Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

 
HEADLINES
  
IRAQI NEWS
·         US Hummer destroyed in northern Iraq; US troops raid homes, make arrests
·         Four dead, 19 wounded in suicide blast south of Baghdad
·         Iraqi government says 60,000 return to Al-Fallujah, others "within week"
·         Car bomb kills one in Babil-Al-Sharqiah
·         Clashes erupt in Samarra- Al-Sharqiah
·         School destroyed in Tikrit- Al-Sharqiah
·         Three bodies found- Al-Sharqiah
·         Salah-al-Din police commander sacked- Al-Sharqiah
·         Four family members killed in US air raid north of Baghdad- Al-Sharqiah
·         Iraqi Independent Electoral Commission in Samarra resigns- Al-Sharqiah
·         Iraqi Communist Party secretary delivers speech ahead of elections- Tariq al-Sha'b
·         Tikrit delegation kidnapped-IRAQ FOR ALL
·         Writer calls on Kurdish leaders to demand vote delay- Khabat, Arbil
·         Kurdistan Democratic Party newspaper comments on Armitage's visit to Kurdistan- Al-Ta'akhi
IRAQI PRESS QUOTES, 8 JAN 05
·         Iraq's neighbouring countries;'' Are they really mean to end their interference''? - Al-Dustur
·         ``Political entities activeties in the Iraqi arena, a lack of wide popular support''-Al-Adalah
·         The current argument over the elections - Al-Sharq al-Awsat
·         The missile launched on Arbil university students; political message ' - Al-Zaman
IRAQI PRESS HEADLINES, 8 JAN 05
·         Al-Nahdhah [Baghdad, political daily newspaper]
·         Al-Zaman [Baghdad edition of London-based independent daily newspaper]
IRAQI MEDIA PROGRAMME SUMMARIES 8 JAN 2005
·         Programme summary of Al-Sharqiyah TV news 8 Jan 05
·         Programme summary of Al-Iraqiyah TV news 8 Jan 05
UPDATES FROM IRAQI KURDISH PRESS, 9 JAN 05
·         Iraqi Officials Seriously Consider for Poll Postponement:
·         US Mosul Commander Visit Barzani, Apologize for Erbil Attack:
·         KDP Politicians Survives Second Assassination Attempt
·         The US Prevented Kirkuk Joining Kurdistan Region, Ambassador Says
·         Allawi Exempts Kurdistan from Extended Emergency State
·         Police Bullets Disperse Sulaymanya Demonstrating Students
·         Briefly: From Kurdistani Nwe daily issued by the PUK:
·         From Khabat, issued by the KDP:

IRAQI NEWS

US Hummer destroyed in northern Iraq; US troops raid homes, make arrests

Dar Al-Salam Radio, Iraqi Islamic Party-affiliated, 8 Jan 04:Dar al-Salam correspondent in Bayji district in the Salah-al-Din Governorate has said that an explosive charge went off on a highway in northern Bayji [200 km northwest of Baghdad] while a US occupation military patrol was passing by. The incident led to the destruction of a Hummer military vehicle. In a related development, the US occupation forces raided a number of houses in the area of Al-Asri neighbourhood in Bayji. These forces sealed off roads in the area and arrested a number of the district's residents.

Four dead, 19 wounded in suicide blast south of Baghdad

Al-Sharqiyah Satellite Channel, Baghdad, in Arabic, 8 Jan 04: The Iraqi police have announced that a suicide bomber detonated his booby-trapped car today in a fuel station near a checkpoint manned by the Iraqi police and army in southern Baghdad, killing four civilians and wounding 19 others.The Iraqi police said that most of the killed were at a fuel station in the town of Al-Mahawil [85 km] south of Baghdad. The station was crowded with people amid a continued fuel shortage.The explosion destroyed at least three cars. None of the police or army personnel, who were guarding the checkpoint that was not far away, were hurt. The police noted that the explosion was possibly targeting the fuel station. The motive behind the attack is not clear yet. [Video shows doctor treating wounded man at hospital]

Iraqi government says 60,000 return to Al-Fallujah, others "within week"

