BBC: Militants kill 14 Iraqi villagers

BBC ^ | Saturday, 1 December 2007, 12:35 GMT | BBC Staff

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Militants kill 14 Iraqi villagers

Diyala province has seen some of the highest levels of violence

At least 14 Shia civilians have been killed in an attack by al-Qaeda militants on a village near the Iraqi city of Baquba, officials have said.

Local residents said 60 gunmen launched the raid on Duwailiya, 18km north of Baquba, shortly after daybreak.

The attack came as figures suggested the number of Iraqis killed in bombings and shootings was continuing to fall.

Iraqi officials said 606 civilians and security personnel died in November, continuing the trend of recent months.

The data, compiled jointly by the interior, defence and health ministries, showed that 537 civilians, 45 police officers and 24 soldiers were killed.

The figures mark a significant fall from the 887 Iraqis killed in October.

NOVEMBER TOLL 537 civilian deaths 45 police killed 24 soldiers killed 37 US military deaths Source: Iraqi government Iraq violence in figures

It would also be the lowest since February 2006, when an attack on the Shia shrine in Samarra set off a wave of sectarian violence in which thousands died.

Mirroring the fall, combat deaths among US troops in Iraq are believed to have fallen to a 20-month low of 37 in November, according to calculations by news agencies.

Correspondents have attributed the recent fall in violence to the US and Iraqi troop surge in and around Baghdad that began in February, and US co-operation with Sunni armed groups.

Other key factors are believed to have been the suspension of operations by the Mehdi Army militia of the radical Shia cleric, Moqtada Sadr, and the rejection of al-Qaeda by some Sunni Arab tribes.

Daybreak raid

The attack on the village of Duwailiya began about 0700 (0400 GMT) on Saturday, local residents and officials said.

The village, which is home to members of the predominantly Shia Bawi tribe, was bombarded with mortar rounds before 60 militants streamed in and opened fire.

Fourteen people were killed during the assault, including four women and three children, and at least eight others wounded, local residents said.

Ten houses were destroyed by the militants.

Several armed villagers later fought back, killing four al-Qaeda gunmen in the process, police said.

Twenty-five people were tied up and shot dead by al-Qaeda-linked militants during a similar raid on Duwailiya in July.

The village is in Diyala province, which has seen some of the highest levels of violence in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003.

[NonValueAdded]

How does one say “step it up boys, Murtha is losing faith” in Arabic?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From the Blogosphere (Strata Sphere):

The War In Iraq Is Now For The Heart Of Islam In The Middle East

**********************EXCERPT***********************

We cannot leave Iraq right now, the future of the Middle East and the rest of the world is literally at stake. We have made a lot of progress in Iraq, and the people of Iraq have made a choice to side with a Western styled democracy and alliance with America. This decision was not trivial, it was in response to al-Qaeda’s relentless atrocities against the Iraqis. And since this turn of events al-Qaeda has been systematically destroyed.

And now it is repeating a pattern we saw in Anbar and Diyala provinces as the tide turned against it - it is attacking its fellow Arab Muslims in an effort to reestablish some control in Iraq. The war for the heart of Islam is raging right now in Iraq and we need to make sure the moderate side wins this war if we want peace in OUR future:

At least 14 Shia civilians have been killed in an attack by al-Qaeda militants on a village near the Iraqi city of Baquba, officials have said.

************************snip*******************

al-Qaeda is heading towards a date with destiny wherein it will be the modern day equivalent of Hitler’s Nazis - a scourge on humanity. al-Qaeda has turned the entire country of Iraq against itself through these very same kinds of brutal acts. And we see these acts in response every time al-Qaeda is being pushed out of one of their sanctuaries, they go after the locals for not protecting or heeding them.

We cannot let al-Qaeda regain any toe hold in Iraq. We need to protect those Arab Muslims now aligned against al-Qaeda. Those Muslims now on OUR side who will fight those bloody maniacs behind 9-11. Here we are a little over 6 years from the horrors of 9-11 and we have one of the largest, riches, most literate Arab nations in the Middle East fighting along side us in common cause against al-Qaeda. We cannot run from this opportunity - especially to gain votes from a vocal yet totally delusional minority back here in the US who simply cannot grasp the reality we are living in right now. We must help Islam take the peaceful path into the future with us. We cannot run from our responsibilities to the future generations who will suffer wars and terrorism and horrors if we let this opportunity to slay al-Qaeda slip by.

Posted by AJStrata on Saturday, December 1st, 2007 at 10:25 am.

