The Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella insurgency group consisting of various jihadi factions including al-Qaeda in Iraq, issued a statement May 3 denying the killing of its "emir," Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, but confirming the death of its official spokesman, Abu Abdullah al-Jabouri AKA Muhareb al-Jabouri. US military officials announced the death of Muhareb Abdul Latif al-Jabouri in a raid in Western Baghdad; however, the Iraqi Interior Ministry alleged that Jabouri was also the identiy of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi. The Islamic State of Iraq insisted on the difference between the two individuals, and assures that the "Emir of the Believers" is alive. The statement says if he was killed, they would not hesitate to announce it as the "flag of our jihad can only rise by the blood of the leaders before the soldiers, and the tree of victory can only be watered by the blood of the martyrs."

Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the head of al-Qaeda in Iraq, is reported to have been killed in an "internal battle" between militants in northern Baghdad, the Iraqi interior ministry has disclosed. United States officials have long speculated about rising tensions between al-Qaeda and native Sunni insurgents in the country. [BBC, May 1]

From the Iraq Freedom Congress (IFC), April 27:

Safety Force Rescues Innocent People in Baghdad
On April 11, 2007, the Safety Force was deployed to Alatba’a suburb of Baghdad after a fierce fighting erupted between the US troops and unknown armed men in nearby Alfathal suburb. A sniper barricaded on a building started shooting children escaping from Khawla Bent Alzwar primary school.

The Iraqi government has refused to provide the UN with civilian casualty figures for its 10th report on the human rights situation in the occupied country since August 2005, but numbers from various ministries indicate more than 5,500 people were killed in the Baghdad area alone in the first three months of 2007. The numbers, provided to the Los Angeles Times by government ministry employees, could not be independently verified.

From the Iraq Freedom Congress (IFC), April 27:

The Discriminatory Wall of Adamya Must be Abolished Immediately
In an unprecedented action in the history of Iraq, the U.S.-led occupying troops have begun the building of a wall made of concrete to separate the district of Adamya from neighboring districts on a pretext of stopping the terrorist activities. The Prime Minister, Nouri Almailki, even went further to say that the wall aims to protect the residents of the district from violence.

Mark Kurlansky writes for the Los Angeles Times, April 26:

Seventy years ago, on April 26, 1937, at 4:40 in the afternoon when the stone-walled, medieval Basque town of Guernica was packed with peasants, shoppers and refugees for its Monday afternoon market along the riverfront, a church bell rang out. The townspeople had heard the warning before. It meant that enemy planes were approaching.

Journalists in Iraq's Kurdistan face arrest and harassment for reporting on government corruption and poor public services, the UN says in a new report on the autonomous region. The report also criticises Kurdish officials for failing to respond to growing cases of "honor killings" and other violence against women, and charges that hundreds of detainees in Kurdish prisons are held without charge.

Defying President Bush's veto threat, the House of Representatives April 25 narrowly approved a war funds bill that sets a timeline for the withdrawal of all US combat troops from Iraq by March 31, 2008. "Tonight, the House of Representatives voted for failure in Iraq and the president will veto its bill," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said. Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) said it was "ironic" that Bush will be sent the bill on May 1, the fourth anniversary of the president's speech aboard a US aircraft carrier emblazoned with a banner claiming "mission accomplished" in Iraq. Said House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio: "We can walk out of Iraq, just like we did in Lebanon, just like we did in Vietnam, just like we did in Somalia and we will leave chaos in our wake." (Reuters, April 26) He may be right. But the alternative may be staying—presiding over, and contributing to chaos.