Unknown gunmen shot dead 23 textile factory workers from the ancient Yazidi culture in an apparent revenge killing in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul April 22. Authorities said the gunmen erected a roadblock, forced the workers out of a minibus, lined them against a wall and shot them execution-style in the eastern al-Nour district of Mosul. Three survived, seriously wounded. Iraqi Brigadier-General Mohammed al-Waggaa said the killings seemed to be in retaliation for an incident in which a Yazidi woman was stoned to death several weeks ago for converting to Islam.

From the Iraq Freedom Congress (IFC), April 21:

Iraq Freedom Congress congratulates all freedom-loving and progressive people around the world for the launch of Sana TV today. It is you who made it happened and you who will keep it continue.

Hilmi al-Asmar writes for the Jordanian newspaper Al-Dustur, April 7:

Barzani accuses extremist Shi'i, Sunni forces of fuelling the conflict, welcomes hosting Palestinians residing in Kurdistan
Arbil, Iraqi Kurdistan — Mas'ud Barzani, head of the Iraqi Kurdistan region and leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, welcomed hosting the Palestinian refugees residing in Iraqi Kurdistan and offered them a safe haven in the region that is more than a self rule region and less than a state.

Eleven electricity plant workers were killed in an ambush as they drove to work in northern Iraq April 4. Police said gunmen stopped a vehicle carrying the workers near Hawija, about 70 kilometers southwest of Kirkuk, then sprayed it with gunfire. Seven of the workers died instantly; four others were fatally wounded. (Reuters via Zaman, Turkey, April 4)

Gunmen rampaged through the Sunni and Turkmen district of al-Wihda in the northwestern Iraqi town of Tal Afar overnight, killing about 50 residents, apparently in reprisal for bombings in a Shi'ite area. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has ordered an inquiry into reports the gunmen included police from his security forces. A curfew has been imposed as Iraqi army troops take control of the city.

The March English edition of Le Monde Diplomatique has an in-depth story on the state of the world's oil industry, "Hydrocarbon nationalism: States claim back their energy reserves," which sheds much light on the underlying imperatives for the Iraq adventure. The critical point: Outside of the US and northern Europe, oil production is now generally 60% or more state-owned. Russia was manipulated down to 30-odd percent under Yeltsin, but Putin (by rather draconian means) has boosted it back over 50%. This is one reason Iraq is so crucial: if the US still gets its way somehow, it will be the first significant reversal of this trend. Relevant passages:

Moktada al-Sadr's Shi'ite militia, the Mahdi Army, is breaking into splinter groups, with up to 3,000 gunmen financed directly by Iran and no longer loyal to the militant cleric, Iraqi and US officials say. Two senior Mahdi Army commanders also told the AP that hundreds of breakaway fighters have crossed into Iran in the past 18 months for training by the elite Quds Force, a branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guard thought to have trained Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon and Muslim fighters in Bosnia and Afghanistan.

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, joined by MPs, military chiefs and diplomats, say up to 3,800 PKK fighters in Iraqi Kurdistan are preparing for attacks into Turkish territory—and Turkey is ready to hit back if the US fails to act. Said Gul: "We will do what we have to do, we will do what is necessary. Nothing is ruled out. I have said to the Americans many times: suppose there is a terrorist organisation in Mexico attacking America. What would you do?... We are hopeful. We have high expectations. But we cannot just wait forever."