30 November Events in Iraq

News
Seven people were wounded in Baquba when a mortar round hit a residence.

In Latifiyah, south of Baghdad, the bodies of two Iraqi civilians, shot through the head, were found alongside a pipeline.

Shi'ites prepare mega-slate to receive benediction of Ayatollah Ali Sistani. The slate of Shi'ite candidates, numbering more than 200, is in the final stages, says Badr Abdel Hussein Abtane.

Abu Ghraib : German lawyers prepare to sue Rumsfeld, Tenet and Sanchez. A Berlin lawyers' collective has announced that it will take Donald Rumsfeld and other officials to court for war crimes involving detention practices and torture at the Abu Ghraib prison.

Timeline
19:00 Oil pipeline sabotaged. An oil pipeline connecting the Dora refinery with the Musayyib power generation station, 80 km southeast of Baghdad, was sabotaged by rebels. The explosion caused a power blackout in Babylon Province.

17:15 Ferry overturns. A ferry used on the Tigris River in Kurdisan sank. Death toll is expected to climb to 40.

16:33 Five US soldiers wounded. Five US soldiers were wounded in a carbombing west of Baghdad on the airport road.

15:30 Ferry overturns. Five persons were drowned and another 27 missing after a ferry overturned on the Tigris River where a strong current was running. On board were 44 Kurdish laborers entering Iraq from Turkey following reopening of the border. 12 people managed to swim ashore.

10:31 Allawi to visit Moscow. Iyad Allawi will be in Moscow on 6 and 7 December on an official visit. Joining Allawi will be the ministers of Oil, Energy, Health, Communications and Economic Planning and the Deputy Minister of Defense.

08:54 Carbombing in Baiji. Four civilians were killed and two US soldiers wounded when a carbomb targeted a US convoy in Baiji.

06:40 US soldier dies in northern Iraq. A US soldier was killed by a roadside bomb near the town of Alazu.

03:53 Fallujah: hundreds of homemade bombs found. US troops found 750 remotely detonated homemade bombs in Fallujah over the last three weeks.

29 November Events in Iraq

News:
Baghdad. Debate on elections continues. The debate concerning the postponement of the elections scheduled for January 30 continues. Moderate Sunni politician Adnan Pachachi, the originator of the petition to delay elections, has repeated his opinion that the present atmosphere of insecurity will dissuade many Iraqis from voting. Mr Pachachi's close collaborator and vice chairman of Pachachi's Independent Democrats Movement, Saad Abdelrazzak, is quoted as saying, There is the undeniable reality that the climate of security in Iraq is not conducive to holding elections. Fuad al-Rawi, member of the Iraqi Islamic Party led by Muhsin 'Abd al-Hamid, which had joined with Mr. Pachachi in petitioning for a delay, insists that the petition for a six months' delay is realistic. In London, after meeting with Iraqi Vice Premier Barham Saleh, Prime Minister Tony Blair declared that the vast majority of Iraqis want to chose their own government within the framework of free elections. It will be a difficult task, nevertheless the Iraqi people are accustomed to overcoming obstacles. Foreign Minister Jack Straw has recognized that it will be difficult to organize the elections for the scheduled date, 30 January 2005. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said that he sees no reason why elections should be delayed.

Iran, accused by both Washington and Baghdad of working to destabilize Iraq, will open a ministerial conference Tuesday on Iraqi security issues to which Iraq, its neighbors and Egypt are invited. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi affirmed that the Teheran conference would result in concrete actions to stop infiltrations of terrorists into Iraq.

General Abizaid warns Iran that the US military is not overdeployed and hints at a nuclear option. Genereal John Abizaid warned that the US military was not overdeployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. That the Iranians would want to act against us in an overt manner obliging us to deploy our air or naval power astounds me. We are capable of unleashing more military power per square centimeter than any other nation on earth and everyone knows it. If you consider our nuclear capabiity, the world must clearly understand that no power on earth can match us militarily.

Indonesian Islamist group says it will send fighters to Fallujah. The Defenders of Islam Front has opened a recruiting office in Indonesia and has already signed up 300 volunteers, says organizer Machsuni Kaloko.

Turkey, US and Iraq to discuss security for truck drivers. Representatives will meet tomorrow in Ankara to discuss increased security measures for Turkish truck drivers. More than 60 Turks have been killed in ambushes and kidnappings in Iraq.

Timeline

21:56 Raid on mosque: imam arrested. US troops and Iraqi forces raid the Sunni mosque in Amiriyah, near Fallujah, and arrest Imam Shawkat al Ani while he was in the process of distributing humanitarian aid and food rations to the citizenry, says Abdul Salam al Kubaisi.

19:16 Costly month for US forces in terms of lives. 134 US troops have been killed in action during the month of November.

19:09 Baghdad, thirteen marines wounded. Thirteen US marines were wounded and two civilian wounded in a mortar attack on a US base south of Baghdad.

18:55 Cairo, message from al Zawahri. Egyptian physician and radical Islamist Ayman al Zawahri said al Qaeda had no interest in outcome of US elections in a tape sent to al Jazeera.

18:05 Baghdad carbombing kills seven police. Seven Iraqi police were killed and nine wounded in a carbombing of a checkpoint in al Hit, west of the capital.

16:57 Kidnapped French reporters. Mohammad al-Joundi, the driver for two French reporters kidnapped in Iraq makes a public plea for their release while on a visit to France.

15:44 Pipeline sabotaged in Samarra. An oil pipeline in Dura, near Samarra, is sabotaged with two bombs, causing an oil spill.

15:41 Carbombing in Baghdad. Four Iraqi national guard were killed and three wounded in a carbombing of a checkpoint in Motassem, al Anbar Province.

14:27 Two US soldiers killed in Baghdad. Two US soldiers were killed and three others wounded by a roadside bomb on a Baghdad street.

11:27 Ramadi carbombing. Hospital sources in Ramadi reported 12 deaths and 10 wounded in a carbombing of a police station where officers had queued to receive their monthly salary.

28 November Events in Iraq

Other News

Petition to delay elections encounters legal technicality. The 15 Iraqi political parties which had petitioned for a postponement of the Iraqi elections scheduled for January backed down when it was realized the delay would have caused a legal vacuum, voiding the legitimacy of the caretaker government. Article 2 of the provisional Iraqi Constitution states that elections must take place before 31 January 2005.

3 Americans killed in Masnaa, Lebanon. A truck with Kuwaiti plates crossing from Syria into Lebanon rammed a minibus carrying Americans returning to Lebanon from Jordan, killing three and wounding three others. In the accident two Lebanese, two Jordanians and the Syrian truck driver were also killed. The Americans who perished were children: Samuel Charles McKenzy, Abigail Charles McKenzy and Dayle Mary.

After Star Wars, US military turns to H. Rider Haggard. The US has dubbed an Iraqi commando squad which it has trained as the Black Scorpions. (Missed the chance to call them the Phalanx of the Vizier, Assassins of the Casbah or Legion of She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed).

Three rebels killed in clashes south of Baghdad. Three rebels were killed and several wounded in clashes with US, British and Iraqi troops. Two US marines were killed in the same operation.

Two US soldiers were wounded on Sunday by a booby-trapped car on the Baghdad airport highway.

Baquba, three dead. Three Iraqis including an elderly woman were wounded in a mortar attack on a police station.

Rabat, Morocco. 45 thousand demonstrate against US occupation of Iraq.

Son of Kofi Annan implicated in Oil for Food scandal. Kojo Annan, son of Kofi Annan received $2500 per month for four years from the Swiss corporation Cotecna, a UN contractor for the UN Oil for Food program.

Iyad Allawi to fly to Jordan to meet Iraqi political opponents in exile.

Iran willing to train and equip Iraqi border guards. Ali Asghar Ahmadi, Vice Interior Minister in Charge of Security Affairs, says Iran is willing to prepare and to arm Iraqi border guards.

Japan requests protection of its contingent by British troops. The Japanese newspaper Asahi Shiimbun writes that after the pullout of Dutch troops from Samawa scheduled for March 2005, Japan will ask for protection of its contingent from the UK.

The President of the European Commission, José Manuel Durao Barroso, pleads for money from member states for Iraq reconstruction.

Timeline

19:40 Baghdad: Five US soldiers killed over three days. Two US soldiers died on Friday and three others today in al Anbar province.

19:02 Southern pipeline ablaze. Smugglers managed to divert the flow of oil from a southern pipeline connecting the Rumailah fields with the port of Basrah. The pipeline subsequently caught fire and oil flow is now shut down.

17:31 Italian general visits troops. Gen. Giulio Fraticello, chief of Italy's general staff, visited Camp Babylon and the "strategic" bridge over the Euphrates at Nassiriya.

17:18 US soldier dies in road accident. A soldier of the First Infantry Division was killed when his truck plunged into a canal near the city of Sadiyah.

16:43 Mossul: Al Zarqawi claims responsibility for the death of 17 members of Iraq's security forces.

15:18 Sunday Times has video of French hostages. Video dates from beginning of November.

14:28 Samarra, carbomb death toll rises. Six dead and five wounded in Samarra carbombing.

12:11 Sammara carbombing. Three dead and five wounded in carbombing near high school.

11:07 Japanese defense minister renews troop commitment. Japanese Defense Minister Takahiro Ono says Japanese troops to remain in Iraq until the end of 2005.

10:50 Carbomb explodes on road to airport; two wounded.

10:07 Mossul: 17 bodies found. Another 17 corpses, likely to be Iraqi National Guardsmen, have been found in Mossul by US forces.

07:48 Baghdad: carbomb explodes. No reports of deaths but the wounded were evacuated for hospitalization by helicopter.

07:08 Blast heard in downtown Baghdad. A column of smoke was seen rising from the Green Zone.

27 November Events in Iraq

22:13 Kurdish parties agree to vote on 30 January.

19:35 Samarra: Two abushes, three are dead. An Iraqi truck driver transporting supplies for the US military was killed by gunshot near a US base. Two Iraqi national guardmen were killed near a highway checkpoint near Balad.

18:35 Chirac pleads for release of French hostages. Jacques Chirac, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, makes plea to kidnappers of reporters Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot for their release.

17:28 Baghdad. Blast kills three police. A roadside bomb in the Dora quarter of Baghdad kills three Iraqi police.

16:34 Elections: Saddam may vote but may not run for office. Abdel Hussein Alhindawi, Chairman of the Elections Commission, says in theory Saddam Hussein could vote on 30 January.

15:05 Nassiriya, 9 terrorists arrested. Nine suspected terrorists were arrested in Suq ash Shuyukh, 20 km from Nassiriya in a raid by Iraqi police.

14:39 Shi'ites, any delay in elections is inacceptable. A religious spokesman says Iraq's Shi'a population will not accept a postponement of the January elections.

14:19 Mossul: more corpses discovered. 17 mutiliated or beheaded bodies were found along remote mule paths near Mossul.

14:07 Fallujah, two marines killed.

13:36 Government rejects petition to postpone elections. Government spokesman Thaer al Naqib says there will be no change in election date.

13:33 Party of Prime Minister Allawi petitions for delayed elections. Iraqi National Accord was one the the petitioners for a new election date.

13:10 Guerrilla raids near Baquba. Guerrillas conducted three simultaneous raids targeting US forces and local troops in Khalis, near Baquba, north of Baghdad using RPGs and AK-47s. Targeted were a US base, a police station and a highway checkpoint. Three police were wounded along with several rebels.

