Dropping back to last night:
Meanwhile in Iraq, NINA notes that unidentified gunmen began "simultaneously attacking the Taji and Abu Ghraib prisons" with gun fire, "improvised explosive devices and RPG launchers." They also report that the military and the police ("supported with helicopters") were surrounding the prisons. Jack Phillips (Epoch Times) adds:
Al Jazeera reported on its front page that the attack was taking place on Sunday night, and involved assailants with rocket-propelled grenades, but it did not offer more details.
The Associated Press also confirmed there were clashes at the prison on Sunday.
Charles Lister, with IHS Jane’s Terrorism & Insurgency Centre–an intelligence organization, wrote that a “senior ISIS commander claims Abu Ghraib & Taji prison attacks have been a success. Convoys of escaped prisoners now en route to ‘safety.’” At around 6 p.m., Lister added that “several jihadi sources claim fighting is over at Abu Ghraib.”
Jane Arraf (Al Jazeera -- report is text and video) notes of the attacks, ""[Abu Ghraib prison] is now home to several high-ranking al-Qaeda prisoners, as is the prison in Taji. It appears to be an attempt to free those prisoners." All Iraq News reports that the prison attacks have been stopped. Alsumaria adds that, during the attack, prisoners in Abu Ghraib rioted and burned portions of the prison.
Press TV notes, "Initial reports said the attacks on prisons had been foiled, and no casualties had been reported." But today, AFP reports, "Militants attacked two Iraqi prisons including the notorious Abu Ghraib in a bid to free inmates, sparking all-night clashes in which at least 41 people, officials said on Monday." France 24 adds, "Commentors on micro-blogging website Twitter, including some accounts apparently operated by jihadists, claimed thousands of prisoners had escaped." National Iraqi News Agency reports on a press conference in Baghdad today in which MP Hakim al-Zamili declaring "that between 500 to one thousand prisoners escaped from Abu Ghraib prison." The Press Trust of India notes, "Iraq is witnessing its worst eruption of violence in five years."
Along with the Mosul bombings, National Iraqi News Agency notes 3 homes were bombed in Falluja claiming the lives of 2 police members and 1 civilian, an attack targeting swimmers in Shirqat has left 1 Iraqi soldier and 2 civilians dead (and another civilian injured), and 1 police officer was shot dead in Falluja, Alsumaria reports that a Ramadi police station was attacked today and one assailant was killed and another injured.
The New York Times covers Iraq . . . via the Associated Press. How shameful. But you can't keep coverage in Iraq and sell the war on Syria, right? For those who've forgotten or are too young to remember, the paper sold war on Iraq. They did this starting in October 2001 with a front page story falsely linking Iraq to the 9-11 attacks. They continued this throughout the lead up to the Iraq War and through the early years of the Iraq War when the illegal war was falling apart but they kept up the rah-rah and cheerleading (largely via the 'reporting' of John F. Burns and Dexter Filkins). And now they 'cover' Iraq via AP (and blog posts -- yes, I saw that and, no, I'm not linking to it).
Ahlul Bayt News Agency reports, "The main causes of terrorism in Iraq and other regional nations are not ignorant or jobless people, but the Global Arrogance, headed by the US and Israeli regime that have extremism under their control and use it in their own favors, Sheikh Khalid al-Mala told al-Alam on Monday."
Yesterday, we noted:
All Iraq News notes cleric and movement leader Moqtada al-Sadr is calling for the people to protest the government's lack of response to the violence and sttes, "The silence of the people concerning the terrorist bombings, the people of other countries would revolt and call for toppling the government if their countries witnessed such bombings. We witness strange silence over these bombings and we cannot grant the government another chance to improve the situation."
World Bulletin interprets Moqtada's statements as calling for the overthrow of Nouri al-Maliki.
Bonnie reminds that Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "The Birthday Reminder" went up last night. On this week's Law and Disorder Radio, an hour long program that airs Monday mornings at 9:00 a.m. EST on WBAI and around the country throughout the week, hosted by attorneys Heidi Boghosian, Michael S. Smith and Michael Ratner (Center for Constitutional Rights) topics addressed include Bradley Manning, attorney Rachel Lederman on Oscar Grant and Alfred McCoy on the long history of US government spying.
US Senator Patty Murray is the Chair of the Senate Budget Committee. She's written a column for the Tacoma News Tribune entitled "Congress' refusal to work together is hitting home today" and this is the opening:
In Washington state and across our country, Americans are sick of congressional gridlock. It’s gotten so bad that one of the favorite measuring tools in Washington, D.C. – approval ratings – now peg the public’s approval of Congress at a measly 10 percent.
Although we may have gotten used to partisan battles and name-calling, it isn’t always obvious just how Congress’ problems are impacting our families and our communities.
But today, the line between Congress’ failures and devastating impacts on our communities couldn’t be clearer.
Just ask Will Silva, a former Marine and an amputee who works as a fire inspector at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
Silva wants to go to work today, but thanks to sequestration, he’s been furloughed like thousands of others in the South Sound. Because he’s unpaid each Friday, he’s struggling to make his mortgage payments and support his family.
So for Silva, sequestration isn’t about politics; it’s about putting food on the table and paying the bills.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
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law and disorder radio
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michael ratner
the world today just nuts
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