Iraqi soldiers backed by tanks retook control of a Sunni town north of Baghdad on Friday after gunmen withdrew without a fight, although violence erupted at three Sunni mosques and clerics called for the formation of a tribal army to protect Sunni cities.
The Sunni gunmen had seized Suleiman Beg on Thursday after a firefight with security forces, one in a string of incidents that have killed more than 170 people in a spate of violence and clashes in Sunni Muslim towns in western and northern Iraq during the past four days.
The growing turmoil prompted UN Envoy to Iraq Martin Kobler on Friday to warn that the country is “at a crossroads.”
Photo: Reuters
Iraqi police and military officials said army units entered the town after negotiations with local tribal leaders.
The recent unrest in the country followed a deadly security crackdown on a Sunni protest in the town of Hawija four days ago.
In Iraq’s predominantly Sunni provinces, anti-government rallies continued as preachers at protest sites called for the formation of tribal army that would protect Sunni areas from attacks by government forces.
In Samarra, Sunni cleric Najih al-Mizan lashed out at what he said were “the policies of tyranny and repression” adopted by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. He said Maliki’s resignation was the only solution to save the country from the current crisis.
“We call upon our tribes to form an army that can protect us from a government that does not hesitate to kill its people,” al-Mizan said.
In Fallujah, Sunni cleric Ali al-Basra repeated the call to form a tribal army to protect Sunni cities. Several protesters held al-Qaeda flags aloft during the rally.
The new calls for Sunnis to take up arms could further raise the tension between the government and the Sunni minority. Maliki appeared on national television on Thursday to appeal for calm.
Kobler underscored growing concern about the deteriorating situation in a renewed call for restraint.
“The country is at a crossroads,” he said. “It is the historical responsibility of all Iraqi leaders to assume leadership and take bold initiatives, such as sitting together and calling in one voice for immediate restoration of calm and for a broad-based national dialogue.”
Violence continued on Friday.
A bomb blast hit Sunni worshipers as they were leaving a mosque in western Baghdad after the end of Friday prayers, killing five worshipers and wounding 22 others.
Minutes later, a Sunni was killed and six wounded when a bomb struck Sunnis near a mosque in the Rashidiyah area, 20km north of the capital. Also, a bomb exploded near a third Sunni mosque in northeastern Baghdad, killing two people.
There was no claim of responsibility for the attacks against Sunni mosques, which have now happened for two Fridays in a row. On Friday last week, a pair of bombs struck outside a Sunni mosque north of Baghdad, killing at least 11 people.
Also this Friday, police said a bomb exploded shortly after sunset near a small restaurant in Baghdad’s Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City, killing four people and wounding 20 others.
Later on, police said three people were killed and 17 others wounded after a car bomb went off in a street in southern Baghdad.
Al-Qaeda’s Iraqi branch, the Islamic State of Iraq, frequently attacks civilian targets such as mosques, markets and restaurants. The group mainly targets Shiites, but it has also struck Sunni targets in an attempt to re-ignite the sectarian strife that pushed the country to the brink of civil war in the years following the 2003 US led-invasion.
Medics in nearby hospitals confirmed the death toll. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to media.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number