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INDO-PAKISTANI WAR OF 1971

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Map of Kashmir Region

Above: Map of Kashmir Region

It was a major war between India and Pakistan, which finally led to the Bangladesh Liberation War or the Pakistani Civil War. Exact dates are under dispute. The battle in western India from 3rd to 16th December 1971 is termed the Indo-Pakistani war by both India and Bangladesh. Within two weeks Pakistan suffered a humiliating defeat.

Picture of Sheik Mujibur Rahman

Above: Picture of Sheik Mujibur Rahman

LIBERARTION WAR OF BANGLADESH:
The Bangladesh Liberation War was the main cause behind the Indo-Pakistani conflict. The former was an outburst of the tensions between the dominant West Pakistanis and the majority of Bengalis in East Pakistan. Sparks began to fly with the victory of the Awami League in the 1970 elections in Pakistan. It won 167 of the 169 seats in East Pakistan thus securing a simple majority in the 313-seat Lower House of the Pakistani Parliament. Mujibur Rahman, the leader of the Awami League presented six points and claimed the right to form a government. The leader of Pakistan’s Peoples Party, Bhutto, refused to allow Mujibur Rahman to become the Prime Minister and President Yahya Khan summoned military action – the military largely consisting of men from West Pakistan.

Awami League in protest march

Above: Awami League protest march

Dissidents began to be arrested en masse and East Pakistani soldiers and police personnel began to be disbanded. There were strikes and non-cooperation movements and soon the military began to take action on Dhaka from the night of 25th March 1971. The Awami League was declared illegal and several members fled to exile. Mujib was arrested and taken to West Pakistan. On 27th March 1971, Ziaur Rahman, a Major in the Pakistani army rebelled and declared the independence of Pakistan on behalf of Mujibur. The exiled Awami League leaders formed a government in exile in April in Badyanathtola of Meherpur. The East Pakistan Rifles, an elite paramilitary forced, defected and extended support the new government. The Bangladesh Army took shape with the support of civilian guerillas.

Refugees fleed passing through dead brethren

Above: Refugees fleed, walking through dead brethren

LIBERATION WAR OF BANGLADESH – INDIA’S INVOLVEMENT:
Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, extended full support to Bangladesh on 27th March 1971. Bangladesh-India border came to be opened. Frightened citizens ran to India for shelter. The Indian provinces of West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura opened border refugee camps. Exiled Bangladeshi officers and Indian volunteers immediately set about to recruit and train freedom fighters of the Mukti Bahini guerillas.
With the intensification of massacres on East Pakistan, an estimated 10 million refugees fled to India starting of a chain of economic and social instability in the host country. The USA, an old friend and ally, continued to materially help West Pakistan.

Picture of Indira Ghandi - The First Lady Prime Minister in India

Above: Picture of Indira Ghandi - First lady Prime Minister in India

In the middle of 1971 Indira Gandhi began diplomatic maneuvers by touring Europe. She was able to win over both UK and France to block USA in any pro Pakistani moves in the UN. Gandhi’s trump card was the signature of a 22-year treaty of friendship and cooperation with the Soviet Union. A stunned USA saw India given the assurance that China would not be involved in the conflict. So far China had been giving moral support to Pakistan but little in terms of military aid. China did not move her troops further into India.

Mukti Bahini - Freedom Fighters of India

Above: Formation of the freedom fighters Mukti Bahini

Meanwhile activities of the Mukti Bahini began to tell upon the Pakistani Army. But the swell of refugees rushing to India turned into a tide causing immense pressure. India became more involved by supplying weapons and training to the Mukti Bahini and began to take part in the shelling of East Pakistani targets.

Map of Pakistan and its border from India and Iran

Above: map of Pakistan and its border from India and Iran (click map to enlarge)

INDIA’S OFFICIAL ENGAGEMENT WITH PAKISTAN:
By November there was a huge build up of Indian forces on the border. War seemed imminent. India was just waiting for the rains to cease to allow for freer movement. Moreover snow and ice would close the mountain passes thus stalling Chinese intervention. On 23rd November Yahya Khan declared Emergency asking the people to be ready for war.