11:33 Baquba: Son of Iraqi general kidnapped. The fifteen year-old son of Major General Ayad al Kurwi was ambushed and taken hostage by armed assailants while travelling by car to school.

11:20 Elections commission rejects petition. Elections Committee Chairman Abdel Hussein al-Hinduai says there will be no change in the scheduled election date.

10:40 Attack on armored bus on road to airport. A roadside bomb struck an armored minibus used for the transport of high ranking officials and businessmen on the Baghdad airport road. No victims reported.

08:18 Roadside bomb kills US soldier. A US soldier was killed by a roadside bomb while on patrol near Duluiya, 90 km north of Baghdad. An armored vehicle was damaged.

08:05 Baghdad, downtown bombing kills two and wounds fifteen. At least two are dead and fifteen wounded in crowded Rasheed street. The intended target is unknown.

06:36 UN requests transparency in torture trials. The UN has requested more information from the United Kingdom on the trial of several UK soldiers charged with torture and prisoner abuse.

Friday 26 November: Events in Iraq

Massive relief program planned to aid the 250,000 refugees displaced by the Fallujah assault.

Iraqi government plans crackdown on ex-Ba'athists after discovering that Ba'ath party members occupy key positions in the new security apparatus.

100th day of detention for French reporters Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot.

Committee of Yemani Ulema calls for armed struggle against US occupation of Iraq.

December 10 new deadline for Iraqi ballot registration.

23:55 Baghdad: Elections in January problematic. Vice Premier Barham Salih says the Iraqi elections sceduled for January represent an impossible challenge. Salih is to meet with Prime Minister Tony Blair next week.

20:05 Washington: Bush insists on elections. President Bush says he expects elections in Iraq to take place as scheduled.

19:17 Italian government to be sued in Nassiriya bombing. Adelina Parrillo, live-in partner of film producer Stefano Rolla, killed in the suicide bombing of the Italian base in Nassiriya on 12 November 2003, will sue the Italian Defense Ministry for negligence.

18:35 Al Kut: Reporter kidnapped. An Iraqi reporter for the daily Sada Wasitn was kidnapped on a highway at a fake checkpoint.

18:26 Baghdad: Request to postpone elections. A petition drafted at the home of Adnan Pachachi and signed by 15 major parties, including the political party of Prime Minister Allawi, sought delay of the Iraqi elections scheduled for 30 January. The petition will be examined by the government on Sunday.

16:56 Baghdad: 15 parties unite to request delayed elections. Fifteen political parties, including the two major Kurdish parties, form an united front to delay elections scheduled for 30 January 2005.

16:35 US forces control Latifiya. US controls Latifiya as insurgents vanish. US forces have repared the highway leading to Baghdad which had been damaged by two blasts.

16:13 Fallujah: Blast kills two persons. A blast just outside of Fallujah kills two men and wounds a third. It is thought they were preparing a bomb to be targeted at a US military convoy.

15:45 Baquba: Four civilians wounded. Four civilians were wounded in an attack targeting a US military convoy.

15:41 Baquba: 700 RPG projectiles found. Iraqi national guard and US forces find 700 projectiles and RPG launchers in the Al-Hachmiya quarter of Baquba.

15:09 Baghdad: 4 Nepalese killed in blast. Four Nepalese nationals killed in blast [Gurka perhaps?] at Global Risk Strategies.

14:10 Baghdad: Blast in Green Zone kills four. A blast in the Green Zone kills four security guards and wounds 15. All were employees of the British firm, "Global risk strategies".

12:47 Kirkuk: Policeman killed. One police officer was killed and several others wounded in an attack by insurgents of a checkpoint 10 km south of the city.

12:37 Fallujah: Combat threatened to resume. Insurgents release a communique saying they have reorganized and will continue combat.

12:02 Mossul: Thirteen bodies found. US forces say they have found 13 additional corpses in Mossul.

08:37 Fallujah: Two US soldiers killed. Two US soldiers were killed by a grenade yesterday in Fallujah as they were performing house-to-house searches.

Thursday 25 November Events in Iraq

Other News
Iran accuses US of funding Iranian counter-revolutionary groups. The Peoples' Mujahedeen, the PUK (Iran), and the Komala (Kurdish Maoists) are funded by the US, says Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, commander of the Guardians of the Revolution. The US has also recruited 20,000 Bassidjiis (Iranian militants) to foment instability in Sistan-Baluchistan, an Iranian province on the Afghan frontier.

Two-thirds of Japanese oppose presence of national contingent in Iraq. A survey conducted by Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) indicated that 61% of Japanese disapprove on the continuing Japanese mission in Iraq.

Member of Turkish parliament calls Fallujah assault "genocide". Mehmet Elkatmis, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, assails US military action in Fallujah.

Iraqi Government to meet with rebel representatives. The Iraqi caretaker goverment will meet with representatives of the insurgents in Amman, Jordan, including representatives of the outlawed Ba'ath Party.

General Geoffrey Miller relieved of command. Gen. Miller, appointed 7 months ago to command US detention centers in Iraq, has been relieved by General William Brandenburg.

Timeline
17:39 Baghdad: Assassination of American official. A group linked to al Zarqawi claimed reponsibility for the assassination of Jim Mollet, a 48 year-old Dept of State employee, as he was driving his car near the Green Zone.

16:33 Mossul: Zarqawi lieutenant arrested. Abu Said, said to be a close collaborator of al Zaqawi, was arrested in Mossul.

16:29 Fallujah: 2,085 killed in US assault. Iraqi Minister for National Security Kassim Daoud, says 2 085 people killed and 1 600 taken prisoner in Fallujah assault. Most are not identified. The minister declined to indicate if the victims were civilians or insurgents.

16:21 Carbomb in Samarra kills three and wounds 13.

16:07 Fallujah, chemical lab found. US troops claim they have found a chemical laboratory and a manual on the cultivation of anthrax spores.

15:56 Jordan, Zarqawi nephew arrested. A 22 year-old nephew of al Zarqawi was arrested in Jordan.

15:10 Baghdad, explosion in downtown area. Reuters reporters say smoke rising from a quarter north of the Green Zone. Residents near the airport say other explosions were heard near the location where thousands of US troops were eating Thanksgiving dinner.

15:00 Carbombing in Samarra, 10 wounded. Four civilians and six police were wounded in a carbombing in Samarra.

14:01 Kirkuk: pipeline sabotaged.

12:30 Baiji: pipeline sabotaged. Pipeline sabotaged near Baijii, despite the deployment of 2,000 national guard to protect infrastructures.

11:20 Arrests in Baghdad. The Black Watch arrests 55 people in south Baghdad, confiscating weapons, money and video cassettes.

09:30 Basrah: insurgents arrested. Two Saudis, two Tunisians and one Libyan were arrested in Basrah. They are alleged to have fled from Fallujah and were preparing several bombings targeting Iraqi troops.

Wednesday 24 November Events in Iraq

Also in the news
Two high ranking Sunni clerics assassinated. Sheik Ghaleb Al-Zuheir was assassinated Tuesday 23 November in the town of Mikdadiya, 100 km northeast of Baghdad. The sheik was a member of the Committee of Iraqi Ulema and had called for a boycott of elections. The day before, Sheik Mohammed Al-Feydhi, brother of the spokesman for the Committee of Iraqi Ulema, was assassinated in Mossul.

US advisor calls for assassinations. Jim Steele, an advisor to Iraqi commando forces, recommends targeted assassination of suspected insurgent leaders (including clerics, apparently).

Flyers in Mossul: US troops are passing out flyers in Mossul reading, "Reward for information concerning terrorists." Street reaction: "I've had enough of the Americans. I am a Muslim and I will not squeal on a Muslim brother.", says Mosul shopowner Hashim Mahmud, 33, while sweeping the floor of his establishment, damaged during clashes between insurgents and US troops.

Iraqi National Guardsman and a civilian were killed Tuesday night in Mossul at a voter registration office in Mossul. Meanwhile unknown assailants looted and burned a warehouse where voter registration forms were stored.

Impeachment motion drafted in House of Commons. 23 MPs have drafted a motion of impeachment against Prime Minister Tony Blair, the first such action since 1806. It is not expected that the motion will be permitted to come to the floor for debate.

Timeline

23:04 Shootout in Baghdad. US official killed:

21:38 Blind, autistic Iraqi jailed in Copenhagen. A blind, autistic 24 year-old Iraqi was jailed in Copenhagen on Wednesday for having made 165,000 phone calls to northern Iraq, a world record. The presiding magistrate in his hearing says the man hacked several payphones and mobile phones resulting in the blocking of Copenhagen's emergency switchboard. He was sentenced to 27 days in a Danish psychiatric hospital.

20:48 Oil closes in New York at $49.45 per barrel

20:31 Amman: Zarqawi's brother-in-law arrested. Abu Mussab Al Zarqawi's brother-in-law was arrested for the second time in four months by Jordanian authorities.

19:15 Egyptian helicopter brought down. An Egyptian military helicopter crashed into a hillside in the Sinai peninsula. The cause was pilot error.

18:50 Plane carrying Egyptian drug interdiction team shot down by small arms fire.

16:27 Mossul assassination attempts. Five persons, including one civilian,were killed in the attempted assassination of an Iraqi general and the region's deputy governor. Iraqi General Rachid Flaih escaped an assassination attempt. US troops killed four of the assailants. An earlier attempt was made on the life of the Vice Governor of the Province of Nineveh, killing one of his bodyguards.

15:55 Saddam get Red Cross visit.

15:44 Turkman notable assassinated. A Turkman fertilizer executive was assassinated today by unknown assailants in Kirkuk.

11:34 Carbomb in Baghdad: 3 dead. Carbomb targets Kharkh district in west Baghdad, killing 2 foreigners.

08:34 US casualty toll in Fallujah: Pentagon reports 51 KIA and 850 wounded in Fallujah assault.

08:16 US dollar value falls against euro. Euro climbs to 1.3115 dollars.

08:04 Pentangon announces number of wounded. The Pentagon announced that 9326 US troops have been wounded in Iraq since March 2003.

08:00 Samarra: Three are killed. An Iraqi national guardsman and 2 civilians, including a 4 year-old child, were killed in clashes in Samarra.

07:00 US launches military operations in Latifiya, Mahmudiya, Yussufiya, Iskandariya, Haswa and Mussayyeb.

06:54 Zarqawi dismisses Iraqi Ulema as traitors. Website broadcasts message to Iraqi Ulema from al-Zarqawi: "You have abandoned your faith and you revel into the pleasure of life while your Mujahedeen brethern conduct Jihad and sleep amidst flames. If you do not join the war as knights for God, you will have relinquished all to the women. You will have lost your masculinity."

November 23 Events in Iraq

Flashback
In the one real South Vietnamese election held in 1967, Thieu got less than 40% of the vote and the leading peace candidate came in second.

The United States essentially blasted South Vietnamese civilians out of the countryside into cities after having rained down upon them 7 million tons of artilley rounds and 4 million tons of bombs

Other News
Iraqi Defense Minister calls al-Jazeerah, "The Terrorism Channel."

Several Kuwaits attempt to enter Iraq illegally. Syria has arrested and deported five Kuwaitis attempting enter Iraq illegally over the last few months.

Timeline
20:22 UK nationals kill Iraqi national guardsmen. Two Britains mistakenly killed two Iraqi national guardsmen assigned to the Interior Ministry who fired on their vehicle.

