Week Ending: Saturday 24th July 2004

Iraqi PM rejects kidnapping deal
Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has called on Egypt not to bow to kidnappers who seized an Egyptian diplomat in Baghdad. "The only way to deal with terrorists is to bring them to justice," Mr Allawi said during a visit to Syria.

Policeman shoots at jaywalker
A traffic police officer fired shots when pedestrians in the Czech city of Plzen ignored his warnings not to cross a street illegally. "A male police officer fired shots with his police pistol on Monday but I cannot say more as the case is currently being investigated," Altmannova said, declining to give further details.

They've got your number
Cutting-edge technologies work as tattle-tales for a surveillance-minded state, Canadian privacy advocates warn. Many Canadians became aware that late-model cars are equipped with "black box" technology during a recent high-profile trial in which a motorist was jailed in the death of a university student in Montreal.

Bush 1972 payroll records 'found'
The US defence department has released payroll records relating to President George W Bush's service in the Air National Guard in 1972. Earlier this month the Pentagon said it had inadvertently destroyed the documents, but a spokesman said they have been found in the city of Denver.

Greece Asks NATO for Standby Force Outside Greece
Greece has asked NATO to put hundreds of crack troops on standby in case of a terrorist attack during the Olympics, the troops would be on alert in case of a "World War Three" type situation developing but they will not be based on Greek soil, said Public Order Minister George Voulgarakis.

Eye cop in pipe-bombing
A cop who is being forced to retire over a 9/11-related mental breakdown was brought in for questioning last night in Monday's pipe-bomb explosion in the Times Square subway station. The transit cop, who suffered minor burns when the crude device explode, arrived at the Midtown South Precinct stationhouse with a lawyer.

MATRIX rejection analyzed
Utah leaders' decision to drop out of the controversial MATRIX anti-terrorism project was a result of "miscommunication," according to the state's former top cop. The decision to enroll the state in the crime database without first informing state lawmakers and the public was a tactical error that eventually led the state to abandon the information-sharing system.

Iraq kidnappings stun Kenya press
The capture of three Kenyan hostages in Iraq has bewildered newspapers back home, who demand to know why the insurgents have picked on a country that refused to join the US-led invasion. " Spare Kenyans, we were not in the war," the East African Standard cries in a headline, and says Iraq is now "scary" even for those not directly involved in the conflict.

Bigger breasts offered as perk to soldiers
The U.S. Army has long lured recruits with the slogan "Be All You Can Be," but now soldiers and their families can receive plastic surgery, including breast enlargements, on the taxpayers' dime.

Mexican student deaths 'genocide'
The 1971 shooting of students by government forces in Mexico's so-called "dirty war" has been classified by an investigating prosecutor as genocide. He presented his findings after a two-year investigation into the period.

War Funds Dwindling, GAO Warns
The U.S. military has spent most of the $65 billion that Congress approved for fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and is scrambling to find $12.3 billion more from within the Defense Department to finance the wars through the end of the fiscal year.

Free Iraq hostages, families ask
Families of three Indian truck drivers being held hostage in Iraq have issued emotional pleas for the kidnappers to release their loved ones. A group called The Holders of the Black Banners took the men, along with three Kenyans and an Egyptian.

Japanese Council Approves Human Cloning
Japan's top science council has voted to adopt policy recommendations that would permit the limited cloning of human embryos for scientific research. The recommendations would let researchers use and produce cloned human embryos but only for basic research.

N Korea refuses to follow Libya
North Korea has rejected US suggestions that it follow Libya's lead and give up its nuclear ambitions. Washington called on Pyongyang to renounce nuclear weapons to end its international isolation and qualify for economic aid.

Al-Sadr gives first sermon in two months
Iraqi Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr gave his first public sermon in nearly two months, criticising Iraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and the US-led occupation.

Gaza militants in fresh protests
Militants in the Gaza Strip have attacked buildings of the Palestinian Authority in the latest protests against Yasser Arafat's administration. A police station was torched in Zwaida, near Gaza City, and in the town of Khan Younis, militants briefly took over a government building.

