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Last Updated: Tuesday, 7 June, 2005, 17:22 GMT 18:22 UK
One Day in Iraq: At-a-glance

From dawn to dusk on 7 June, the BBC News website chronicled in detail events throughout Iraq. We talked to Iraqis from all walks of life about their everyday experiences and the impact of the violence that surrounds them.

We will be revisiting the day on Monday 13 June - to follow up on the main news events, ask people living in Iraq to reflect on their day and publish photographic essays taken on the day.


1900-2010 local time (1500-1610 GMT) - Sunset

NEWS 1947: An Iraqi Foreign Ministry employee is killed when armed men attacked his car south of Baghdad, al-Arabiya TV reports.

NEWS 1945: A policeman is shot dead in the Amel district of Baghdad, AFP reports. The body of another policeman is found near the Abu Ghraib jail west of Baghdad.

1903 NEWS: Al-Sharqiya TV news headlines

  • A member of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution In Iraq rejects a Kurdish proposal to include Kirkuk in the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq
  • The Iraqi government announces a $50,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of a senior al-Qaeda leader
  • An Iraqi official says the government has set up studies into whether a self-governing area in should be set up in central Iraq which would include the town of Karbala
  • The famous Iraqi actor Tayib al-Furati dies.

DAILY LIVES: US Colonel Peter DeLuca Today we received some very sad news as well. One of our project sites west of Baghdad was hit with rocket fire and several Iraqi workers were killed and wounded. This is the worst attack on any of our job sites since August 2004.

BLOGGER: Baghdad family blog "I believe in the power of people, and the future will be done by people's hands faraway from corrupted or puppets (governments or parties)... And this equation will be right for all oppressed nations. We should find new peaceful, honest, leaders like Ghandi or Martin Luther King." Faiza says.

1800-1900 local time (1400-1500 GMT)

UPDATE 1804: Streets in the northern town of Hawija - scene of a string of bombings earlier on Tuesday - are deserted as US Apache attack helicopters patrol overhead, an AFP correspondent reports. At least 18 people died and 19 were wounded in the blasts.

Click below for a map showing reported events in Iraq on 7 June 2005

UPDATE 1800: US helicopters are flying overhead as Bradley fighting vehicles patrol the streets of Tal Afar, coming under frequent small-arms fire from militants, AP quotes eyewitnesses there as saying. A large sweep of the city, under way since dawn, aims to capture "terror suspects", says a US Army spokesman.

DAILY LIVES: Mr al-Mufti, dental technician and member of Iraq's water polo team, Baghdad Until five months ago, reaching our swimming pool was impossible for us as it's in a very a delicate security area which is bounded by a US camp and the ministry of the interior.

1700-1800 local time (1300-1400 GMT)

NEWS 1720: A spokesman for the special tribunal set up to try members of the former regime denies a decision has been made to focus on 12 of the crimes of which Saddam Hussein is accused in order to bring him to trial more quickly, as asserted by government spokesman Leith Kubba on Sunday, Reuters reports.

MEDIA: Iraq's youth football team beats Syria 2-1 according to al-Sharqiya TV, reporting from Baghdad. "Iraq's Alaa Abdul Zahra scored the first goal from the penalty spot in the 38th minute. At the beginning of the second half Khaled Saleh scored the equaliser for the Syrian team, but Iraqi substitute Mohammad Kalaf was on target minutes later. The two teams will play again next Thursday," al-Sharqyia reported. The report does not say where the matches are being played.

1600-1700 local time (1200-1300 GMT)

NEWS 1651: Iraq's main Sunni Muslim political and religious grouping, the Committee of Muslim Scholars, angrily criticises the government for what it described as the deliberate targeting of Sunni Iraqis in Operation Lightning, the huge security operation underway in Baghdad and elsewhere, AFP reports.

NEWS 1623: A Sunni politician says that two insurgent groups are ready to start talks with the Iraqi government on disarming and joining the political process, AP reports. Ayham al-Samarie, a former electricity minister, said the Islamic Army in Iraq and the Mujahideen Army represented more than half of the insurgency.

DAILY LIVES: Dr Obiedi, gynaecologist, Baghdad There is a lack of security here in Iraq. There is concern among doctors that we will be kidnapped. There is fear in the hospital and we are living with fear all the time. When I get into my car to go to work, I look around to see if anybody is following me or watching me.

DAILY LIVES: Jasmine, schoolgirl, Baghdad I had exams today and I was worried about them. But I am always worried about what will happen on the way to school. Whether the school will be bombed or if there's an explosion on the way. But we are getting used to it. It is becoming normal to be fearful.

1500-1600 local time (1100-1200 GMT)

NEWS 1523: Iraqi militants threaten to kill a Turkish hostage unless Ankara agrees to end co-operation with the US military within four days. The threat comes in a statement to Dubai TV and is accompanied by footage of the hostage, AFP reports.

