Juan Cole

7 US Troops Dead Thursday Bombing Toll 21 Dead, 70 Wounded ON Thursday near Qaim, a US armored vehicle was hit by a bomb, which killed 4 and wounded 10. The Washington Post’s Knickmeyer gives a sense of what the deaths mean to a Marine squad, which has been devastated. Three other US troops were […]

Afghanistan, Pakistan Protests against US Koran Blasphemy Spread The NYT reports that protests in Afghanistan against the alleged US desecration of the Koran spread on Thursday. One student was killed and 4 were wounded in Chak, in Wardak, as police fired on protesters. There were other village demonstrations. A large group of Logiani tribespeople was […]

Brigadier Assassinated, Another Bomb in Baghdad The London Times Online reports that guerrillas detonated another bomb in a market in East Baghdad, killing 17 and wounding 80, catching up 8 cars and a bus in the huge blast. The explosion at a fertilizer plant in Basra, which also set an oil pipeline on fire, is […]

American Blasphemy Against Koran Sparks Riot, Protests in Afghanistan, Pakistan The Guardian reports that news (from Newsweek) that US soldiers desecrated the Koran–and at one point flushed pages of it down the toilet as a technique for humiliating and breaking detainees at Guantanamo–has provoked a second day of protests and then rioting in Jalalabad, this […]

76 Killed on Wednesday Alone in Iraq Huge Basra Blast The final death toll for victims of bombings in Iraq on Wednesday alone was 76, according to AFP. It adds: “In another incident, 45 people were hurt in a blast at a fertilizer plant near the southern town of Basra though it was not clear […]

50 Dead, 90 Wounded in Iraq Bombings on Wednesday Morning Qaim Campaign Continues On Wednesday morning, a suicide bomber in a car detonated his payload near a market in Tikrit, killing 27 persons and wounding 70. Reuters adds that guerrillas struck two further times early on Wednesday: “In the town of Hawija, southwest of the […]

Constitution-Drafting Subcommittee Excludes Sunnis Chalabi to be Pardoned Hamza Hendawi reports that the new government will attempt to use high Sunni officials such as Defense Minister Saadoun Dulaimi and Vice Premier Abid Mutlak al-Juburi (Jiburi) to reach out to Sunni Arab moderates. Few expect this effort to have an effect on the guerrillas. But it […]

Al-Qaeda on Trial in Yemen Planned Attacks on Americans Reuters reports on the ongoing trial of 8 alleged al-Qaeda members in Yemen. In a dramatic new develeopment, the prosecutor said information had arisen that the group was planning to kill Americans in Saudi Arabia, and were working on plans for attacks in Gulf countries. It […]

US Releases Enemy Casualty Estimate of 100 The US military is conducting a major operation around Ubaidi, near Qaim on the border with Syria. The operation near the Euphrates was aimed at foreign jihadi bases. The Marines are reportedly surprised by the degree of preparation the guerrillas are showing. They also seem to have specialized […]