Showing posts with label Baghdad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baghdad. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
BBC: At least 41 people have been killed and 106 injured by a female suicide bomber in north-east Baghdad, an interior ministry spokesman has said.
The woman detonated an explosives vest among a group of pilgrims making the journey to Karbala, 80km from Baghdad. A witness described seeing a fireball.
The Shia pilgrims were marking Arbaeen, the end of 40 days of mourning for the death of Prophet Muhammad's grandson.
Troops and police are on alert during the pilgrimage.
The bomber had hidden the explosives under her abaya - a long, black over-garment, Maj Gen Qassim al-Moussawi told the Associated Press news agency.
Witness Raheem Kadhom said pilgrims were "crying for help" as they lay injured on the ground in the Shaab neighbourhood, AP reported.
Others helped by taking them to hospitals in cars rather than waiting for ambulances, Mr Kadhom said.
Security has also been increased around the revered Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala during the annual festival, which culminates on Friday. Female suicide bomber kills dozens in Iraq >>> | Monday, February 01, 2010
Sunday, December 06, 2009
THE GUARDIAN: Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki accused of colluding with fundamentalists to shut down night clubs
The raids came just before midnight a week ago. At the start of Eid al-Adha, the four holiest days on the Islamic calendar, hundreds of Iraqi police and soldiers stormed each of Baghdad's 300 or so nightclubs. Officers from the most elite units stood outside as soldiers slapped owners' faces, scattered their patrons and dancing girls, ripped down posters advertising upcoming acts, and ordered alcohol removed from the shelves.
They left many of the clubs with a warning – any owner who tried to reopen would be thrown into prison, along with his staff.
The official reason for the mass raids is that none of the premises had licences. The reality is that a year-long renaissance in Baghdad's nightlife may be over, as this increasingly conservative city takes on a hardline religious identity. Bohemian Baghdad did not last long.
"They treated us like terrorists," said Sinan Kamal, a chef at the Jetar nightclub in east Baghdad, displaying both a licence and weekly receipts for fees collected by the Tourism Ministry. "They sat us on the ground and made us put our heads between our legs. They slapped us and were impolite with the girls. They were behaving like religious police."
Until last week nightlife was a growth story in Baghdad – once renowned as a city of 1,001 vices. "You can forget about a fair few of those now," said Kamal. "Dancing clubs are gone, so are singers and bars. Welcome to the new Iraq." For the large numbers of Baghdadis who believed an older Iraq was on its way back, the raids, and what they signify, are a bitter disappointment.
As security forces gradually won back the streets over the past year, areas of the capital that had long ago been hubs of entertainment were restored to their former decadent glory. Throughout the summer, garish shop fronts along the riverside suburb of Abu Nuwas and a nearby strip known as Sadoon Street were teeming with men and youths queueing for clubs touting dancing girls and whisky. Many of the clubs also doubled as brothels – a factor readily overlooked by Baghdad council and the Iraqi government, which were both apparently keen to breathe new nightlife – with all its trappings – back into the city's war-ravaged streets. >>> Martin Chulov, Baghdad | Sunday, December 06, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
THE OBSERVER: Iraqi militias infiltrate internet gay chatrooms to hunt their quarry – and hundreds are feared to be victims
Sitting on the floor, wearing traditional Islamic clothes and holding an old notebook, Abu Hamizi, 22, spends at least six hours a day searching internet chatrooms linked to gay websites. He is not looking for new friends, but for victims.
"It is the easiest way to find those people who are destroying Islam and who want to dirty the reputation we took centuries to build up," he said. When he finds them, Hamizi arranges for them to be attacked and sometimes killed.
Hamizi, a computer science graduate, is at the cutting edge of a new wave of violence against gay men in Iraq. Made up of hardline extremists, Hamizi's group and others like it are believed to be responsible for the deaths of more than 130 gay Iraqi men since the beginning of the year alone.
The deputy leader of the group, which is based in Baghdad, explained its campaign using a stream of homophobic invective. "Animals deserve more pity than the dirty people who practise such sexual depraved acts," he told the Observer. "We make sure they know why they are being held and give them the chance to ask God's forgiveness before they are killed."
The violence against Iraqi gays is a key test of the government's ability to protect vulnerable minority groups after the Americans have gone.
Dr Toby Dodge, of London University's Queen Mary College, believes that the violence may be a consequence of the success of the government of Nouri al-Maliki. "Militia groups whose raison d'être was security in their communities are seeing that function now fulfilled by the police. So their focus has shifted to the moral and cultural sphere, reverting to classic Islamist tactics of policing moral boundaries," Dodge said.
Homosexuality was not criminalised under Saddam Hussein – indeed Iraq in the 1960s and 1970s was known for its relatively liberated gay scene. Violence against gays started in the aftermath of the invasion in 2003. Since 2004, according to Ali Hali, chairman of the Iraqi LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) group, a London-based human-rights group, a total of 680 have died in Iraq, with at least 70 of those in the past five months. The group believes the figures may be higher, as most cases involving married men are not reported. Seven victims were women. According to Hali, Iraq has become "the worst place for homosexuals on Earth". >>> Afif Sarhan and Jason Burke | Sunday, September 13, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
TIMES ONLINE: Scores of people have been killed and hundreds injured by a series of co-ordinated bomb attacks in Baghdad today.