Al-Sharqiyah Satellite Channel, Baghdad, in Arabic, 8 Jan 04: The Iraqi government announced today that around 60,000 of Al-Fallujah's residents had returned to their houses since 23 December 2004. The government stressed that the return of all the residents of this city would be completed within a week.An official government statement said that these residents had returned to their houses in the neighbourhoods of Al-Jawlan, Al-Nu'aymiyah, Al-Ta'mim and Dur al-Sikak, in addition to other neighbourhoods in the city.The government announced that it had set a one-week deadline, starting today [8 January], for the return of the residents of the remaining neighbourhoods with an average of one or two neighbourhoods each day. The residents of Al-Dhubbat, Al-Shurtah, Al-Shuhada, Al-Sina'i and Al-Askari neighbourhoods will be able to return to their houses.The statement stressed that all of Al-Fallujah's neighbourhoods and areas would thus be ready and open to citizens next Friday. [Video shows citizens standing in street]

Car bomb kills one in Babil-Al-Sharqiah

Al-Sharqiyah Satellite Channel, Baghdad, in Arabic 8 Jan 05: One person was killed and 20 others were wounded on 8 January when a booby-trapped car exploded in the city of Al-Mahawil in Babil Governorate, south of Baghdad, Al-Sharqiyah TV reported. Captain Hadi Atif, spokesman for Babil police, said that the car exploded near a petrol station at 0500 gmt. He added that it had also damaged a number of cars.

Clashes erupt in Samarra- Al-Sharqiah

Al-Sharqiyah Satellite Channel, Baghdad, in Arabic 8 Jan 05: Clashes broke out on 8 January between unidentified gunmen and US forces in Samarra, north of Baghdad, Al-Sharqiyah TV reported. A TV correspondent in the city said a number of civilians had been wounded as a result of the clashes, in Al-Shurtah and Al-Armusiyah districts. The correspondent added that a civilian had been killed when an explosive charge went off in Al-Bubaz are in the centre of the city and that US forces had defused another explosive charge planted on a road used by US patrols in Al-Mu'alimin district.

School destroyed in Tikrit- Al-Sharqiah

Al-Sharqiyah Satellite Channel, Baghdad, in Arabic 8 Jan 05 Unidentified gunmen attacked and destroyed Al-Watan al-Arabi school in Al-Alam in northern Tikrit on 8 January, Al-Sharqiyah TV reported. A source at Tikrit police said that there had been plans to use the destroyed school as a polling station.

Three bodies found- Al-Sharqiah

Al-Sharqiyah Satellite Channel, Baghdad, in Arabic 8 Jan 05: A source with Tikrit police said that three unidentified bodies had been found near the city of Al-Dur on 8 January, Al-Sharqiyah TV reported. The source said that the victims, who were blindfolded and whose hands were tied behind their backs, had been executed by shooting.

Salah-al-Din police commander sacked- Al-Sharqiah

Al-Sharqiyah Satellite Channel, Baghdad, in Arabic 8 Jan 05: The Salah-al-Din governor has sacked Maj-Gen Mizhir Taha Ahmad, Salah-al-Din police commander, for failing to respond adequately to armed operations that targeted several police centres in the governorate, Al-Sharqiyah TV reported on 8 January.

Four family members killed in US air raid north of Baghdad- Al-Sharqiah

Al-Sharqiyah Satellite Channel, Baghdad, in Arabic 8 Jan 05: An Iraqi family of four was killed at dawn on 8 January as a result of a US military helicopter bombardment of a house in Al-Shirqat City, north of Baghdad, Al-Sharqiyah TV reported.

Iraqi Independent Electoral Commission in Samarra resigns- Al-Sharqiah

Al-Sharqiyah Satellite Channel, Baghdad, in Arabic 8 Jan 05: All the members of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq in Samarra resigned on 8 January, Iraqi Al-Sharqiyah TV reported the same day. It said the 24-member commission had resigned "to express their boycott of the general elections", which will be held at the end of January. "The Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq had witnessed mass resignation of its members in expression of their rejection of holding the elections," the TV said.

Iraqi Communist Party secretary delivers speech ahead of elections- Tariq al-Sha'b

Tariq al-Sha'b, Baghdad, political and cultural weekly, by the Iraqi Communist Party, 8 Jan 05: The Iraqi Communist Party leader, Hamid Majid Musa, told the party's sixth congress on 23-24 December that the party's objective was "to restore sovereignty and independence, end the occupation, and set up democratic institutions in a democratic, federal, and unified Iraq", Iraqi Communist Party newspaper Tariq al-Sha'b reported on 5 January. He said that "forces of evil" were "seeking, by all methods, to stop the political process and sabotage the elections" but called on his party to "prepare for the elections, as if we were certain that they would be held on schedule, without any change or delay".

