Aswat al-Iraq: Shiite leader Abdelaziz al-Hakeem on Thursday warned of local election rigging, calling on the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) to take all the required measures to foil any rigging attempts, according to a release by Hakeem as published on his web site.
"The upcoming provincial election is very important as it draws the line between two stages," the release quoted Hakeem, the head of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), as addressing a crowd in Baghdad.
"All the brothers and sisters should participate in the elections and resist all pressures that are aimed at preventing them from doing so," he said. "Rigging is a parasite and represents the ugliest theft," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/30/2009 00:00 ||
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Guess al-Hakeem found it too difficult to rig the election in his favor, so he wants to make sure nobody else has an opportunity.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/30/2009 12:23 Comments ||
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Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi security forces on Thursday deployed around the ballot station in the district of al-Hamdaniya within preparations for the provincial council elections on Saturday, a police source in the district said.
"Hundreds of security personnel deployed on Thursday (Jan. 29) around the ballot station in al-Hamdaniya, (30 km) east of Mosul city, to guarantee the security of the stations and voters," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "These measures are part of a security plan during the voting process in the stations in Bartala, Buesheiqa and other areas within the district of al-Hamdaniya," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/30/2009 00:00 ||
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Aswat al-Iraq: The Karbala police on Thursday arrested three persons on charges of stabbing a man to death in the eastern part of the province, according to the anti-crime department chief.
"Security agencies today (Jan. 29) captured three persons on charges of murdering a local resident in the town of al-Duwayhiya, Toreij district, (20 km) eastern Karbala," Lt. Colonel Oqeil Hadi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
"The three suspects had raided the house of a local resident on Wednesday (Jan. 28), tied his mother and wife and stabbed him to death before stealing gold and 1.5 million Iraqi dinars," Hadi said. "One of the culprits was arrested in the area of al-Mushawrab, (10 km) eastern Karbala, and confessed to the crime, while the two others were arrested later," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/30/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
What's the current exchange rate for Iraqi dinars? Anybody know?
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/30/2009 11:12 Comments ||
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Aswat al-Iraq: Six men wanted on “criminal and terrorist” charges were arrested on Thursday, according to the Basra police media office. “Basra police forces conducted a search raid in different areas of the province, capturing six wanted men suspected of involvement in criminal and terrorist charges,” the office told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/30/2009 00:00 ||
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Aswat al-Iraq: A candidate running in the local elections was assassinated by unidentified gunmen in western Mosul on Thursday, according to an official police source in Ninewa province. “Unidentified gunmen opened fire on Thursday evening at Hazem Sallam Ahmed, a candidate in the provincial council elections, near his home in al-Amil district.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/30/2009 00:00 ||
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BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Attackers in Iraq killed three Sunni Arab provincial election candidates and two election workers Thursday in violence that has startled an eager electorate in the run-up to the polls Saturday. Omar Farouq al-Ani, an Iraqi Islamic Party member running for a council seat in the capital, was gunned down near his Amriya home in western Baghdad, an Interior Ministry official said. Al-Ani, whose party is the most prominent Sunni Arab movement in Iraq, was driving home from an election rally when he was attacked.
Hazem Salem Ahmed, a Sunni Arab from the National Unity list, was shot dead outside his home in the northern city of Mosul, police said. Abbas Farhan al-Jabouri of the Development and National Reform list and two election workers were found shot dead in the Diyala province city of Mandali a few hours after they were kidnapped, police said.
It is not known whether the attackers were rival supporters, militants who oppose the staging of the elections, or killers intent on sectarian retribution.
Another incident on Wednesday night is also thought to be election-related. The Iraqi Islamic Party is questioning whether a woman gunned down in western Baghdad was slain because attackers mistook her for one of its candidates. Mayyada al-Bayati was killed when the attackers stormed her house in the Yarmouk neighborhood, an Interior Ministry official told CNN on Thursday.
A party official said al-Bayati is the sister-in-law of one of its female candidates seeking a Baghdad council seat. Party officials believe al-Bayati was killed because the attackers mistakenly thought she was the candidate. Tariq al-Hashimi, one of Iraq's two vice presidents, is the Iraqi Islamic Party's most prominent member.
Of the more than 14,400 candidates participating in the local elections, nearly 4,000 of them are women.
Iraq's provincial elections are scheduled for Saturday. At stake are 440 seats on local councils, which name the regional governors. Iraqi, U.S. and U.N. officials have consistently warned against a possible uptick in attacks ahead of Iraq's all-important provincial elections. Security forces ramped up efforts to protect candidates and election centers. Overall, there has not been widespread election-related violence.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/30/2009 00:00 ||
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(AKI) - (By Hamza Boccolini) - A new video purportedly from Al-Qaeda in Iraq urges Muslims to become snipers in order to avenge the Palestinian deaths caused by Israel's three-week offensive in the Gaza Strip. The 30 minute documentary, entitled "From the Islamic State: Dedicated to Gaza, the courageous," underlines the military and religious aspect of a sniper in Islam. It begins by showing images of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, while images of Arab heads of state are seen cheering after a raid.
The aim of the video - produced by production house al-Furqan - is to invite Muslims from all over the world to do the same and kill the first unbeliever that crosses his path. "You must know that with a bullet whose cost does not exceed one dollar, you can kill a person who gets paid much more by their country.
"If you feel that your heart is being squeezed and you are sorry about what is happening to Muslims, become a sniper and learn how to become one. Then approach God's enemy and his closest prophet and put a bullet in his heart or head and you will see how much better you feel," said the message.
An image of Pope Benedict XVI also appears in the video, shaking the hand of Saudi Arabian King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud.
In one part of the video, the Muslim holy book or Koran is quoted. "Fight them and Allah will punish them by your hands, lay them low, and cover them with shame. He will help you over them and cool the chests of the believers," said the video, quoting Sura number 9 verse 14.
The video also stressed the importance of suicide bombing and snipers, but also their so-called historical use in defending Islam. "Just like using suicide bombers represented an important evolution and a decisive weapon for the jihadist fight, the use of snipers is important as the bases for its establishment are rooted in the history of Islam when during important battles, the Prophet (Mohammed)'s fellow warriors used this tactic against their enemies."
"This because the surprise effect wins in a sniper, because death comes from where the enemy did not expect it."
According to the Al-Qaeda militants, the first person in the history of Islam to use sniping was the Prophet Mohammed, who allegedly invited his warriors to use this technique in battle.
The video also shows how al-Qaeda has killed dozens of US soldiers by using snipers in the past few years. To become a sniper, - the video says - the person must be in excellent physical and mental state. "He must convince himself he is a sniper and must use cunning ways, and always remain patient." The video concludes with images of a Palestinian man asking Muslims for help after an Israeli bombardment.
Established in 2006, the Islamic State of Iraq is an umbrella organisation containing several radical insurgency groups including its predecessor, the Mujahideen Shura Council and Al-Qaeda in Iraq. It aims to establish a caliphate in the Sunni Arab dominated regions of Iraq.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/30/2009 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Attackers in Iraq killed three Sunni Arab provincial election candidates and two election workers Thursday in violence that has startled an eager electorate in the run-up to the polls Saturday. Omar Farouq al-Ani, an Iraqi Islamic Party member running for a council seat in the capital, was gunned down near his Amriya home in western Baghdad, an Interior Ministry official said. Al-Ani, whose party is the most prominent Sunni Arab movement in Iraq, was driving home from an election rally when he was attacked.