In the deadliest attack in Iraq this year, and the most audacious one in the capital for several more, truck and car bombs and mortar fire were directed against the main centres of power. The targets included the ministries of finance, foreign affairs, health and housing, as well as the Parliament and Cabinet buildings. Also hit was a checkpoint on the approach roads to the fortified Green Zone.
The largest explosion was a truck bomb across the street from the Foreign Ministry, just outside the Green Zone, which is reported to have killed up to 59 people and injured 250. The force of the blast flattened the compound wall and blew concrete slabs off the front of the 10-storey block, killing people working inside the building and devastating cars and bystanders for hundreds of metres around.
It left a crater in the road 3 metres deep and 10 metres wide, full of dozens of burned and twisted cars and a few charred bodies. Other nearby buildings were also damaged, including the Parliament which lies inside the Green Zone. Water tanks collapsed on nearby houses, sending water gushing through people's homes. >>> Oliver August in Baghdad | Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Sunday, May 31, 2009
PINK NEWS: Moqtada Sadr, a radical Shiite cleric in Iraq, has ordered that the "depravity" of homosexuality must be eradicated, yet urged an end to violence against gays and lesbians.
His spokesman Sheikh Wadea al-Atab said today that a series of meetings are being held with clerics, tribal leaders and police to tackle the "phenomenon".
According to AFP, Atabi said: "The purpose of the meetings is to fight the depravity and to urge the community to reject this phenomenon. The only remedy to stop it is through preaching and guidance. There is no other way to put an end to it."
Regarding the recent killings of six gay men in Sadr city, on the outskirts of Baghdad, Atabi said: "Al-Sadr rejects this type of violence … and anyone who commits violence [against gays] will not be considered as being one of us."
Homosexuality is not illegal in Iraq but religious leaders condemn it.
Two gay men were found dead in the Baghdad Shiite slum of Sadr City In April following condemnations of homosexuality by a leading local cleric.
A further four were murdered in March after the Shiite cleric Sattar al-Battat allegedly repeatedly condemned homosexuality in Friday prayers. >>> By Jessica Green | Friday, May 29, 2009
YOUTUBE: Gay Life, Gay Death in Iraq
YOUTUBE: Gay in Iraq
Monday, April 13, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Iraq's leaders have been accused of ignoring a wave of violence against homosexual men.
In recent weeks, 25 young men and boys have been killed in the country and gay rights groups claim the government has given tacit support to the death squads by staying silent on the crimes.
The lack of action by the authorities has prompted Amnesty International to the Iraqi President, Nouri al-Maliki, demanding "urgent and concerted action" by his government to stop the killings, according to the Independent.
The majority of the deadly attacks have taken place in the Baghdad suburb of Sadr City, controlled by ultra-conservative Shia militia.
The bodies of four gay men, each bearing a sign with the Arabic word for "pervert" on their chests, were discovered in Sadr City three weeks ago. No arrests have been made.
Amnesty said the murders appeared to have been committed by militiamen and relatives of the victims, who had been incited by religious leaders who condemned 'deviancy'. >>> | Monday, April 13, 2009
THE INDEPENDENT: Iraqi Leaders Attacked over Spate of Homophobic Murders
Dozens of young men and boys killed by death squads in Baghdad
Iraqi leaders are accused of turning a blind eye to a spate of murders of homosexuals after 25 young men and boys were killed in recent weeks.
Gay groups claim the Iraqi government is giving tacit support to the death squads targeting young homosexuals who venture outdoors.
In an unusual move, Amnesty International will today write to the Iraqi President, Nouri al-Maliki, demanding "urgent and concerted action" by his government to stop the killings. Amnesty said the murders appear to have been carried out by militiamen and relatives of the victims, after being incited by religious leaders. Homosexuality has always been taboo in the country, but a surge of killings followed religious leaders' sermons condemning "deviancy".
The violence came after the improved security situation briefly encouraged some gay men to start meeting discreetly in public. This led to furious condemnation from clerics who have called for homosexuality – which can lead to a prison sentence of seven years – to be eradicated from Iraqi society.
Most of the killings have taken place in the Baghdad suburb of Sadr City, controlled by ultra-conservative Shi'ite militia. Murders have also been reported in Basra, Najaf and Karbala.
The bodies of four gay men, each bearing a sign with the Arabic word for "pervert" on their chests, were discovered in Sadr City three weeks ago. Following the discovery of another two corpses six days later, an unnamed official in the city told Reuters: "They were sexual deviants. Their tribes killed them to restore their family honour." >>> By Nigel Morris, Deputy Political Editor | Monday, April 13, 2009
YOUTUBE: Gay Life, Gay Death in Iraq
Sunday, April 12, 2009
BBC: Tens of thousands of supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr have rallied against the US presence in Iraq, six years after Saddam Hussein's fall.
