Syrian state TV, citing an unnamed Foreign Ministry official. Assad’s government routinely refers to opposition fighters as terrorists.(Courtesy:Epoch Times)

At least 47 dead in wave of car bombings, other violence in Iraq.

Residents and security forces inspect the scene of a car bomb
 attack in Basra, 340 miles southeast of Baghdad on Tuesday.
Dozens of people were killed and wounded when insurgents
 unleashed a new wave of attacks across the country.
 (Nabil al-Jurani / Associated Press / July 2, 2013)

BAGHDAD  |The Associated Press | 03 Jul 2013 ::  Insurgents unleashed a new wave of attacks in Iraq on Tuesday, killing at least 47 people, officials said, part of a surge in violence across the country that has raised concerns over a return to sectarian bloodshed. Seven militants were also killed. 

There was no claim of responsibility for the attacks, mostly car bombs in Shiite areas. Al Qaeda's Iraq branch, which has been gaining strength in recent months, frequently targets Shiites, security forces and civil servants in an effort to undermine the Shiite-led government in Baghdad. 

Iraq is weathering its deadliest outburst of violence since 2008, with more than 2,000 people killed since the start of April. The bloodshed appears to be largely the work of resurgent Sunni militants such as Al Qaeda, feeding off Sunni discontent with the Shiite-led government. 

The bloodshed accelerated after a deadly April 23 crackdown by security forces on a Sunni protest in the northern town of Hawija against the Shiite-led government. 

The deadliest attack Tuesday was in Baghdad's northern Shaab neighborhood. Two parked car bombs targeted car dealers and a commercial area, killing nine people, including a policeman, a police officer said. He said 24 others were wounded. 

In Baghdad's northern Shula neighborhood, a bomb exploded in an open-air market, followed by a second blast after rescuers rushed to the scene. Four civilians and two policemen died, a police officer said. Eighteen people were wounded. 

Five civilians were killed and 16 wounded in a car bomb explosion in a market in Baghdad's eastern suburb of Kamaliya. A car bomb ripped through a commercial area in the capital's southern Dora neighborhood, killing four and wounding 15, police said. 

In the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Amiriyah, two civilians were killed and 12 wounded in a car bomb explosion in a commercial area. Three others were killed and 13 wounded in another car bomb explosion in the northern Hurriyah neighborhood. 

Also Tuesday, clashes erupted at dawn between security forces and militants in Baaj, a remote northwestern town near the Syrian border, and left four policemen dead and five wounded. Police said seven militants were killed. 

In another attack, a government-allied, anti-Al-Qaeda Sunni militiaman was killed and two others wounded when a bomb attached to their car exploded in the western Baghdad suburb of Abu Ghraib, police said. The pro-government militiamen, or Sahwa, joined with U.S. troops to fight Al Qaeda before the U.S. pullout in late 2011. Since then, they have been a frequent target for Al Qaeda in Iraq, which considers them traitors. 

Also in Abu Ghraib, a car bomb killed three civilians and wounded six others. 

Elsewhere in Baghdad, a barber was gunned down by gunmen in a speeding car, and a physician was killed by a bomb attached to his car. 

And outside the city of Baqouba, about 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a tent where a funeral was taking place, killing four and wounding 17 others, Provincial councilman Sadiq Husseini said. Police could not say whether the targeted funeral was for a Shiite or Sunni family.(Courtesy:Los Angele Times)

Iraq hit by worst violence

Iraq hit by worst violence since 2008.

Figures for the May death toll ranged from more than 600,
according to the government to more than 1,000, according 
to the United Nations, either of which would make the 
violence the deadliest since 2008.—AP/File Photo

BAGHDAD | 01 June 2013:: The worst violence since 2008 hit Iraq in May, raising fears of all-out sectarian strife, as political leaders were to meet on Saturday for talks on persistent disputes that have paralysed the government.

Authorities have failed to bring the wave of unrest under control, and have so far not addressed the underlying political issues that analysts say are driving the attacks, while the UN envoy to Iraq has warned that the violence is “ready to explode”.

Figures for the May death toll ranged from more than 600, according to the government, to more than 1,000, according to the United Nations, either of which would make the violence the deadliest since 2008. Read more>>>

[Courtesy: Dawn].