Makhmoor Explosion

Makhmoor is a town and district south of the city of Erbil, which is part of Erbil governorate. It is just outside of the Kurdistan Regional Government's administrative area, unfortunately. The area is populated by a mix of Kurdistanis and Arabs.

I say unfortunately above because, if the area was in the KRG area, it would be much safer. Everyone would agree with that.

The hospitals in Erbil were once again busy, I heard that new medical graduates were showing up to assist in such numbers that they were getting in the way. At least there is a reserve.

Here is an excerpt from a CNN report:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/05/13/iraq.main/index.htm

The deadliest of Sunday's bombings killed 43 people and wounded 115 more when a suicide truck bomb erupted in northern Iraq, a Kurdistan government spokesman said.

The brunt of the blast rocked the mayor's office and the neighboring Kurdistan Democratic Party building in the town of Makhmoor just outside Mosul, the spokesman said. Makhmoor is near the Kurdish-controlled region of northern Iraq.

The bomb detonated as local officials from various nearby towns held a meeting, a KDP official said.

The wounded were rushed to area hospitals in nearby Mosul and Irbil. Hospital officials in Irbil said they received at least 12 dead people and at least 60 with injuries. At least 50 people were hospitalized at Mosul General Hospital, but there was no breakdown of the casualties.

The attack comes four days after at least 12 people were killed and 50 were wounded when a truck bomb exploded outside an office of the Ministry of the Interior in Irbil in northern Iraq, according to a Kurdish Coalition spokesman.

The Park Hotel Kempinski, Erbil Dedication Today

Erbil will have a very nice hotel in a year or so, when The Park Hotel by Kempinski should open. Kempinski is a German brand that is 110 years old this year, with 60 properties, and another 40 under various stages of development. It is supposed to be 5 star, and judging by the Kempinski website, it will be very nice.

Erbil currently has a hotel shortage, as all the current properties are busy and full. The level of quality that Kempinski will bring will be most welcome. All the delegations and visitors and business people need another nice place to stay.

I heard a couple of Americans say that the new hotel would be providing jobs for local people, and I should have said what was on my mind, that would the local people who work there be trained so that the service level is very good, or will foreign workers be imported? This is a problem right now. Foreign workers are in some hotels and homes and working construction and other jobs because local workers are difficult to get, and don't always have the skills, and are asking for more money than outsiders.

There has to be local skills improvement, so that local workers fill the majority of jobs, with foreign support and training. The economic boom in Kurdistan is not meant to form welfare states like Saudi Arabia, where the majority of residents are dependent upon the government, mostly young people who have nothing better to do and are impressionable enough to cause trouble.

The Kempinski Representative





A gift from Kempinksi, a laser etched model of the hotel, which also has a flashing red and blue LED light. Just twist the top to turn it on

Yesterday's Incident

So yesterday's bombing here in Erbil has been trodden into the road of daily life here. Minutes after it occurred, I heard the sounds of construction tools and traffic and so on, the incident largely dismissed for what it was, which is an anomaly. Fortunately we have had only 5 such incidents since 2003. London has had 4, Madrid had 4, and we are the ones who are still part of Iraq!

I was heartened to hear that someone observed groups of people heading off in a common direction after the incident, and when questioned, it turns out they were going to give blood.

It is this common union of purpose that has kept this region safe, and will continue to do so. The only worries were among a family whose daughter didn't phone right away afterwards, and another young lady who was rattled (literally) by her proximity. Everyone else was cool. So stay cool.

Technorati Profile

Rude Awakening

At just past 8 am local time, there was an explosion south of Erbil. I ran up to the roof of the house, hoping it was just a sonic boom, but then I saw this:

dust & smoke cloud photo

smoke cloud citadel zoom photo


Excuse the poor quality of this extreme crop, I wanted to show that despite the black smoke in the background, the Kurdistan flag is still flying!

I posted this to my private blog at 9:11. I procrastinated a bit, I admit, I could have had this up by 8:15.


This was the first external news found over an hour later at 9:25 local time:

Cheney arrives in Iraqi capital

US Vice-President Dick Cheney has arrived in Iraq's capital Baghdad, amid an ongoing drive by the US military to contain spiralling violence.