Egyptian Diplomat Seized by Militants in Iraq
Militants have seized an Egyptian diplomat in Baghdad and demanded that Egypt should not cooperate with U.S.-led forces. The Arabic satellite television station showed a video tape of Mohamed Mamdouh Qutb sitting in front of six masked men dressed in black.

US confirms Johnson head found
A man's head discovered during a police raid in Riyadh earlier this week is that of American hostage Paul Johnson, the US embassy in Saudi Arabia says. "We did see the head... and have confirmed that it is the head of Paul Johnson, unfortunately."

Animal Rights Legal challenge
A leading City institution is considering mounting civil lawsuits against animal rights extremists to stop them threatening investment. The National Association of Pension Funds, whose members control funds worth £650 billion, is working to prevent a repetition of the campaign of violence and intimidation waged against Huntingdon Life Sciences.

Russia protests over Belarus TV closure
Russia has protested to Belarus about the closure of the Russian state television office in Minsk in retaliation for its coverage of an opposition rally in the Belarusian capital. A spokesman for the Russian foreign ministry, Alexander Yakovenko, said that Russia TV's report on the demonstration did not constitute "serious grounds" for such a step.

US launches air strike on Falluja
US forces have launched an air strike on suspected insurgents in the Iraqi city of Falluja, the US military says. The military said it targeted militants linked to suspected al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whom it blames for a string of attacks in Iraq.

Ruling muddies Bali bomb verdicts
Indonesia's highest court has ruled an anti-terrorism law used to convict the Bali bombers was applied illegally. The law was enacted in the wake of the Bali bombings that killed 202 people.

The Pakistan connection
There is evidence of foreign intelligence backing for the 9/11 hijackers. Why is the US government so keen to cover it up? Omar Sheikh, a British-born Islamist militant, is waiting to be hanged in Pakistan for the murder of the Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Both the US government and Pearl's wife have since acknowledged that Sheikh was not responsible.

Bush welcomes 9/11 report
US President George W Bush has welcomed the report of the bipartisan commission set up to investigate the 11 September terror attacks. Mr Bush said he agreed with its conclusion that the hijackers had exploited deep institutional failings.

Hamza part of 'global conspiracy'
Controversial Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri was part of a "global conspiracy to wage Jihad" against the West, US government lawyers claim. Mr Hamza, 46, is at Belmarsh Magistrates' Court for a hearing to decide whether he should be extradited to face US terrorism charges.

Britain seeks end of dolphin killing fields
Britain is to seek the closure of Europe's major dolphin-killing fishing grounds, where most of the boats involved are French, the Government announced yesterday. It is asking the European Commission to shut the winter sea bass fishery in the Western Approaches to the English Channel.

Japan suicides reach record high
The number of suicides in Japan has risen to its highest level since records began. More than 34,000 Japanese took their own lives in 2003, according to the National Police Agency - an increase of more than 7% from the previous year.

CBS held the Abu Ghraib photos on principle, right?
At the Pentagon’s behest, the network sat on exclusive, shocking photographic evidence that American military guards had been abusing Iraqi inmates. Then, after holding the piece for two weeks, CBS reversed course and ran it on the April 28 60 Minutes II, when Dan Rather disclosed the delay.

US Congress calls Darfur crisis 'genocide'
Genocide is being committed in Sudan's Darfur region, according to a new US Congress resolution. Pro-government Arab militias have forced more than one million black Africans from their homes and killed thousands, human rights groups say.

In Context: U.S. Military Spending Versus Rest of the World
The US military budget is almost as much as the rest of the world's. The US military budget is more than 8 times larger than the Chinese budget, the second largest spender. The US military budget is more than 29 times as large as the combined spending of the seven “rogue” states (Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria) who spent $14.4 billion.

Cuban dissident economist freed
Cuba has freed Martha Beatriz Roque, a prominent opponent of Fidel Castro, on health grounds. The 58-year-old economist was the only woman in a group of 75 people arrested in a crackdown on dissent last year.

Cynthia McKinney Gets A Big Win
The big story is the return of Cynthia McKinney to the U.S. Congress. Voters of the 4th District gave her the nod with 51 per cent of the vote. McKinney bested a field of five other candidates in a bid for the seat she lost two years ago to Denise Majette.

