Soldiers from 2nd Platoon, A Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, sort through weapons found in the vehicle of three insurgents killed Friday in Mosul, Iraq. (James J. Lee)
Posted on 07/08/2005 5:05:46 PM PDT by Gucho
Soldiers from 2nd Platoon, A Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, sort through weapons found in the vehicle of three insurgents killed Friday in Mosul, Iraq. (James J. Lee)
Fighters set ablaze Iraqi oil refinery
Friday 08 July 2005
A huge fire has broken out at the Dura oil refinery outside Baghdad after it was hit by a mortar shell, an Interior Ministry source says.
Firemen were on the scene trying to bring the blaze under control on Friday evening, he said.
"This is a major fire because the mortar fell on the petrol refining area. There are probably many victims. Many ambulances have arrived on the scene," said civil defence spokesman Kazem Bashir Salem.
"Everyone is mobilised. We have sent firemen from 13 stations in Karkh and those in Rasafa are on alert," he said. Karkh is on the west bank of the Tigris in Baghdad and Rasafa the east.
The Dura refinery supplies Baghdad with most of its petrol needs, while fighters have repeatedly targeted Iraq's vital oil infrastructure in the hope of preventing the country's economic recovery.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C7243244-9F79-4EA1-B8E5-D1590D3999E6.htm
Today in History - July 9, 2005
Jul 9, 2005 3:00 am US/Eastern
(AP) Today is Saturday, July 9, the 190th day of 2005. There are 175 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On July 9, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read aloud to Gen. George Washington’s troops in New York.
On this date:
In 1540, England’s King Henry VIII had his six-month-old marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, annulled.
In 1755, British Gen. Edward Braddock was mortally wounded as his troops suffered a massive defeat during the French and Indian War (he died four days later).
In 1816, Argentina declared independence from Spain.
In 1850, the 12th president of the United States, Zachary Taylor, died after serving only 16 months of his term.
In 1896, William Jennings Bryan delivered his famous “cross of gold” speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
In 1918, 101 people were killed in a train collision in Nashville, Tenn.
In 1944, during World War II, American forces secured Saipan as the last Japanese defenses fell.
In 1947, the engagement of Britain’s Princess Elizabeth to Lt.
Philip Mountbatten was announced.
In 1951, President Truman asked Congress to formally end the state of war between the United States and Germany.
In 1982, a Pan Am Boeing 727 crashed in Kenner, La., killing all 146 people aboard and eight people on the ground.
Ten years ago: French commandos boarded the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior II in the South Pacific. Pete Sampras won the men’s singles title at Wimbledon by defeating Boris Becker, 6-7 (7-5), 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.
Five years ago: The 13th International AIDS Conference opened in Durban, South Africa. Twelve people died in a soccer stampede set off when police fired tear gas at bottle-throwing fans during a World Cup qualifier between Zimbabwe and South Africa in Harare, Zimbabwe. (South Africa’s 2-0 victory over Zimbabwe was ruled official.) Top-seeded Pete Sampras won his seventh Wimbledon title as he defeated Patrick Rafter, 6-7 (10), 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-2.
One year ago: A Senate Intelligence Committee report concluded the CIA had provided unfounded assessments of the threat posed by Iraq that the Bush administration relied on to justify going to war. The International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s planned barrier in the West Bank barrier violated international law. Paul Klebnikov, the American editor of Forbes magazine’s Russian edition, was gunned down near his Moscow office. Actress Isabel Sanford died in Los Angeles at age 86.
Today’s Birthdays: Former British Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath is 89. Actor-singer Ed Ames is 78. Singer-songwriter Lee Hazelwood is 76. Actor James Hampton is 69. Actor Brian Dennehy is 67. Actor Richard Roundtree is 63. Author Dean Koontz is 60. Football Hall-of-Famer O.J. Simpson is 58. Actor Chris Cooper is 54. TV personality John Tesh is 53. Country singer David Ball is 52. Rhythm-and-blues singer Debbie Sledge (Sister Sledge) is 51. Actor Jimmy Smits is 50. Actress Lisa Banes is 50. Actor Tom Hanks is 49. Singer Marc Almond is 48. Actress Kelly McGillis is 48. Rock singer Jim Kerr (Simple Minds) is 46. Actress-rock singer Courtney Love is 41. Rock musician Frank Bello (Anthrax) is 40. Actor David O’Hara is 40. Actor Scott Grimes is 34. Actor Enrique Murciano is 32. Rock musician Dan Estrin (Hoobastank) is 29. Actor Fred Savage is 29. Country musician Pat Allingham is 27. Actress Megan Parlen is 25. Rhythm-and-blues singer Kiely Williams (3LW) is 19.
