Conclusion of Combined Operation:
Iraqi Security Forces and Coalition Forces (CF) recently concluded a ten-day combined operation with 5th Iraqi Army (IA) Division units supported by Iraqi Police from the Balad Ruz area and with CF enablers, including Air Force and Army aviation assets, artillery, and security reconnaissance forces. The major combat operations targeted a group of terrorists, known as The Council, in the Turki Village, Tuwilla, and 30 Tamuz area south of Balad Ruz. Friendly forces reported killing over 100 terrorists, capturing an additional 50, and finding over 25 caches of supplies.
US Death Toll Hits 25 in One Day:
At least 25 US military personnel were killed in Iraq January 20 in one of the worst days for American forces since the 2003 invasion. According to open-source reporting, 12 soldiers were killed in a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter crash northeast of Baghdad, apparently shot down by a shoulder-fired missile.
ISF and CF Target JAM and Sunni Rejectionists/Extremists:
In the past 45 days, combined Coalition operations included 52 operations primarily focused on Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM) and 42 focused on Sunni Rejectionists/ Extremists.
These recent Iraqi Security Forces (ISF)/CF focused operations against JAM have detained 16 high-level JAM militiamen and killed one JAM commander. Five of the detained individuals are JAM commanders in Sadr City. These recent detentions are in addition to six other JAM leaders who have been detained by ISF/CF since the beginning of October.
There are currently over 600 illegal JAM militia in detention awaiting prosecution by the Government of Iraq.
ISF/CF operations have captured 33 Sunni Rejectionist/Extremist cell leaders in Baghdad in the last 45 days.
High-Profile Bombings in Baghdad Market:
According to media reports, January 22 was the deadliest day in Iraq so far this year. Twin car bombings in a crowded Baghdad market reportedly killed 88 people, bringing the days total civilian casualties to over 100.
IA Battalion Assumes Independent Operations in West Ramadi:
The 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army (IA) Division officially took charge of independent operations in west Ramadi during a ceremony at Camp Ali January 22. This is the third battalion in the 1st Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division to assume authority over an area of Ramadi in the last five months.
Sadrists End CoR Boycott:
The political movement of Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ended its two-month boycott of the Council of Representatives (CoR) January 21. The CoR has had a quorum since the Sadrists return.
Top Sadr Aide Arrested:
Abdul Hadi al-Daraji, Muqtada al-Sadr's media director in Baghdad, was arrested January 19, in connection with extrajudicial killings, amid growing signs of stepped up efforts to quell Sadr and his supporters. Daraji was arrested at his house in the neighborhood of Baladiyat, near the Mahdi Army stronghold of Sadr City shortly after midnight, said Sadr spokesman Abdul Razak al-Nadawi.
According to a spokesman for Prime Minister Maliki, Maliki was not forewarned about the arrest. It has not been confirmed whether Daraji has been formally charged.
Sunni Delegation to Meet with Iranian Officials about Sectarian Violence in Iraq:
On January 22, top Muslim scholars condemn[ed] the sectarian war between Sunnis and Shiites unfolding in Iraq, which is conducive to its fragmentation, according to a statement issued at the end of a three-day conference on inter- Islamic dialogue, attended by more than 200 scholars from 44 countries, representing various Islamic sects.
A leading Qatar-based Sunni cleric, Shaykh Yussef Qaradawi, announced at the end of the conference that a Sunni delegation will meet with Iranian officials in an effort to stem sectarian violence in Iraq.
USIP Hosts Seminar on Iraq's Hydrocarbon Law:
On January 19, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) hosted a seminar on Iraq's hydrocarbon law. The two speakers were one of the original drafters of the central government's version, and the legal advisor to the Kurdish Minister of Natural Resources and former adviser on the constitution to the USIP.
The Iraqi participant in drafting the law said the parties were still ironing out final wording on approval of contracts, after which the framework law will be submitted to the Council of Ministers. He said there would be an appropriate return to the investor so that Iraq could develop a long-term relationship with the international oil community.
The Iraqi participant said that once an agreement is reached between the various parties, the oil articles in the constitution should be amended to reflect the political agreement contained in the law.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) legal advisor claimed that the KRG will have a separate petroleum regime and that it is not subject to the Iraq National Oil Company, the Oil Ministry in Baghdad, or other Baghdad-based offices. He disagreed with the central government spokesman that a constitutional agreement was necessary, and doubted it would occur.