Whalers think they scent victory
n the closing hours of its annual meeting, the International Whaling Commission moved cautiously towards a resumption of the commercial hunt. It established a process which could see agreement next year on its Revised Management Scheme, a scientifically sound way to set catch limits.

Australia's Iraq war case damned
Australia relied on "thin, ambiguous and incomplete" intelligence to go to war in Iraq, according to an inquiry. But the independent report by Philip Flood, a diplomat and former spy master, clears Prime Minister John Howard of "politicising" intelligence.

US admits 'bounty hunter' contact
The US military has admitted it detained an Afghan man handed over by a US citizen accused of running a freelance counter-terrorism operation. A military spokesman said the prisoner was handed over by the American, Jonathan K Idema, in May.

It Can Happen Here
Late last year, General Tommy Franks said that another terrorist attack on America, especially one using WMDs, could "unravel the fabric of our Constitution" in favor of martial law. In this scenario, liberty would be traded for security at the request of regular Americans - folks with 9-to-5 jobs and families to protect. This would be the recipe for tyranny.

9/11 probe 'highlights 10 missed clues'
A commission probing the September 11 terrorist attacks was expected to conclude in a report out today that the US missed 10 opportunities to detect the deadly hijacking plot.The Congressional cross-party panel is expected to say that six of the failings came under the leadership of the current President George Bush, and four under Bill Clinton.

Protests as Italy expels migrants
The Italian authorities have expelled almost all of the African migrants who arrived last week on a ship run by the German campaign group, Cap Anamur. MPs and campaigners tried to occupy the check-in area at a Rome airport to prevent the departure of 27 migrants to Ghana on Thursday morning.

Documents detail wider abuse of Iraqi prisoners
Pentagon papers indicate probe of assaults outside of Abu Ghraib prison. Iraqi prisoners allegedly were stripped of their clothing and exposed to harsh conditions at two war-zone detention facilities separate from the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, according to Pentagon documents

'Mercenaries' back in prison court
The trial in Zimbabwe of a group of 70 mercenaries accused of plotting to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea is due to resume on Thursday. The men appeared on Wednesday in a makeshift court at a maximum security prison in Harare but were given a further 24 hours to prepare their defence.

Threat of more beheadings
A militant group said on Wednesday it had taken two Kenyans, three Indians and an Egyptian hostage and would behead them if their countries did not announce their intention to withdraw their troops from Iraq immediately.

Athens centre hit by petrol bombs
Two petrol bombs have been thrown at a culture ministry building in central Athens, say police. No one was injured in the attack on the building which has featured a four-year Olympic exhibition running up to the Games in August.

Profits of war
Halliburton has become a byword for the cosy links between the White House and Texan big business. But how did the company run in the 90s by Dick Cheney secure a deal that guaranteed it millions in profit every time the US military saw action? In this exclusive extract from his new book, Dan Briody reveals how the firm made a killing on the battleground.

Israel hits 'weapons workshops'
Israeli helicopters fired missiles at a suspected weapons-making workshop in a Gaza refugee camp, say Israel's army. Palestinian police and ambulances raced to the scene at the Khan Yunis camp in southern Gaza.

American on trial for private "war on terror" claims Rumsfeld link
A US citizen in court charged with running a private "war on terror" in Afghanistan claimed he and two other Americans were working with the full knowledge of US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Saudis 'find head' of US hostage
The head of a US man kidnapped and killed in Saudi Arabia has been found in a police raid, Saudi officials say. The head of Paul Johnson was discovered in a refrigerator during a police raid on an apartment in the Saudi capital Riyadh, the interior ministry said.

Kerry aide quits over 9/11 probe
Samuel Berger, under investigation for removing classified documents, has resigned as adviser to Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. Mr Berger, who was national security adviser to former US President Bill Clinton, took secret papers from the National Archives.

Ronstadt fans boo tribute to Moore
Singer Linda Ronstadt's tribute to leftist filmmaker Michael Moore at the Aladdin in Las Vegas was booed by concertgoers in attendance, hundreds of whom walked out. Some of the angry fans reportedly defaced posters of her in the lobby of the hotel, writing comments and tossing drinks on her pictures.