20:05 Too much snow in January: Kurds request election delay. Massud Barzani's Kurdish Democratic Party has requested a postponement of the Iraqi scheduled for 30 January due to expected heavy snowfall at that time of year.

18:51 Red Crescent asked to recover remains of Anwar Wali. Two Italian NGOs request Red Crescent to recover remains of slain Italo-Iraqi hostage Ayad Anwar Wali.

18:23 UN alarmed by fleeing refugees from Ramadi. UNHCR has expressed concern over the recent news that more than 1000 refugess have fled the Al Tash refugee camp near Ramadi for the Jordanian border.

17:42 Baghdad Patriarch expects concrete action following Sharm al Sheik conference. Baghdad Patriarch Emanuel III Delly hopes peace, security and reconciliation will follow Sharm al Sheik conference.

15:58 Mortars strike Samarra, five dead, including three children. Mortar round hits residence killing 5 and wounding 8 others. The intended target was a US checkpoint.

15:49 Carbomb in Baghdad, 3 dead. Three Iraqis, including one police officer, were killed and thirteen wounded when a carbomb went off near the Zayyouna police station in Palestine Street.

15:42 Kharrazi, all Iraqis should vote. Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi encourages Iraqis of all faiths and ethnicities to vote in January election.

15:32 Arab League pleads for cease-fire. Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa pleads for a cease-fire and a reconciliation summit in Iraq before January 30 elections.

15:18 New US offensive in Sunni Triangle. US forces have arrested 32 presumed rebels 80 km south of Baghdad.

15:05 Fini says international community backs Allawi. Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini says world backs Allawi following Sharm al Sheik conference.

14:45 Sharm, international conference ends. The Sharm al Sheik conference on Iraq concluded with the adoption of a closing declaration based on UN Security Council Resolution 1546. The resolution supports the transition process and calls for national reconciliation.

14:36 Fini, Italy will not increase troop levels. Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini says no additional Italian troops will be sent to Iraq.

13:59 Sharm, closing declaration adopted, says Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abul Gheit.

13:58 Powell: No one has asked for election postponement. Powell says no delegation has expressed the opinion that the Iraqi elections should be postponed.

13:30 Zebari: Conference has demonstrated international support. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiar Zebari says conference confirms willingness of international community to assist Iraq.

13:06 New American offensive in Babylon Province.

12:30 Conference unanimous on 30 January date for elections.

11:59 Iraqi Foreign Minister: More troops required for election security. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiar Zebari asks international community to do its part in guaranteeing Iraqi election security.

11:46 Fini: Defeating terrorism is possible. Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini believes terrorism may be defeated with the will of the international community.

11:31 US General: "Al Zarqawi may be hiding near Kirkuk". US general Loid Mayers, US commander in Kirkuk, believe al Zarqawi is hiding nearby.

11:02 Fini: Italian troops to remain in Iraq. Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini says Italian troops will remain in Iraqi as long as the Iraqi government requests them.

10:54 Sharm, some countries favor election postponement. While Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al Faysal insists elections must be held on 30 January, Al Jazeera reports that Egypt, Jordan, and the Arab League prefer a postponement.

10:16 Egyptian Foreign Minister: "Iraq crisis linked to Palestine". Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abul Gheit says the Iraq crisis may not be solved independently of the Palestinian problem.

09:48 Baquba, Sunni cleric assassinated. Sunni Cleric Taleb Latif Ali, member of the committe of Iraqi Ulema, was assassinated near Baquba.

09:42 Fini, January election to be historic. Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini says the 30 January election is "an historic appointment with the international community.

09:23 Conference on Iraq begins work. Sharm El Sheikh meeting begins.

09:17 Iran: "Countries neighboring Iraq will spare no effort." Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi is reported as saying, "A secure and stabile Iraq is in the interests of every country in the region. More than anything, another approach must be found to offset the negative consequences of errors committed by the United States and their allies, who failed in bringing peace and stability to Iraq. "

09:15 Colin Powell meets with Syrian foreign minister. Colin Powell met Syrian Foreign Minister Faruk Sharah today in Sharm el Sheikh.

08:09 Baquba, member of Committe of Iraqi Ulema assassinated.

Iraq Timeline for Monday 22 November

19:35 Powell will brief Quartet at Sharm el Sheik. US Secretary of State Colin Powell is to brief Quartet members on his trip to Tel Aviv and Jerico tomorrow at Sharm el Sheik.

19:07 Arab countries in favor of postponement of elections. Egypt, Jordan and Arab League let it be known that they prefer a postponement of elections beyond 30 January 2005 to permit higher voter participation.

18:47 Bulgaria does not intend to cancel Iraq debt. Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Ghergana Granciarova and government spokesman Dimitar Tzonev say Bulgaria will not cancel debt.

18:39 Sharm, draft declaration prepared. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit has announced that countries bordering on Iraq have approved a declaration to be released tomorrow. 19 foreign ministers are participating in the conference: Iraq, G-8, Iraq's neighbors, Egypt, China, United States, the UN, the EU, the Arab League and the OIC. The Quartet will also be meeting: Colin Powell for the USA, Kofi Annan for the UN, Xavier Solana for the European Union and Serghiei Lavrov for Russia.

17:09 Egyptian Foreign Secretary opens Sharm el Sheikh conference.

16:32 Marine killed in Fallujah. 29 year-old Ivy League alumnus Lance Cpl. Dimitri Gavriel quit his job as an analyst for a Wall Street investment bank to join the Marines; he was killed in an explosion in Fallujah over the weekend. Gavriel's remark, Locked, cocked and ready to rock, before the assault on Fallujah was quoted around the world

16:29 Fallujah, first humanitarian convoy enters city. US forces have permitted a Red Crescent convoy to carry food and medical supplies to a hospital inside Fallujah.

16:27 Sharm, meeting of Iraq's neighbors.

14:24 Oil pipeline sabotage slows oil exports. An blast in an oil pipeline in southern Iraq supplying the Basrah terminal has reduced oil flow to 750.000 barrels per day. The blast occured at 9:00 am this morning.

13:26 Baghdad, US soldier killed in a rebel attack outside the city.

13:17 Bagdad, child killed by morter shell. A mortar rounded landed in the Bab al-cheikh residential quarter of Baghdad, killing a child and wounding four adults, including a woman.

13:09 Iran to host security summit of Iraq neighbors. Iran will host talks for security ministers on 30 November in Teheran.

13:08 Quartet to meet tomorrow in Sharm.

12:23 UK: Troops to stay throughout 2005. UK troops to deploy to bases outside metropolitan Basrah and will remain through 2005, says Gen. Sir Mike Jackson.

11:59 Mosul, four more bodies found

11:24 Mossul, Ulema committee member assassinated. Sheik Faidh Mophammad Amin al Faidhi was assassinated as he left a mosque in the Rifak quarter of Mossul

11:10 Ba'ath Party: Sharm conference useless. The clandestine Ba'ath party dismisses Sharm al Sheik conference.

09:55 Shootout in Baghdad, one dead and two British nationals arrested. Shootout between British nationals and forcesof the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior.

09:22 International community meets in Sharm el Sheik

09:19 Zarqawi group takes credit for anti-American bombing. Group claims reponsibility for yesterday's attack in the Doha quarter of Baghdad which caused no casualties.

09:13 Alleged Sunni rebel commander captured. Marines capture six persons in Haqlaniya, claiming one of them is a Sunni rebel leader.

Iraq Timeline for Sunday 21 November

19:28 Al Arabiya reporter held by US military freed. Abdel Kader Saadi, arrested 11 days ago by US forces in Fallujah, was released from a military camp where he was held with 2,500 other people, despite his press ID kit.

18:59 US confirms: marine fired on Ramadi bus. A US marine fired on a bus in Ramadi and killed a number of civilians.

17:09 Kidnappers release Allawi's cousin. Kidnappers released Iyad Allawi's elderly cousin, taken hostage on 10 November.

16:51 Three corpses recovered in Mossul. Three new corpses of Iraqi national guardsmen were discovered in the industrial area of Mossul.

14:53 Iraqi collaborator with US killed. An Iraqi civilian was found dead in Balad on the banks of the TIgris.

14:37 Two Turkish truck drivers killed. Two rigs and their drivers were ambushed in Baiji; the trucks were set ablaze and the drivers killed.

13:04 Mosul, two soldiers killed. Two bodies with a pistol shot to the back of the head were discovered in Mosul.

12:54 Latifiya, 30 bodies found. Thirty corpses (27 men and 3 women) in various stages of decomposition were found in Latifiya.

12:35 Kirkuk, oil well set ablaze. Insurgents set fire to an oil well near Kirkuk.

11:36 Carbomb in Baghdad. 5 US soldiers wounded. A carbomb targeted a convoy in the al Dora quarter at 9:30 am local time.

11:35 Intense fighting in Latifiyah. Insurgents fire mortar rounds at US positions.

11:23 US troops fire on bus in Ramadi, 7 killed. At least seven civilians were killed in Ramadi after US troops open fire on a bus travelling past the building housing the al-Anbar Provincial Government in the Hay al-Andalous quarter.

11:05 Fallujah, 1450 people arrested by US troops.

11:04 Nine corpses found in Mossul belong to Iraqi soldiers.

11:03 Iraq to vote on 30 January.

Iraq Timeline for Saturday 20 November

21:20 Baiji, four wounded in clashes with US troops. Four Iraqi civilians, including a woman, were wounded in clashes with American troops in the main market square of Baiji.

19:20 Kirkuk, natural gas pipeline attacked.

17:07 Rebel leader wounded in Fallujah. Rebel leader and military strategist Omar Hadid was wounded but was able to escape from Fallujah, say insurgents.

16:38 Al Zarqawi claims credit for attack on police barracks in Baghdad. A commando raid on a police barracks in the Sunni suburb of Al Adhamiyah was organized by a group linked to Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi.

16:15 Ramadi, five dead and ten wounded in US raid on city. US carried out house-to- house searches in Ramadi in which 5 civilians were killed and 10 wounded.

14:38 Mosul, 15 rebels killed.

14:11 Polish humanitarian worker freed. Teresa Borcz has been released, says Polish Premier Marek Belka.

13:53 Police barracks attacked, 10 are dead. Death toll rises in insurgent raid on police barracks this morning in al-Aadhamiyah. Four police and seven rebels were killed. A dozen bystanders were wounded and three police vehicles destroye.

13:31 Bagdad, ministry official assassinated. An official of the Ministry of Public Works was assassinated in Baghdad. Amal Abdel-Hamid al-Maamalji's car was ambushed in the al-Qadisiya by an armed gang. His driver and secretary were also killed.

12:57 Baghdad, US soldier killed. A US soldier was killed and nine others wounded when their patrol came under coordinated attack in Baghdad.

12:28 Two Iraqi military officers killed. Col. Ahmad Farouk was assassinated in the village of Heb Heb by unknown gunmen. Abboud Salboukh, an officer of the National Guard, was beheaded in al Kut, 175 km from Baghdad.

12:18 Explosion in Baghdad. A car bomb went off in downtown Baghdad, killing the bomber and a passer-by.

11:58 Two Kurdish hostages killed. Ansar al-Sunna guerrillas killed two Kurdish hostage and uploaded the video to the Internet. The Kurds were members of the PUK.

11:26 Powerful blast in Baghdad. Police barracks in Aadhamiyah attacked, three police killed.

10:40 $3000 dollar bounty per US soldier. Insurgents offer $3,000 bounty for any US soldier killed in Fallujah, Ramadi or Tikrit. Bounties of $2000 and $1000 were also offered per Iraqi solider or radical Shi'ite fighter killed, respectively.