Tikrit delegation kidnapped-IRAQ FOR ALL

Iraq For All News Network, , in Arabic 8 Jan 05: A delegation from Tikrit City, including the Tikrit deputy governor and chairman of Salah-al-Din governorate municipal council, was kidnapped after visiting the office of Ali al-Sistani to discuss the Iraqi elections on 30 January, Iraq For All News Network reported on 8 January.

Writer calls on Kurdish leaders to demand vote delay- Khabat, Arbil

(Khabat, Arbil, 8 Jan 05): An article in Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) newspaper Khabat on 5 January called on Kurdish leaders to demand that the Iraqi elections scheduled for 30 January be postponed "with a clear and strong voice". "Holding them now would not help or bring any benefit to the Iraqi people, but would bring a great disadvantage, especially for the people of Kurdistan," the writer asserted.

Kurdistan Democratic Party newspaper comments on Armitage's visit to Kurdistan- Al-Ta'akhi

Al-Ta'akhi newspaper, by the Kurdistan Democratic Party, 8 Jan 05: Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) newspaper Al-Ta'akhi said on 5 January that US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage's visit to the Kurdistan region at the beginning of January and his meeting with the KDP leader, Mas'ud Barzani, in Salah-al-Din, had paved the way for an agreement on "an appropriate though temporary" solution to the problem of Kirkuk. It said that complaints about "the negative performance of some US administration representatives" and about the failure to apply Article 58 of the provisional constitution on "the rectification of the conditions in Kirkuk" and "getting rid of the traces of Arabization" were "the core of the current volatile political crisis that drove many Kurdistani political centres to signal the possibility of boycotting the general Iraqi elections". The paper urged an end to the bloodshed in Kirkuk, speeding up the elimination of the consequences of the Arabization campaign and apologies by the UK and US governments for their Iraqi policies in the 20th century.

IRAQI PRESS QUOTES, 8 JAN 05

Iraq's neighbouring countries;'' Are they really mean to end their interference''? - Al-Dustur

Al-Dustur [Baghdad, daily independent newspaper in Arabic] [From editorial by Basim al-Shaykh]: "The resolutions emerging from the last Amman meeting of Iraq's neighbouring countries will not be worth the paper they are printed on unless the countries in question seek to implement them earnestly and in good faith. Without seeing fast and decisive measures by these countries to stop the influx of human and material support for anti-Iraq operations passing across their borders into Iraq, we can hardly persuade ourselves that they really mean to put an end to their interference, especially as we know for a fact that some of these states have considerable residues of active organizations contributing to the joint effort of stoking up violence in Iraq depending on supply lines that extend beyond the borders deep into their respective territories."

``Political entities activeties in the Iraqi arena, a lack of wide popular support''-Al-Adalah

Al-Adalah [From commentary by Abd-al-Basit al-Jawari]: "Some political entities active in the Iraqi arena may have deemed it fit to make up for their lack of wide popular support by taking volatile stances, fluctuating with the ebb and flow of events and singing alone on their own perch tunes that are sometimes more in harmony with what is harped on by terror groups than what has been agreed on by most of the country's ethnic, religious and political forces. It is in this light that the recent calls by some to postpone elections should be seen, for they run counter to the general national consensus on the absolute urgency of voting at this stage as the only means of giving the Iraqi people the legitimate leadership they have always wanted."

The current argument over the elections - Al-Sharq al-Awsat

Al-Sharq al-Awsat [From commentary by Sa'ad Bin-Tuflah]: "A lot of those who are anti-Iraq and anti-freedom are rubbing their hands with glee as they watch the current argument over the election date getting ever more heated. It is only natural for them to gloat about the growing differences over an issue so basic to democracy among the very Iraqis who were so unanimous on the pursuit of democracy in the immediate aftermath of Saddam's fall. To any fair observer, this is a new worry, hardly detectable in the Iraqi scene over the past months. I can only imagine the consternation of the average Iraqi at this ominous schism and it gives me a shudder to imagine myself in his shoes."