Submarine operation

Above: Picture of submarine in operation

Sunday 3rd December – in the evening Pakistan attacked eight air fields in northwest India. The inspiration behind this operation was Israeli success in the Arab-Israel Six Day War. The lesson gained was to strike without warning. But in this case the Indians were ready. The raid proved a failure. In a counter attack the Indians proved their superiority. In the east India joined hands with the Mukti Bahini to form the Mitro Bahini (Allied Forces) and an impressive air, sea and land attack was made on East Pakistan.

Massacre under Yahya Khan’s reign

Above: Massacre during the reign of Yahya Khan

Yahya Khan swiftly tried to capture territory in the western zone so as to be in a bargaining position in the east. For Pakistan’s very existence as a united country the operation in the western zone was of vital importance. India however made rapid gains in the west by capturing 5,500 square miles of Pakistani territory. As a gesture of goodwill, by the Simla Agreement of 1972 India returned to Pakistan the regions she had gained in Pak occupied Kashmir and Pakistan-Punjab. India’s involvement in the Bangladesh war of liberation gave the deathblow to Pakistan’s existence in the eastern region.

“The Indian Army merely provided the coup de grace to what the people of Bangladesh had commenced–active resistance to the Pakistani Government and its Armed Forces on their soil.”

Indian Air Force assault in Pakistan

Above: Indian Air Force assault in Pakistan

The Indian Navy proved its superiority in the ocean by successfully carrying out Operation Trident – which was an assault on the Pakistani seaport of Karachi. Two of Pakistan’s Destroyers and one Minesweeper were destroyed in Operation Python. The Indian Navy made its presence felt in the Bay of Bengal also. The Indian Air Force conducted 4,000 sorties in the west but its counterpart in Pakistan could hardly retaliate. This was because hitherto the technical personnel had mainly been Bengalis. Another reason for defeat was that the PAF, riddled with losses because of its eastern operations was in no position to further worsen matters. In the east the small air contingent of PAF no 14 squadron was easily destroyed giving Indian Air Force undisputed mastery of the air space. Within only a fortnight Pakistan was brought to its knees. The Pakistani forces surrendered on 16th December. On 17th December India announced a unilateral cease-fire to which Pakistan agreed.

Picture of President Richard Nixon

Above: Picture of US former President Richard Nixon

INVOLVEMENT OF AMERICA AND SOVIET UNION:
Pakistan was supported politically and materially by USA. Nixon, backed by Kissinger was afraid of Soviet plans towards the south and southeast. Pakistan was close to China, with whom USA was looking for a rapprochement. A visit was scheduled for February 1972. Nixon reasoned that Indian victory over West Pakistan would lead to total influence of Soviet Union. It would seriously harm the global image of America as well as its new ally – China. In order to prove its credentials to China, Nixon directly violated the US congress imposed bans on Pakistan and sent military support via Jordan and Iran. Parallel to this action China was encouraged to supply arms to Pakistan. The Nixon administration turned a blind eye to reports about genocide in East Pakistan and even ignored the ‘blood telegram.’

US 7th fleet Aircraft Carrier heading to the Bay of Bengal

Above: US 7th fleet Aircraft Carrier heading to the Bay of Bengal

When no doubt remained about Pakistan’s defeat Nixon sent a naval ship, USS Enterprise to the Bay of Bengal on 11th December 1971. It was interpreted by India to be a nuclear threat. On 6th and 13th December, the Soviet Union dispatched from Vladivostok, two groups of ships containing nuclear arms as well as a submarine. From 18th December to 7th January 1972 the Soviet ships trailed the US task force.

Troops and refugees movement map

Above: Map of Bangladesh with troop and refugee route movements (click map to enlarge

Bangladesh had won the sympathies of the Soviet Union. The Communist country gave support to the Indian Army as well as to the Mukti Bahini. Soviet Union had reasoned that the independence of Bangladesh would weaken both USA and China. Therefore India was assured of Soviet Union’s support in the Indo-Soviet friendship treaty of August 1971.

