IRAQ NEWS SUMMARY, 23 APRIL 2024

The military forces outside Hawija assaulted the sit-in square, killing and wounding over 200 innocent people. They also began attacking other cities, indiscriminately firing on the unarmed prostesters.

Maliki's forces committed a heinous massacre at dawn in Hawija today, switching to the language of bullets. Forces of the military (Tigris Operations Command) and special forces launched a planned assault against the sit-in square in Hawija. At 4:30 AM, Soldiers and helicopters stormed the square and opened fire indiscriminately on the unarmed protesters. They ran down the wounded with their military vehicles, and chased down and executed those who tried to escape to surrounding areas. Over 200 innocent people were killed and wounded in the massacre. Government forces prevented the arrival of ambulances to the scene.

These forces were backed by an allied and unknown sectarian militia.

The same government forces attacked four nearby villages in the district of Riyadh. Their residents were able to fight back, and managed to capture a number of checkpoints, and even shoot down a helicopter in the area.

The military attacked the sit-in square in the north of Ramadi as well, one of the cities most fierce in demonstration. They opened fire indiscriminately into the crowd of demonstrators, and clashed with gunmen that responded to the attack, damaging a military vehicle and forcing the soldiers to retreat from the square.

A roadside bomb targeted a military patrol in the west of Mosul, killing one of its soldiers and injuring two others.

A roadside bomb went off beneath a police patrol in the west of Mosul, killing a lieutenant and injuring two other elements.

Mosques in the area encouraged people to donate blood to save the lives of those injured.

Some military officers defected after the massacre at Hawija.

 Two bombs went off, one after another, near a mosque in the south of Baghdad, killing four people and injuring thirteen others.

Four dead bodies were found in the east of Fallujah, with gunshot wounds.

Another body was found in al-Iskandiriyah.

A roadside bomb targeted a civilian car in the east of Baquba, severely injuring its driver.

A bomb went off near a residential house in the west of Baquba, injuring two children.

IRAQ NEWS SUMMARY, 24 APRIL 2024

In the context of the Hawija massacre yesterday, intense fighting broke out in Tuz Khormatu, between the military and civilian fighters who took up arms to defend their homes...army helicopters launched heavy airstrikes indiscriminately against the district, killing and wounding over 43 innocent civilians and destroying six mosques.

In retaliation against the massacre committed by the military at Hawija yesterday, which killed and wounded over 200 innocent people...armed clashes broke out between Iraqi soldiers and resistance fighters in the district of Sulayman Biek in Tuz Khormatu, east of Tikrit.

Five soldiers were killed and twenty others injured, and a number of the gunmen were killed and wounded as well. Army helicopters launched airstrikes indiscriminately against the district, launching missiles and dropping bombs on residential neighborhoods and mosques – over 43 innocent civilians were killed and wounded in the bombardment, and many homes and buildings were destroyed, including six mosques.

Gunmen attacked a military patrol in Tuz Khormatu and clashed with its soldiers for some time, killing a brigadier and severely injuring three other soldiers. Seven of the gunmen were killed in the clashes.

In the east of Mosul, gunmen killed a soldier standing at a military checkpoint. In the north of Fallujah, a group of gunmen attacked a Federal Police patrol, severely injuring a lieutenant and two other elements.

In an attack committed by a sectarian militia...a number of mortar shells struck Muhammed Rasoulullah mosque in Diyala, followed by two bombs by the mosque, killing seven people and injuring twenty-five others.

Gunmen attacked a Sahwa checkpoint in the north of Baquba, killing three of its elements and injuring two others.

A number of bombs were placed in the vicinity of a mosque in the northeast of Baquba, and set off, killing six people and injuring fifteen others.

The imam of a mosque, Sheikh Abd al-Hadi as-Sab'awi, was killed in a targeted attack in the east of Mosul.

A parked car bomb blew up by a passing police patrol in Tarimiyah (north of Baghdad), killing two of its elements and injuring a third, and killing one nearby civilian and injuring seven others.

A parked car bomb exploded in a parking garage in the north of Baghdad, killing one person and injuring nine others.

A group of men broke into a civilian home in the east of Mosul, and killed four people from the same family with knives.

IRAQ NEWS SUMMARY, 27 APRIL 2024

Many organizations, scholars, and imams denounced the massacre that took place at Hawija last week, and stated that self-defense against further attacks is legitimate.

