Scores killed and wounded by US strike on Iraqi town - PLUS BASRA ARTICLES

Scores killed and wounded by US strike on Iraqi town – PLUS BASRA ARTICLES

BBC News

Last Updated: Thursday, 27 March 2008, 05:08 GMT

British in back-up role in Basra

By Caroline Wyatt
BBC Defence Correspondent

British forces have made clear that the current operation in Basra is not just an Iraqi-led operation, but an Iraqi operation full-stop.

Mehdi Army fighters in Basra

Fighting in Basra districts has been stoked by various criminal gangs

Though the British are providing some support, it is essentially as back-up - offering military capability, such as air power, that the Iraqi forces do not yet have.

Coalition jets, many of them British, have roared through the skies above Basra constantly over the past days, while British forces have also offered help with surveillance.

However, it is clear that the real British contribution was made ahead of time: training and mentoring the Iraqi army well ahead of the operation, most recently offering specific instruction on anti-insurgency techniques.

I watched last week as a unit of the Iraqi army was put through its paces at Shaiba airbase, just outside Basra air station.

Members of 1 Scots taught the Iraqi infantry how to clear buildings, and fight house-to-house in a mock "city" set up to resemble Basra itself.

The Iraqi army commander in Basra, General Mohan, flew in to inspect his troops last Tuesday and must have been satisfied with what he saw, as by Sunday he went to the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Maliki, with plans for the operation to take on the militias in Basra city.

"This is an Iraqi effort," confirmed Major Tom Holloway, spokesman for British forces in the south.

"It is a statement of their confidence and capability.

"The Iraqi army is cordoning off city blocks so that the Iraqi police can go in to clear the areas of militia, slowly re-establishing security across Basra. It is a serious operation."

Success crucial

British forces are not expected to step in.

All the indications from the Iraqi security forces are that they will not ask for British infantry or artillery back-up.

Yet the success of the Iraqi operation "Charge of the Knights" is crucial: not just for the people of Basra and their security, but for Britain's end-game in Iraq.

British forces withdrew from Basra Palace and the city itself last autumn, handing over security to Iraqi forces in Provincial Iraqi Control in the south in December in the belief that the British presence in the city had become part of the problem, rather than the solution.

Soldiers in Basra

British forces are not expected to intervene in Basra

However, there have been clear differences of opinion between the US and Britain over that strategy.

Some US commanders have made clear their belief that an enhanced British military presence or surge in the city, similar to that of the US in other areas of Iraq, would make more sense in restoring order than leaving it to Iraqi forces.

The British view, though, remains that Iraqi forces had to be allowed to take control and be in the lead on any operation to restore law and order to Basra, because only the Iraqis themselves can provide the long-term solution to Basra's problems.

Those problems are not simple and may not be resolved in one swift military move.

The current Iraqi military and police operation is a bid to end the on-going power-struggle in Basra between rival militias.

After it was taken by British forces in 2003, the city enjoyed relative peace, despite severe economic problems such as joblessness, a lack of infrastructure and accompanying protests over the lack of progress on all those fronts since the Allied invasion.

But since 2005, the city has been riven with feuding between rival Shia militias, in a fight for control and power between the Mehdi army of Moqtada Sadr (the Mehdi Army, or JAM) and local Shia rivals such as the Badr Organisation, and a militia under the control of the Fadhila political party.



Unless the Iraqi security operation succeeds in bringing peace to Basra.... the British will not be able to pull out of Basra air station

Caroline Wyatt
BBC Defence Correspondent

Basra is critical because it is the hub for some 80% of Iraq's valuable oil revenues, and the Fadhila groups are believed to be in control of the port and port-workers' unions.

That control helps drain crucial revenue away from both central and regional government.

However, while bribery, corruption, kidnapping and petty theft are all blamed on the various militias, some Basrans say that the local government is also less than spotless in its example.

Provincial elections are due later this year, a fact perhaps not unrelated to the central government's desire to assert control in Basra now.

The wider danger, though, is that the current military operation will lead to the Sadrists' ceasefire unravelling - not just in Basra, but in Shia areas across Iraq, creating a security headache for US and Iraqi forces elsewhere, and threatening the security gains made over the past year or so that many saw as a sign that Iraq was on the long, slow road to recovery.

British pull-out?