Protesters in Baghdad's Firdos Square carried pictures of the cleric and chanted slogans denouncing what they called the occupation of Iraq.
Six years ago, US troops reached the square and helped Iraqis pull down a statue of their former leader there.
US combat troops are due to pull out from Iraq's cities by the end of June.
Under a recent agreement, they are expected to remain elsewhere in the country until the end of August 2010.
Moqtada Sadr has repeatedly called for a complete and immediate US withdrawal from Iraq.
Protesters carrying Iraqi flags chanted slogans such as "No, no America - Yes, yes Iraq" as they thronged the streets and burned an effigy of former US President George W Bush.
"God, unite us, return our riches, free the prisoners from the prisons, return sovereignty to our country ... make our country free from the occupier, and prevent the occupier from stealing our oil," an aide to Mr Sadr read, as part of a message from the radical cleric.
Mr Sadr has not been seen in Iraq for several months and is believed to be in neighbouring Iran. >>> | Thursday, April 9, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
BBC: An Iraqi journalist hailed as a hero in the Arab world for throwing his shoes at former US President George W Bush has been jailed for three years.
Muntadar al-Zaidi pleaded not guilty as his trial resumed in Baghdad, telling the judge:"My reaction was natural, just like any Iraqi."
He could have been jailed for 15 years for assaulting a foreign leader on an official visit. >>> | Thursday, March 12, 2009
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>
Saturday, September 20, 2008
TIMESONLINE: The Gota restaurant was packed. Cars lined the streets, you had to wait for a table and laughter filled the air as families gathered to break their Ramadan fasts in the upmarket Baghdad neighbourhood.
Even the crackle of gunfire in the background could not spoil the mood - for once, it was not caused by insurgents but a wedding party, firing off some rounds in celebration. “It’s like a dream, but it’s become truth,” said Sarmad, 29, a trendy, confident young professional. This is the first Ramadan since violence spiralled out of control in 2005 that Iraqis have felt safe enough to break their fasts in restaurants. In recent months people have even had the confidence to visit parks and spend the afternoons shopping; an unimaginable scenario as recently as six months ago.
For young, single men such as Sarmad it is a godsend. “We can meet girls now,” he said.
Love is in the Baghdad air, but the young men, eager for a date, still face the very real threat of an overprotective father or elder brother. It would be impossible to approach a girl directly and strike up a conversation.
This has simply made them more resourceful. A note, with your phone number, could be dropped beside a girl you like, but by far the most common method used is to send her a mobile phone message using Bluetooth technology.
Ice-cream shops and parks are popular places to pick up girls and to meet for dates. On a typical weekday hundreds of young people, many of them university students, gather in parks to mingle, chat and find prospective partners. “It usually happens by sending your phone number by Bluetooth and then you wait for her to give you a call,” Ahmmed Jaseb, 28, who goes to restaurants three or four times a week to look for girls, said. “We talk, go on a date, go to another restaurant. You have to go a couple of times to prove that you start to love her and not that you just want sex.” Toung Love Blooms Again in Baghdad with the Aid of Technology >>> By Tim Albone in Baghdad | September 20, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (US) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (US) >>>
Sunday, February 03, 2008
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: SENIOR American military officials have produced photographs that they said showed the bodies of two women suicide bombers who attacked two popular pet markets, causing Baghdad's deadliest blasts in months.
The photographs showed the lifeless faces of two dark-haired women with oblique eye fissures, a wide gap between the eyes and a flat nose bridge - characteristics consistent with Down syndrome.
The commander of US forces in Baghdad, Major-General Jeffery Hammond, said: "There are some indications that these two women were mentally handicapped.
"From what I see, it appears that the suicide bombers were not willing martyrs - they were used by al-Qaeda in Iraq for these horrific attacks.
"These two women were likely used because they didn't know what was happening and they were less likely to be searched." Suicide bombers had Down syndrome, photos show >>> By Garrett Therolf and Ned Parker in Baghdad
Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Saturday, May 19, 2007
TIME: The streets of Mansour have no names anymore. They are identifiable not by what is there now but by what used to be. In the center of the neighborhood, our armored humvee circles around the crater that once held a 20-ft.-tall statue of Abu Jaffar al-Mansour, the 8th century founder of Baghdad; it was pulverized by a homemade bomb in 2005. To keep their bearings, the troops have taken to identifying routes by the names of 1980s heavy-metal bands. We drive down Bon Jovi, where the barbershop used to be, and pass Skid Row, which had the best falafel in town. At the end of the block is Poison, which four years ago was Mansour's commercial hub, lined with restaurants, shops, a gym and even a liquor store. Now every storefront is shuttered, and there isn't a car on the road. The mostly Sunni residents who live in Mansour have their own name for this spot. They call it "the edge of civilization." Saving Iraq’s Glitziest Neighborhood (more)
Mark Alexander
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