'Rejoice over Iraq': fury at Blair's echo of Thatcher
Tony Blair echoed one of the most famous quotations from Lady Thatcher by telling critics of the war in Iraq to "rejoice".Lady Thatcher told Britain to "Just rejoice... rejoice" when British forces recaptured South Georgia on 25 April 1982. She was under pressure for allowing the Falkland Islands to be invaded by Argentina.

British journalists ask: Was acclaimed Iraqi WMD scientist murdered?
It has been several months since Lord Hutton concluded Britain's most respected microbiologist, Dr David Kelly, committed suicide. The inquest, held in Room 76 at the Royal Courts of Justice, was meant to uncover the circumstances of his death. In doing so, many observers believed that the verdict would dispel any lingering doubts that there was a more sinister reason behind his death.

Kabul 'bounty hunter' accuses US
A US citizen arrested in Kabul over an alleged freelance counter-terrorism operation says he was working with the knowledge of the US defence secretary.
Jonathan K Idema said the US government had abandoned him. Washington says he was a mercenary.

'Liberation Video' Shows Fallujah Bombing Massacre
Whether these individuals were protesters or 'insurgents,' the way the guy laughingly exclaims 'oh dude!' gives an indication into the mindset of these people and the air of superiority and brutality held toward people that were supposed to have been 'liberated'.

Israel rejects UN vote on barrier
Senior advisers to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon have said work will continue on the West Bank security barrier despite condemnation at the UN. The General Assembly in New York voted by an overwhelming majority to demand that Israel dismantle the barrier in line with a UN world court ruling.

ABC News promotes implantable microchips
Usually, these reports give a few seconds to somebody like Katherine Albrecht speaking against, but now they don't even bother. It's surprising that the recent MSN poll showed only two in ten would take the chip.

New wrangle over Kennewick bones
The legal battle over the ancient bones of Kennewick Man has been won by the scientists, but they now face a new wrangle over access to the remains. The 9,300-year-old skeleton is among the most complete specimens of its period known from the Americas.

Halliburton probed over Iran ties
A U.S. grand jury issued a subpoena to Halliburton Co. seeking information about its Cayman Islands unit's work in Iran, where it is illegal for U.S. companies to operate. The oilfield services company, formerly headed by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, also said a subpoena was issued to a former employee as part of a separate ongoing investigation into whether it overcharged for fuel under its contracts in Iraq.

Saudi forces clash with militants
Saudi security forces killed two suspected militants and wounded three others in an exchange of fire in the capital Riyadh, officials say. The operation in the King Fahd District is also said to have resulted in the arrest of the family of the man thought to be al-Qaeda's chief in the country.

Lebanon fires on Israeli planes
Lebanese army anti-aircraft batteries opened fire in the direction of Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier at low altitude twice over Beirut overnight, reporters and security sources said. The fighter bombers caused supersonic booms at around 7.10pm local time, causing panic on the streets of the capital.

'Mercenaries' face Zimbabwe court
The trial of a group of 70 mercenaries accused of plotting to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea has been adjourned. The men - mostly South Africans and a former SAS captain from the UK, Simon Mann - appeared in a makeshift courtroom at Chikurubi maximum security prison in Harare.

Israeli army warns of strike against Syria
As the conflict on the Israel-Lebanon border escalates, the Israeli military has issued a blunt warning that it may launch a direct attack against Syria.The chief of the northern areas of the Israeli army, General Bini Gants has accused Syria and Iran of arming the Lebanese Hizb Allah movement, which he described as "terrorist".

Armed forces braced for big cuts
Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon is expected to announce large cuts in the armed forces on Wednesday as part of modernisation plans. It is thought that some 12,000 personnel posts could be lost to fund the development of new hi-tech systems.

Our lies led us into war
The press must also be held to account for falsehoods we reproduced before the invasion. No government commissions inquiries to discover why reporters reproduce the government's lies. The falsehoods reproduced by the media before the invasion of Iraq were massive and consequential: it is hard to see how Britain could have gone to war if the press had done its job.