Thought for Today: “Invest in the human soul. Who knows, it might be a diamond in the rough.”—Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator and reformer (1875-1955).
http://cbsnewyork.com/topstories/topstories_story_178151056.html
© 2005 The Associated Press.
Associated Press
Last updated: 4:13 a.m., Saturday, July 9, 2005
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- About 600 U.S. Marines and Iraqi soldiers launched a fourth counterinsurgency operation in less than a month in a volatile western province in Iraq, this time near Fallujah, the military said Saturday.
The counterinsurgency offensive, called Operation Scimitar, started Thursday with targeted raids in Zaidan, 19 miles southeast of Fallujah. Two days later, 22 suspected insurgents had been detained.
The military said it did not announce the offensive earlier because commanders did not want to tip off insurgents that a major operation had begun.
The offensive -- named after a curved sword -- includes 500 Marines from the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team-8, a highly trained infantry unit stationed in Okinawa, Japan, the military said.
About 100 Iraqi soldiers are supporting the operation, which is designed to disrupt insurgent activity in the Anbar province.
The latest counterinsurgency offensive in the province came on the heels of Operations Spear, Dagger and Sword. There are a number of insurgent strongholds in Anbar, which stretches from Baghdad to the Syrian border.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press
TALIBAN CLAIM IT HAS KILLED MISSING US SOLDIER, US MILITARY SAYS
09 Jul 2005 07:30:02 GMT
Source: Reuters
TALIBAN CLAIM IT HAS KILLED MISSING US SOLDIER, US MILITARY SAYS NO INFORMATION
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP272262.htm
Saturday July 09, 2005
MOSUL, Iraq (AP) Masked gunmen opened fire at the an official with the country's largest Shiite Muslim group Saturday in Mosul, wounding him and three of his bodyguards, hospital officials said.
Yahya al-Haidari, a provincial official of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, was shot as he drove in the Hadba neighborhood of the northern city, said Dr. Baha al-Din al-Bakri of the Jumhuri Hospital.
Al-Haidari was hit by three bullets and was in stable condition, al-Bakri said. His bodyguards were being treated at the same hospital and were in stable condition.
A member of Ninevah province's council, Hamid Ali, confirmed al-Bakri's statements.
Sunni Arab insurgents have been targeting majority Shiites, who dominate Iraq's government.
Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press
Iraq Constitution Drafters Short on Time
By MARIAM FAM, Associated Press Writer
July 9, 2005
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi lawmakers and politicians drafting a new constitution face an abundance of tough issues: the structure of government, federalism and the role of religion — and only five weeks to resolve them.
The daunting task is compounded by the diversity of Iraq's ethnic and religious groups, each clamoring for a charter that accommodates sometimes competing agendas. It took weeks just to agree on the makeup of the committee drafting the document.
Federalism is emerging as the stickiest issue.
Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish member of the drafting committee, said those involved largely agree on a federal Iraq. But some Sunni Arabs cannot accept the concept — a deal-breaker for the Kurds who had been running their own northern region for more than a decade before the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein.
"They think that federalism will lead to dividing the country. We think that it will unify the country," Othman said.
Even if all authors accept the concept, difficult details must be worked out, including the boundaries and powers of regional governments, the number of federal entities and the distribution of revenue.
The Iraqi parliament has until Aug. 15 to adopt a draft constitution, which will be put to a nationwide referendum by mid-October. If approved, it will provide the basis for a new election in December — the last of three nationwide votes prescribed in an interim constitution.