Unless the Iraqi security operation succeeds in bringing peace to Basra, and creating a stable atmosphere in which legitimate elections can be held and the economy allowed to flourish, the British will not be able to pull out of Basra air station, and certainly not nearly as quickly as had been hoped only last October.

Already, the plan to draw British troop numbers there down to 2,500 by this spring from their current level of 4,100 appears to have been quietly dropped, while optimists who expressed hope that the UK's forces might be able to leave altogether by the end of the year have fallen silent.

Britain's future plans for its forces in Iraq also depend on another key election - that in the US, and the decisions made by America's next leader on US troop, levels in Iraq.

Having gone into Iraq in 2003 shoulder to shoulder with Washington, London cannot be seen to be abandoning its ally prematurely - nor leaving the people of Basra in the lurch.


____________

Reuters
Oil tops $107 on Iraq pipeline explosion

Thu Mar 27, 2008 3:34pm IST



Photo

Oil facilities are seen on Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela's western state of Zulia March 1, 2008. Oil jumped above $107 on Thursday after saboteurs blew up one of Iraq's two main export pipelines.

By Ikuko Kao

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil jumped above $107 on Thursday after saboteurs blew up one of Iraq's two main export pipelines.

The attack on the pipeline in southern Iraq came on the third day of an Iraqi military operation against fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in the oil port of Basra.

"This morning saboteurs blew up the pipeline transporting crude from Zubair 1 by placing bombs beneath it. The pipeline was severely damaged," a Southern Oil Company official told Reuters.

"We will lose about a third of crude exported through Basra," he said, adding that it would take three days to repair the pipeline if the fire was brought under control.

Iraq exported 1.54 million barrels per day from Basra in February.

U.S. light crude for May delivery rose as high as $107.70 a barrel and it was up $1.30 at $107.20 a barrel by 0958 GMT.

London Brent crude rose $1.19 to $105.18.

"We see events in Iraq as having taken a dangerous turn, with the stability of the southern oil system now starting to become a potential concern," Barclays Capital Research said in a research note.

Iraq has only recently seen its oil exports return to pre-invasion levels.

Explosions could be heard every 10 or 15 minutes in Basra, epicentre of an Iraqi government crackdown on the followers of Sadr.

Authorities imposed curfews across southern Iraq in an effort to halt the spread of violence after the largest military offensive carried out by Iraqi forces without major backing from U.S. or British combat units.

On Wednesday, U.S. crude prices had registered their biggest one day percentage gains after U.S. government data showed a larger than expected falls in fuel stocks.

Crude oil inventories were unchanged last week, against expectations for an increase of 1.7 million barrels.

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International Herald Tribune

Iraq will not halt oil output, exports in Basra, official says


The Associated Press

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

BAGHDAD: An official of the Iraqi oil industry says fighting in Basra has not affected exports or drilling operations.

The official was speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to release the information.

Iraqi forces are clashing with Shiite militias in Basra on the first day of a security crackdown.

Basra is the country's second-largest city and accounts for most of Iraq's oil exports.

Iraq's average production for February was 2.4 million barrels per day. Exports averaged 1.93 million barrels per day during that month.





Reuters
Iraq pipeline will need 3 days repair if fire out

Thu Mar 27, 2008 5:34am EDT



BAGHDAD, March 27 (Reuters) - Iraqi oil workers will need three days to repair a crude export pipeline in the south which was bombed on Thursday, if a raging fire is put out, a Southern Oil Company official told Reuters. "Firefighters are struggling to control the fire, which is huge. A lot of crude has spilt onto the ground. The main pumping station of Zubair 1 was shut down. We will not be able to repair it unless security is provided for the crews," the official said.

"If we managed to control the fire today, we will need three days to repair the pipeline," he said.

(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed)







Council on Foreign Relations - A Nonpartisan Resource for Information and Analysis
· The Dalai Lama, Afghan Aid, and the Battle for Basra

March 26, 2008





Arab News

o In an editorial the paper says the Iraqi government’s effort to reimpose its control of Basra, the country’s second city, is a high-risk move.

Daily Star (Lebanon)

o Sam Bahour, a business consultant, in a commentary on the effect of the dollar crisis on the Palestinians, says that the currency’s loss of value is causing serious strain on the general Palestinian Authority budget.