Oil production goal is now 2.1 MBPD Weekly Average (January 15-21) of 1.21 Million Barrels Per Day (MBPD) Production and exports was low this week because of the installation of meters on the oil terminal.
Former Saddam Regime Officials To Be Tried:
More than 100 former members of Saddam Husseins regime will stand trial this year in connection with the deaths of tens of thousands of Shiite Muslims during an uprising after the 1991 Gulf War, prosecutor Jaafar al-Moussawi said January 18.
This case will mark the third trial of former regime officials after the Dujail case, in which Saddam was sentenced to death and hanged last month, and the ongoing trial of those accused of killing more than 100,000 Kurds during the so-called Anfal campaign of the 1980s.
According to Moussawi, among those expected to stand trial are Saddam's half brothers Watban, Ibrahim and Sabawi, as well as the former president's secretary, Abed Hmoud, and former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz. Some will be tried in absentia, including Saddam's former deputy Izzat Ibrahim and former senior Baath party official Mohammed Younis al-Ahmed. They have been on the run since the fall of Saddam's regime in April 2003.
Iraq Receives Copy of New Turkish Ambassador's Credentials:
Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs Hoshyar Zebari received the credentials of the newly-appointed Ambassador of Turkey to Iraq, Derya Kambay.
Japan Offers Training Courses on Consular and Diplomatic Affairs:
The Ambassador of Japan to Iraq, Hisau Yamaguchi, met with Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs Hoshyar Zebari, where several issues were discussed, including the exchange of visits by top officials from both countries, the developments of the political and security situations in Iraq, the future of the Baghdad security plan, and the International Compact with Iraq. Japan also offered to train members of the Iraqi Foreign Ministry staff members in two special courses for consular and diplomacy affairs.
President Talabani Visits Syria:
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, on the first visit to Syria by an Iraqi head of state for 30 years, met President Bashar al-Assad January 14. Syria's leader promised to help ease tensions in neighboring Iraq, while Talabani seeks to improve US-Syrian relations.
Protection for Journalists Urged by Advocacy Group:
On January 18, the Paris-based advocacy group Reporters Without Borders urged Iraqi authorities to escalate efforts to protect journalists after, it said, six journalists and media workers were killed in less than a week. The group issued a statement calling on the Iraqi government to bring the killers to justice, and noted that the recent string of slayings came less than a month after the UN Security Council adopted a resolution on the protection of journalists.
Children Die During Imitation Hangings:
A security source said January 20 that an Egyptian teenager had hung himself in his home in Alexandria in an apparent imitation of last months execution of Saddam Hussein.
Eight other children have died around the world after attempt to reenact Saddams execution, which was broadcast by a string of satellite channels globally.
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[An Nahar] The Nabi Sheet kaboom in a Hizbullah arms depot occurred due to a flame in one of the shells percussion caps which led to the series of kabooms, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Friday.
Hizbullah organized a funeral procession on Thursday for three of its fighters who were killed Wednesday in a blast that hit an ammunition depot in the Bekaa town of Nabi Sheet.
Iraq's presidential council has endorsed the execution within a month of Saddam Hussein's cousin, known as "Chemical Ali," for his role in the 1980s scorched-earth campaign against Kurds, officials said Friday. But it spared the life of two other officials amid Sunni protests that they were only following orders.
LAWYERS for Saddam Hussein and two former aides sentenced to death lodged appeals today, the Iraqi prosecutor said, following a trial slammed by some rights experts as unfair and fundamentally flawed.
Two days after being sentenced to hang for crimes against humanity, the ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was back in court yesterday to face separate charges of genocide against Kurds in the 1980s. Saddam sat with the other six defendants charged in the Operation Anfal crackdown against Iraqi Kurds in the late 1980s.
A verdict against Saddam Hussein and seven co-defendants charged with crimes against humanity in connection with an anti-Shi'ite crackdown in the 1980s will be issued by early next month, with sentences handed out the same day for those found guilty, the chief prosecutor in their trial said Sunday. 
The chief judge in Saddam Hussein's genocide trial was replaced Tuesday amid complaints from Shiite and Kurdish officials that he was too soft on the former Iraqi leader, a move that could raise accusations of government interference in the highly sensitive case.
An investigative judge will file new criminal charges against Saddam Hussein in the next few days charging him in the deaths and deportation of thousands of Kurds in the 1980s, a government prosecutor has said. Chief prosecutor