10:37 Mossul, 9 bodies found. The bodies of 9 Iraqi security men were found shot and burned in Mossul. They had been travelling to join US troops preparing for an assault on Mossul.

10:36 Ex hostage says French reporters are in Latifiyah. Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot are in Latifiyah, says an Egyptian national taken hostage then released.

10:35 US offensive in Ramadi

10:32 Three Iraqi police killed. Rebel commando attacks police barracks in the Sunni suburb of Aadhamiyah, northwest of Baghdad. Violent combat ensued as the area was sealed off and US helicopters hovered overhead.

Iraq Timeline for Friday

19:42 Raid on mosque: death toll mounts. Death toll rises in mosque raid by US troops in Baghdad. 4 worshipers are dead and 9 wounded. US troops fired on worshipers when they attempted to oppose US troops, says the Association of Islamic Clerics.

18:07 Carbomb Baghdad: Five dead and ten wounded as carbomb targets police convoy.

18:05 International Red Cross: Human rights violations. IRC protests the daily, total disrespect for human rights during combat Fallujah, says Pierre Kraehenbuehl.

17:49 Elections essential in January. 18 Iraqi political parties meeting in Suleimaniya, Kurdistan, insiste on January elections.

16:11 Moqtada Al Sadr collaborator arrested. Iraqi national guard arrested one of Moqtada Sadr collaborators in Kerbala. A Sadr collaborator in Najaf was arrested earlier.

14:47 Baghdad carbombing: 2 dead and 5 wounded. Insurgents targe at police convoy in Baghdad. Three vehicle in the convoy were set ablaze.

14:18 Baghdad. Police convoy targed; several wounded. Carbombing reported in Palestine Street.

12:01 Zarqawi: "Two Iraqi soldiers decapitated". A group linked to Abu Musab al Zarqawi decapitate two Iraqi soldiers in Mossul

11:34 Baghdad, Iraqi National Guard raids mosque. The Abu Hanifa mosque in the Adhamiya quarter of Baghdad was raided by 300 Iraqi National Guard on Friday at the end of prayers.

10:45 Baquba, police official assassinated. Lt. Ali Hamid was assassinated by gunmen as he was walking, out of uniform, in downtown Baquba.

08:55 $5 million bounty on al Zarqawi collaborator. US puts a bounty on the head of Abu Musab al-Suri, aka Mustafa Setmariam Nasar.

08:47 Muqdadiya, attack on police headquarters. One Iraqi policeman is killed an 5 wounded in an attack on police headquarters in Mudqadiya, 100 km northeast of Baghdad. The victims name is Wamidh Raad.

08:46 Mosul, final attack readied. Iraqi shock troops with US support are preparing to attack the city of Mosul. 1200 US troops and 1600 Iraqi troops are readying for the assaul.

08:45 Australian NGO leaves Iraq: "Too dangerous". World Vision Australia will suspend operation in Iraq, says Director Geoff Shepherd. Only a handful of relief organizations remain.

08:43 US general: "Bin Laden no longer directs al Qaeda organization"

Iraq Timeline for Thursday

Iraq Timeline for Thursday

Fallujah: Insurgents substitute fiction for reality in the battle for Fallujah. The Shura Committe of the Fallujah Mudjahedeen announced the downing of two F-16's, 11 combat helicopters, 5 drones and on Chinook helicopter with 60 soldiers on board. The communique also said insurgents took 126 US soldiers, 123 Iraqi troops and 15 British soldiers prisoner. The communique mentions the destruction of 11 Abrams tanks, 9 armored vehicles and 13 Humvees. The text claims 400 US and 140 Iraqi killed in action as well as a US defector who is fighting alongside the insurgents.

United States: Clinton says Iraq has alienated the United States from the rest of the world during Presidential Library inauguration in Arkansas.

Syria: Claims of foreign fighters infiltrating into Iraq are exaggerated. The government daily as-Saoura says that since only 24 foreign fighters have been captured in Fallujah, claims of massive infiltration by foreign fighters are demonstratively exaggerated.

Reporters without Borders demand release of al Arabiya journalist. RWB demands release of TV journalist Abdel Kader al-Saadi held in custody by the US military.

Warsaw and Bratislava unhappy with withdrawal statements. Presidents Aleksander Kwasniewski and Ivan Gasparovichave have issued a joint communique declaring recent announcements of pullout by other coaliton countries preceding the January elections as dangerous. Poland has announced that it will replace Hungarian troops to be withdrawn from Iraq by order of parliament on 31 December.

21:41 Baghdad. Dozens arrested by Iraqi National Guard. Iraqi police have conducted a number of raids in Haifa Street in Baghdad, arresting dozens of people.

19:09 Fallujah Al Zarqawi headquarters found. US troops enter an imposing building and find writing on wall inside saying "Al Qaeda Organization."

19:03 Terrorist group threatens attacks during elections. Ansar al Sunna threatens to disrupt Iraqi elections in January.

16:39 Fallujah: Red Cross demands humanitarian relief corridor. Food, water and power are unavailable in Fallujah. Red Cross demands permission to enter the city in order to estimate humanitarian needs.

15:55 Zarqawi letters found. CNN reports al Zarqawi correspondence found.

13:09 DNA test to identify Margaret Hassan. British evacuate corpse to a third country for DNA tests to determine identity.

09:18 Baghdad carbombing: Police station in Yarmouk quarter bombed. Two dead, five wounded.

09:08 US bombs Fallujah.

09:06 Explosion in Kirkuk. Two workers and dead and another seriously wounded as they moved a car near a US military base.

09:00 Fallujah. Insurgents kill one marine and an Iraqi soldier.

08:55 Mossul. Three Iraqi national guardsmen and two police wounded in Mossul bombing.

08:45 Bajii and Samarra. Seven Iraqis killed in US raids.

Iraq Timeline for Wednesday

Jacques Chirac says the world a more dangerous place. In an interview with BBC-2 Newsnight, French President Jacques Chirac says that although the removal of Saddam Hussein was a good thing, the reaction it provoked--the mobilisation of Muslim men and women in certain countries--has made the world more dangerous.

In an interview in Die Zeit, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder says he hopes George W. Bush will realize that winning a war doesn't mean winning the peace and that the US had learned a lesson. Schröder hopes that January's election will give Iraqis a legitimate government.

Ghazi al-Yawar cancels visit to France. al-Yawar's scheduled 23 November meeting has been postponed.

UN refuses US Senate request for Oil-for-Food dossier. Paul Volker says the time has not come for making the dossier public and calls on the UN to balance the desire for transparency with the need to respect the confidentiality of its members.


19:25 Fifty-six political parties to participate in Iraqi election. Out of a list of 91 political parties in Iraq, 56 have been approved by the caretaker government to slate candidates in the January election. Among the approved parties were SCIRI, Iraqi Communist Party, and the Shi'ite Dawa party. Iraqi voters will elect a National Assembly, an autonomous assembly for Kurdistan, and fill slots in provincial governments. [What were the other 35 parties?]

18:46 Kofi Annan "shocked" by Hassan execution. Spokesman Fred Eckhard calls execution an odious crime.

18:12 Two carbombings foiled. Salah Hassan Al Shammary, Chairman of the Provincial Council of Dhi Qar, says Italian troops and Iraqi forces foiled two carbombings at the beginning of November.

18:08 Nassiriya, Zarqawi collaborator arrested. Salah Hassan Al Shammary, Chairman of the Provincial Council of Dhi Qar, says al Zarkawi operative captured.

17:50 Carbomb in Baiji kills 15 people and wounds 22. Six of the dead are children. The marketplace bomb also gravely wounded three US soldiers travelling in a convoy targeted by the bomber.

17:04 35 police kidnapped. Thirty-five newly trained police returning from training in Jordan were kidnapped from a hotel in Rutba, not far from the Jordanian border. [AFP says 60 were kidnapped].

15:56 Baiji, 14 dead. Carbomb kills 14 and wounds 26 in Baiji.

15:10 Pentagon insists on censoring Fallujah tape. The Pentagon has ordered NBC to delete footage showing a US marine killing an Iraqi prisoner out of concern the marines might be identified.

15:00 Arab League demands investigation. The Arab league has demanded an immediate investigation into the killing of a wounded Iraqi insurgent inside a mosque in Fallujah.

14:14 Marines say battle for Fallujah over.

13:49 Nato approves military training program. NATO has launched a program to send 300 military trainers to Iraq to prepare 1000 graduates per year at an Iraqi military academy to be located outside Baghdad.

13:11 Clashes in Ramadi, at least 9 are dead. At least 9 persons are dead and 15 wounded in combat early this morning in downtown Ramadi between insurgents and US troops.

13:09 Scelli: "Hopeful that Baldoni remains may be returned". Italian Red Cross head Maurizio Scelli says he is optimistic about recovering the remains of executed reporter Enzo Baldoni.

12:28 Kidnapped chauffeur of French reporters was separated from them. Mohammed al Joundi was with French reporters when they were kidnapped on 20 August but spent only two weeks with them in captivity before being separated. US troops found al Joundi in Ramadi, where he had been held prisoner.

12:20 Carbomb in Baiji, 5 dead. A carbomb blew up in the central market square of Baiji in northern Iraq. The bomb went off as a US convoy passed in front of the explosives-laden car.

12:11 63 police kidnapped. 62 newly trained police were kidnapped from their hotel in Rutba. Recruit Leith Saad Naama and another man were able to elude the kidnappers.

12:00 Shi'ites form the "Brigades of Anger." Shi'ites form paramilitary force to combat Sunni extremists.

11:27 US concludes counter-offensive in Mossul. US ends two days of intense fighting in Mosul. Eight insurgents were killed and two US soldiers wounded in a carbombing. 1,200 GIs and 1,600 Iraqis participated in the action.

11:25 Tikrit, Iraqi engineer killed. The body of an Iraqi engineer was found in Tikrit, 100 km north of Baghdad. The man, who worked for the US military, brings to 40 the number of "collaborators" killed by the insurgents.

11:07 Baquba, teenager killed. A teenager was killed and three others wounded in clashes between US troops and rebels.

10:45 Two Turkish truck drivers assassinated. Two Turks were killed near Balad, 75 km north of Baghdad.

10:30 British soldier wounded in bombing near Baghdad.

10:15 British soldiers escape carbombing. Several British soldiers escaped death or injury in a carbombing targeting a highway checkpoint.

10:13 Samarra, oil pipeline sabotaged.

08:36 Iraqi hostage released. Iraqi police supported by US marines free an Iraqi truck driver.

07:51 Combat in Ramadi. US troops and Iraqi insurgents engage in fighting in Ramadi.

07:37 Fallujah, clashes resume. US deployes C-130 gunships against rebels.

07:13 Fallujah, residents will be able to return within a few days.

Iraq Timeline for Tuesday 16 November

22:55 Irish premier professes deep shock. Irish PM Bertie Ahern says he is deeply shocked by the execution of hostage Margaret Hassan.

22:28 US lieutenant charged with August homicide. Lt. Erick Anderson of the 1st US cavalry was formally charged with premeditated homicide for the murder of a wounded Iraqi insurgent in Sadr City. The officer ordered his subordinates, Sgt. Cardenas Alban and Sgt. Johnny Horne, to shoot the insurgent.

21:43 Mossul, US gains control of police stations.

21:40 Kirkuk, mortar rounds fired at government building, 3 dead. Rebels fired mortars a the provincial government headquarters in Kirkuk.

