Daily Iraq Report for March 20, 2007 ~ Bill Riggio

The Fourth Rail ^ | March 20, 2007 | Bill Riggio

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Yesterday was the 4 year anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and predictably, al Qaeda conducted a concerted attack to mark the event. Al Qaeda, however, had to settle for Kirkuk, not Baghdad, for its show of force. As we noted yesterday, the Kirkuk attack was a coordinated car bomb and roadside bomb attack that cause massed casualties in the flash point city where Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen are positioning for control over the city. Al Qaeda also struck at a Shia mosque in Baghdad. The two attacks generated the desired propaganda for al Qaeda, and also serve to stoke tensions between Iraq's ethnic groups. Al Qaeda still seeks to reignite the Sunni – Shia sectarian war.

The car bomb still remains the most powerful weapon in al Qaeda's arsenal. Al Qaeda and insurgents conducted a series of bombings in Baghdad today: a car bomb at a police station (5 killed, 17 wounded); a car bomb at a bridge in Karrada (3 killed, 7 wounded); and a bus bombing in Baghdad (3 wounded).

But the lower numbers of casualties in the attacks may be attributed to the increased security in the city. In the past, the most devastating bombs were placed on large trucks – dump trucks, fuel tankers, and other large vehicles. Mohammad Fadhil, an Iraqi blogger who lives in Baghdad, notes the number of checkpoints in the city are increasing rapidly. "With the constant force buildup many streets now host multiple checkpoints, both fixed and mobile," notes Mr. Fadhil. "All are positioned in a manner that allows soldiers in one to have visual contact with those in the next one. From my personal experience I can tell that the men staffing the checkpoints do not take their job lightly."

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Weekly Standard seems to have a problem tonight.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Another report :

Al Qaeda, the Anbar Salvation Council and the Amiriya Battles

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

Iraqi Army, al Qaeda fight second major battle in the town in just three weeks

The Fallujah - Amiriya region. Click map to view.

Iraqi security forces fought a pitched battle against al Qaeda in Iraq in the town of Amiriya this afternoon, according to Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf, the director of the operations center in the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior. “Security forces supported by paramilitary units formed by Sunni tribes fought the militants in a battle that lasted several hours,” AFP reports. “Two top militants, Shakir Hadi Jassim and Mohammed Khamis, were among the dead.” Thirty-nine al Qaeda were killed and 7 were captured during the battle. There is no word on the number of security forces or “paramilitary units formed by Sunni tribes” killed during the fighting. The paramilitary units are the Emergency Response Units – battalions of tribal fighters formed by the Anbar Salvation Council.

Omar Fahdila reports that 11 tribal fighters and six police were killed in the battle, and the U.S. troops "found and securely detonated a tanker filled with chlorine gas the terrorists were planning to use in chemical attacks on the area." The tribe fighting al Qaeda were members of the Albu Issa tribe, which al Qaeda targeted with a chlorine attack in Fallujah last weekend.

Amiriya was the scene of a major battle on March 2, when several hundred al Qaeda fighters massed and attacked the convoy of a senior leader of the Anbar Salvation Council, the grouping of tribes and former insurgents that now back the government and fight al Qaeda in Iraq. The local police held off the attack, called in for support and were backed by Iraqi police and Army, U.S. air support, and local fighters of the Thuwra al Anbar – the militia formed by the Anbar Salvation Council. Over 80 al Qaeda were reported killed and another 50 captured. The senior Anbar Salvation Council leader was traveling to attend the funeral of those killed during a savage al Qaeda suicide attack on a mosque in Habbaniyah.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

On the new Multinational Forces Iraq YouTube Channel, MNF-I published a video of U.S. forces tracking and destroying an insurgent mortar team of seven men.

Video available at the link for this report.....just outstanding.

[Billthedrill]

BTT. Great video. I love (sniff!) a happy ending.

[Fred Nerks]

"Video available at the link for this report.....just outstanding."

LOVED IT! BOOM! (Watched it thrice!)

http://billroggio.com/dailyiraqreport/2007/03/daily_iraq_report_for_march_20.php

[Marine_Uncle]

These new tribal initiative shall surely pay off in due time. AQIR cannot with it's relatively small number, hope to both fight the Iraqi police/army, the US forces as well as this new tribal faction. Iraqi know who are Iraqi and who are not, for the most part. As each nest is found and the vipers killed off, or captured and waterboarded, more will be found. Eventually most all bomb builders will be killed off or captured, as well as the sites/resources they have used to make car bombs, and persoanl IEDs. Meanwhile, the provinces are getting a chance to work more closely with the federal government and vice versa..
At any rate. Think I will call it a day. Have to go back to work tommorow, after having a day off to food shop, wash cloths and hack at ice preventing the basement back door from opening. Must have had almost six inches that turned to ice. With having to work the days the NE went through the snow/ice storm, I never got a chance to work on the back of the house, where the trash must be taken out.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Still winter?

My Roses are about to break out in glorious blooms....YEAH!!!!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

What else can you do for excitement in the Australian OUTBACK....?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Think I'll watch it again.....so Nice!

[Marine_Uncle]

Enjoy them Ernest. Nothing like the lovely smells and looks of such beautiful flowers as roses. The rose bush outside my mom's house is half buried in half frozen snow. Of course the nitrates from the snow will give it real life in another month or so. Have a good one. Sign off time is now.

[Fred Nerks]

Kill snakes.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

You guys have some of the most deadly snakes known to man,...shudder.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From the Strata Sphere Blog:

Iraqis Attack al Qaeda In Fallujah

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

If anyone doesn’t think the tide is turning in Iraq they missed this news where Iraqis opened a can of “WhoopAss” on al Qaeda in Fallujah:

Members of an Iraqi tribe along with local police managed to kill 39 al-Qaeda fighters in the town of Falluja, west of the capital city, Iraq’s state TV said on Tuesday.

The clash between the two sides resulted also in the arrest of seven more al-Qaeda fighters, said the TV station. Falluja falls within the al-Anbar province which has witnessed a marked escalation in recent times in the pursuit of fighters from the al-Qaeda by local tribesmen with the full support of local government forces.

This is a very monumental event for Iraq. If the Sunni’s in the al Qaeda stronghold start taking out al Qaeda (as I predicted they might after al Qaeda basically was left to only kill Muslims in chemical weapons attacks) then we have hit a major turning point.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Just posted :

Iraq Bombers Blow Up 2 Children Used as Decoys (NYT)

[Fred Nerks]

The bombers parked the vehicle across the street from a school then ran away, leaving the children inside, the official told the news agency. The blast killed the children and three other civilians and wounded seven, the official said...

rock-worshipping ilsamofascist scum.

[Fred Nerks]

Iraqi Police Clear Central Ramadi (without US help)
WTOC11 ^ | March 20 2007


Posted on 03/20/2007 9:15:43 PM PDT by jmc1969

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1804131/posts

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks....good stuff is happening!

[Fred Nerks]

Now that the tide has turned, stuff will come in so thick and fast we won't be able to keep up. (And the MSM will try, but they won't be able to hide it.)

It's all going to sound like that Pelosi spoof: So much success in Iraq proves the surge isn't working...LOL!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Here is another good report:

American forces liberate more than 200 abducted in Muqdadiya