NEWS 1507: Hundreds of Iraqi and US soldiers, backed by helicopters, start an operation to hunt insurgents in the remote city of Tal Afar, close to the Syrian border, Iraqi al-Sharqiya TV reports.

DAILY LIVES: Susan, aid worker, Mongesh, N Iraq Today is sunny and warm here, but the breeze at the top of the hill where our workshop hall is located is refreshing and we don't need to use air coolers to stay comfortable - just fans.

I'm going to spend time later this afternoon talking with a friend whose little sister needs surgery to correct a serious birth defect. She has a concave ribcage that makes it hard for her to breathe. We're trying to arrange for her to go the US for some medical help, since the surgery she needs isn't available in Iraq.

1400-1500 local time (1000-1100 GMT)

UPDATE 1408: Latest reports suggest 18 people died and 19 were injured in the Hawija car bombings. Iraqi and US troops are also dealing with another car found packed with explosives in a nearby village.

DAILY LIVES: Zeinab, radio announcer, Karbala We only have one computer so everyone has to wait their turn. I do have my own computer at home but I cannot use it a lot of the time because of the electricity cuts out. I have a generator at home but this means I have to queue for petrol in order to power it.

DAILY LIVES: Omar Abdulkader, journalist, Suleymaniya Life here is quite normal. Most of the people are now having their lunch outside, as many of them have jobs so can't go home to lunch. It's easy to move around between bars, cafes and restaurants. And not just for Kurds. If you walk for a while you'll come across blue-eyed foreigners walking alone on the street, and they feel safe.

1300-1400 local time (0900-1000 GMT)

NEWS 1336: Four Iraqi soldiers are killed in an ambush and a roadside bombing north of Baghdad, AFP reports quoting Iraqi police and the army officials. Two bullet-riddled bodies were found on the banks of a nearby river, the report also says.

NEWS 1328: The US Army denies killing seven people during a raid on the town of Rawah on Sunday, the al-Jazeera Arabic TV network reports.

Image of Iraq: click to enlarge

NEWS 1325: Iraqi government spokesman Leith Kubba says 887 people have been detained since 22 May in a huge sweep called Operation Lightning, AFP reports.

NEWS 1317: A US Marine was killed in Falluja when a bomb went off near his vehicle on Monday, the US military says in a statement reported by AP.

NEWS 1304: A correspondent for pan-Arab al-Arabiya TV channel reports that US soldiers have shot dead two Iraqi teachers in the Tamin district of Ramadi. The correspondent says the two Iraqis were caught up in a raid against insurgents.

UPDATE 1303: Twenty-eight people, including three police officers, are injured in a car bomb blast in Baghdad's northern Shula area earlier on Tuesday morning, AFP has reported quoting a hospital source.

DAILY LIVES: Faisel Jameel, medical student, Basra It seems that the days are all similar in Iraq because the same difficulties are always being repeated. I am trying to study for an exam tomorrow, but the electricity has shut down. The temperature is about 41C so it is difficult to concentrate.

MEDIA 1330: Al-Iraqiya TV broadcasts an interview with a 50-year-old beggar woman on a Baghdad street. The beggar tells the reporter: "My husband is dead. I've been looking for work, but couldn't find any. I've got no income or other means of support, such as a pension. I've got two children, aged 15 and 13, who are just sitting around at home." The TV team give the black-clad figure some money before moving on.

1200-1300 local time (0800-0900 GMT)

UPDATE 1247: Nine people, including two policemen, were injured by a car bomb explosion in Baghdad earlier on Tuesday morning, Iraqi police say.

NEWS 1215: A Romanian foreign ministry official says that two Romanian soldiers were injured on Monday when their convoy was attacked by insurgents on the road to Baghdad airport, AP reports.

DAILY LIVES: Tarik al-Ani, student, al-Anbar The situation is now quite normal here, much better than a few months ago around election time. Security is better, the market is better, all things have improved. Our water supplies have improved, before we had to rely very heavily on our generator.

DAILY LIVES: Hajah, teacher, Baghdad I am a secondary school English teacher. The thing that is getting better is the increase in salaries. This has encouraged more teachers to go back to the schools.But there are so many things that are still difficult. Electricity is a problem. As are the dangers to the safety of the pupils.

DAILY LIVES: Anonymous policeman, Baghdad After I have breakfast and head to work, I read a few verses from the Koran. I leave my home in civilian clothes, not in my police uniform, because of the security situation. When there is an attack I think to myself, "will I die or will I return home?"

1100-1200 local time (0700-0800 GMT)

UPDATE: 1134 Reports say a series of car bombs at checkpoints in the northern town of Hawija have killed more than 12 people and injured 20.