Soldiers and Civilian brutally murdered during the war

Above: Soldier and Civilian brutally murdered during the war

RESULTS:
The immediate result was the surrender of Pakistan to the Mitro Bahini – joint forces of Bangladesh and India. Secondly Bangladesh was born as an independent nation – being the third largest Muslim country in the world. Pakistan’s military became demoralized and Yahya Khan had to resign. Bhutto replaced him. Released from West Pakistani prison, Mijibur Rahman returned to Dhaka on 10th January 1972. Approximately one to three millon people were killed during the war. Some however put the toll lower at 300,000.
Faced with imminent and sure defeat, on 14th December the Pakistani army together with local cohorts killed Bengali doctors, teachers and other intellectuals as part of their programme against Hindu minorities. The latter made up the majority of urban educated elite. Young men, seen as potential rebels, especially students were also targeted.

Picture of Indian Soldiers in prison

Above: Picture of Indian Soldiers in prison

A Pakistani stamp was issued showing 90,000 prisoners of war in Indian camps to of globalize the issue. Pakistan had to pay a heavy price in terms of man and money power. Tariq Ali in ‘Can Pakistan Survive/’ says that the country lost half its navy, quarter of its air force and a third of its army. India took about 93,000 prisoners of war including Pakistani soldiers and East Pakistani quislings. Some were family members of the military or Bihari razarkars. Of these 79,676 were uniformed – the break up being as follows:

1. Army – 55,692
2. Paramilitary – 16,354
3. Police – 5,296
4. Navy – 1,000
5. Air Force – 800

Below: Stamp imprinted with an image of prisoners

Stamp imprinted with prisoners image

Since the last World War this was the largest surrender. Initially India wanted to try them for war crimes and brutality in East Pakistan but ultimately they were released as a goodwill gesture. As part of the hand-shaking mood and desire for lasting peace, in the Simla Agreement about 13000 square kilometers of territory was returned to Pakistan.

IMPORTANT DATES:
• March 7, 1971: Declaration by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman that, “The current struggle is a struggle for independence”, in a public meeting attended by almost a million people in Dhaka.
• March 25, 1971: Start of Operation Searchlight to eliminate any resistance. In Dhaka thousands are killed in student dormitories and police barracks
• March 26, 1971: Major Ziaur Rahman declares independence over the radio from Chittagong. Indian radio stations relay the message globally.
• April 17, 1971: Provisional government formed by exiled Awami League leaders
• December 3, 1971: West Pakistan launches a series of preemptive air strikes on Indian airfields. Officially the war between the two countries begins.
• December 14, 1971: Pakistan army starts systematic extinction of intellectuals and quislings.
• December 16, 1971: Lieutenant-General A. A. K. Niazi, supreme commander of Pakistani Army in East Pakistan, surrenders to the Allied Forces (Mitro Bahini) represented by Lieutenant General Aurora of Indian Army. Bangladesh gains independence.

World War II- Overview

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{mosimage}World War II was the largest war ever in the history of mankind. There was a mobilization of 100 million troops and 72 million people were killed in this war. This war involved 61 countries from all over the world.

World War II is the most remembered for its genocide carried out by the Nazis again the Jews and usage of nuclear bomb by America, which is the only time a nuke bomb, was used, thankfully. This war lasted for 12 years from 1937 to 1945.

This war was fought because of the ambitions of the countries like Japan, Germany and Italy. The war began in 1937 with Japan’s invasion of china and in Europe with German invasion of Poland.

The war was not just between the countries. There were ideologies involved in the reasoning of this war. Countries that were and wanted their ambitions, though inhuman fulfilled tried to suppress those who wanted justice and were ready to fight for it. There were several resistance movements actively working in several countries of the World, trying to fight against the dominating powers in the world.

However, it is surprising that though there were attempts of stopping these resistance movements, the movements still found out ways to remain active and involved large number of people. There were several reasons, this was did not just see the large amounts of destruction of life and assets; it also saw a large scale of moral damage.

