Deteriorating Security in Diyala

From Reuters: reports on major violence in the ongoing Iraqi Civil War on Tuesday:

' BAGHDAD - A car bomb killed at least 25 people and wounded 65 in the northern Baghdad district of Husa[y]niya, police said.

HILLA - A suicide bomber in a car killed at least 12 people and wounded 36 near a car dealership . . .

BAGHDAD - A bomb killed nine people and wounded 10 others in a bakery in eastern Baghdad . . .

BAGHDAD - Two women employees of the Ministry of Interior were killed and four policemen were wounded by a rocket which landed near the ministry, police said.'

The Ministry of Interior is in charge of domestic security.

It was revealed that a GI had been killed on Monday, Memorial Day.


From the USG Open Source Center:

' Diyala Governor Warns of Deteriorating Security Situation
Report by Samah al-Makhzumi: "Letter Urges Government To Deal With Deteriorating Security Situation in Ba'qubah; Diyala Governor Threatens To Declare State of Emergency and Expose Collaborating Officials"

Al-Zaman

Wednesday, May 31, 2006 T19:22:37Z


Diyala Governor Ra'd al-Mullah Jawad has urged the government to take precautions against the deteriorating security situation in the governorate quickly in order to avoid the situation deteriorating further, as it is getting worse day by day. Jawad has also called on the Advisory Council to suspend its work in order to attract the central government's attention to the grave danger engulfing the governorate. He confirmed that he will declare a state of emergency in the governorate based on a security plan.

At a press conference attended by Al-Zaman yesterday, 28 May, Jawad confirmed that he had sent a letter to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and the parliament warning them of the dangerous security situation in the governorate and urging them to "defy the large-scale sectarian campaign that the governorate, which has become a cradle for terrorism, is currently witnessing."

In his letter, Jawad confirmed: "The situation in Diyala Governorate is very difficult. We lack capabilities and authority." He urged officials, parliament members, clerics, and tribal chiefs "to shoulder responsibility and take into consideration the best interests of the governorate."

Jawad explained that "uncontrolled violence is extending like a crescent from Salah al-Din Governorate towards Al-Jizani, Hibhib, Al-Hadid, and Khan Bani Sa'd Districts and then to Southern Buhriz District towards Baladruz and finally Al-Muqdadiyah District." He confirmed the discovery a few days ago of weapons caches in Al-Muqdadiyah that contained enough weapons to supply a complete army brigade.

Jawad accused administrative officials of involvement in acts of violence and added: "We will speak to them frankly and if they do not stop their involvement, we will not keep silent." Jawad demanded that "the wider and larger authorities confront and expose these officials." He confirmed the displacement of 40 families and the killing of over 70 people in Ba'qubah last week alone.

Jawad revealed that several officials, including Al-Wajihiyah administrator Isma'il Alwan and the director of public relations and complaints, have requested to be transferred from the governorate due to the escalation in violence.

Jawad threatened that he will declare a state of emergency if the government does not take action. He attributed the delay in imposing curfew in the districts witnessing turmoil in the governorate to the final examinations.

Meanwhile, Diyala Advisory Council Chairman Ibrahim Bajilan and Deputy Governor for Technical Affairs Imad Jalil escaped an assassination attempt when a roadside bomb explosion targeted their convoy on its way from Khanaqin to Ba'qubah. An official source in the governorate administration confirmed that a bodyguard was killed and six others were injured in the incident. The source confirmed that unidentified gunmen attacked the convoy after the explosion.

Unidentified gunmen assassinated a peddler selling children's clothing in the middle of Ba'qubah's market. Two civilians were injured in a bomb explosion in Al-Khalis District. Yesterday morning, a police patrol discovered three heads separated from the bodies, including one of an old man, near a highway in Abd-al-Hamid Village in Had Miksir District. Gunmen broke into a house in Al-Gatun District in Ba'qubah yesterday. The tenant and his two boys were killed and his wife was injured in the attack.

In related news, US forces raided a house in Al-Mafraq District in Ba'qubah and arrested five family members, including an eighty year old man, according to the district's inhabitants. They confirmed that US troops destroyed the furniture and other facilities in the house during the raid, in which US helicopters took part.

(Description of Source: Baghdad Al-Zaman in Arabic -- Baghdad-based independent Iraqi daily providing coverage of Iraqi, Arab, and international issues, headed by Iraqi journalist Sa'd al-Bazzaz; Internet version available at: http://www.azzaman.com)

Compiled and distributed by NTIS, US Dept. of Commerce. All rights reserved.

City/Source: Baghdad
DIALOG Update Date: 20060531; 16:32:21 EST '