After a briefing by US officials and generals, Mr Cheney is expected to meet Iraqi leaders and urge them to work harder to heal political divisions.

A truck bomb has meanwhile killed at least 15 people in Irbil, in northern Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region.

The bombings that have plagued other parts of Iraq remain rare in Kurdistan.

Television pictures showed the blast had destroyed a building and left a large crater on a road where interior ministry offices are located.

A witness quoted by Reuters news agency spoke of "fire coming out from the blast area. A man was burned to death."

A security official, First Lt Mariwan Kareem, told the agency the explosives in the truck had been hidden under kitchen cleaning products.

The blast took place at 0800 local time.

The near-daily bombings and instability that have gripped much of Iraq have been largely absent from the northern region, but political tensions are rising over the drafting of a bill that will redistribute oil wealth among the country's Kurdish, Sunni and Shia population.

Most of Iraq's oil is concentrated around the Kurdish north and Shia south.

Irbil last saw a major attack in May 2005, when the offices of a local political party were hit by a suicide bomber.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/6637649.stm

Published: 2007/05/09 07:25:22 GMT

The KRG responded with a press conference and this statement on the KRG.org website:

KRG.org , 9 May 2007 KRG statement on explosion in Erbil on May 9 2007

9 May 2007 Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq At a few minutes past 8am today, a truck-bomb exploded in the street outside the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Interior in Erbil. Fourteen people were killed and 87 injured. Several of those injured are in a critical condition while the majority have light injuries, according to our health services. This is the only such terrorist attack in the Kurdistan Region since 2005. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) condemns this cowardly and barbaric act. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims and we thank the emergency services and the people of Erbil for their response to this incident. We remain steadfast in our resolve to protect the people of Kurdistan and to play a positive role in the global effort to defeat terrorism. The KRG and our security forces are determined that the peace and stability in our Region will continue, while we make every effort to improve the security situation in other parts of Iraq. The Spokesman Kurdistan Regional Government Kurdistan TV had this, there is a mention of 800 kilos of TNT! http://www.kurdistantv.net/nivisek.asp?ser=10&cep=&nnimre=3853 2007-05-09 09:55 Êrîşeka hovane li ser wezareta nêvxwe ya Kurdistanê pêk hat- Li gorî agahdariyên wezareta nêvxwe 14 kes mirin û 87 kes jî birîndar in Kurdistan TV KTV-Îro li gorî wextê Hewlêr seet 8-ê sibehê komiyoneka bombekirî, li ber deriyê wezareta nêvxwe ya Kurdistanê hate teqandin. Di heqê kuştî û birîndaran de jêderên fermî yên cida, hejmarên cida cida didin. Li gorî ahgadariyên pêşiyê yên jêderekê polîsan di encama vê êrîşa terorîstî de,li gorî tesbîtên pêşiyê 12 kes şehîd bûn û 40 kes jî birîndar bûn. Paşê wezîrê tenduristiyê Ziryan Osman ragihand ko hejmara kuştiyan gihiştiye 19-an 70 kes jî birîndar in.Piştî wezîrê tendurîstiyê wezareta nêvxwe beyaneka fermî da û diyar kir ko hejmara şehîtbûya 14 û ya birîndaran jî 87 e. Terorîstekê bi komiyoneka ji madeya TNT û hindek madeyên dî yên sojandinê dagirtî li ber deriyê wezareta Kurdistanê teqand û ev êrîşa hovane pêk anî. Ji kuştî û birîndaran gelek jî, polîsên ko nobdarê wezaretê ne. Seet 08.00:(Seeta Hewler) Êrîşa terorîstî pêk hat. Seet 08.30: Jêderekê polîsan diyar kir ko di encama vê êrîşa terorîstî de,li gorî tesbîtên pêşiyê 12 kes şehîd bûn û 40 kes jî birîndar bûn. Seet 10.00: Wezîrê tenduristiyê Ziryan Osman ragihand ko hejmara şehîbûyan gihiştiye 19-an 70 kes jî birîndar in. Seet 12.00: Wezareta nêvxwe beyaneka fermî da û diyar kir ko