There were news from world over about abuse of people from the countries which were occupied by the German, Italian and Japanese forces. There were vast amount of killings of people, genocide, which resulted into an international protest against these countries.

World War II saw creation of concentrations camps, exterminations camps and labor camps to eliminate or to deport people from the countries which has a bias against them. This war also saw large number of people from the Imperial Army engage in crimes against women, all among the East there were women from countries like China, Korea, etc. forced to carry out sexual slavery, often referred to as comfort women.

Retreating Japanese armies also carried out mass massacres of the Filipinos in Philippine, which was known to be one of the gravest war crimes in the World War II, this war crime saw deaths of people and especially children in the numbers of one million.

This destruction and mass killings prompted America to involve itself in the War and this resulted into Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bomb attacks. These explosions are yet having effects in the areas where the bombs were dropped.

The war was so intensely fought, that it was not just the armed forces that were involved in the war. The war saw losing of identity between military and civilians, there was a complete participation of all factions of the society namely, industrial, financial, economic and scientific in this war. This was also saw emergence of two superpowers in the world namely, America and Soviet Union; this war also saw Europe losing its powers to these countries.

Several Programs Carried Out by the Nazis

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{mosimage}Nazis had several programs outlines after they came into power in the year 1933. Anyone and everyone who contradicted the Nazi cause were either eliminated or deported to other countries.

Nazis began a dictatorship under Hitler; he soon started eliminating people who did not support his rule, like the socialists, anarchists and the communists who were spread throughout Germany.

 

He started the process of elimination by sending them to the Dachau concentration camp; this way he removed any people from whom he would face opposition. He also under the name of safety and carefulness brought a control over the freedom of his people.

However, all these changes excluded the German Army, it could not be brought under his control, but people with Hitler expected that they got higher ranks and good payments from their employment with the Nazi camp. This was the reason there was formation of the SS a Nazi Army.

The Nazis also formed a secret service agency or a Nazi police which had the main work of infiltrating the German society as spies and with the help of these anyone who happened to be against Hitler even in the mildest way were taken into custody and put into concentration camps. Here they were tortured and killed.

There was another program called T-4 Euthanasia program, according to this program, in order to maintain purity of the German race, thousands of sick and mentally disabled were killed. The same techniques used for mass killings these people were used for Jews and other races in the concentration camps. People with problems like alcoholism, heredity sickness too, were not spared.

There was another program in Nazi Germany called Lebensborn, through this program SS officers were encouraged to have children with racially pure women so that racially pure breed would be born. Children who passed racial standards of the Germans from the countries like Poland, Austria, etc. were seized and absorbed into the program.

One of the most important profits of this program to the Hitler regime was that he always got labor which he required for war from this program. He also got cheap labor when Hitler undertook building of several architectural projects and this labor force allowed him support.

There was hardly any development during this regime, there was in fact shortage of cash and funds either for use or for business. There were several projects started which consumed the money in Germany, it was not just the roads, the Germans had also been able to build bunkers and under ground facilities everywhere in Europe.

There was also large amount of re-armament; there was considerable increase in size of the Army and the Navy. Germany did not anticipate that the British and France would involve themselves over their invasion on Poland but this move ended up in a full scale World War, with several countries participating in this war all over the world. The Nazi Army did not last long against this full scale war against them by the two countries. There were several places where the Nazis won and several where they lost. However, managing such a large war happened to be out of Nazi’s capacity.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

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Map of Pearl Harbor

Above: Map of Pearl Harbor (click map to enlarge)

United States which remained neutral in the World War II till the year 1941 was made to participate by the Japanese by attacking the Pearl Harbor on the Pacific coast. This resulted in participation of the USA in the World War II on the side of the Allied forces.

Pearl Harbor Under Attacked

Above: Pearl Harbor during sudden attacks by Japanese

Destruction of the Pearl Harbor did not mean destruction of the military, industrial and financial might of America. This was still intact. The Allied forces gained advantage by this. They were able to advance towards Japan steadily in order to stop its advancement all over the East and also Australia.