19:59 Straw: "We have seen the video" The British Foreign Office says it has seen the video showing the execution of Margaret Hassan.

19:33 Margaret Hassan executed by captors.

19:13 Al Jazeera declines to broadcast Hassan execution video.

19:08 Iraqi minister says 1,600 guerrillas killed. National Security Minister Qassem Daoud issues bodycount.

18:53 Al Jazeera receives video of Hassan execution.

18:45 Husband of Margaret Hassan: I need her back. Those who kidnapped her, what did they achieve?, said Tahsin Hassan, husband of Margaret Hassan.

18:40 British embassy in Baghdad confirms death of Margaret Hassan.

18:34 Hassan execution video is authentic.

18:25 Video of execution of Margaret Hassan circulated.

18:03 Clashes in Baquba. Renewed clashes between US troops and rebels in Baquba. Insurgents attacked US troops and police headquarters with light arms and shoulder-launched RPGs.

18:00 Al Qaeda issues fatwah: "Legitimate to kill women and children." Saudi Islamic ideologue and terrorist Abdullah Bin Naser Al-Rashid suggests that the current situation may call for a change to Islamic law to permit the kidnapping and killing of foreign women.

15:35 Oil and gas pipelines attacked and set ablaze near Kirkuk. An oil pipeline passing through the village of al-Sarai, 75 km west of Kirkuk, and a gas pipeline near al-Riyad, 40 km west of Kirkuk were attacked and set ablaze. Fire crews are busy elsewhere putting out wellfires.

15:30 Firefights in Ramadi. US troops and rebels clash in downtown Ramadi in the Maared quarter.

14:58 Carbomb at checkpoint kills marine. A carbomb blew up at a US checkpoing between Fallujah and Baghdad, killing a US marine. After the suicide bombing, a group of insurgents fired mortar rounds at US troops.
.
13:56 Eighteen bodies, some decapitated, found south of Baghdad. Bodies were found in Latifiyah, south of Baghdad. Bodies had been shot full of holes or burned and were in an advanced state of decomposition.

13:55 US conducts offensive in Mosul. After Fallujah, the theatre of conflict has shifted to Mossul.

13:32 Al-Arabiya reporter arrested in Fallujah. US forces arrest Abdelkhader Saadi, an al-Arabiya reporter. A colleague, Wahel Essam, says Saadi is being held incommunicado.

12:28 Turkish truck driver killed. Insurgents attack a tanker truck near Baiji, killing the driver.

12:22 Baghdad, armed clashes between police and insurgents. Dozens of insurgents battled with Baghdad police in the Adamiyyah district, near the offices of the Committee of Iraqi Ulema.

10:39 Mossul: Three police stations destroyed. Masked insurgents blow up three police stations.

01:20 Fallujah: Marine kills wounded rebel in mosque. According to embedded journalist Kevin Sites, a marine noted a wounded insurgent in a mosque and shouted, "He's fucking playing dead!" before shooting the insurgent in the head.

14 November 2004 Events in Iraq

21:34 Fallujah. 38 US soldier killed and 275 wounded in 7-day operation.

21:24 Kirkuk. Four oilwellls set ablaze. Four wells were set ablaze in the Al Khabaza oilfields.

20:44 Mosul. US and Iraqi troops control strategic positions. US and Iraqi troops regained control of positions lost to insurgents after 2-hour battle.

19:24 Baghdad. Allawi relatives released. The 75 year-old wife of a cousin of Iyad Allawi and her daughter-in-law have been released by their kidnappers.

18:57 Baghdad. Explosions in Green Zone. Column of smoke seen rising from the west bank of the Tigris.

18:04 Baghdad. Airport to reopen tomorrow.

17:54 Fallujah. US command denies humanitarian assistance to Fallujah. US troops deny permission to Red Crescent convoy to relieve Fallujah.

16:59 Baghdad. Powerful blasts in capital. Blasts rock hotel district near office of the NY Times.

16:00 Fallujah. Decapitated bodies discovered. The bodies of 10 decapitated Iraqi soldiers were strewn along the banks of the Euphrates.

15:59 Fallujah. 31 US troops die in Fallujah.

15:12 Mosul. Insurgents take over police stations.

14:52 Paris. French hostages are in a secure area. French PM Jean-Pierre Raffarin says kidnapped French reporters are safe.

13:55 Baiji. US launches offensive on Baiji. US troops fired rockets at rebel positions, as helicopters fire at homes.

13:21 Fallujah. Humanitarian convoy may not enter Fallujah. Marines stop humanitarian relief convoy.

12:54 Mosul. US retakes control of Mosul but clashes continue.

12:44 Fallujah. Humanitarian assisstance denied. Concern grows as thousands inside the city lack food and water.

11:51 Fallujah. Five days required for house-to-house searches. Marines to search Fallujah homes.

11:40 Fallujah. More than 1200 guerrillas killed in Fallujah.

11:23 Fallujah. Body of woman found in street, eaten by dogs. A women with blonde hair was found dead; embracing couple also found dead.

11:04 Al-Dur. 5 Iraqis killed in attack on US patrol. A US patrol in Al-Dur is targeted by a roadside bomb. Panicked soldiers kill 5 civilians. Three were members of the same family.

10:42 Baghdad. Communist Party leader killed. Waddah Hassan Abdel Amir was killed in a highway ambush.

10:41 Fallujah. Mutilated body of a woman found. The corpse of a woman missing arms and legs was found in Fallujah.

09:18 Fallujah. Intense fighting in Fallujah. 80 Iraqi insurgents resist US forces using bombs and RPGs.

09:16 Washington. "The entire city of Fallujah is occupied.", reports US media.

09:15 Fallujah. 38 marines die, 13 wounded in Fallujah operation.

09:14 Fallujah. Guerrillas offering resistance. Insurgents continue resistance in Fallujah.

09:13 Washington. Rumsfeld: Fallujah offensive terminated.

13 November 2004 Events in Iraq

23:07 Fallujah. Guerrillas: "Fallujah still resists" Resistance says the reports by the US military that a victory has been won in Fallujah is untrue. Abu Saad al-Dlimi of theMujaheddin Shura of Falluja says insurgents have killed 150 US troops and wounded 270.

21:48 Ramadi. Curfew. The Iraqi caretaker government has imposed a curfew in Ramadi, Baghdad, Samarra, Fallujah and Mosul.

20:58 Baghdad. Baghdad Airport closed for an indefinite period. Civilian traffic was halted 6 days ago.

20:42 Baghdad. Capital comes under mortar fire. Mortar rounds land in Green Zone.

19:22 Baghdad. Communist party leader assassinated. Saadun Mohammad, a leader of the Iraqi Communist Party and member of the provisional assembly was assassinated in a town north of Baghdada. Mohammad was ambushed along with three bodyguards on a highway connecting Jebel Himrin with Kirkuk, 160 km north of Baghdad. Mohammad was heading towards Suleinamiya in Kurdistan.

18:59 Balad. Two Turkish truck drivers killed in separate incidents. Adil Abdullah, who had been a hostage earlier this year was slain in Balad, 75 km north of Baghdad. He had promised his captors not to returrn to Iraq Another Turk was killed outside Samarra. He had been severly beaten then shot to death.

18:24 Baghdad. Extremists threaten further action. Several extremist Islamic groups, include that of Abu Musab al Zarqawi, promised to bring the insurgency to every corner of Iraq in a video released today.

18:05 Mosul. US troops ordered to Mosul. A US army unit has been deployed from Fallujah to Mosul.

18:02 Mosul. Allawi promises intervention in Mosul. PM Iyad Allay says an assault on Mosul will be launched in the next 24 to 48 hours.

16:51 Baghdad. Four Sunni religious leaders arrested. US troops have arrested four Sunni clerics in Baghdad. It was reported that Sheik Hgaleb al-Tarbouli was beaten by US forces.

16:15 Baghdad. Allawi: "Fallujah is not the end of the battles." Allawi says assaults on insurgents to continue.

16:00 Ramadi. Two killed in clashes. At least two people were killed and three others wounded in clashes between US troops and insurgents in Ramadi.

15:49 Baghdad. Fallujah offensive ends. Kassem Daud, Iraqi Minister for National Security, says Fallujah offensive has ended successfully.

15:49 Baghdad. Allawi: "Italian contingent will not be redeployed" The Italian contingent will not be moved from Nassiriya.

15:32 Baghdad. Zarqawi evades capture. US troops fail to capture Abu Mussab al Zarqawi or his senior aide, Abdallah al Janabi.

14:41 Fallujah. Iraqi soldier kidnapped. An Iraqi national guardsman was kidnapped outside Fallujah.

14:29 Washington. Fallujah assault terminated.

14:20 Fallujah. One thousand insurgents killed.

13:54 Baghdad. Allawi: "Assault on Fallujah will not last long."

13:33 Nassiriya. Allawi commemorates Italian dead. Iyad Allawi travels to the Italian contingent's Camp Mittica to commemorate victims of the suicide car bombing of 12 November 2003.

13:32 Fallujah. Red Crescent convoy arrives in Fallujah.

13:24 Baghdad. Allawi: "Italian troops needed until after the election."

12:52 Fallujah, US troops block Red Crescent Convoy

12:17 Baghdad. Allawi in Nassiriya.

11:46 Mosul. Abandoned US base sacked. Locals looted a building in US which had served until this morning as the US headquarters in Mosul. Trucks loaded with people pulled up and looted food, clothing and equipment abandoned by the US military.

10:26 Baghdad. USA: "Helicopters return to base. Four US helicopters damaged by insurgent fire returned to base.

10:24 Baghdad. Baghdad airport closed.

10:23 Nsjaf. Nighttime curfew imposed. Iragi General Ghaleb Jazairi declares midnight to 4 am curfew. Muslims celebrate the feast of Aid al-Fitr this weekend, which lasts 2 to 3 days.

09:29 Fallujah. Twenty mortar rounds fired at rebels. US forces fired mortar round at rebel position in northwest Jolan district of Fallujah.

08:57 Baghdad. Guerrillas raid hotel. Rebels engaged fire with hotel security guards in a hotel in the Karrada district of Baghdad.

08:56 Fallujah. Four US helicopters shot down. In two separate attacks, guerrillas shot down four US helicopters using small arms fire.

12 November 2004 Events in Iraq

Also reported
Tegucigalpa. Honduran President excludes further troop deployment to Iraq. Honduran President Ricardo Maduro says his government will not make further troop deployments ot Iraq. At the request of the US, Tegucigalpa had sent 370 troops to Iraq in 2003 but withdrew them when the Spanish contingent pulled out in June.

Tokyo. Japanese criminal gangs run extorsion racket. Japanese criminal gangs have been threatening parents with the kidnapping and sale of their children to Iraq. A mother in Akita province received a phone call demanding 3 million yen for the return of her son. The woman phoned the elementary school and received confirmation that he son was in class.

Amsterdam. Holland will withdraw its 1350 troops in Iraq in March 2005, says Netherlands Defence Minister Henk Kamp. The US and Great Britian had pressured the country to extend their deployment but the cabinet has excluded the possibility.

New York. Hundreds of protesters demonstrated against the war in Iraq and the US offensive against Fallujah on Thursday evening. United for Peace and Justice were the organizers of the demonstration.

Kirkuk. Unknown assailants set fire to three Iraqi police checkpoints on the road between Kirkuk and Tikrit (Nord) and stole their weapons and police vehicles.