Jawad al-Maliki, a senior Shiite lawmaker in the committee, said some Kurds want federal regions to have the right to an army and to sign agreements with neighboring countries, powers he said should only belong to the central government.
The Kurds also want their federal region to include areas "with Kurdish identity" even when they lie outside the provinces they now control, he said. "We object to such ethnic divisions," al-Maliki said.
Othman, a former member of the disbanded Iraqi Governing Council, believes regional governments should have most powers apart from foreign relations, defense and planning affairs. He said a federal system should recognize the uniqueness of ethnic groups that have their own culture and language, adding the Kurds only want their region to include those Kurdish areas that are next to the ones they already run.
Some Shiites also have called for establishing federal regions in central and southern Iraq.
Salih al-Mutlak, a Sunni Arab politician, said he was alarmed by the proposed language. "This is the beginning of dividing Iraq," he said of some Kurdish demands.
Al-Mutlak is among 15 Sunni Arabs added to the 55-member drafting committee after some members of the minority threatened to scuttle the charter by opposing it in an October referendum unless they got more representation in the drafting phase.
Shiite and Kurdish politicians — who struck an alliance after coming first and second in historic Jan. 30 polls — know they cannot afford to alienate Sunnis Arabs, but some worry about including them.
Sunnis boycotted the parliamentary elections and are believed to make up the core of an insurgency that has killed more than 1,475 people since the Shiite-dominated interim government took office on April 28.
"They have different views. There are nationalists and Islamists and some have extremist opinions. This can create complications and problems." Othman said. "But we think that their presence is necessary."
Shiite legislator Jalal al-Deen al-Saghir said discussions with the Sunnis Arabs were "positive," but added: "There is a fear that some ... may want to scuttle the constitution from the inside."
In a recent interview with the Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, said the constitution could be drafted on time if Sunni Arabs "don't come up with impossible conditions," such as scrapping the law banning former senior members of Saddam's Baath party from public institutions.
"This law can be amended, but cannot be canceled," Talabani said.
Parliament recently adopted a statement that forbids the activities of the "fascist" Baath party.
Articulating Iraq's relationship to the Arab and Islamic worlds also is a sensitive issue.
"They should write that the Arabs of Iraq are part of the Arab nation," said Othman. "Or even better, drop the whole sentence."
Al-Mutlak called for stronger language, saying Iraq is an Arab country — despite a Kurdish minority estimated at about 15 percent to 20 percent.
Some secular-minded Iraqis fear the Shiites might demand a bigger role for religion. But politicians said there's general agreement on stating that Islam will be "a main source of legislation."
Also on the table is the shape of the government, with lawmakers favoring a parliamentary system.
U.S. officials have strongly urged Iraqis to honor the set deadlines, but some legislators are skeptical all the issues could be resolved on time.
Some say the thorny subjects should be left out until after the December vote. Others insist the constitution has be comprehensive and complete.
"All these issues won't be big problems if we have the will to reach an agreement," said al-Maliki, the Shiite lawmaker. "But if we want to look for differences, we'll find differences."
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050709/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_constitution_2
Iraq Update
This article was sent by Maj Gen Ben Harrison (ret), as many of you know Gen Harrison was 3rd Bde commander during battle of Ripcord and is active in Ripcord Association. Hello folks-- Dan McGowan sent this quite different report from a cameraman just returned from a visit to Iraq. I think you will appreciate this different perspective.
Jpdgoc writes :
Hello to all, I have returned from my 27 day trip to Iraq. It was a good trip but I can tell you that I think I have had enough of that place. We shot a lot of good stuff but the show itself won't be on for a year or more. I will tell you about some interesting things I saw.