Daily Telegraph

o In an editorial on Basra, the paper says the military offensive launched on Tuesday by the Iraqi prime minister needs to succeed. It is, says the Telegraph, the first serious test of the ability of the Iraqi Army to impose order unaided by allied forces.

o The paper’s China correspondent Richard Spencer is baffled as to why the Chinese authorities did not see the Tibet crisis coming and says the party’s unpreparedness for the crises that lie underneath its nose is something of which we should all be wary.

Dawn (Pakistan)

o In an editorial on a report from aid agencies in Afghanistan blaming lack of development there on donor agencies, the paper says the report should serve as an eye-opener for the donors and Kabul, and urges both to identify their lapses and to rectify them.

Financial Times

o Columnist Martin Wolf writes that for three decades we have moved towards market-driven financial systems, but says that by its decision to rescue Bear Stearns, the Federal Reserve, the chief protagonist of free-market capitalism, declared this era over.

o In an editorial, the FT comments on a promise made in an interview with the paper by the Russian president-elect, Dmitry Medvedev, to embed the rule of law in his country, and says if he falters, his presidency will be a wasted opportunity.

o In a further editorial, on the state visit to Britain this week by the French president, Nicholas Sarkozy, the paper says there is no real alternative to tight policy co-operation and co-ordination between France, Germany and the UK if Europe wants to be taken seriously in the world, and in particular in Washington.

Guardian

o In an editorial on this week’s outbreak of fighting in Basra, the paper says that the battle shows that Iraq's improved security is fragile, and that it also raises awkward questions about the continuing British presence.

Hindu

o In an editorial, the paper says that New Delhi has allowed too much latitude to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan discontents for their political activities on Indian soil, and that the time has come for India to persuade or pressure him to get real about the future of Tibet.

Independent (London)

o Writer William Gumede, in an op-ed about the crisis of democracy in Africa, says that unless African ruling elites overcome their obsession that regular elections is the main measure of democracy, the orgy of violence such as that over disputed elections in Kenya will be repeated elsewhere on the continent.

o In an editorial on Nicholas Sarkozy’s state visit to Britain, the paper says that it is better for Britain, France, and for the rest of the world if the two countries are working closely together rather than damaging themselves by feuding from a distance.

o In an editorial on Basra, the Independent says that when British troops handed over power in the province of Basra to the Iraqi government in December, we were told that the withdrawal was confirmation of the growing stability in the south of the country. Now we see just what nonsense that was.

Jerusalem Post

o In an editorial on this week’s visit to Russia by the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, the paper says Russia and Egypt must do more to help thwart a nuclear Iran rather than acting as if it is a fait accompli.

Jordan Times

o In an editorial the paper says that the postponement of the election of a new president in Lebanon is poised to wreak havoc with the upcoming Arab summit in Damascus, and says Syria could have used its influence to broker a deal in Lebanon in time for the meeting.

New Straits Times (Malaysia)

o In editorial on the first elections ever to be held in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, the paper says that the way of the Bhutan royals, practising democracy from above with foresight, gentle reasoning and intelligent design, shows us that to keep a nation happy, both people and leaders need to listen to and give each other a chance.

New York Times

o In an editorial, the paper says China and Taiwan must seize the opportunity provided by the election of a new president in Taipei to build a productive new relationship.

Times of India

o In editorial on the elections in Bhutan, the paper says that even if there are evident dangers to globalization it's safe to say that the genie is out of the bottle and won't just go back in.

Times of London

o In an editorial on the forthcoming elections in Zimbabwe, the paper writes of President Robert Mugabe that surrounded by sycophants, he may actually believe his claim to be a freedom fighter. He is in fact a wrecker on a par with Kim Jong Il, the paper says.

Wall Street Journal

o Republican Congressman Peter Hoekstra (R-MI), in an op-ed, defends the right of the Dutch film maker Geert Wilders to air a film reported to contain scenes in which the Koran is burned. We must not fool ourselves into believing that we can appease the radical jihadist movement, he says, by granting them special protection from criticism.

o In an editorial on a letter by a group of Chinese intellectuals to the leadership in Beijing which lists suggestions on how to handle the situation in Tibet, the paper comments that the letter's authors understand that engaging China and prodding it to be more open will produce more lasting, positive results than political isolation.