Ramadi: Violent clashes. US troops began house-to-house searches at dawn along the main street in Ramadi. Insurgents responded with mortar fire, RPGs and machine gun fire.

Baghdad: The Iraqi media authorities urge the press to adhere to the government version of events. On Thursday, the Iraqi media authorities told reporters to adhere to the government version of facts [fact-versioning two point oh] in their coverage of the Fallujah offensive or risk jail time, as habeas corpus has been suspended for 60 days while the state of emergency declared by the caretaker government lasts. The Iraqi Media Commission told media organizations to "instruct their reporters in Fallujah...not to report unrealistic points of view nor to refer to the insurgents, who are criminals and terrorists, as "nationalists". The Commission, created by Paul Bremer, is by charter free of government interference and has as its mission the promotion of investment in the Iraq media and the prevention of government control over the media.

Timeline
18:20 Fallujah. 15 foreigners arrested. 10 Iranians, 1 Saudi, 1 Egyptian, 1 Syrian, 1 Jordanian and 1 French speaker were arrested in Fallujah by US forces, says PM Allawi.

17:49 Fallujah. US and allied Iraqi forces announce Fallujah casualties: 22 dead and 170 wounded.

17:37 Washington. Bush: "Violence in Iraq could rise".

17:33 Washington. Bush: "Substantial progress in Fallujah."

17:07 Taji. US helicopter shot down. A Black Hawk helicopter was shot down by insurgents in Taji, a suburb of Baghdad. The crew survived the crash but were wounded.

16:56 Washington. Pentagon: 23 US soldiers die in Fallujah offensive. Elsewhere a soldier of the First Cavalary Division was killed when his tank flipped over as he was about to refuel; a member of Task Force Olympia was killed by gunfire during an uprising in Mosul.

16:35 Baghdad. Marines find two cadavers and two prisoners. The prisoners are Iraqi brothers; one of the prisoners had his throat slit.

16:21 Paris. "No news concerning kidnapped reporters." Hervè Ladsous, a French Foreign Ministry spokesman, says there is no news concerning reporters Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot.

16:01 Baghdad. Sunni imams harangue crowds over Fallujah operation. Throughout Sunni mosques in Baghdad, the US was denounced for its actions in Fallujah.

14:57 Baghdad. US convoy attacked: one US soldier killed. A US soldier was killed and three others wounded in an attack on their convoy south of Baghdad. The three wounded are 2 US soldiers and a civilian interpreter.

13:52 Fallujah. US military says resistance in Fallujah quashed. Capt. Robert Bodisch announced that dozens of insurgents have been killed or captured in Fallujah.

13:05 Hawijah. Five Iraqis die in clashes in Hawijah with US troops. Five are killed and six others wounded, including women and children, in Hawijah, 200 km north of Baghdad.

12:07 Mosul. US troops routed from Mosul. Agence France Press says US infantrymen withdrew from Mosul at dawn. Air strikes have been called in. However, the US military spokesperson in Mosul, Angela Bowman, said US troops had withdrawn from city bridges to permit access to mosques for morning prayer and still control Mosul.

12:00 Mosul. Director of anti-crime unit assassinated. Mouaffak Mohammad Dahlam was assassinated in his home in southeast Mosul and two of his bodyguards killed.

11:49 Baghdad. US arrests three Ulema committee members. US troops raid the Ibn Taymiya mosque in Baghdad and arrested 23 people and three members of the Iraq Ulema.

11:17 Mosul. bombardment continues. US warplanes conducted high-density bombings on Mosul.

10:38 Baghdad. Humanitarian agencies demand entry into Fallujah. Humanitarian agencies working in Iraq, in particular the Red Crescent, plead with the US military to let them enter Fallujah with medical assistance, food and water for the city.

10:18 Mosul. US soldier killed.

10:07 Fallujah. Battle in Fallujah near mosque in Jolan quarter.

09:51 Baghdad. Street clashes in capital. Police and insurgents battled this morning in Baghdad in the Adhamiya quarter of Baghdad near Abu Ghraib prison.

09:25 Baghdad. Chauffeur released. The driver for two missing French reporters, Mohammed al Joundi, was found handcuffed in an unidentified location and release by US troops.

08:43 Baquba. Clashes in Baquba, an Iraqi is killed. One rebel was killed and three other were arrested after a clash with Iraqi national guard.

08:07 Baghdad. American is kidnapped. An American of Lebanese origin, Dean Sadek, working at Baghdad Airport was kidnapped by the 1920 Revolution Brigade.

07:36 Fallujah. US military says rebels trapped. US forces say rebels are surrounded in the southern part of the city.

11 November 2004 Events in Iraq

Hundreds of US troops afflicted with Leishmaniasis. Approximately 660 soldiers deployed to Iraq have been afflicted with Leishmaniasis. The parasitic disease causes fever due to invasion of the visceral organs ("Dum-dum" fever) and cutaneous infection ("Aleppo boil").

Abu Ghraib Scandal: Trial venue moved to the United States. The court-martial of Corporal Charles Graner, facing a 28-year sentence, Sgt. Javel Davis, and Corporal Sabrina Harman has been moved to from Baghdad to Ford Hood, Texas. Another 45 persons implicated in the scandal are still to face trial.

The Grand Mufti of Arabia denounces the departure of young Saudis to fight in Iraq. Sheik Abdel Aziz al-Sheik, chairman of the Committe of Saudi Ulema, has denounced sermons urging young men to fight the "occupiers" in Iraq. Last week 26 Saudi Uleman called for resistance to the occupiers of Iraq.

00:19 Washington. Rumsfeld: Hundreds of insurgents killed in Fallujah.

19:42 Baiji. Clashes were reported in Baija, an oil city in northern Iraq, between Iraqi security forces and insurgents. Three national guard soldiers were killed. The city contains Iraq's largest oil refinery and the pipeline to Turkey passes nearby.

18:51 Baghdad. Allawi expresses sadness at death of Arafat. Prime Minister Iyad Allawi laments passing of Palestinian President Yassir Arafat. Iraq will be represented by Vice President Shwais at tomorrow's funeral in Baghdad.

18:34 Fallujah. 18 US troops killed in action. US military reports 18 KIA and another 69 wounded in the Fallujah offensive. Iraqi troops serving with the Americans have registered 5 dead and 34 wounded.

18:27 Baghdad. US raids mosque. US raids the Sunni mosque of Ibn Taymiya and arrested Imam Mehdi al-Sumaidi and others.

18:04 Ft. Hood. Abu Ghraib, court martial moved to the USA. The court martial of Charles Graner, Sabrina Harman and Javal Davis has been moved from Baghdad to Fort Hood, in Texas.

17:28 Mosul. US airstrike.

17:16 Hilla. Curfew in Hilla and Hawijah. Following three rebel attacks In Hilla, Province of Babylon, which left 16 wounded, a curfew has been imposed from 6:00 pm to 4:00 am. In Hawijah there have been clashes between US troops and insurgents in which 8 persons were wounded and a curfew has been imposed there as well.

16:56 Fallujah. Powerful blast in city. A large fireball was seen in northwest Fallujah.

16:51 Washington. Pentagon, 13 soldiers killed in Fallujah. Eyewitnesses in Germany report a "major" influx of wounded to the US military hospital in Landstuhl.

16:50 Fallujah. Jolan district under control. The northwest part of the city is under control, says US Capt. Robert Bodisch.

16:49 Fallujah. Myers, operation is a big success. Myers says hundreds of rebels were killed.

15:31 Nassiriya. Commemoration of bombing tomorrow. The Italian contingent will honor troops and civilians killed in bombing last year.

15:30 Fallujah. US troops meet sparse resistance. US says it controls 75% of the city.

15:20 Ramadi. Renewed clashes in Ramadi, three dead and seventeen wounded. Clashes began after the funeral of an Iraqi combattent killed in Fallujah.

15:09 Kirkik. Attempted assassination of Kirkuk governor, 14 wounded. A carbomb explosed in the Imam Kassem quarter of Kirkuk as the convoy of governor Abdelrahman Mohammad passed by. Four guards and 10 bystanders were wounded. The governor was unharmed.

15:05 Washington. Pentagon, 600 insurgents killed in Fallujah.

13:55 Fallujah. Two US helicopters hit by rockets. Craft make emergency landing, crew unharmed.

13:53 Camp Pendleton. Torture, Marine major found guilty. A court martial panel in Camp Pendleton, California, finds Clarke Paulus guilty in the death of an Iraqi prisoner. Paulus had ordered a soldier under his command to strip and drag a prisoner out of his cell, leaving him outside for several hours, where the prisoner died.

13:27 Baghdad. Three more explosions in downtown Baghdad.

13:24 Baghdad. Carbomb hits US convoy. A US convoy travelling down busy Sadoon Street in the commercial district was targeted by a carbomb, which killed 9 and wounded 29.

13:12 Baghdad. 17 die in carbombing.

11:32 Mosul. Rebels assault police stations. Rebels assaulted six police stations in Mosul, looting the armory and setting fire to the buildings.

11:30 Baghdad. US forces say Fallujah to come under complete control by Saturday.

11:16 Fallujah. Three hostages found alive. Three hooded, starving hostages were found in a Fallujah basement.

10:39 Baghdad. A carbombing in Nasr Square destroys shops and cars.

09:34 Baghdad. Carbombing in capital; casualties. A carbomb went off in Rusafa Street in Baghdad, killing several people.

09:16 Kirkuk. Provincial governor escapes assassination attempt. Gov. Abdelrahman Mohammad escapes death in attempt on this life.

08:30 Artillery resumes in Fallujah. US marines resume artillery fire in Fallujah after a brief night-time truce. Fire is concentrated on the northwest side of the city.

10 November 2004 Events in Iraq

Iraq is the "Prey of the Pacifiers."

Fallujah won its reputation as a city-symbol when in 1998 its imams refused to glorify the reputation and deeds of Saddam Hussein.

Damascus. Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk el-Chareh condemns assault on Fallujah.

London. Robin Cook calls Fallujah assault a tactical success but a strategic failure.

Baghdad. Two Royal Black Watch guards are wounded in separate incidents including a helicopter pilot.

Baghdad. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari confirms elections will be held in January 2005.

Copenhagen. Danish Intelligence forms bleak assessment. Forsvarets Efterretningstjeneste, or "FE", expects increasing violence in Iraq in 2005.

Baghdad. Charles Duelfer escapes assassination. Duelfer's convoy comes under attack, killing his two bodyguards.

London. Annual British Government report on human rights slams US on Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib.

Tokyo. Junichiro Koizumi extends mission of Japanese contingent after winning support of the Buddhist party New Komeito.

Jacques Chirac will not attend Sharm al Sheik conference and will meet with Iraqi President Ghazi al Yawar in Paris on 22 November.

Baghdad. Drug addiction rises in Iraq. Government accuses Iran. 2,029 have registered for treatment with the Iraqi Health Ministry. Most are from central and southern provinces, says ministry official Sirouan Kamel. Iraq accuses Iranians of selling drugs while on pilgrimages to Najaf and Karbala.

23:21 Baiji. Clashes in Baiji, 11 dead. Clashes between US troops and their Iraqi allies against insurgents left 11 killed in Baiji, a town 200 km north of Baghdad. According to Dr. Hussein al Jubury of Baily Hospital, "11 civilians have been killed, including three women, and 26 wounded including 2 police, 5 children and a woman. The battle broke out in the shopping district. Two delivery vans, two trucks and an home were set ablaze.