I will say that things seem to be much better than they appear in the news reports. I was there during the big increase in violence but I can tell you that it doesn't seem to be having much affect on the people of Iraq and certainly not on the US troops.. The general feeling is that what we are seeing is the dying breaths of an insurgency. The insurgents no longer shoot at the soldiers. Most of the guys we are with haven't made contact with enemy in weeks. All they talk about is that they wish these guys would show their faces so that they can have a fair fight. The only weapon that they have left is the car bomb. Most of the big roads used to be littered with bombs but those are way down because the Iraqis are now doing the patrolling so the bad guys are now down to car bombs that they can make while in hiding. I was at the site of a car bombing shortly after the explosion at the gate of a base I was on and the Army soldier who was at the gate when it happened said as the man drove up he saw that his hands were handcuffed to the steering wheel. Intelligence reports indicate that they are kidnapping men's families and then telling the man he must drive the car to a location or his family will be killed. They then follow him in a second car and remote detonate the explosive when he gets near the target. There have been cases when the driver has detoured and the car was exploded with little effect because the driver was trying to get away.
The bombs are now being blown in public places because the bases are very secure and the Iraqi forces have learned to protect themselves, so all that is left are the people. Speaking of which, I spent a lot of time on the street in and around Baghdad and I can say that in all of my trips to Iraq I have never seen so many people coming up to soldiers on the street to give them tips about bad guys. You have to be careful because sometimes it's a tribal or neighborhood feud that you are hearing about. One guy is just trying to get his competition in trouble even though he may have nothing to do with the insurgency. But it was exciting and encouraging to see a few people trying to cooperate with soldiers. I had never seen that before.
I also could not believe that almost every patrol I went on and every single raid I was on was done in tandem with Iraqi forces. In the case of the raids, the US guys are no longer kicking in the doors. They are only rolling for backup and in almost every case the commanding officer mentioned that while these guys are no Navy Seals but they are improving by leaps and bounds. In parts of Baghdad the Iraqis have been assigned battle space without everyday US supervision. And they plan to turn over huge chunks to the Iraqis in the next few months. I was told several times that where they had tough neighborhoods and bad stretches of bomb filled roads they just send the Iraqis in and in a week and a half the insurgent activity goes down to nothing. I know that even as I say all these wonderful things there was a big operation out at the Syrian border. We were told about the operation the day before it started and a general said that they believe that the previously uncontested area was the last good hide out for bad people. And a few days later when the numbers stared rolling in we were told that as the marines were fighting street to street that the locals were coming out of their houses and pointing out the locations of all the bad guys. I certainly have never seen that before. Things are getting much better and at a pace I never thought possible and I hope and believe that by the end of this year that there will be no more need for [ our soldiers ] memorial services. We will have troops in Iraq for years to come I imagine but I see the Iraqi people standing up for themselves for the first time. We may never see an Iraq that looks, acts and holds close the values that we have as Americans but I can see the forming of a stable government and a military able to defend itself and to rid the country of radicals wanting to inflict terror. That's all we need to start bringing people home. The morale was incredibly high...the food was great...the sleeping and showering conditions were at an all time high. Hopefully the end of 2005 will see huge strides in our withdrawal of troops. I believe us to be on that path
July 9, 2005
By Matthew Jones and Jeremy Lovell
LONDON (Reuters) - The three bombs that ripped through London underground trains this week went off almost simultaneously, police said on Saturday, making it more likely they were detonated by timers rather than suicide bombers.
A fourth bomb that blew up a bus almost an hour later was probably left in a bag and not triggered by a suicide bomber, they added.
The blasts killed more than 50 people. Police did not speculate why the fourth bomb went off on a bus but media and security experts speculated that it had initially been destined for a train.
Investigators were struggling in extreme heat to retrieve bodies still trapped underground two days after the attacks, and anxious relatives were frantically looking for loved ones missing since the rush-hour blasts on Thursday morning.
Police said the process of recovering bodies could continue for days in a hot, narrow and rat-infested tunnel deep below ground at King's Cross station.
"This is going to be a very long process...the conditions are extremely difficult. They're working their way through and bodies have been removed. We're very conscious of the anguish of those who are awaiting news of their loved ones," said Andy Trotter, deputy chief constable at British Transport Police.
DEADLIEST ATTACK
The government said people across Britain would be asked to observe two minutes' silence at noon on Thursday, a week after the deadliest peacetime attack on the capital.
Police, who have made no arrests, said they were looking for no specific individuals and the bombs were made of high explosive, not home-made materials.