The Battle of Midway

Above: War scene during the battle of Midway

The Japanese and the Allies came face to face in two battles, Battle of Midway and Battle of Coral Sea, in both these battles Japan lost though it was more in number. Battle of Midway proved to be a decisive one. There were more battles, Battle of Guadalcanal and Battle of New Guinea; both these battles were won by the Allies.

War in Iwo Jima

Above: Army using artillery attack during the war of Iwo Jima

After these battles were won, the Japanese went on the back foot all throughout the war. In the 1945, US Marines had been able to gain control of the Ogasawa Islands, through the Battle of Iwo Jima, this resulted in beginning of the fall of the Japanese Empire.

Kamikaze Attacks

Above: Explosions caused by Kamikaze Attacks

Japan had not given up fighting yet. Japan was now volunteering the Kamikaze attacks, or suicide attacks, there were several of these on the attacks throughout the war. The Japanese were left with no choice after their supplies were strangled by the Allied forces.

Scientist Experimentation

Above: Scientist conducting experimentation

Japan was also heavily involved in war crimes. Unit 731 was especially known for the war crimes. Here humans especially Chinese, Filipinos, Koreans, Mongols, Soviets, etc. were used as subjects of experimentation. Japanese researched biological warfare in this unit. Plus there were several doctors, scientists involved in research in this unit. Though USA forgave the war criminals for information provided by them, Russia brought these to trials and hanged some of them for war crimes.

Corpses of Children and Civilian

Above: Corpses of Children and Civilian during the war

Japanese also carried out shameful acts of mass killing millions of innocents and civilians in different massacres. This was the Nanking massacre where Japanese captured the Chinese city of Nanjing and killed almost three million people in a carnage that went on for six weeks, among those who were killed were women and children.

Another massacre was the Sook Ching massacre, here Japense found out that the Chinese men were either loyal to the British or to the Chinese King, therefore, they decided to eliminate all those who were not loyal to them, they started searching for people not loyal to Japanese between the ages of 18 to 50 and killed them, by throwing them over the boat or killing them with a machine gun.

Victims of Nuclear Bombing

Above: Pile of burned and unburied bodies;disaster brought by nuclear bombing

Japan went on carrying out these atrocities throughout the war, however towards its defeat, America aggressively decided to take revenge on the Pearl Harbor bombings. America very consciously, with the help of allied forces, started carpet bombing cities of Japan. The main motive was to destroy the industrial might of Japan so that they would be left incapacitated. Then in the summer of 1945 America dropped nuclear bomb on Hiroshima and after 3 days Nagasaki, this led to subduing the Japanese totally, they called this bomb cruel bomb. Thousands died on spots and people kept dying because of the radiation of the nuclear bombs for weeks and years to come. America did this as a part of experimentation; this also brought the war to a halt.

Suicide Bombings in Ramadi

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{mosimage}There have been reports of yet another suicide attack in Ramadi, the town happened to be one of the peaceful towns in Iraq. There are also reports that the attacks were basically targeted to the checkpoint at Ramadi.

The suicide attack was through a truck, due to this attack the number of people killed is 35 and there are 50 people injured. The truck was driven to the checkpoint and the bomb was detonated later, this resulted in heavy destruction. Most of the dead were women and children.

This is not an isolated case of chlorine bombing, there have been several cases of such bombings in this area in this year. Therefore, such bombing does not come as a surprise to the military.

It is being said that the truck was loaded with several sacks of fertilizer above lot of chlorine and TNT. It is also said that the detonator released chlorine gas and therefore some of the affected have been treated with chlorine poisoning. This was not much serious as the affected were discharged within an hour of being admitted. This bombing took place in a highly crowded place therefore, the number of casualties has been higher than expected.