[Fred Nerks]

Fourteen people were killed during the assault, including four women and three children, and at least eight others wounded, local residents said.

al qaida's last ghasp in Iraq - killing women and children.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Speaking of Murtha...from the Blog :

Mad Murtha Undermines Far Left War Stance

*************************EXCERPT*************************

Update - IBD Notices Murtha’s Duplicitous Madness

Mad Jack Murtha - who once said we could monitor al-Qaeda’s activities in Iraq by stationing our forces in Okinawa, Japan (talk about someone who served in the military and learned absolutely nothing about how to manage a war effort) - has done the unthinkable in far left circles. He has admitted that The Surge is working (which everyone now knows) and the Iraqis must take on more of their security (which they are doing):

“I think the ’surge’ is working,” Mr. Murtha, a Democrat, said in a video conference from his Johnstown office, describing the president’s decision to commit nearly 30,000 additional troops at the beginning of the year. “But the thing that has to happen is the Iraqis have to do this themselves. We can’t win it for them.”

Talk about your “Duh!” moments! Want to see the Iraqis stepping up to the plate? Just review some of my posts from the last few months on news stories which show just that. For a sample go here, here, here, here and here. The truth is the far left is either in deep denial or so blinded by their inferiority complex with Bush they are grasping the reality of Iraq months after the situation has changed. This is creating a correct and disturbing picture of the Dems as totally incapable of dealing with foreign policy issues, the same issues they supported as members of Congress in authorizing the war in Iraq.

[knarf]

Proof that they read our media.

They saw civvie deaths were down and they were on their way out, so they decided to kill a few to let us know they were still in operation.

I like it when the enemy lights a cigarette.

[Marine_Uncle]

As usual balanced thoughtful commentary by AJStrata.
Hopefully border line Iraqi will switch over to our side and keep pointing out any potential evil doers seen in their communities and further halt any future killings of Iraqi and Coalition forces.
It should be clear that the Iraqi forces are now doing their best to rid their country of remaining goon squads.

[Fred Nerks]

...And we see these acts in response every time al-Qaeda is being pushed out of one of their sanctuaries, they go after the locals for not protecting or heeding them.

al qaida's justification is that by aiding the US the Iraqi's have become infidels! (And as infidels, they do not derserve to live - including the women and children.)

The Iraqi's are learning what islam really means. Submission - but given the choice, they have chosen NOT to submit. Islam will never be the same after this. Next stop - Afghanistan!

[Fred Nerks]

http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6211

Al Qaeda's objectives, motives, and strategies are further detailed in an Al Qaeda Training Manual designed to instruct aspiring terrorists in the art of murdering "infidels." The manual was discovered by England's Manchester Metropolitan Police during a search of an al Qaeda member's home. "Islamic governments have never and will never be established through peaceful solutions and cooperative councils," states this publication. "They are established as they [always] have been by pen and gun, by word and bullet, by tongue and teeth." The manual further exhorts jihadists to "pledge . . . to make their [the infidels'] women widows and their children orphans . . . to slaughter them like lambs and let the Nile, al-Asi, and Euphrates rivers flow with their blood . . . to be a pick of destruction for every godless and apostate regime."

it's not going so well for them in Iraq...

[Fred Nerks]

http://theimpudentobserver.com/world-news/taliban-foiled-in-plan-to-kill-afghan-school-girls/

Taliban Foiled In Plan To Kill Afghan School Girls
November 30th, 2007 by Fred Stopsky · No Comments
Within a day after Osama bin Lalden told the world that America and Europe were the enemies of Afghanistan, US and Afghan troops uncovered bombs set to go off when 400 school girls entered the Poorak Girls School in eastern Logar province. A hand grenade and another bomb were rigged to explode at the school’s entrance. Col. Abdul Majeed Latifi, deputy chief in Logar said: “I am 100 percent sure this was the work of the Taliban.” Upon arrival, US troops found two mortar shells underneath a footbridge in front of the school that was only a few feet from the home of a family.

Osama bin Laden continually complains that US and NATO forces have brought death and destruction to Afghanistan. There is no doubt in many cases lack of accuracy in bombing has resulted in the death of hundreds of innocent Afghan men, women, and children. But, for those duly concerned about such carelessness, there should be equal concern about the barbarity of the Taliban which kills fellow Muslims in the name of some sort of righteous need. How does one justify killing school girls?

(Same ‘religion’ same MO.)

[wtc911]

Not a last gasp, this is a long standing tactic of AQ in Iraq. Our military call it M&I - Murder and Intimidation.

[Fred Nerks]

Osama, read it and weep

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22687841-5000117,00.html

from The Australian newspaper.