US planning to devise 'massive' new bomb
The United States plans to develop an experimental 13 600kg bomb aimed at destroying deeply buried targets beyond the reach of existing bombs. The Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP, would be about one-third heavier than the Massive Ordnance Air Blast, or MOAB, dropped twice last year in "live" tests at a range in Florida.

Blair: the voters' verdict
At the end of a tumultuous political year, the prime minister reaches his tenth anniversary as Labour leader and today faces the last big debate before the recess. A special Guardian poll assesses the mood of voters at this crucial time

Four men arrested following BBC's BNP documentary
Four men have been arrested in connection with an investigation into a documentary showing British National Party activists confessing to race-hate crimes, police said today.

Gaza - If it were the reverse
What would happen if a Palestinian terrorist were to detonate a bomb at the entrance to an apartment building in Israel and cause the death of an elderly man in a wheelchair, who would later be found buried under the rubble of the building? The country would be profoundly shocked.

Violence flares at asylum centre
The Home Office today promised a full investigation after the discovery of a hanged detainee led to a "serious disturbance" overnight at the country's largest immigration removal centre.

America Hosts 76 percent of Islamic Terrorist Websites
While America and the world combat terror, it appears that the terrorists and their supporters themselves are tapping into America’s booming web hosting industry to spread their venom.

Blair faces new inquiry as critics prepare for key debate
Tony Blair is facing another Commons inquiry into the flawed intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction by MPs who claim they were not given the full picture during a previous investigation.

Bohemian Grove - The Chosen Few
Some 2,000 CEOs and politicos and arty types arrived at the cool redwoods and lily-choked lake of the Grove, the famous Russian River playground of the powerful Bohemian Club. They say it's the place to be seen in America in July. Except, of course, you can't see them.

Iraq is not improving, it's a disaster
The security situation is calamitous. Two recent attacks killed nine US marines; an attack on the Iraqi minister of justice killed five bodyguards; bombings and attacks on Iraqi security forces have caused multiple deaths; targets in Falluja have been bombed by the US air force; foreigners have been kidnapped or executed with the aim of driving foreign troops and foreign companies out of Iraq.

Philippines' Iraq hostage freed
Philippine truck driver Angelo de la Cruz has been freed from captivity in Iraq. President Gloria Arroyo said she had spoken to him by telephone from Baghdad and that he was in high spirits and good health.

Missing marine 'did not desert'
The missing Lebanese-born US marine who was allegedly kidnapped in Iraq has said he did not desert his post. "I was captured and held against my will by anti-coalition forces for 19 days," Cpl Wassef Ali Hassoun said.

Clinton Adviser Probed in Terror Memos
President Clinton's national security adviser, Sandy Berger, is the focus of a criminal investigation after admitting he removed highly classified terrorism documents from a secure reading room during preparations for the Sept. 11 commission hearings.

Builder abandons animal lab work
Animal rights activists have been blamed for intimidating a building firm into pulling out of a new animal research centre contract in Oxford. A police probe earlier this year found letters claiming to be from Montpellier bosses urging shareholders to sell or face action from activists.

Schoolboys create mobile seeker
A mobile phone detector developed by a team of six New Zealand schoolboys has attracted international interest. The mobile detector lets you know when phones are being used surreptitiously

Chirac Says Sharon Not Welcome in France
President Jacques Chirac said Monday that the Israeli leader would not be welcome here until he gave a satisfactory explanation for saying Jews should go to Israel to escape anti-Semitism in France.

Regime change in Iran now in Bush’s sights
Bush named Iran as part of the Axis of Evil along with North Korea and Iraq almost three years ago. A US government official said that military action would not be overt in changing Iran, but rather that the US would work to stir revolts in the country and hope to topple the current conservative religious leadership.

Allies reel as abuse row grows
New cases of alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers have been uncovered. The news comes three months after US media broadcast photos of detainees being sexually humiliated at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison.

Blair: the attacks mount up
Tony Blair is facing fierce and sustained attacks over Iraq from opposition parties, weapons inspectors and a former intelligence chief as he prepares for a crucial Commons debate on the Butler report.

