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IRAQ WARS
21 killed in wave of Baghdad attacks
by Staff Writers
Baghdad (AFP) Jan 18, 2014


US ready to train Iraqi troops in third country: official
Washington (AFP) Jan 17, 2014 - The US military is planning to train Iraqi troops in a third country to help counter a resurgence of Al-Qaeda-linked militants, a defense official told AFP on Friday.

Pending an agreement with Jordan or another nation to host the effort, the training was "likely" to go ahead as both Baghdad and Washington supported the idea, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

However, Pentagon officials are not contemplating sending an American team of military instructors into Iraq, partly because it would require negotiating a legal agreement with Baghdad that proved elusive in the past.

Such a move also could spark political rancor in Washington that would revive old wounds over the controversial US-led war in Iraq.

"We're in discussions with the Iraqis on how we can improve the Iraqi security forces," Colonel Steven Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters.

He said a possible counter-terrorism training effort was under consideration and that the Pentagon planned to send weapons and ammunition at the request of the Iraqi government.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki "is looking for essentially small arms and ammunition, stuff that can help him right now" in the fight against Islamist extremists, Warren said.

The United States was preparing to ship "several thousand" M-16 and M-4 assault rifles as well as ammunition, the defense official said.

Iraqi security forces are battling to roll back anti-government militants who have gained ground in Anbar province, west of Baghdad, in recent weeks.

The United States led an invasion of Iraq in 2003, toppling Saddam Hussein. American troops withdrew from the country in 2011 after failing to reach a deal with Baghdad providing legal safeguards for US forces.

Less than 300 US troops are now stationed in Iraq, with a contingent of Marines guarding the American embassy and more than 100 service members overseeing military assistance.

In an interview published Thursday, Maliki said his government was benefiting from intelligence provided by Washington and had asked for weapons and counter-terrorism training.

"We are going to ask for training, in some areas we need training, especially for our counter terrorism units," Maliki told the Washington Post.

Asked if US trainers would come to Iraq, the prime minister said: "Yes, bringing Americans to Iraq, or Iraqi soldiers could go to Jordan and train."

He said intelligence collaboration with the United States "is very important for us" and that the Americans were "tapping Al-Qaeda communications, finding their camps and places on the ground, observing their routes over the borders."

He added: "We work together on that field but we need more cooperation."

The United States already has provided Hellfire missiles after a request from Maliki's government.

Attacks across Baghdad, including car bombs at an up-scale shopping mall and near a juvenile detention centre, killed 21 people Saturday as rising violence fuels fears of all-out sectarian war.

The bombings and a deadly, weeks-long standoff in the western province of Anbar, part of a nationwide surge in violence that has already killed more than 600 this month, come just months ahead of parliamentary elections.

Diplomats including UN chief Ban Ki-moon have urged authorities to pursue political reconciliation with disaffected Sunni Arabs to resolve the unrest, but the US has said it will provide training for Iraqi forces in a third country and ship small arms to the country's security forces.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has taken a hard line and ruled out dialogue with militants.

Iraqi officials have instead trumpeted wide-ranging security operations against militants, including in the desert region of Anbar, which borders Syria, but they appear to have done little to abate daily bloodshed.

In Baghdad on Saturday evening, seven attacks -- including six car bombs -- killed at least 21 people and wounded more than 60 others, security and medical officials said.

One of the blasts went off near the glitzy new Mansur Mall, one of the capital's most up-scale shopping centres, where families and young people often meet in the evenings to go to the cinema or eat at Western-style restaurants.

At least five people were killed and 12 more were wounded.

The area was deserted after the attack as shoppers rushed out of the mall, while security forces imposed restrictions on movement in the area, barring cars from entering or leaving the district, AFP journalists at the scene said.

Another car bomb in the Taubchi neighbourhood detonated near a juvenile detention centre, and conflicting reports of a prison break spurred authorities to effectively shut the area down, an AFP journalist said.

The blast killed five people and left 13 others wounded, officials said.

An interior ministry official said 23 detainees managed to escape in the chaotic aftermath of the attack, but Iraqiya state TV said security forces managed to prevent the attempted jailbreak.

Bombs also went off near a bus station in Nahda, a bridge in Utaifiyah, while attacks struck the neighbourhoods of Amriyah, Jamiyah and Adel, killing 11 people in all.

Trend of evening attacks

Saturday's unrest was the latest in a long-running trend of attacks hitting the capital in the evening, when Baghdad's residents are congregate in cafes, markets, restaurants and shops.

Such onslaughts had previously struck during morning rush hour.

No group immediately claimed the attacks, but Sunni militants linked to Al-Qaeda often carry out waves of coordinated bombings in the capital against civilian targets.

Violence also struck north of Baghdad, in the restive multi-confessional cities of Kirkuk and Baquba.

Twin blasts at a Kirkuk market killed three people, while gunmen badly wounded a journalist after stopping his car at an intersection in Baquba. The journalist, who worked for Sharqiya TV, managed to escape his car but was shot three times and is currently in hospital.

The bloodshed comes with security forces locked in a prolonged deadly standoff with militants including those affiliated to the Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and anti-government tribesmen in Anbar.

US Vice President Joe Biden discussed Washington's support for Iraq's fight against ISIL on the phone with Maliki on Saturday.

"The two leaders agreed on the importance of the Iraqi government's continued outreach to local and tribal leaders in Anbar province," the White House said.

A large swathe of Ramadi and all of Fallujah, both former insurgent bastions in Anbar, fell from government control late last month.

It was the first time anti-government fighters have exercised such open control in major cities since the height of the insurgency that followed the US-led invasion of 2003.

Fighting originally erupted in the Ramadi area on December 30, when security forces cleared a year-old Sunni Arab protest camp.

It spread to Fallujah, and militants moved in and seized the city and parts of Ramadi after security forces withdrew.

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IRAQ WARS
Iraq forces attack militants as 14 bodies found
Baghdad (AFP) Jan 16, 2014
Iraqi forces attacked a militant stronghold in crisis-hit Anbar province on Thursday, while authorities found 14 bullet-riddled bodies in scenes harkening back to the worst of the country's sectarian war. The latest fighting, a day after nationwide attacks killed 73 people and gunmen made gains in Anbar, comes amid fears the country is sliding back into the worst of the brutal Sunni-Shiite c ... read more


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