There were also other reports of violence from Iraq, this was from the city of Diwaniya, there were clashes between the US armed forces and the Iraqi forces. There is involvement of Shia Mehdi Army militia in these clashes. This has resulted in ban imposed over vehicles in this area. There is said to be a lot of presence of the Shia Mehdi Army in this area. This militia is loyal to Moqtada Sadr a radical cleric. The presence of this militia prompted that there be a large scale offensive launched against this militia by US in the area. There were reports of heavy fighting in this offensive from the side of the militia.

This place which happens to be about 180 kms south of Baghdad has recently been a witness to thousands of sectarian killings. There were also live bombs found on the road traveled by American and British soldiers in the area. Such bombs were the cause of killing of eight soldiers some days back.

Meanwhile there are still protests going on for the missing reporter Alan Johnston, for whose recovery there has not been much convincing action taken by the Palestine government. There have been reports that the reporter only the active one remaining in this region was abducted by the unknown forces some weeks back.

Iraq has been responding in some areas positively towards peace process carried out by the coalition army. The Coalition forces have also been successful in building up an Iraqi militia so that the law and order situation can be controlled by the Iraqi people granting them control over their regions. This is more important since American citizens are reported to be getting weary of the Iraq war since it has been on for some time now and want it to be over fast.

More Bombs in Baghdad!

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{mosimage}There was hope of the capital city of Iraq, Baghdad, there were several reports regarding improvement of situation in the city. The police were also thinking of removing roadblocks from certain parts of Baghdad to allow smooth movement from one place to another for people.

However, this has changed suddenly when there has been another incident of car bomb explosion in the city. There are reports that there was one car bomb that exploded in the Shia dominated part of the market killing at least 112 people. The car bomb detonated in a crowd of construction workers standing there after their work was finished. Another 115 were injured. Though there is no formal release of information, a police official confirmed the number of victims under anonymity.

 

In another incident, another suicide car bomber, crashed his car at an Iraqi checkpoint, this was at the entrance of the Sadr City, this area too is Shia dominated, in fact it happens to be the chief place of the anti-US cleric called Muqtada Al- Sadr. This explosion claimed the lives of 30 people and injured 45. People reported seeing black smoke come out from the cars that were caught in the midst of the blasts.

Another bomb exploded in Karradah, the bomb was placed in a car parked outside a private hospital. The number of people dead was 11 and the number of people injured was 13. It also damaged the private hospital and the surrounding buildings.

Other than the above three explosions there was another explosion which killed four people and injured six. A bomb left on a minibus exploded and caused this destruction. There were other incidents of four policemen being killed by people who ambushed them and also injured 6 pedestrian in this incident.

During recent past therehave been incidents of bombings after a lull, there were bombings inside Iraqi parliament and a collapse of a famous bridge across the river Tigris.

In Anbar province of Iraq the US troops killed 5 people, and took 30 people in their custody. This attack was launched after the police had discovered about 17 bodies buried in a schoolyard. The troops also raided several buildings in this area and found explosives in the buildings. The forces suspected, that these buildings were used for militant purposes. The area of Ramadi were dominated by Sunni insurgents and the Al- Qaida off late.

There have been demands from the Iraqis all over the country for withdrawal of troops. Another demand is that there should be a timetable regarding the pullout of the troops. However, this sentiment of the Iraqis can be carried out only then the Iraqi militia and the armed forces are able to take control of the country. With the Iraqis unable to take control of the situation in Iraq, the pullout would be difficult and almost impossible.

Therefore, if the Iraqis want foreign troops to be pulled out of Iraq, there should be peace and order restored in the region.

Suicide Bombing Continues in Iraq

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Suicide bombings and bombings against the coalition troops continued in Iraq, there were news of bombings in different places in the country. A female suicide bomber entered a crowd of 200 police recruits and detonated a bomb. The bomb killed 14 persons and injured several others. This happened in the Muqtadiyah city which is some 60 miles to the northeast of Baghdad.

There were also attacks on the coalition soldiers. There were reports of three soldiers killed when a roadside bomb detonated in the city of Baghdad. Another US soldier was killed in a combat in Anbar province of Iraq.