A third Islamist group claimed responsibility for the blasts, which government ministers said bore the hallmarks of the Islamic militant al Qaeda network which was behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
"All three bombs on the London Underground system actually exploded within seconds of each other at around 8:50 in the morning," Scotland Yard Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick told a news conference.
He said the fact that the bombs went off within 50 seconds of each other suggested they were set off by timers rather than detonated manually, although police did not rule that out.
Police previously believed the three blasts were spread over nearly half an hour, but revised their information in the light of new technical data and witness statements, he said.
ODD ONE OUT
The fourth bomb exploded on a bus near Euston railway station at 9:47 a.m.
"The most logical explanation is that one of the terrorists was unable to board an underground train -- probably because of the rapid closure of the system -- and ended up with a primed bomb and no target," said Dominic Armstrong, head of research and intelligence at security group Aegis Defense Services.
"In the circumstances, it seems understandable that he should seek another similar target quickly."
Flowers, notes and appeals for information about missing relatives piled up outside King's Cross station. About 30 people, of many nationalities and religions, were still unaccounted for.
"Barbarism will never kill freedom," read one note in French. "Madrid is with London," said another. Train bombings linked to al Qaeda killed 191 people in Madrid last year.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair told BBC radio: "This type of terrorism has very deep roots...it is only when you start to pull it up by the roots that you will deal with it."
BUSH: 'STAY ON THE OFFENCE'
His key ally, President Bush, reiterated this admiration for Britain's calm reaction and resilience.
Warning Americans the threat of attacks remained, he said in his weekly radio address: "We will stay on the offence, fighting the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them at home."
Police said 49 people were confirmed dead in London, but emergency staff were still trying to retrieve bodies in one of the subway system's deepest tunnels. One expert likened the conditions to working in a "foetid drain."
Police say there could be more attacks and security experts suggest would-be attackers could opt to kill themselves and take as many victims with them as possible if confronted.
"It's perfectly possible ... terrorists could strike again. This time they got through but we are quite determined to redouble our efforts to keep London safe," Trotter said.
Life was returning to normal in the capital on Saturday but there were a number of false alarms, including one at an underground station.
NEW CLAIM
A group which said it had links to al Qaeda called the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades said it was behind the blasts and suggested it could strike again. It was the third such claim by an Islamist group since the explosions.
The group has said it was behind previous attacks in Turkey and Spain. However, intelligence sources treated its statements with skepticism, seeing it as an opportunistic group trying to associate itself with al Qaeda.
Two other groups had already claimed responsibility for the London attacks, saying the blasts were punishment for Britain's involvement in Iraq, and other U.S. allies could be next.
Parts of London's transport network, which carries three million people a day, could be disrupted for weeks.
Sure thing! BTTT!
BREAKING NEWS:
British Evacuate Birmingham District
Saturday July 9, 2005 9:31 PM
By ROBERT BARR
Associated Press Writer
LONDON (AP) - Police ordered the evacuation of the entertainment district in central Birmingham late Saturday because of intelligence suggesting a security threat.
Police initially restricted road traffic into the city center, but then ordered an evacuation after receiving further intelligence, a police spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity.
She estimated there were nearly 200 bars and clubs in the Broad Street entertainment district.
Birmingham, 110 miles northwest of London, was the target of one of the worst Irish Republican Army bombings of the 1970s. Twenty-one people died when the IRA bombed two pubs on Nov. 21, 1974.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5130109,00.html
= Birmingham, England GB
U.S. Launches Operation Scimitar in Iraq (Update)
Saturday July 9, 2005 3:46 PM
By FRANK GRIFFITHS
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - About 600 U.S. Marines and Iraqi soldiers have launched a fourth offensive against insurgents in less than a month in a volatile western province in Iraq, the military said Saturday.
Operation Scimitar started Thursday with targeted raids in the village of Zaidan, 20 miles southeast of Fallujah. So far, 22 suspected insurgents had been detained. Fallujah was a major insurgent bastion until U.S. forces overran the city in November.
