Fuel Crisis In Baghdad Dozens Of

Fuel Crisis in Baghdad
Dozens of Bodies Found

The Sunni Arab guerrillas have long sought to cut Baghdad off from fuel. Al-Sharq al-Awsat/ AFP say that the strategy may be working. The current fuel crisis in Baghdad is virtually unprecedented. This report suggests that if it goes on, it could bring down Maliki’s government.

Iraq’s underground civil war continued on Saturday, with bodies showing up dead at Suwayra (12 in a crate) and Baghdad (15), plus scattered bombings and assassinations that brought the total number of dead to 50, according to AP. My experience is that such wire service counts tend to be low and more deaths are mentioned in the Iraqi press.

Reuters reviews some of the violence. Among the important events:

‘ MOSUL – A sniper attacked a police patrol, killing one officer and wounding another in Mosul, police said.

DIWANIYA – Gunmen assassinated a member of Iraqi intelligence in front of his home in Diwaniya, 180 km (112 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD – Two civilians killed and three wounded in a roadside bomb attack aimed at a police patrol in central Baghdad, police said. The attack took place on one of the city’s main highways. . .

BASRA – Three die in a bomb blast in the southern city of Basra, 550 km (340 miles) south of Baghdad, police sources said. Iraqiya state television said the bomb was inside an electronics shop in the mainly Shi’ite city.

BALAD – Police said they had found the bodies of two civilians shot in the head and chest in Balad, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad.

BAQUBA – Gunmen killed police captain Nuri Juad in Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

BAQUBA – Seven policemen were wounded in a roadside bomb targeting their patrol in Baquba, police said. ‘

24 Iraqis were killed during a US military operation in Ramadi. On Friday, guerrillas fired a lot of mortar shells at US positions from buildings in Ramadi, including private homes and mosques, according to a military spokesman. Saturday’s fighting represented the attempt of the US military to return precision fire.

Mayhem in Basra, from The Economist.

More on the Shia Crescent: Hashemi reviews Nasr.