There were reports of gunfire throughout the city of Baghdad for the complete day, there was also some fierce fighting by US troops with two sunni-dominated groups in the city. Empty firing throughout the city, was on during the day, however the target was unclear.

There were also reports that a US helicopter came in the scope of ground fire and had been landed down, however there are no confirmed reports about this incident, since this incident is still under investigation by the military officials.

There were also massive rallies held in two Shia cities called by Moqtada Al-Sadr, there were tens of thousands of people participating in these rallies. The rallies were held for coalition troops to leave the country and go. Though personally Sadr did no attend the rallies, the rallies were held specifically as a show of power against the archenemy U.S, and the coalition troops. This was also a kind of show of power for the police forces and Iraqi army. The day of the rallies was to mark the fourth anniversary of fall of Baghdad.

Though these were similar to the sentiments spoke in Japan by the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri-Al-Maliki, who said there was no time-table required for the troops to leave Iraq, it was necessary to see how confident they were to take control of the situation in Iraq, and that the coalition forces would go as it was their democratic right.

All in all it was a day of violence throughout Iraq, meanwhile, U.S. has conquered insurgents up to the number of 150, this happened after a two week operation against insurgency, with the insurgents, rocket propelled grenades, hand launchers; automatic machines guns, sniper rifles, anti tank mines, etc were also seized from the insurgents.

In a surprising twist, almost all Iraqis are regretting Saddam’s fall, since their lives have been difficult ever since Hussien was captured. People have lost all faith in American troops, for people of Iraq it has become difficult to make both ends meet. Saddam’s fall has brought only violence and destabilization in the country and has been a reason for the killings of tens of thousands of Iraqis. For all Iraqis things have gone to the worst with no means to earn money and live a decent life.

All Iraqis have a feeling that in order to remove one tyrant, they have made way for several tyrants into Iraq, thus creating a vicious circle where peace is nowhere near them.

Suicide Bombings in Ramadi

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There have been reports of yet another suicide attack in Ramadi, the town happened to be one of the peaceful towns in Iraq. There are also reports that the attacks were basically targeted to the checkpoint at Ramadi.

The suicide attack was through a truck, due to this attack the number of people killed is 35 and there are 50 people injured. The truck was driven to the checkpoint and the bomb was detonated later, this resulted in heavy destruction. Most of the dead were women and children.

This is not an isolated case of chlorine bombing, there have been several cases of such bombings in this area in this year. Therefore, such bombing does not come as a surprise to the military.

It is being said that the truck was loaded with several sacks of fertilizer above lot of chlorine and TNT. It is also said that the detonator released chlorine gas and therefore some of the affected have been treated with chlorine poisoning. This was not much serious as the affected were discharged within an hour of being admitted. This bombing took place in a highly crowded place therefore, the number of casualties has been higher than expected.

There were also other reports of violence from Iraq, this was from the city of Diwaniya, there were clashes between the US armed forces and the Iraqi forces. There is involvement of Shia Mehdi Army militia in these clashes. This has resulted in ban imposed over vehicles in this area. There is said to be a lot of presence of the Shia Mehdi Army in this area. This militia is loyal to Moqtada Sadr a radical cleric. The presence of this militia prompted that there be a large scale offensive launched against this militia by US in the area. There were reports of heavy fighting in this offensive from the side of the militia.

This place which happens to be about 180 kms south of Baghdad has recently been a witness to thousands of sectarian killings. There were also live bombs found on the road traveled by American and British soldiers in the area. Such bombs were the cause of killing of eight soldiers some days back.

Meanwhile there are still protests going on for the missing reporter Alan Johnston, for whose recovery there has not been much convincing action taken by the Palestine government. There have been reports that the reporter only the active one remaining in this region was abducted by the unknown forces some weeks back.

Iraq has been responding in some areas positively towards peace process carried out by the coalition army. The Coalition forces have also been successful in building up an Iraqi militia so that the law and order situation can be controlled by the Iraqi people granting them control over their regions. This is more important since American citizens are reported to be getting weary of the Iraq war since it has been on for some time now and want it to be over fast.