Final Blog Post: April 10 to April 18, 2011

Despite assurances from Iraqi officials that their security forces didn't open fire on citizens of Iranian exile Camp Ashraf last week, the United Nations made an official statement confirming that Iraqi security forces did in fact attack. The U.N. released a death count of 34. The after effects of this are not clear yet.

Tensions between Syria and Iraq rose a bit on Sunday when Syrian border officials found a cache of weapons in the back of an Iraqi vehicle. The weapons ranged from small arms to bombs and also included night vision equipment. The intent of the man driving the vehicle is not known yet.

The weekend brought on a huge amount of violence, culminating on Monday. Protests on Sunday in Sulaimaniya took a nasty turn when things got violent. Angry protesters threw rocks at riot police, who in turn fought back. Later on Sunday, protesters blocked streets and lit tires on fire. Riot police ended up using tear gas and live ammunition to clear the crowds so they could clear up streets again. Some of the protesters were hit in the legs by bullets, but none were killed. There were around 50 total injured on Sunday.

Suicide car bomb wreckage outside the Green Zone.

Monday brought more violence to Iraq. There was similar violence in Sulaimaniya as the previous day. Protesters became violent and again threw rocks at riot police. When the crowd tried to move to another location, the riot police blocked their way. More fighting ensued, which ended up with more tear gas and non-lethal shots fired. Again, nobody was killed but there were around 16 wounded. There were almost 100 people injured in the riots on Monday alone, with 2/3 of them being riot police.

Besides the violent protests, the new week started off with suicide bombings outside Baghdad's Green Zone. Two suicide car bombs were detonated in succession near a military convoy that was headed to the entrance checkpoint at around 8:00 a.m. local time. There are reportedly at least 5 killed and 20 wounded from the explosions.

Blog Post 9: Iraq April 2nd to April 10, 2011

Protesters in Tahrir Square

It has already been 8 years since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. The anniversary, however, hasn't stopped protesters from occupying Tahrir Square on Friday to make statements about education, health care and corruption. When Hussein was captured and power was handed back to the people, the leaders promised for better schools and less corruption. With 8 years passing, over 50% of the population belonging to the youth, and less than 40% of those youth enrolled in school, the promises weren't exactly held up like promised. This has been some of the main inspiration for protesters to get out into the square. Protesters have also been demanding the immediate withdrawal of US troops.

An injured Iranian from Camp Ashraf

The Iraqi Army has been busy lately, too. The forces attacked Camp Ashraf, an Iranian dissident camp about 100 km north of Baghdad. The camp has around 3,500 inhabitants and is the base for the People's Mujahideen Organization of Iran, or the PMOI. The PMOI is an opposition group to the Shia Muslim rulers in Iran. Iran, Iraq and the US all consider the PMOI to be a terrorist group. There have been over 30 people killed, including women, and at least 320 wounded.


The attack has made some tension between Iraq and the US, as Defense Secretary Robert Gates was visiting the country and urging Iraq to not use force against the camp. The camp comes into question because the residents of Camp Ashraf technically fall under Iraqi law. The UN and the State department have "condemned the attack" and have tried to provide aid for the camp. But, they have been denied access by Iraq.

Blog Post 8: Iraq March 26th, 2011 to April 1st, 2011

Iraqi guards outside the Technical Institute

The last week of March was filled with violence all over Iraq. Gunmen set off bombs and raided jewelry stores in Baghdad on the 28th. The gunmen set off the bombs to distract police so they could have a more open opportunity at the jewelry stores. There were four killed and nine injured. Besides these raids, there was a roadside bomb that killed one officer and wounded four others. There were four explosions elsewhere in Baghdad, which wounded 12. Three gunmen raided a house in Mosul and killed its seven inhabitants. Finally, six were injured at the Technical Institute in Kirkuk. In these instances alone, there were 12 killed and 31 injured.

There was another assault in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit on Tuesday the 29th. The gunmen wore police uniforms and suicide vests and assaulted the provincial council office, taking some hostages. The situation intensified to the point where US troops intervened. US troops didn't take back the office, but observed local forces doing so. Tikrit officials said there all the gunmen and hostages were killed, making the death toll about 30.

Azzaman News reported that an explosive device was attached to the car of the Dean of Baghdad University Medical College. Although the killings lately have been with silenced weapons and targeting army officers, professors have also been targeted in the last few years. Because of this, thousands of professors have fled Iraq for fear of their lives.