A U.S. Air Force Predator also conducted a strike Friday against militants near Qaim, an Anbar province town on the Syrian border, the military said. The Predator fired a Hellfire missile at a truck carrying rocket-propelled grenades and suspected insurgents.
Two insurgents were killed, said Marine 1st Lt. Pamela Marshall, a spokeswoman.
The military said it did not announce the Operation Scimitar earlier because commanders did not want to tip off insurgents. The campaign - named after a curved Asian sword - includes 500 Marines from the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team-8, stationed in Okinawa, Japan, the military said.
About 100 Iraqi soldiers were supporting the operation, which was designed to disrupt insurgent activity in the Anbar province, which stretches from Baghdad to the Syrian border and holds a number of insurgent strongholds. Fallujah is 40 miles west of the capital.
The latest counterinsurgency offensive in the province came on the heels of Operations Spear, Dagger and Sword.
The heaviest fighting occurred during Operation Spear in mid-June in Karabilah, near the porous Syrian border, which intelligence officials believe is the main gateway for foreign fighters entering Iraq.
The military said it killed about 50 insurgents in airstrikes, tank shelling and gunbattles during Operation Spear. Sections of Karabilah were left in rubble.
Separately, radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has issued a religious decree to collect 1 million signatures for a petition demanding U.S.-led foreign troops leave the country. Dozens of people, including young boys, signed the petition in the Sadr City slum in eastern Baghdad on Saturday.
Al-Sadr, who opposes the foreign presence in Iraq, recently has taken on a higher public profile after emerging from months of hiding following clashes last year between U.S. troops and his militiamen.
The head of Iraq's karate union also has been kidnapped south of Baghdad, sports officials said Saturday. Ali Shakir was abducted Thursday afternoon in Latifiyah, about 20 miles south of Baghdad, while on his way home, said Ahmed Hashim, an Iraq Olympic committee official.
It was not clear why Shakir was taken, but insurgents have frequently targeted members of the U.S.-backed Iraqi government. The Iraqi Union of Karate is a government agency.
Elsewhere Saturday, gunmen in three cars killed police Capt. Saad Mihsin Abdul Sadah in Amiriyah, 25 miles west of Baghdad. He was on his way to work at the Interior Ministry, police said.
The insurgency frequently targets Iraq's security forces, but has started focusing on attacking foreign diplomats in recent days as part of a new trend apparently aimed at isolating the country from the Arab world.
A roadside bomb hit an American convoy in the central city of Samarra, damaging one Humvee, police Capt. Laith Mohammed said. No casualties were reported. A separate mortar attack in downtown Samarra wounded three women, he said.
At the G-8 summit in Scotland Friday, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi said his government would begin withdrawing about 300 troops from Iraq in September - subject to security conditions at the time.
The moves came as violent incidents in the Iraqi capital are declining since Iraq's U.S.-backed forces launched an operation against insurgents in the city six weeks ago.
The commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad, Maj. Gen. William G. Webster Jr., said car bombings had dropped from 14 to 21 a week in May to about seven or eight a week now. But he said it was ``very difficult to know'' whether the insurgency has been broken.
Iraqi officials have become concerned about a possible exodus of diplomats from Baghdad after a Web site claim Thursday by al-Qaida in Iraq that it had killed Egypt's top envoy after kidnapping him. The claim could not be independently verified.
Egyptian and Iraqi officials said Egypt would temporarily close its mission in Iraq and recall its staff - although Ihab al-Sherif's body has not been found and the Web statement contained no photographic evidence of his death.
Pakistan's Ambassador Mohammed Younis Khan left the country Wednesday after his convoy was fired on in a kidnap attempt. Bahrain's top envoy, Hassan Malallah al-Ansari, was expected to leave soon after he was slightly wounded in a separate attempt.
In its Web statement, the country's most feared terror group said it wanted to seize ``as many ambassadors as we can'' to punish governments that support Iraq's Shiite-dominated government.
Sunni Arabs, who dominated Iraq until fellow Sunni Saddam Hussein was ousted in 2003, boycotted January elections and are believed to make up the core of an insurgency that has killed more than 1,475 people since the Shiite- and Kurdish-led government took office on April 28.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5129664,00.html
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