The missile launched on Arbil university students; political message ' - Al-Zaman

Al-Zaman [From commentary by Fatih Abd-al-Salam]: "More than anything, the missile launched by a US warplane on a university students' dormitory in Arbil recently seems to have been an ill-conceived political message coming at a very inopportune moment, barely a few hours after a visit by Armitage to the region, unless, of course, it was meant to signal a sudden change of priorities on Washington's agenda. On second thoughts, with Iraq 'ascending' so fast to the brink of the precipice, one can hardly feel justified in blaming the Americans for just another little mistake. It would not make much difference, anyway."

IRAQI PRESS HEADLINES, 8 JAN 05
Al-Nahdhah [Baghdad, political daily newspaper]
¨        

Dr Adnan al-Pachachi: A defective election can only lead to scepticism over its legitimacy and the legitimacy of the ensuing constitution

¨        

Emergency law extended
¨         France worried over missing Liberation newspaper correspondent in Iraq
¨         Egypt denies having attempted to persuade Sunnis to take part in elections
¨         Report: Washington has spent only a small amount of the Iraq reconstruction funds

Al-Zaman [Baghdad edition of London-based independent daily newspaper]
¨        

Kurdish parties backtrack on boycotting Kirkuk Council

¨        

Paris favours elections on schedule,
¨         Bush dubbing them as historic New army recruits to get 100,000 Iraqi dinars salary boost
¨         Prominent Kurdish leader targeted in Kirkuk
¨         Al-Fallujah people demonstrate to call for speeding up return of refugees

Iraqi Media Programme Summaries 8 Jan 2005

Programme summary of Al-Sharqiyah TV news 8 Jan 05

¨        

Powerful blast rocks west Baghdad...

¨        

Suicide bomber explodes his booby-trapped car at petrol station near checkpoint south of Baghdad leaving four civilians dead, 19 wounded...
¨         Power cut has stopped Iraqi oil exports through Gulf ports; gunmen blow up domestic oil, gas pipelines in northern Iraq...
¨         PLO leader, Mahmud Abbas, discusses preparations for Palestinian elections with former US President Jimmy Carter...
¨         Palestinian preventive security service in Khan Yunis manages to secure release of two Spanish journalists kidnapped this afternoon...
¨         Colin Powell arrives in Kenyan capital to attend signing ceremony of Sudanese peace pact

Programme summary of Al-Iraqiyah TV news 8 Jan 05



¨        

Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi says government to use all means to protect Iraqis against terrorism.

¨        

More conferences on election held by political parties. Video report
¨         Cultural associations hold election forums in Wasit. Video report
¨         Imams of Muthana mosques call on Iraqis to vote. Video report
¨         Multinational force to spare no efforts to protect Iraqis during polls, says its commander in Mosul. Recorded interview with him.
¨         New government schedule for return of Al-Fallujah population home.
¨         Four killed and 20 hurt in car bomb in Al-Mahawil. Security force finds weapon cache in Mosul.
¨         Head of inquiry into oil-for-food programme reveals fresh violations. Video report
¨         Ministry of Transport provides facilities for pilgrims. Video report covers first group of Iraqi pilgrims leaving for Mecca.
¨         First flights to set off from restored Arbil airport leave for Mecca. Video report
¨         Pilgrims from Al-Anbar leave for Saudi Arabia. Video report
¨         More teachers employed to meet demand in Baghdad. Video report
¨         Centre set up in Basra to improve quality of education. Video report
¨         24. 3815 Business bulletin. Minister of Oil says campaign of violence targets oil installations. Crude oil exports from Basra halted due to power cuts. International market report.

UPDATES FROM IRAQI KURDISH PRESS, 9 JAN 05

Iraqi Officials Seriously Consider for Poll Postponement:

Khabat daily issued by the KDP: All parties concerned with Iraqi elections, including the United Nations, agree that as secure environment is a fundamental prerequisite for the Iraqi elections and that would not be guaranteed before the elections scheduled on January 30. For this reason, all the parties are seriously considering postponement of the polls. In this context, the Iraqi interim MP, Vise-President al-Jaafary and the leader of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution (SCIRI) visited Ayatolla al-Sistani in Najaf to obtain his approval for the postponement, according to Saudi-based al-Watan newspaper.