NEWS 1128: A suicide bomber attacks a police patrol in Baghdad, Reuters reports quoting Iraqi police. There are reports of casualties.

News 1119: US military officials say a Marine has died from injuries suffered in a roadside bomb attack near Falluja. The soldier, who died on Monday, was wounded during combat operations outside of the city, according to AP.

DAILY LIVES: Basma, nurse, Baghdad: I am a 27 year old nurse and work in the paediatric section of Baghdad's al-Yarmouk hospital in Baghdad. I love to work with kids, I feel they are like little angels. I don't see in them the crimes and violence I see on the streets, or in the hospital where they bring the dead and wounded after each bombing.

MEDIA 1100: Al-Sharqiya TV starts broadcasting a locally-produced drama called Nightwolves. Armed thugs drive around in the streets committing crimes, including the abduction of two elderly men who are driven off into the desert. It's a reflection of the lawlessness that's become a part of ordinary Iraqis' everyday lives. The episode ends on a cliff-hanger. The kidnappers come to a river and tell the old men to swim across it. But the victims say they can't swim... Will they make it to the other side?

1000-1100 local time (0600-0700 GMT)

NEWS 1044: Details emerge of an attempted escape and rioting at Abu Ghraib jail, west of Baghdad. A US military statement reported by AFP says a detainee tried to escape under the cover of a heavy sandstorm on Sunday night. Four guards and six prisoners were injured during clashes that followed.

NEWS: 1038 A Sunni Muslim cleric, Salam Abdul Karim, is found dead in Basra, Reuters reports. It is the latest in a series of assassinations of religious figures that have stoked sectarian tensions.

NEWS: 1032 Four car bombings within seven minutes kill six people, including at least three Iraqi soldiers, in northern Iraq, according to the Associated Press. The first bomb exploded in Hawija, about 40 miles south of Kirkuk, before three others exploded at army checkpoints in Bagara, Dibis and at the entrance to Hawija.

0900-1000 local time (0500-0600 GMT)

NEWS 0958: Senior Iraqi police officer Lt Col Ali Hamza Jomaa is in a critical state after gunmen opened fire on his car on his way to work in the Chaab district in northern Baghdad, AFP reports, quoting an interior ministry source.

NEWS 0900: The Iraqi chief of staff announces the extension of the anti-insurgent Operation Lightning to northern and western Iraq, according to Baghdad's Dijla Radio.

DAILY LIVES: Dr Faisal Haba, surgeon, Baghdad: We are scared to come to work. We really suffer to make the trip from home to the hospital and back. We have now a second wave of immigration or escape. Another one like in the Saddam time. A big number of doctors have left the country to neighbouring countries or the Gulf States.

0800-0900 local time (0400-0500 GMT)

DAILY LIVES: Maysoon al-Damluji, Deputy Culture Minister, Baghdad: Usually car bombs start between 0900 and 1000, so I try to be at work before then. It is very difficulty to do real work because of the security situation. So writing an email, having a letter typed out is a hassle. Things that take half an hour in the West take three or four days in Iraq.

DAILY LIVES: Anonymous, 30, writer, Baghdad: Today I plan to go and cash a few cheques at the bank. On the way, I will stop to get fuel for the car and the generator we use to supply power to our home. This will mean that I will have to spend a considerable amount of time at the gas station in a very long line of cars.

Read more about the writer's day

0700-0800 local time (0300-0400 GMT)

DAILY LIVES: Jocko, UK contractor, Mosul: As dawn breaks, all is quiet and I'm hoping to get some sleep having worked overnight. As our company had no convoys to escort yesterday evening, it was decided to do recces on three routes in the town which are classed as very dangerous. I was driving happily along when what looked like a thousand red embers flew up into the sky about three feet to the right of my vehicle. Fortunately, the only injury was to my rear gunner, who suffered a minor shrapnel wound to his shoulder.

0553-0700 local time (0153-0300 GMT)

DAILY LIVES: May, 25, unemployed Iraqi architect, Baghdad: The whole situation is so bad and the most difficult thing to live with is the lack of security. I feel insecure wherever I go, at any time there is the risk of kidnapping, looting or explosions.

DAILY LIVES: Susan, aid worker, Mongesh, northern Iraq: I'm in the middle of a three-day workshop focusing on the Iraqi constitution and elections. We have had problems with people getting here, though. There is no safe way to travel by road, and we didn't have time to organise flights.

0503 local time (0103 GMT)

BLOGGER: Stephen of the Z Bar blog: Last night was pretty quiet. Nothing really happened, which I hear from my family and friends is a good thing. Last night was one of the few nights when nothing actually did happen. We did not confiscate any weapons or have any issues with any of the local nationals.




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