This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 30

1917 Battle of the Boot at Band-i-Adhaim between British and Ottomans

1941 PM Gaylani refused permission for British troops to land in Basra

1941 2 brigades of Iraqi soldiers surrounded British Habaniya base ordered British

            to cease operations there

1941 Iraqi forces surrounded British embassy in Baghdad

1941 Iraqi troops seized Kirkuk oil field and cut off pipeline to Haifa

1941 PM Gaylani hoped to pressure British to leave Iraq without a fight

1941 UK memo to Chiefs of Staff discussed destroying Iraq’s oil wells to deny them to

            Germany

1948 Jewish forces took Jaffa, and 7 other towns held by Iraqi volunteers in 1^st Arab

            Israeli War

1959 Gen Qasim banned party activities in armed forces to try to block Communists’

            influence

1969 Bakr govt executed opponents in central Baghdad

1980 By end of April around 20 Iraqi officials had been killed in bombings by

            Shiite opposition parties

1980 Arab Iranians seized Iranian embassy in London demanding sovereignty for

            Khuzistan province Were trained and armed by Iraq

1985 Sec State Shultz asked Def Sec Weinberger to speed up approval of technology

            exports to Iraq

1985 State Dept intel reported no evidence Iraq had started on a nuclear weapons

            program It had

1990 Jordanian prosecutor report detailed fake bank accounts Ahmed Chalabi ran

            with his Petra Bank

1996 Turkey began bombing campaign along border against PKK

1997 Fighting broke out between PUK and Kurdish Islamic Movement

2001 NSC meeting on Al Qaeda threat DepDefSec Wolfowitz asked why US should

            focus on bin Laden when Iraq terrorism real threat

2001 Dep CIA Dir McLaughlin told DepDefSec Wolfowitz no evidence of Iraq terrorist

            threat to US

2001 DepSecState Armitage told DepDefSec Wolfowitz Al Qaeda was the main threat

            to US

2003 U.S. forces shot at civilians for 2^nd time in 2 days in Fallujah 2 killed

2003 Rumsfeld visited Iraq Realized rebuilding country would take years which was

            not his plan

2004 Marines withdrew from Fallujah turning over security to Fallujah Brigade

2004 Daily Mirror published what turned out to be fake pictures of UK forces abusing

            Iraqi prisoners

2004 Poll 71% of Iraqis saw US as occupiers 46% said invasion more harmful then

            good

2004 Prisoner abuse by US guards at Abu Ghraib reported in US media

2005 mass grave with up to 1,500 Kurds killed by Saddam during Anfal campaign

            found outside Samawa

(Musings On Iraq article on Anfal campaign)

2006 Fmr Sec State Powell told British TV he advised CENTCOM cmdr Gen Franks

            US needed more troops before invasion but advise ignored

2006 Pres Talabani said 7 insurgent groups might be able to be talked into joining

            political process

2006 US Special Inspector Gen for Iraq Reconstruction report said attacks still retarding

            rebuilding projects but real progress being made

2006 US Special Inspector Gen for Iraq Reconstruction head said that attacks on

            infrastructure down 60%

2006 Audit found effort to protect power and oil infrastructure largely failed Questioned

            2 foreign security companies contracted to train guards

2007 Anbar Awakening claimed to have killed ISI War Minister Masri Didn’t happen

2008 Maliki said that Mahdi Army had to be disbanded because couldn’t have

            militias and state

2008 Sadr spokesman said Iranian weapons in Iraq was normal because Tehran

            would sell to anyone

2008 Turkey said it would resume diplomatic relations with Kurdistan

2009 ISF started 2^nd Operation Promise of Good in Diyala

2010 Def Min said that ISI had lost its direction after 2 leaders Masri and Baghdadi

            killed

2010 Maliki claimed foreign countries were plotting coup against him

2010 Iraqiya threatened boycott after courts banned winning candidates for Baathist

            past

2011 Hundreds demonstrated in Kut for better services and against corruption

2011 Asayesh arrested four protest organizers trying to start demonstration in

            Sulaymaniya

2011 US said Iranian investment projects in Karbala and Najaf were fronts for

            supported Asaib Ahl Al-Haw and Kataib Hezbollah

2012 KRG said Baghdad should pay foreign oil companies working in Kurdistan

2012 Allawi said he wouldn’t go to national conference to resolve differences with

            Maliki

2012 4 bodyguards of fmr Speaker Mashadani arrested for terrorism

2013 Kurdish ministers ended boycott of govt

2013 Islamic Army met with Kirkuk tribes to form armed group after ISF attacked

            Hawija protest site

2013 Sheikh Sulaiman said that protesters would go to war with govt after crackdown

            on Hawija protest site

2013 Insurgents attacked Wasit municipal council building

2013 Dep PM Mutlaq criticized ISF attack on Hawija protest site

2014 KRG parliamentary elections 1^st in 8 years

2014 Anbar tribes claimed Baghdad agreed to some of protesters’ demands to end

            fighting Didn’t happen

2015 Head of Salahaddin council said Hashd were looting and burning buildings

            in Tikrit

2015 City worker in Tikrit said 300 buildings in northern section of city had been

            destroyed including 2 mosques

2015 IS seized half of Baiji refinery

2015 Head of Anbar Operations Command said Hashd were needed to fight IS

            in province

2016 Parliament refused to meet over Abadi’s technocratic govt Sadr called for popular

            revolution as followers stormed Green Zone

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