Daily Iraq Report for March 17, 2007 ~ Bill Riggio

The Fourth Rail ^ | March 17, 2007 | Bill Riggio

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The past 24 hours has seen three major developments: a triple chemical attack in Anbar province, Sadr called for resistance to the U.S. in Sadr City, and the implementation of the security plan in Diyala. There have been no major terror attacks inside Baghdad over the past day, and the sectarian violence still remains under control.

Al Qaeda in Iraq has stepped up its campaign to destroy the tribal leaders of the Anbar Salvation Council in western Iraq. Al Qaeda conducted a triple chlorine gas suicide attack in Amiriya, Fallujah and Ramadi Two were killed and over 360 were poisoned in the ensuing gas clouds. The attacks in Fallujah and Amiriya were clearly aimed at leaders of the Anbar Salvation Council, while the Ramadi attack was stopped at a police checkpoint.

During Friday prayers, one of Sadr's clerics read a statement urging the people of Sadr City to oppose the U.S. presence inside the neighborhood. "I trust that you have taken them as your enemies, for the enemies of God are your enemies, inevitably... unity against your enemy and shout 'No, No, America! No, No Israel!, No, No Satan!'" A couple of thousand Sadr supporters demonstrated in the streets afterwards. This comes after negotiations with the Coalition and elements in the Mahdi Army pick up steam. Today, police in Hillah arrested 44 members of Sadr's Mahdi Army after an attack on a police patrol. Hillah has been placed under curfew to prevent protests in support of Sadr.

In Diyala, Iraqi sources are leaking that a Diyala operation is now underway, and will consist U.S. forces backed by Iraqi Army and police.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

There have been no major terror attacks inside Baghdad over the past day, and the sectarian violence still remains under control.

Anyone see a Headline in the Drive By Media that reflects THAT FACT?

[Anti-Bubba182]

We should have killed fat boy several years back.

[RacerX1128]

another one from Iraq the Model blog:

Saturday, March 17, 2007

One thing al-Qaeda excels at; making new enemies.
With this series of dirty chemical bombings a war between al-Qaeda and the tribes in Anbar is no longer a possibility. It just became a fact.

I've read at least two very optimistic reports from al-Almada in the last week about purported victories of the tribes and police over al-Qaeda in Ramadi and Fallujah. I was reluctant to trust the accuracy of the reports which sited unnamed sources but now seeing the reaction of al-Qaeda suggests that the action of the tribes was so painful that al-Qaeda retaliated in the way we see today.

Al-Qaeda's terrorists-whom AP insists on calling insurgents-expended three suicide bombers and precious resources against their supposedly sympathetic civilian Sunni hosts instead of American and Iraqi soldiers and Shia civilians; their usual enemies.
If this indicates anything it indicates that al-Qaeda's is reprioritizing the targets on the hit list. The reason: al-Qaeda is sensing a serious threat in the change of attitude of the tribes toward them and perhaps the apparently successful meeting of the sheiks with Maliki and the agreements that were made then was the point at which open war had to be declared.

The tribes in Anbar are stubborn and they have many ruthless warriors. That's a proven fact and it looks like Al-Qaeda had just made their gravest mistake—their once best friends are just about to become their worst enemy.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Link from the report above:

PLAN DIYALA?
Restive Province Sees Heavy Fighting

*********************************EXCERPT***********************************

Photo by AFP.

A US convoy hit by a roadside bomb in Ba'quba, Diyala Province, in January.

On its first day of operation in Diyala, a US Stryker column came under heavy attack in Diyala Province, in which one US soldier was killed, twelve wounded, and two Strykers were destroyed, one by a roadside bomb, and another by a sophisticated ambush laid by armed militants, the Associated Press reports.

The Stryker is a 17-ton armored vehicle used to reinforce infantry operations.

The US has recently shifted more forces to Diyala, dispatching the Stryker brigade earlier in the week. The US has said that attacks on coalition and Iraqi troops has risen in Diyala province, in part because armed groups have shifted their operations out of Baghdad in the context of the capital’s security plan.

A “security plan” for Diyala Province is also underway, Iraqi sources say. Aswat al-Iraq reports in Arabic that a "security official" in the Iraqi police said Friday that joint Iraqi-American forces started implementation of a security plan in Diyala Province, in the areas of Ba'quba and other districts which have seen an increase in the rate of armed attacks, while a tribal source in Muqdadiya told the agency that tribesmen will begin operation to purge the district of armed groups.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

This is the al-Queda bunch,...not the Mahdi Army....they are still quiet except for demostrations....I believe.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From the link above:

“The new plan aims to eliminate the armed groups in Diyala, and we have intelligence that confirms the flight of several of the members of these groups from the capital, Baghdad, to areas of the province of Diyala,

[Valin]

Grrrr Ya beat me to it!

[Valin]

What's the old saying...don't run away, you'll just die tired.

[SunkenCiv]

A couple of thousand Sadr supporters demonstrated in the streets afterwards.

Seems like a good time for one of those big nets, like in the Planet of the Apes...

[Just Lori]

On its first day of operation in Diyala, a US Stryker column came under heavy attack in Diyala Province, in which one US soldier was killed, twelve wounded...

Prayers up!

We WILL continue to kick the terrorists where it hurts, so long as we let the military run the war. Freedom has never been free.

[Marine_Uncle]

I do believe over the next few months fatso's militia will be taken apart piecemeal for those that choose to start any trouble. Perhaps only a few thousand at most may turn out to be hard core, now that their leader slipped away to safety.