Washington Post

o In an editorial, the Post says it's beginning to look as though the Olympic Games in Beijing could become a showcase for violent repression, censorship, and political persecution by a regime that has failed to rise above the level of police state.

o Columnist Masha Lipman, writing about Russian president-elect Dmitry Medvedev, says that the expectations of liberalization that Medvedev's rhetoric and non-KGB background might have raised in some circles are wishful thinking.

o Op-ed columnist Robert J. Samuelson enjoins his readers to "Hold the Hysteria," saying that economic collapse might not be as close as it seems.

o Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Michael Gerson writes on efforts by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to make available contemporary documents to the dwindling number of Holocaust survivors.

Washington Times

o Columnist Helle Dale praises the leadership shown by Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on the issue of visa waivers, saying they have come up with a solution that will greatly benefit all.

o Paul Belien of the Hudson Institute, writing about the Dutch film maker Geert Wilders, says that the way in which he is treated by the political establishment is eerily reminiscent of the way in which democratic governments such as Belgium's gave in to Nazi bullying in the 1930s.











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JORDAN

Scores killed and wounded by U.S. strike on Iraqi town

Posted: 26-03-2008 , 20:28 GMT

Iraqi policeman2Many people were killed or wounded by a U.S. air strike called to support Iraqi troops in the town of Hilla south of Baghdad on Wednesday, Iraqi security sources said. According to Reuters, American forces confirmed the air strike and said they were not certain how many people had been killed.



One police source said at least 11 people were killed and 18 hurt in the strike, launched after Iraqi security forces called for support following street battles with Shi'ite militia members in the city's Thawra neighbourhood. Another police source said 29 people were killed and 39 were wounded. He said six houses were destroyed in the strikes which lasted for an hour late on Wednesday evening.



Two other security sources said the combined total of dead and wounded was in the dozens, although they were unable to give precise casualty figures.



Also on Wednesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called on Shi'ite militiamen to surrender as his forces staged a crackdown on followers of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. On his part, the Shiite leader called for talks to end the crackdown on his followers.



More than 80 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in the fighting, centred on the southern oil hub of Basra and spreading to Shi'ite parts of Baghdad.



Maliki, in Basra to oversee the campaign, said fighters would be spared if they surrendered within 72 hours.

© 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)



Thomson Financial News
Oil rises as heavy fighting rocks crude-rich Iraq
03.27.08, 5:39 AM ET



LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Oil rose as heavy fighting rocked crude-rich Iraq and as dollar weakness sparked a fresh round of buying.

A bomb struck an oil pipeline today in Iraq's southern city of Basra, where Iraqi security forces have been clashing with Shiite militia fighters, an oil official said, the second such attack this week.

'The main current fundamental risk for oil is the extended fighting in Basra and this morning's report of a bomb attack on one of the export pipelines will bring a risk premium for the weekend,' said Petromatrix analyst Olivier Jakob.

Heavy fighting has erupted in a bastion of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's militia in Basra, witnesses said, as military operations against gunmen in the southern oil city entered a third day.

The ailing dollar, meanwhile, has made commodities priced in the greenback cheaper for those trading in stronger currencies. Some investment from those buying commodities as an asset class has also returned after heavy liquidation and sharp price falls last week.

A poor economic outlook, however, as the US flirts with recession, still worried players who reckon oil demand could get hit in the longer term.

'The markets are again being distracted by geopolitical factors and the weaker dollar, but the rapidly deteriorating US macro backdrop and the weak demand implications this will certainly have, is still an overriding negative, albeit somewhat lost in the upside shuffle for now,' said MF Global analyst Ed Meir.

At 9.18 am, New York's WTI crude for May delivery was up 51 cents at 106.41 usd per barrel.

In London, Brent crude for May delivery was up 46 cents at 104.45 usd per barrel.

anealla.safdar@thomson.com

as/am

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UPDATED ON:
THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 2008
11:36 MECCA TIME, 8:36 GMT

Fighting continues in Basra

Hundreds of people have been injured during the security crackdown in Basra [AFP]

Heavy fighting has continued between US-backed Iraqi security forces and fighters from the Mahdi Army of Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr as military operations in Basra entered a third day.



The clashes on Thursday came in defiance of a Friday deadline by Nuri al-Maliki for armed groups to give up their weapons or face "severe penalties".