21:31 Los Angeles. USA, the "Al Qaeda American" identified. US authorities have identified a young man from California as having threatened the US with further Al Qaeda attacks. Adam Gadahn, 26, known as 'Azzam the American', is sought by the FBI. Gadahn, born in Riverside under the name Adam Pearlman, left the United States to go to Pakistan where he converted to Islam and began working for Abu Zubayda, an Al Qaeda member arrested by Pakistani security. In the video, Gadhan, whose face is masked, brandishes a gun and tells Americans "what happened on 9-11 is only the beginning of a global war on the USA.

21:16 Washington. Bush: "We are making progress in Fallujah"

20:04 Cairo. Iraq Conference, Powell to participate. Colin Powell will participate in the international conference on Iraq in Sharm el Sheikh on 22 and 23 November.

19:37 Nassiriya. 21 Italians killed in Iraq. Italian contingent counts 20 dead, including 2 civilians, and 69 wounded since beginning mission.

19:13 Fallujah. Rebels take 20 Iraqi national guards prisoner.

18:24 Fallujah. US military bombs mosque. The Khulafa al-Rashid mosque was bombed

18:21 Baghdad. Carbomb targets police in Baghdad, 7 are dead. Bomb kills 7 and demolishes nearby cars in the Zayouneh district near the Ministry of Culture.

18:07 Falllujah. "Fallujah rebels fire from mosques." In violation of international law, Fallujah rebels use the mosques of the city as operations bases and weapons stores., says US Command.

17:49 Baghdad. US soldier killed in capital. A US soldier was killed yesterday while on patrol in south Baghdad.

17:47 Ankara. 127 guerrillas in Fallujah hospital. US troops capture 127 guerrillas in the hospital, says Iraqi Minister for Provinces Wael Abdellatif from Ankara.

16:26 Fallujah. Place of execution of hostages found in northern part of the city.

16:16 Baghdad. Amnesty for Fallujah rebels if they surrender their weapons. Iraqi government offers amnesty.

16:09 Baghdad. Baghdad Airport closed for an additional 24 hours due to state of siege.

15:03 Fallujah. Member of Committee of Iraqi Ulema killed in Fallujah. Sheik Abdel Wahab Ismail al-Janabi was killed by US forces.

14:53 Mosul. Five dead in Mosul. Five people died in clashes with US troops in Mosul

14:48 Mosul. Curfew imposed in Mosul. Governor of the city announces a curfew to last indefinitely.

14:34 Baghdad. Turkish truckdriver killed. Armed men held up a truck, killed the driver and set fire to the rig.

13:34 Baghdad. Armed men occupy bridges and streets in Baghdad. Masked men armed with rocket launchers occupied a bridge and a major street in west Baghdad today, followed by clashes.

13:11 Paris. Le Monde: "French suicide car bomber." A French member of Islamic Jihad, Abdel A., 18, died in a suicide operation in Fallujah.

12:42 Fallujah. 11 US troops and 2 Iraqis die since assault on the city.

12:28 Baghdad. Armored vehicle struck by gunfire. A US soldier is in serious condition after being shot by a sniper.

12:21 Mosul. Guerrillas force Iraqi police to leave city. Guerrillas took over several street and forced police to barricade themselves inside the Post Offie.

12:16 Samarra. Bomb kills policeman. A roadside bomb killed an Iraqi policeman and wounded two others in Samarrra.

11:49 Baghdad. Ansar Al Jihad: We will behead Allawi family members if our demands are not heeded. Ansar Al Jihad issues 48-hour ultimatum.

11:41 Baghdad. Islamic group claims responsibility for kidnapping of Allawi family members. A cousin of the Premier, his wife and daughter have been kidnapped by insurgents.

11:22 Baiji. Death toll rises. Eight Iraqi civilians were killed in clashed in Baiji in the last 24 hours. Iraq's largest refinery is located in Baiji. 25 are wounded.
.
11:17 Fallujah. US troops announce: "Full control within 48 hours”.

10:37 Doha. Al Jazeera: Half the mosques in Fallujah are destroyed. US artillery and war planes have destroyed more than half the mosques in Fallujah.

10:33 Samarra. Clashes in Samarra and Baquba, four dead and several wounded. Four are dead, including one child.

10:04 Mosul. Explosions as helicopters overfly the city. Residents barricade themselves indoors.

09:42 Fallujah. US forces control 70 per cent of Fallujah

09:30 Baghdad. Three members of Allawi's family kidnapped.

09:18 Baiji. Clashes kill 5 civilians and wound 20. It was not clear how the clashes began. A convoy of trucks protected by U.S. forces came under attack from gunmen on a road further south, police said. Two trucks were set ablaze in the attack, near the village of Ishaqi, and their Iraqi drivers killed.

08:05 Fallujah. US forces in center of city: "We do not have control"

07:58 Balad. US soldier killed by bomb in Balad. A roadside bomb kills on US soldier and wounds another in Balad, north of Baghdad while the 1st Infantry Division was on patrol.

07:55 Touz. Six Iraqi guardsmen killed in Touz. Six Iraqi National Guardsmen were killed in Touz, 60 km south of Kirkuk in an explosion of a homemade bomb. The car in which they were travelling was demolished. The unit commander was also killed.

07:48 Baghdad. Three Jordanian truck drivers released. Ata Haddad and two co-workers held hostage were released.

07:47 Artillery resumes in Fallujah.

9 November 2004 Events in Iraq

23:06 Karbala. Policeman killed by bomb in Karbala. A bomb was tossed out a car window and killed a policeman and wounded five others in the holy Shi'ite city of Karbala.

21:52 Washington. Bush: "Fallujah operation is against terrorism".

21:34 Baghdad. Three Jordanian hostages freed. Three truck drivers are freed.

20:47 Baghdad. Plea to Allawi: Fallujah truce to evacuate wounded. The leader of the Sunni Waqf, Adnan Mohammed al-Doulaimi, has pleaded with PM Iyad Allawi for a five-hour truce to evaculate the wounded. Give us the time to come to the aid of the wounded. Civilians are dying in Fallujah and you bear the responsibility before God, says Al Doulaimi.

20:44 Baghdad. Ulema tell Iraqi faithful: "Do not vote on 27 January" The Committee of Iraqi Uleman call on Sunnis to boycott election. Secretary General Harith al-Dhari, who has been instrumental in gaining the release of foreign hostages, made the announcement.

19:52 Baghdad. "Insurgent leaders have likely fled Fallujah", says U.S. Gen. Thomas Metz.

19:36 Fallujah. At least 10 US troops killed in attack on Fallujah.

18:55 Fallujah. US tanks patrol streets

18:23 Gevena. Concern for 300,000 refugees. The UN HIgh Commissioner for Refugees has expressed grave concern for the thousands of refugees fleeing Fallujah.

17:07 Fallujah. 6 US troops killed in assault.

16:51 Mosul. US base attacked. Rebels shell US military installation.

16:30 Fallujah. Allawi names military governor. General Abdul Qader Mohan to be military governor of Fallujah.

16:00 Baghdad. Attack on Police Station. 50 men attack police station in Dura quarter of Baghdad.

15:37 Fallujah. US airstrike on city, dozens are dead.

15:34 14 US troops killed in action in Iraq. 5 in Fallujah; 9 in Baghdad and elsewhere in the country.

15:17 Baghdad. Allawi message to Fallujah guerrillas: Lay down arms and receive amnesty.

14:52 Fallujah. Pace of combat slows, US troops enter city.

14:45 Baghad. Zebari, "Fallujah offensive to last days" Iraqi Foreign Minister Zebari.

14:01 Baquba. Al Zarqawi claims credit for Baquba bombing which killed 45.

13:54 Washington. Pentagon: Light resistance in Fallujah.

13:26 Ramadi. Guerrillas control center of Ramadi.

13:22 Baghdad. Allawi imposes curfew on capital from 10:00 pm to 04:00 am.

12:34 Fallujah. US military: City center taken. US troops control center of Fallujah.

12:26 Fallujah. Powerful blast north of city.

12:22 Fallujah. Iraqi forces desert. Massive desertion plagues Iraqi forces.

12:14 Fallujah. Clashes in suburbs. Fighting is intense in Jolan.

12:01 Beijing. China expresses concern for civilian casualties. Following a statement by Russia, China expresses concern for civilian victims in Fallujah.

11:42 Moscow. Russia tells US to not exaggerate in use of force. Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Yakovenko say use of force must be proportional to threat.

11:10 Baghdad. Islamic party pulls out of caretaker government. Islamic party quits government after US assault on Fallujah. Meanwhile, Hajem al-Hassani quits party to continue as Minister for Industry and Minerals.

10:49 Fallujah. We have liberated district. Col. Craig Tucker says central district in Fallujah "liberated".

10:48 Baghdad. Mortar attack on downtown Baghdad. Mortar rounds fall in Green Zone.

10:19 Fallujah. US forces enter Fallujah. US forces arrive in the Hay Naib al-Dunat e al-Naziz district.

09:45 Baghdad. Hospital is bombed. 13 are dead and 60 wounded in emergency wing of Baghdad hospital.

08:48 Baquba. 45 are dead in raid. Rebel attack on police barracks kills 45.

08:44 Fallujah. US troops encounter resistance in Fallujah.

08:29 Kirkuk. Two Iraqis killed in carbombing. Carbomber attempts to penetrate the Kaiwan Iraqi national guard base 20 km from Kirkuk.

08:25 Baghdad. US forces deny helicopter shot down in Fallujah. Reuters journalists report that rocket hits helicopter.

08:15 Baghdad. Powerful blast in capital. Explosion in southwest Baghdad near residences of government officials.

07:32 Fallujah. US troops less than kilometer from Fallujah city center.

07:30 Fallujah. US helicopter shot down. Reuters journalist Fadel al Badrani reports seeing rocket hit helicopter.

07:13 Baquba. 25 police killed. Attack on police barracks in Baquba kills 25.

07:08 Fallujah. US troops advance on city.

07:03 Fallujah. Hospital bombed. US warplanes destroy clinic in Fallujah treating wounded insurgents.

07:02 Fallujah. US troops close in on city.

07:02 Fallujah. Airstrikes continue. US warplanes bomb Fallujah as hundreds of marines attack city.

07:01 Najaf. Al Sadr spokesman condemns Fallujah assault. Sadr spokesman condemns offensive and encourages Iraqi troops to reject being used as "an instrument of the occupiers".

8 November Events in Iraq

23:55 Rome. Powell phones Italian Foreign Minister. Powell telephones Franco Frattini to explain details of Fallujah assault.

22:29 Najaf. Moqtada al Sadr condemns assault on Fallujah. Sheik Abdel Hadi Darraji, spokesman for Moqtada al Sadr, condemns assault and calls on armed forces and law enforcement to resist the occupier.

22:12 Baghdad. Bomb explodes at hospital, 5 dead. Suicide car bomber targets Baghdad hospital and kills 5 police.

21:46 Washington. Pentagon: US losses at 1,133 before Fallujah offensive.

21:26 Fallujah. Baghdad names offensive "Operation Dawn". Baghdad prefers operation "Operation Dawn" to "Phantom Fury"

21:05 Baghdad. Blast in capital.

20:52 Washington. Bush gives green light to Fallujah assault.

20:51 Iskandariyah. One British soldier dies, two wounded. An incident near Camp Dogwood kills one, wounds two.

20:32 Washington. Myers, US to use force again. Gen. Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, promises more force against Iraqi insurgents.

