A suicide bomber strikes Ramadi killing at least eight

Iraqi authorities have said that a suicide bomber has killed at least eight people, commemorating the birth of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed, in the western city of Ramadi. The attack also injured the deputy governor of Anbar province, Hikmet Khalaf, and killed several policemen.

Speaking about the attack Khalaf said:"We were in the middle of a ceremony to celebrate the anniversary of Prophet Muhammad's birthday when a male suicide bomber came to the door of the room and said 'God is great' and blew himself up."

The bombing occurred several hours after Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki called on the country to shun the planned mass protests on Friday 25th February. Al-Maliki said that militants, supporters of Saddam Hussein and members of the Al-Qa'ida may attempt to infiltrate the protests.

Addressing the nation on television al-Maliki said: "I call on you to be cautious and careful and stay away from this…Frankly speaking, they are planning to take advantage of tomorrow's demonstration for their own benefit.”

He went on to say that he did not object to peaceful protests, but added that "there are known factions... trying to jump on these legal demands and turn them in another direction that we certainly do not want."

The prime minister continued: “You can hold these demonstrations at any time or place you want, except for the place and time of a demonstration which Saddamists, terrorists and al-Qa'ida are behind…I am warning you about their plans, which are to change the course of [peaceful] rallies and protests, to... murder, riot, sabotage, hard-to-control strife, bombings."

The country's interior ministry has also warned the nation to be cautious, saying the militants may disguise themselves as security officials. The caution was seconded by two of Iraq's leading Shi'a clerics, Ayatollah Ali Sistani and Moqtada Sadr.

Sources: BBC News, AFP, Reuters, USA Today

For more news and expert analysis about Iraq, please see Iraq Focus.

Twelve suspected Al-Qa'ida militants escape from Basra detention centre

The head of the security committee at Basra's provincial council, Ali Ghanim al-Maliki, has said that 12 militants linked to the Al-Qa'ida, have escaped from a detention centre in Basra. He also said that all the security personnel at the compound were arrested as part of the ongoing investigation.

"All of the men are linked to the Islamic State of Iraq that is linked to al-Qa'ida. Some of them were arrested eight months ago, and three of them were arrested a month, or less than a month ago…All the guards securing the compound have been detained for investigation. Of course, there was collusion from within the compound, but we do not know who is involved at this moment," said al-Maliki.

The men, who reportedly have ties with the Islamic State of Iraq, a Sunni insurgent group with connections to the al-Qa'ida, obtained police uniforms and walked out of the detention centre in the early hours of the morning. The 12 escapees were the only ones held at the fortified compound, once a Saddam Hussein's palace, while awaiting trial. Six of the men had confessed to involvement in a number of bombings in Basra, Amarah and Nasiriyah going back as early as 2004.

Al-Maliki also noted that the men stood accused of “attacks carried out recently in Basra”, referring to 8th November bombing which left 10 dead and 30 injured. The group was among those arrested two weeks after the attacks. It is believed that the fugitives are heading to Baghdad to obtain fake IDs and passports to help them flee the country. Security measures have been fortified around Iraq, and checkpoints set up on two major northbound roads.

Sources: BBC News, Reuters, AFP, Radio Free Europe

For more news and expert analysis about Iraq, please see Iraq Focus.

UN lifts Iraq sanctions

The UN Security Council has lifted most of the international sanctions imposed on Iraq during Saddam Hussein's time in power. It also granted Iraq permission to develop a civil nuclear programme and officially discontinued the widely corrupt oil-for-food initiative.

The UN's resolution is in recognition of the political progress made in Iraq, after an eight month delay in the formation of a new government. Speaking about UN's decision, US Vice President Joseph Biden, who chaired the high-level meeting, commended Obama Administration's accomplishments.

UN Dispatch said Biden praised the “withdrawal of 100,000 troops and completion of the combat mission there, which has been accompanied by the transition from a military-led to civilian-led engagement.”

The resolution ending sanctions that were imposed to stop Iraq building nuclear weapons is a big step in granting the country its independence. The 2003 invasion of Iraq was prompted by fears that Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction.

The council also voted to return control of Iraq's oil and gas revenue to the government on June 30th and to end all remaining activities of the oil-for-food programme, originally designed to help ordinary Iraqis cope with the sanctions.