Armed clashes broke out with the Federal Police in the north of Fallujah.

In the same context, gunmen attacked to the convoy of police Brigadier Abd Khalf in the east of Ramadi, opening fire with automatic weapons and RPG-7 rockets – the brigadier was unharmed, but two of his guards were injured.

An Iranian press organization revealed the presence of Iranian Revolutionary Guard at the Hawija massacre last week.

Sheikh Abd al-Hadi as-Sab'awi, the imam of a mosque in the east of Mosul, was killed in an armed attack in the east of Mosul.

In the continuing deterioration of security, three people were killed in separate armed attacks in Basra.

 Two young men were killed and wounded in a targeted attack in the south of Fallujah.

 Gunmen in the west of Baquba attacked police Major Fadhil Qasim outside his house, killing him.

In the south of Baquba, gunmen attacked a police checkpoint, killing five of its elements, including a captain, before getting away.

Gunmen in the west of Mosul attacked a police checkpoint, injuring two of its elements.

A roadside bomb in the north of Mosul targeted the car of Muhammed Ibrahim Ali, an official in the Supreme Council, without injuring him.

A bomb went off at a military checkpoint in the north of Mosul, injuring one soldier and a nearby civilian.

IRAQ NEWS SUMMARY, 28 APRIL 2024

Ten different satellite media channels were shut down by the Iraqi government and prevented from working in the country, in order to conceal its current actions.

In the context of this, the Trebil border crossing with Jordan was shut down for the next 48 hours.

Forces of the military raided the house of the head of the Sab'awiyain clan in Mosul for his support of the demonstrations, and detained him, taking him to an unknown destination.

Sources in the Interior Ministry reported that over twenty different police stations were evacuated because of coordinated attacks against them, leaving them open.

Two civilians were killed and wounded in an armed attack in the south of Fallujah.

Gunmen in the east of Tikrit attacked the car of a lieutenant-colonel in the Interior Ministry, injuring him and four of his sons.

A colonel in the Civil Defense Directorate was killed in an armed attack in the west of Baghdad with silenced weapons.

Gunmen in Baiji attacked a military checkpoint in a drive-by, killing one of its soldiers and injuring two others. For the second day in a row, two Katyusha rockets struck a military headquarters (Iraqi Government Army 12th Division), without causing casualties.

IRAQ NEWS SUMMARY, 29 APRIL 2024

Maliki government forces launched a wide campaign of searches and raids against eight different provinces, arbitrarily detaining 202 people.

Six car bombs exploded in various parts of Baghdad, killing and wounding at least 113 people in total.

In an act of crackdown, government forces across the country launched a wide campaign of searches and raids against eight different provinces: Salahuddin, Nineweh, Babil, Karbala, Diyala, Basra, Maysan, and Wasit. They detained 202 people in total. Many of the arrests were carried out by the army. They were arbitrary and the victims were innocent.

Six car bombs exploded in various parts of Baghdad, killing and wounding at least 113 people in total. Two car bombs exploded in a market area in central Amarah, killing at least six people and injuring thirty-one others. Another car bomb exploded on the side of the road in central Diwaniyah, killing two people and injuring twenty-seven others. A parked car bomb exploded in a residential neighborhood in Karbala, killing three people and injuring twelve others. Another car bomb in Karbala targeted a police station. A car bomb exploded in a residential compound in the south of Baghdad, killing eight people and injuring twenty-four others.

A mu'adhin (caller or a staff reciting adhaan) for a mosque in the southeast of Baghdad was severely injured in an armed attack with silenced pistols. A lawyer was killed in a similar attack in the west of Baquba.

Gunmen attacked a Sahwa checkpoint in the south of Tikrit, killing three of its elements and severely injuring a fourth. Another Sahwa checkpoint was attacked in the southeast of Mosul, injuring one of its elements.

Clashes broke out at night between gunmen from a neighborhood and a joint force of the army and police. Two soldiers were killed and four others injured...a military headquarters was demolished and four army hummers wrecked, along with three other cars belonging to soldiers.

Mortar shells targeted a number of various government security stations in Anbar province.

A roadside bomb targeted a military patrol in the east of Mosul, killing one of its soldiers. A sniper killed a soldier at a military checkpoint in the southeast of Baghdad. Three Federal Police cars were wrecked in an armed attack in the east of Tikrit.

..... TO BE CONTINUED