20:28 Washington. Rumsfeld, "this time we won't stop."

20:26 Washington. Rumsfeld, sever blow to extremists.

20:20 Washington. Rumsfeld: Fallujah assault to require time.

20:18 Washington. Myers: "We have the upper hand."

20:17 Washington. Rumsfeld: Fallujah cannot remain in hands of assassins.

20:16 Washington. Fallujah: Powell phones Arab Foreign Ministers. Powell telephones Egyptian, Jordanian, Turkish and Saudi Foreign Ministers.

20:12 Baghdad. Churches bombed. Two Baghdad churches were bombed killing 3 and wounding 40 reports monsignor Fernando Filoni. The first attack targeting Syrian Orthodox church of St Bahnam, the second that of the Assyrians/Nestorians. Women and children injured.

19:58 Fallujah. Gen. George Casey: heavy fighting in downtown.

19:44 Baghdad. Two churches car bombed.

19:21 Nassiriya. Italians defuse car bomb. Italian troops were able to defuse a car bomb

19:20 Nassiriya. Italian patrol attacked. Automatic weapons fire was directed at an Italian patrol in Nassiriya as it crossed a bridge over the Euphrates.

19:19 Fallujah. Full offensive underway.

19:18 Fallujah. General Casey, 15 thousand US troops in Fallujah

19:05 Fallujah. "Phantom Fury", 12 thousand US troops versus 3000 insurgents [4-to-one, same ratio as in Viet Nam--Nur].

18:31 Baghdad. Zarqawi claims credit for attack on US convoy. A group linked to Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi takes responsibility for an attack on a US convoy on the outskirts of Baghdad near the airport.

18:26 Baghdad. Three dead and forty wounded in church bombings.

18:17 Baghdad. US soldier killed in Baghdad.

18:16 Fallujah. US troops take Fallujah railroad station in Jolan district supported by air and artillery. [You'd think this was Berlin 1945--Nur]

18:06 Fallujah. Rumsfeld calls press conference.

18:02 Fallujah. US tanks enter city.

17:49 Fallujah. Operation "Phantom Fury" begins.

17:48 Baghdad. Church bombings in capital, 35 wounded.

17:43 Fallujah. Allawi visits troops.

17:35 Fallujah. US offensive underway

17:28 Fallujah. Blair exhorts insurgents to surrender.

17:28 Fallujah. Fierce resistance.

17:25 Washington. White House says it will defeat rebels.

17:24 Fallujah. US offensive about to begin.

17:23 Fallujah. Intensive air strikes. Agence France Presse says bombs fall throughout city.

17:06 Fallujah. Heavy fighting near railroad station.

16:53 Fallujah. US air strikes on city. Massive bombing underway.

16:52 Baghdad. Suicide car bomb targets US convoy killing three.

16:43 Baghdad. Church in Dora district is bombed.

16:38 Fallujah. US tanks attack Fallujah railroad station.

16:23 Baghdad. Explosions downtown.

16:08 Strasbourg. Solana, little chance of elections in January. Javier Solana unoptimistic on Iraqi elections.

15:51 Fallujah. US forces advance on city.

15:44 Fallujah. Zarqawi calls on followers to take up arms.

14:46 Ramadi. Car bomb. Two suicide car bombs target US convoy in the al-Iskan and Hay al-Ziyut districts

14:37 Baghdad. Clashes near Green Zone

13:57 Ramadi. Rebels and US troops trade gun and rocket fire.

13:50 New York. New York Times says generals want 2 more divisions in Iraq.

13:40 Rome. Italian Defense Minister Martino: 'The UN Security Council is not the courtroom of humanity."

13:34 Baghdad. Sunni clerics request that Fallujah be spared.

13:19 Ramadi. Two marines killed in nighttime action in al Anbar province.

13:17 Baquba. Diyala Provincial Governor escapes assassination. Abdallah Hassan al-Jbouri survives a bomb in Baquba.

13:11 Rome. Italian Defense Minister Martino: "Italy will not stay long in Iraq."

13:08 Baghdad. Border crossings into Syria and Jordan closed. Allawi orders border closed except for food supplies.

12:55 Baghdad. Allawi: "I approved assault on Fallujah."

12:36 Fallujah. 38 rebels killed.

12:33 Baghdad. Allawi closes Baghdad Airport. Airport closed for 48 hours. Dusk to dawn curfew in Fallujah and Ramadi.

12:23 Basrah. Oil well sabotaged. Well in Zoubeir fields sabotaged.

11:59 Fallujah. 12 die in air strikes.

11:35 Baghdad. Car bombs in Ramadi and Mosul, four dead, thirteen wounded. Bomb in Ramadi kills 4, wounds 1. In Mosul twelve are wounded.

11:25 Fallujah. Intensive aerial bombing.

10:28 Fallujah. Two marines are killed when their armored bulldozer capsizes on the banks of the Euphrates.

10:27 Samarra. US airstrike on city. US warplanes bomb northern part of city.

10:16 Fallujah. Mosques announce capture of 35 US soldiers.

09:53 Fallujah. Intensive bombing by US warplanes.

09:23 Samarra. Four Iraqi security guards and Turkish truck driver killed. Iraqi security guards killed as the exited US camp in Baihi, 180 km north of Baghdad. Turkish fuel truck is ambushed.

08:02 Baghdad. Car bomb targets US convoy. Two Iraqis, a man and a woman, were killed as US convoy is bombed.

07:38 Baghdad. Powerful blasts heard in city.

07:12 Fallujah. Firing heard near US military camp.

07:14 Fallujah. Iraqi forces take hospital.

7 November 2004 Events in Iraq

Gratitude. The big plan for a flattened Fallujah. $43 million is earmarked for Fallujah reconstruction and indemnites of $2500 will be paid to families for each incident of death, wounding or property damage. Compared to what Israeli settlers in Gaza are getting, $2500 is pretty paltry. In fact, it's probably an insult to anyone outside of Papua New Guinea. The US also plans to engage captured insurgents in construction job, but it is unclear if this implies forced labor.

Escape to Auckland. New Zealand is swamped with US immigration requests since Tuesday's electoral victory by George W. Bush. The New Zealand immigation website has registered 13,000 individual hits. The telephone lines to its consulates in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Portland are overloaded.

Mideast roadmap. Walls and Cops. US builds berm along Syrian border. US troops and engineers are engaged in building a 130-km barrier along the Syrian border. The berm will be 10 feet high. Meanwhile, two border crossings are closed for three weeks.

23:43 Iskandariyah. Zarqawi releases video showing attack on the Black Watch. An Islamic website has a video showing a suicide carbombing of a Black Watch checkpoint south of Baghdad. The driver is filmed waiting on line for search and inspection while the driver shouts "Allah Akbar" as his vehicled draws up on the checkpoint.

23:30 Fallujah. US airstrikes on city. US warplanes bomb Fallujah. Combat rages on bridge over the Euphrates.

21:50 Haditha. Al-Zarqawi claims credit for raid. Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi claims credit for the insurgent raid in Haditha in which 21 police were kidnapped and executed.

19:37 Basrah. British civilian killed in Basrah.

19:31 Fallujah. US forces: "Fallujah is isolated"

18:19 Fallujah. Destructive bombing raid on suburb southeast of Fallujah. Tanks, artillery and helicopters batter Garma, southeast of Fallujah.

14:50 Fallujah. Kuwait killed. A Kuwaiti militant, Obaid D., was killed by US forces in Fallujah.

14:36 Baghdad. Carbomb targets Finance Minister, 2 killed. A bodyguard and a policeman were killed in a carbombing of the residence of the Iraqi Finance Minister.

14:32 Baghdad. Martial law proclaimed. Iyad Allawi declares martial law throughout Iraq, except Kurdistan. Habeus corpus suspended and curfews imposed. The law permits wiretapping and postal inspection.

14:20 Baghdad. Credit claimed in attack on US convoy. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claims credit for an attack on a US convoy near Baghdad Airport. On this blessed day, a lion of the martyr's battalion threw himself against an American convoy on the road to Baghdad Airport. Your mujaeddin brothers are combatting ferociously in our cities; pray for us.

14:19 Baghdad. Carbomb targets Minister's residence. A carbomb exploded in front of the Minister of Finance, Abdel Abdul Mahdi, in the Karrada district in the center of Baghdad.

14:00 Baghdad. Allawi: State of emergency to last 60 days.

13:08 Baghdad. US soldier killed west of Baghdad. A US soldier travelling in a convoy west of Baghdad was killed. Earlier in the day, an American Humvee was destroyed by a roadside bomb on the road to the airport.

13:03 Baghdad. Government declares state of emergency. Announcement made by Thaer Naqib, spokesman for premier Yiad Allawi. Kurdistan is not affected by the decree.

11:07 Kirkuk. Four corpses recovered. The bodies of for Iraqis working for the US Army were found 40 km south of Kirkuk, along the road to Tikrit. The victims, all between 25 and 35 years of age, worked in the US base at Tikrit. One was a woman.

10:59 Fallujah. Battles were fought this morning in the Askari district but in the center of town shops remained open for Ramadan feast of Iftar. It is estimated that half the city population has fled.

10:50 Haditha. Policeman are killed in raid by 200 armed men. 200 armed men conducted a dawn on a police staiton in Haditha. After 90 minutes of gunbattle, the insurgents captured 21 police, who were then disarmed, restrained, and executed. The insurgents then set fire to the station. Following the Haditha raid, the insurgents assaulted a police station in Haqlaniya, 10 km to the east.

10:48 Baghdad. Three Iraqi officials found dead near Baghdad. Three officials of Diyala Province were found dead southwest of Baghdad. Vice Governor Jassem Abed, City Councilman Shehad Makki and Deputy Mayorn Duraid Fadel were on a pilgrimage from Baquba, 65 km northeast of Bagdad, to Karbala, 110 km south of the capital. Their bodies were ound in the area of Latifiya. There three were members of SCIRI, the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq.

10:30 Baghdad. Ansar al Sunna announces two kidnappings. Ansar al Sunna had kidnapped two Iraqi interpreters for US marines.

10:00 Baghdad. Powerful blast in capital.

09:55 Baghdad. Jordanian truck drivers face beheading. An Islamist group threatens Jordanian hostage with beheading unles their employer ceases deliveries to US bases in Iraq.

09:53 Fallujah. 10 insurgents killed by US troops. Battles in Fallujah kill 10 Iraqis.

09:35 Baghdad. Suicide carbombing in capital. A suicide carbomber drove his vehicle into a US convoy, destroying a Humvee. No reports of casualties.

09:18 Haditha. Assault on police station, 21 dead. This morning's dawn raid on Haditha kills 21 police.

08:20 Haditha. Police shot in cold blood.

08:18 Haditha. 21 police killed execution style in Al-Anbar Province. Dawn raid by insurgents on police station in Haditha, 200 km west of Baghdad, kills 21.

08:16 Ramadi Assault on police station. Police in Ramadi report attack on police station in Haditha.

08:00 Fallujah. Wave of US airstrikes.

07:30 Baghdad. Rebuilding resumes in Sadr City. US resumes sewer and power repairs in Sadr City.

07:00 Washington. No guilt in Palestine Hotel incident. The Pentagon finds no negligence on the part of a tank crew which fired on the Palestine Hotel in April 2003. Taras Protsiuk, a Reuters cameraman, and Jose Couso, a Spanish TV correspondent, were killed when a tank crew fired on journalists filming the scene on a hotel balcony.