The attack you refered to occured on June 21, 2005. It has received
very little American media attention. The insurgency has been
targeting power plants and infrastructure as well as Iraqi police. No
"mass die-off" has been reported. That would be far too big a story to
ignore. Electricity and water has been limited in sections of Baghdad
for years, pre-dating the U.S. invasion. But circumstances have not
improved.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Baghdad-water-lines-cut-by-insurgents/2005/06/21/1119250950985.html?oneclick=true
Baghdad water lines cut by insurgents
June 21, 2005 - 5:24AM
Two million Baghdadis are without fresh water after officials said
insurgents sabotaged one of the main water plants that feed the Iraqi
capital.
As temperatures rose above 40 degrees celsius, angry and frustrated
residents scoured their neighbourhoods, looking for broken
sub-pipelines where water bubbled out and carrying home cans and pots
for drinking and cooking.
More than two years after the fall of Saddam Hussein and five months
after an election that many hoped would swiftly bring order and good
government, there was a sense of deep disappointment.
"They say this is a democratic government; what a democracy! We have
no water, no electricity and no security," said Sherene Abdul Bassit
as she filled a plastic canister from a muddy pond on a street in the
Karada district.
"Why have we risked our lives and voted? Maybe we would have been
better off without the government," she said, to cheers of agreement
among her neighbours.
The government issued a statement saying insurgents had sabotaged a
water pipeline that feeds the western half of the city of four
million.
Mayor Alaa al-Tamimi told Reuters water was cut off from at least two
million people but added that work was under way to repair the damage:
"By tomorrow the water will resume by 50 per cent and we expect
repairs to be complete and be pumping in two days."
Some local people, used to years of privation under international
sanctions and war, are sceptical of the new government's will and
ability to provide for them.
"They say it is the insurgents. Well, they blame everything on the
insurgents. It is not the insurgents it is them that are not doing
their job," said another angry woman dressed in traditional black
abayah robe.
"We are going to use this water for washing, cleaning and drinking,
even though it is dirty and full of disease, we have to use it," said
Hussein Ali Abdul Amir. "What other choices has the government left us
but this?"
Guerrillas, drawn mainly from Saddam's once dominant Sunni minority
and intent on undermining first the US occupation forces and now the
new, Shi'ite-led government, have targeted basic supply lines for
electricity, water and fuel.
Electricity is available for only a few hours a day in most homes
which lack their own generators, a major discomfort in summer
temperatures that can top 50 degrees celsius.
Severe water shortages earlier this year prompted residents to start
digging new wells in gardens and back yards.
"We are tired. Every day we say things will go for the better and
things in Iraq will improve and then we wake up to see that it is
getting worse," said Nasser Shokur Mahmoud, a man in his 40s, as he
packed water canisters into his car.
"How long must we go on living like this? Dear God, how long?"
http://www.blackanthem.com/TheAllies/2005062702.html
Coalition Forces detain suspects in water plant attack
Blackanthem.com,
BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 27, 2005
Task Force Baghdad Soldiers detained two men who may have been
involved in sabotaging the water access chamber to the Karkh Water
Treatment plant in Baghdad. The Soldiers went to the Nassir Factory in
north west Baghdad shortly after midnight June 23 and questioned three
guards who were guarding the water access chamber the night it was
sabotaged by terrorists.One of the guards, who wasn?t working the day
of the attack was released. The other two guards? stories were very
different from one another and they were both taken into custody for
further questioning.
The water access chamber was damaged at 4:40 a.m. June 19. Since then,
the Baghdad Water Supply Authority has been working around the clock
to repair the damage and restore water service to the city.Iraqi Army
Soldiers are guarding the site as the workers replace the damaged
pipes. By Task Force Baghdad PAO |