hejmara şehîdbûyan 14 û ya birîndaran jî 87 e. Wezarta nêvxwe ya Kurdistanê di heqê bûyerê de beyanek belav kir: "Îro (9/5 2007) di seet 8-ê beyanî de otomobîleka di coreyê komyanên barhilgir de li ser cadeya 60 metreyî ya ko li ber pêşiya wezareta nêvxwe û asayişa Hewlêr ye, teqiya. Di encamê de, li gorî tesbîtên ko heta niho me kirine di vê rûdana terorîstî ya xwekujî de, 14 kes şehît û 87 kes jî birîndar bûyîne; di nav wan de hevwelatî, karmedên wezarêtê û nobedar jî hene. Herweha zerereka mezin ya madî li herdu avahiyên wezaretê û xaniyên hevwelatiyan yên derdorê bûye. Her gelek otomobîlên hevwelatiyan yên nêzik cihê bûyerê şewitîne û zerer gihayînê. Li gorî tesbîtên lêkolînên pêşiyê, otomobîleka barhilgir ya ko ji madeya TNT û muteferîcatê gelek madeyên di yên teqemeniyê dagirtî hatiye teqandin." Seet 12.15: Wezîrê nêvxwe Kerîm Şingalî derket pêşiya çapameniyê û preskonferansek da û diyar kir ko terorîst bi van core kiryaran nikarin asayiş û parastina Kurdistanê têk bidin û xwest ko hevwelatiyên Kurdistanê piştrast û dilaram bin. Têt texmîn kirin ko dora 800 kîlo TNT di vê bûyerê de hatiye bi kar anîn. The Kurdish Globe reported this (they have much to learn about speculation in reporting, they should just be reporting the FACTS): Wednesday, 09 May 2007, 08:55 EDT http://www.kurdishglobe.net/displayArticle.jsp?id=C090692D57F1619A6F894898DCC178F9 Big blast rocks Erbil A suicide truck bomb exploded outside the Interior Ministry building in the Kurdish city of Erbil northern Iraq, Wednesday, May 9, 2007. Globe Photo/Saffin Hamed The Globe A big explosion rocked Erbil today morning, as a suicide bomber drove his truck into the gate of Erbil's security headquarters and Interior Ministry. The blast which took place at 8:00 a.m. local time was the first in almost two years, after Erbil had seen no bombings since June 2005. Kurdistan's health Minister Ziryan Abdurrahman told reporters that 19 people were killed and 80 others injured. There were conflicting reports about the use of acid capsules or cleaning materials by the suicide car bomber. A source from Erbil's Security Office told the Globe that they estimate the truck to have carried around 800 kilos to one ton of explosives, but said they don't have any clues yet on the identity of the suicide bomber. He rejected the use of acid capsules by the suicide bomber. The newly-built three-story building of the Interior Ministry and the Erbil Security Headquarters were seriously damaged by the blast. The source said they have started extensive investigations into the issue and will announce the results once the investigations finish. A statement by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) condemned the "cowardly and barbaric act" and pledged to secure "the peace and stability" of Kurdistan. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast, but the style and tactic resemble those used by al-Qaeda and its affiliated groups in others parts of Iraq. Earlier, a senior Kurdish lawmaker Mahmoud Othman told the AP that the al-Qaeda linked group of Ansar al-Sunnah was behind the attack. Meanwhile, government sources in Sulaimaniya- the second largest city of Kurdistan Region after Erbil- said today that they managed on last Monday's evening to discover and defuse several bombs planted in the building of Sulaimaniya's Culture Office. Following today's blast hospitals in Erbil were full of people, who had rushed there to know about the fate of their loved ones who were in the site of the attack. Hundreds of people were also present to donate blood for the injured. Security forces had earlier announced the arrest of several extremists in Erbil and Sulaimaniya who wee involved in "terrorist acts" and were plotting new bombings. In Sulaimaniya, a group of 14 suspects who were plotting to drop chemical gases on the city were detained by the security services there. Kurdistan that has been spared the bloody violence in the rest of the country, has witnessed increasing attempts over the past months for launching attacks against targets in the area.