US Mosul Commander Visit Barzani, Apologize for Erbil Attack:

Khabat daily issued by the KDP: After visiting KDP president Massoud Barzani in his Salahaddin HQ Thursday evening, the commander of the US troops in Mosul Gen. Carter Hamm held a press conference announcing `sincere and heart-felt'' appositives for the Erbil military operation that resulted in the injury of a number of student and a woman a night earlier when US choppers ``mistakenly'' launched a rocket at a university dormitory during an operation that was carried out without consulting local security authorities in Kurdistan Region. Hamm thanked Erbil security police and security forces for ``their sense of responsibility and preventing the situation from getting worse''. He also stressed on the ``strong friendship and cooperation'' alliance between the Kurds and the Coalitions saying that ``enemies of Erbil and Iraq'' would fail to take advantage for the ``unfortunate event'' to undermine that relation. Hamm's statement was also aired on many TV stations downtown Erbil, as well as on both Kurdsat and Kurdistan satellite TV stations owned by PUK and KDP respectively.

KDP Politicians Survives Second Assassination Attempt

   Khabat daily issued by the KDP and www.peyamner.com <http://www.peyamner.com>: KDP veteran Peshmarga and famous social dignitary Seid Kaka, whose name on the joint candidacy election for Kurdistan National Assembly, escaped a second assassination attempt in 12 hours. Shortly after leaving his house near Iskan quarter police station Friday morning, a package of mortar shells stuffed with TNT explosives was blown targeting his convoy. The explosion wounded Kaka in the head together with two of his bodyguards. The same evening, unknown gunmen riding a Mazda brand vehicle shot his guarded house and escaped. Kaka had been an active commander of Kurdistan Peshmarga forces and fighting successive Iraqi regimes for 40 years since 1961. He told the website that his had no personal feuds with any one and considered the attacks against his as part of the terror that aims at undermining the security prevailing in Kurdistan Region and Erbil particularly. The KDP leader Massoud Barzani's representative, accompanied by Erbil Governor and clergymen and other social dignitaries visited t Kaka wishing his quick recovery.

The US Prevented Kirkuk Joining Kurdistan Region, Ambassador Says

: www.peyamner.com <http://www.peyamner.com>: The US Ambassador to Turkey Erick Eldmann (as transcribed) said in a press conference in Ankara that his county's views on Kirkuk were identical with those of Turkey regardless of what the Kurdish leaders say. Our common policy with Turkey reinstates Iraq integrity. It was because of this that WE did not allow the Iraqi Transitional Administrative Law (TAL) to include provisions that could link Kirkuk with the Kurdish autonomous region, the Ambassador explained.

Allawi Exempts Kurdistan from Extended Emergency State

: www.peyamner.com <http://www.peyamner.com>: The Iraqi interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi issued a directive signed on 5 January extending the emergency throughout Iraq for another 30 days, exempting Kurdistan Region for the second time. The extension comes amid continued unrest throughout Iraq.

Police Bullets Disperse Sulaymanya Demonstrating Students

: www.peyamner.com <http://www.peyamner.com>: A number of students staged a demonstration in front of Sulaymanya Place luxury hotel Friday night at 9:45 protesting the lack of potable water at their dormitories and demanded quick solutions from the authorities in charge. The police and security forces stationed at the site tried to disperse the students peacefully at first but later they shot at air to force the protestors to disband.

Briefly: From Kurdistani Nwe daily issued by the PUK:
¨        

PUK Leader Talabani Reiterates university independence rthern Division

¨        

Kurdistani Nwe: will publish the records of historical ties between Al-Qaeda and Ansar-ul-Islam terrorist groups
¨         Mosul is the major obstacle in front of the elections, Mahmoud Osman Kurdish politicians and member of the Iraqi interim national Assembly says
¨         A number of university staged unlicensed demonstration and the police shot at sky to disperse them in front of Sulaymanya Palace Hotel
¨         Washington may OK Iraqi poll postponement on five conditions
¨         The MNFI forces kill a Kurd in Tajil Village near Kirkuk

From Khabat, issued by the KDP:
¨        

Iraqi Defense Ministry Shaalan Threatens to Transform Terror Battle to Syria, Iran and PM Allawi Hints at Diplomacy

¨        

Haweeja Terrorists Kidnap Kurdish Human Rights Activist
¨         Nechirvan Barzani Mourns Chaldean Bishop Death: Khabat daily