Bremer May Testify on Iraq Prisoner Abuse
More cases of possible mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners have come to Congress' attention and need investigation by the Pentagon, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said.

Attorney General warned Blair on legality of war
Tony Blair was warned before the Iraq war by the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, that a UN court could rule Britain's invasion unlawful. The warning was in Lord Goldsmith's so far undisclosed legal opinion from 7 March last year, less than two weeks before the conflict began.

Europe or the US? Britain must choose
America's decision on Bush looms. And it's time for Blair to get off the fence, says intelligence expert William Pfaff . The message of the Butler Report and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has been the same. The British and American intelligence services have been compromised and politicised.

The interim Prime Minister of Iraq
Allawi's rocky road to the top. A bigraphical timeline of Mr. Allawi, former Baathist, former agent for MI6 and CIA, former terrorist. This is an improvement?

Clare Short: There was never an honest debate in cabinet
The Prime Minister and those who speak for him keep telling us that the Butler report found that the prime minister acted in "good faith'' over Iraq. The report does not say this but Lord Butler said it at his press conference.

Surveillance targeted to convention
An unprecedented number of video cameras will be trained on Boston during the Democratic National Convention, with 30 cameras near the FleetCenter, the Coast Guard using night-vision cameras, and dozens of pieces of surveillance equipment to monitor crowds for terrorists, unruly demonstrators, and ordinary street crime.

Paul Foot, campaigning journalist and socialist to the end, dies aged 66
Paul Foot, the campaigning Private Eye journalist and nephew of the former Labour leader Michael Foot, has died. He was 66. He was renowned for his dogged investigative journalism and was voted Campaigning Journalist of the Decade in the What The Papers Say awards four years ago.

Secrets of the Bank of "England" Revealed at Last
The American Revolution, like nearly all revolutions in history, was an uprising not against a king and his ministers, but against a system and a state of mind. Nor was the system the work of George III, Hillsborough, Townshend, or Lord North, for they were its products not its creators.

Critics slam 'no blame' WMD report
Many British politicians and newspapers have criticized an official inquiry that said no single person was to blame for the "seriously flawed" intelligence used to justify the Iraq war.

Allawi shot inmates in cold blood, say witnesses
Iyad Allawi, the new Prime Minister of Iraq, pulled a pistol and executed as many as six suspected insurgents at a Baghdad police station, just days before Washington handed control of the country to his interim government, according to two people who allege they witnessed the killings.

Bush Fails History
Bob Woodward: "How do you think history will regard the war in Iraq?"
Bush, (hesitating): "It won't matter. We'll all be dead." - from Plan of Attack, Bob Woodward

Rape 'a weapon' in Sudan war
Sudan's pro-government militias are using mass rape as a weapon in their conflict against non-Arab groups in Darfur, says Amnesty International.

US woman faces execution in Oman
A court in Oman has sentenced an American woman to death for murdering her husband. Rebecca Thompson, 43, was convicted of killing oil worker Mark Thompson more than seven months ago.

Sharon urges Jews in France to leave as anti-Semitism grows
The Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday urged Jews to flee France to escape a rising tide of anti-Semitism. While acknowledging that the French government was fighting racial violence, Mr Sharon warned of "the spread of the wildest anti-Semitism" in France.

9/11 hijackers 'transited Iran'
The CIA's acting director says eight of the 9/11 hijackers passed through Iran, but there is no evidence Tehran was connected with the attacks in 2001. John McLaughlin told US TV the CIA had known for some time that eight of the hijackers travelled through Iran.

Whaling moratorium under review
Representatives of more than 50 governments meet in the Italian city of Sorrento on Monday to discuss the state of the world's whale stocks. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is deadlocked on the question of whether the animals should be hunted.

Police 'terror papers' go missing
Police are investigating the disappearance of documents said to contain plans to counter a possible terrorist attack on Heathrow airport. A report in the Sun newspaper claims the papers identified 62 sites from which a missile strike could be made.

Philippines complete Iraq pullout
All Philippine troops have now withdrawn from their base in Iraq - to meet a demand by militants who threatened to kill a Filipino hostage. The last 22 soldiers paid an "exit call" to the Polish commander at their base in Hillah, south of Baghdad.