Juan Cole

3 Turks, 307 other Foreign Fighters in Custody The Kurdish militias say they have arrested three Turks, with Turkish passports and cellphones, whom they believe responsible for recent bombings in Kirkuk that killed 5, in front of headquarters of Kurdish parties. (al-Zaman). Meanwhile, a US military spokesman said that it had 307 foreign fighters in […]

Civilian Flights in and out of Baghdad Airport Halted As a result of the missile attack on the DHL plane this weekend, Coalition authorities have decided to halt civilian flights in and out of Baghdad airport, according to al-Zaman and Deutsche Press Agentur. DHL had already decided to cease its flights. Royal Jordanian Airlines’ subsidiary […]

Lebanon’s Hizbullah in Iraq The NYT’s James Risen has an article about the Lebanese Shiite group, Hizbullah, “infiltrating” Iraq. If one reads the article carefully, it is clear that 1) there are only thought to be 90 or so Hizbullah agents in Iraq, and they all came last April-May; and 2) they haven’t attacked Americans […]

Allegations about Iran and al-Qaeda Here we go again. Okaz, the Saudi tabloid, alleged that Saif al-Adil al-Misri, a high al-Qaeda official, ordered the recent bombings in Saudi Arabia from Tehran. The allegations that Sayf al-Adl is in Iranian custody; that he is allowed by the Revolutionary Guards or the Quds Brigade to have a […]

3 US soldiers Dead in Iraq, Bodies Looted Two US soldiers driving through Mosul were attacked and driven off the road, crashing their vehicle. Either their assailants or crowds of angry youths who gathered slit their throats. Then crowds gathered to loot their bodies and vehicle (which they tried to set on fire), shouting angry […]

Franks broaches Military Dictatorship Friends, the Republic is in real danger. It is not the UN black helicopters that threaten it, but elements of the United States officer corps. That is, if their thinking is in any way exemplified by Tommy Franks. Franks has speculated that in the wake of a major WMD attack, the […]

Police Stations Bombed, Airplane struck by Missile Powerful carbombs exploded at police stations in Baquba and Khan Bani Saad, northeast of Baghdad, early Saturday morning. A DHL plane landed back at Baghdad airport with one of its engines on fire after it was hit by a surface to air missile on taking off. It was […]

Bomb Kills 4, Wounds 20 at Liquor Store An assailant threw a bomb at liquor stores in south Baghdad on Friday, killing 4 persons and injuring 20 who happened to be in the street of the shopping district, according to officials of Yarmuk Hospital in the capital. One of the dead was an 11-year-old child. […]

Al-Yawir warns of lack of Transparency in Elections Meanwhile, the leader of the Sunni Shimr tribe, Ghazi al-Yawir [Yawer] (a member of the Interim Governing Council), warned of large-scale protests at the secrecy surrounding the processes for electing the members of the new transitional council. He called for “A de facto end to the coccupation, […]