The Iraqi prime minister was in Basra personally overseeing the operation that has sparked violence across the country, leaving more than 50 people dead and another 300 injured.


A fire also raged near Basra after a bomb exploded underneath an oil pipeline, Iraqi officials said.



In video

The internal sectarian conflict in Iraq

Followers of al-Sadr, meanwhile, were staging protests in Baghdad to denounce al-Maliki's Basra crackdown.



In the capital's impoverished Sadr City district, demonstrators shouted: "Maliki you are a coward! Maliki is an American agent! Leave the government, Maliki! How can you strike Basra?"



Protests were also planned in the southern city of Amara. Al-Sadr has threatened to launch a civil revolt if attacks against his followers are not halted.



Crisis talks



The Iraqi government was holding talks with aides of al-Sadr in Najaf on Thursday to try to end the crisis, Liqa Ali Yassin, a member of Sadr's 32-member parliamentary bloc, said.



On Wednesday, al-Sadr had demanded that al-Maliki leave Basra and send a parliamentary delegation for talks on resolving the crisis.



The violence began on Tuesday, when Iraqi troops launched operations in Basra on Tuesday to rid the city of "lawless gangs".



Fighting then spread to al-Sadr's stronghold in Baghdad and other cities.



Iraqi sources told Al Jazeera that about 60 civilians were killed in a US air strike on the city of southern city of Hilla, although there were conflicting reports.



Iraqi security sources said that 29 people were killed.



In Tikrit, at least seven civilians were reportedly killed and nine others were wounded in US air strikes that destroyed two homes.



Three US employees were also seriously injured in rocket and mortar attacks on the Green Zone in Baghdad.



Convoy attack



Colonel Karim al-Zaidi, a police spokesman, said the convoy of Major General Abdul Jalil Khalaf, Basra's police chief, was hit by a suicide car bomber around 1am on Thursday [22:00 GMT Wednesday] as it passed through the streets of the city.



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He said: "Three policemen were killed in the attack," adding that Khalaf was unharmed.



Residents said the streets of the oil-rich city of 1.5 million people were deserted on Thursday and that shops and businesses were shut.



Before the latest fighting, Basra had become the battlefield for a turf war between the Mahdi Army and two rival Shia factions - the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC) of Abdel Aziz al-Hakim and the smaller Fadhila party.



The three factions are fighting to control the huge oil revenues generated in the province, which was transferred to Iraqi control by the British military in December.



Sadr's powerful movement called protest rallies for Thursday "to express no confidence in the Maliki government" in the wake of the Basra assault.



US military spokesman Major General Kevin Bergner told a news conference on Wednesday that 2,000 extra Iraqi security forces had been sent to Basra for the operation.



He said it was aimed at improving security in the city ahead of provincial elections in October.



"The prime minister's assessement is that without this operation there will not be any hopeful prospect of improving security in Basra," Bergner said.



Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from Baghdad, said the crackdown in Basra was meant as a show of strength by al-Maliki.



He said: "I think the prime minister is trying to put his stamp in this operation. No one expected that he would go to Basra."



"Al-Maliki wants to show that he is in control because in the past, he was seen as a weak, impotent leader."





Source: Al Jazeera and agencies









AFP

Anti-Maliki protests held in Baghdad Shiite bastion

2 hours ago

BAGHDAD (AFP) — Followers of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr staged protests in Baghdad denouncing Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Thursday after he launched a crackdown on Shiite militia in the southern city of Basra.

The protests began around 10:00 am (0700 GMT) outide the office of the Sadr movement in its Baghdad bastion, the impoverished Sadr City district of some two million people.

"Maliki you are a coward! Maliki is an American agent! Leave the government, Maliki! How can you strike Basra?" shouted the crowd as they began gathering in the area while Iraqi and US troops sealed off the streets.

The Sadr group announced on Wednesday that it would hold protest rallies against Maliki in Baghdad and the southern city of Amara after he launched a crackdown in Mahdi Army strongholds in Basra.

Iraqi forces have been fighting raging battles with gunmen in Basra since the operation began on Tuesday.

An AFP correspondent said the city was rocked again on Thursday by rocket propelled grenade, mortar and small arms fire.

Sadr has threatened to launch a civil revolt if the attacks against the militiamen are not halted.