Biden also said that violence in the country had reached its lowest levels since 2003 and that the remaining 50,000 troops will continue supporting their Iraqi counterparts in areas of trade, energy, health, security and law enforcement until the end of next year. He also commended the Iraqi leaders for reaching an agreement which will create “a national partnership government and ensure the first peaceful transition of power between elected governments under full Iraqi sovereignty.”

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said that in order for all sanctions to be lifted, Iraq must make efforts to agree a border with Kuwait and make war reparations of 5 per cent from its oil sale revenues to assist the neighbouring country with rebuilding itself post the 1990 Iraqi invasion.

Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said normalisation of relations with Kuwait is a priority for the new government, as Iraq is keen to make a fresh start after years of "sanctions caused by wars and misdeeds of the former regime."

Sources: BBC News, The New York Times, UN Dispatch, Arabian Business

For more news and expert analysis about Iraq, please see Iraq Focus.

UN lifts sanctions against Iraq

The UN Security Council has lifted most of the international sanctions imposed on Iraq during Saddam Hussein's time in power. It also granted Iraq permission to develop a civil nuclear programme and officially discontinued the widely corrupt oil-for-food initiative.

The UN's resolution is in recognition of the political progress made in Iraq, after an eight month delay in the formation of a new government. Speaking about UN's decision, US Vice President Joseph Biden, who chaired the high-level meeting, commended Obama Administration's accomplishments.

UN Dispatch said Biden praised the “withdrawal of 100,000 troops and completion of the combat mission there, which has been accompanied by the transition from a military-led to civilian-led engagement.”

The resolution ending sanctions that were imposed to stop Iraq building nuclear weapons is a big step in granting the country its independence. The 2003 invasion of Iraq was prompted by fears that Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction.

The council also voted to return control of Iraq's oil and gas revenue to the government on June 30th and to end all remaining activities of the oil-for-food programme, originally designed to help ordinary Iraqis cope with the sanctions.

Biden also said that violence in the country had reached its lowest levels since 2003 and that the remaining 50,000 troops will continue supporting their Iraqi counterparts in areas of trade, energy, health, security and law enforcement until the end of next year. He also commended the Iraqi leaders for reaching an agreement which will create “a national partnership government and ensure the first peaceful transition of power between elected governments under full Iraqi sovereignty.”

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said that in order for all sanctions to be lifted, Iraq must make efforts to agree a border with Kuwait and make war reparations of 5 per cent from its oil sale revenues to assist the neighbouring country with rebuilding itself post the 1990 Iraqi invasion.

Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said normalisation of relations with Kuwait is a priority for the new government, as Iraq is keen to make a fresh start after years of "sanctions caused by wars and misdeeds of the former regime."

Sources: BBC News, The New York Times, UN Dispatch, Arabian Business

For more news and expert analysis about Iraq, please see Iraq Focus.

North Oil Company displaces villagers causing further antagonism between Arabs and Kurds

North Oil Company is stirring up antagonism between Arabs and Kurds in the already tense governorate of Kirkuk. The company issued an official demand on 24th July asking that the local authorities evacuate four Kurdish villages in the area to enable it to start drilling there. A source in North Oil Company told the Kurdish media that the firm had issued a letter to the local police asking them to vacate the villages as it had made an oil discovery in the area. The villages are all in the area known in Kurdish as Dobes and in Arabic as Debes.

The demand has caused uproar in the area because the company has only requested that Kurdish villages be evacuated. As Hadi Hama Mustafa, the first deputy of Debes, declared, “What is strange for me is that the request does not ask for evacuation of any Arab-populated villages.” Similarly, the head of the Kirkuk governorate council, Raskar Ali Hama Jan, expressed his view that the company's demands were “astonishing” because, given that there is a huge expanse of land where oil and natural gas are present, the oil must also exist in the Arab and Turkmen villages that are in the area.

The company's demand is being considered as a political move. For the Kurds this issue is particularly poignant because it is reminiscent of the days of Saddam Hussein who repeatedly uprooted Kurdish citizens and forced them to relocate for political reasons.

For more news and expert analysis about Iraq, please see Iraq Focus.

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