Nine Iraqis killed, the first attack against the Japanese in Iraq claims the life of one Jordanian
Iraq-USA, Politics, 1/27/2004

The Japanese forces which were deployed in Iraq recently were exposed to the first attack yesterday, and this resulted in the killing of one Jordanian driver, while four members of the Iraqi police were killed, and a fifth wounded, when armed men opened fire at an Iraqi police center in al-Ramadi city, to the west of Baghdad. Several others were wounded when an explosive went off to the south of Baghdad.

The Iraqi minister of the Interior, Nouri Bardan, announced yesterday the establishment of an intelligence department for "fighting terrorism, organized crime, highjacking and drug trafficking," stressing that the new system " has nothing similar " to the intelligence which used to terrorize people under the role of the former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

The Iraqi minister talked about "indicators on attempts made by foreign intelligence to penetrate into the Iraqi systems," but did not specify these sides.

Badran said that Iraq is not safe enough to make direct negotiations before transferring the authorities to the Iraqis, calling for postponing this issue until all security and political arrangements are taken to provide for making free and stable elections.

Badran said that al-Qaeda organization left its imprints in the suicide operations that took place in Iraq. He attributed the attacks carried out in Iraq to "the remains of Saddam's people, extremist religious groups, and an outer regime standing against any democratic system and to the coalition forces."

While the Japanese government announced its historical decision to sending 600 soldiers to Iraq, the ministry of defense said that a truck transporting equipment to the Japanese army was exposed on Sunday to an attack in al-Ramadi to the west of Baghdad, as it was transporting a pre-fabricated house for a Japanese officer who will start his work.

The ministry said "it is not clear whether the attack targets Japan because neither the truck nor its commodity have signs showing that it is Japanese." The truck was transporting the house from Jordan to Iraq.

In al-Ramadi, the Iraqi police said that attackers opened fire at a police center and killed four of its members. The leader of the center, Ahmad Muhammad al-Duleimi, said that an American contingent had left the center quarter of an hour before the attack.

The police said that two Iraqi officers were killed at a barrier at the hands of armed men who opened fire from inside a car on al-Amereyah road, to the southern west of Baghdad, when a third policeman and two civilians were wounded in the attack.

Explosions were heard in what is called the "Green area," where the complex is situated, including the complex which includes the headquarters if the occupation forces in Baghdad, after which warning whistles were heard. One American official said that one missile blew off near the runway used by the helicopters transporting the American administrator of Iraq, Paul Bremer, but no casualties were reported.

The American forces blocked the way leading to Baghdad's bridge, and blew off a locally made explosive after 6 American soldiers and 4 Iraqis were killed in attacks by the beginning of the week. In southern Baghdad, the civil defense officer said that two Iraqis in a bus were killed and other two strongly wounded when a large explosion went off under the feet of one passenger as he was going out of the bus. The officer explained that the explosive seemed to have been implanted to hit an American vehicle because the American forces usually use this road which leads to a police center, which is 200 meters from the site of the explosion.

One Iraqi police member was killed in al-Musil on Sunday after gunmen opened fire at him from a car and fled. In karkouk, the commander of the police forces said that two high ranking officers in the former Iraqi intelligence were arrested having with them " huge amounts of " weapons. N.

Previous Stories:
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  Powel: Saddam Hussein will not be tried before transfer of authority to the Iraqis   (1/20/2004)
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