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Iraq, Baghdad / Taji Another neighborhood in the north of Baghdad named Taji is suffering from weak security since the beginning of 2004. Taji was a very dangerous area and overrun by militias. Further, one of the largest joint US/Iraqi military bases in Iraq is in Taji. Because of this there have been many attacks on the convoys coming in and out, attacks on the trucks and drivers delivering supplies to the Taji base. Lots of raids and firefights were happening in Taji in order to control the security situation. Until late 2007, if you will ask a cab driver to take you to Taji they would refuse because it's too dangerous for them. If they were Shi'a they may reasonably be afraid of being kidnapped by one of the Sunni militias and found dead a few days later. The Iraqi Ministry of I established more than 100 police checkpoints in the area of Taji along with checkpoints from the Iraqi National Guard in order to control militias and unknown groups. Another well known problem in the area of Taji were the gangs. It is very common in Iraq that if you are driving a modern car and you are driving in a dangerous area such as that around Taji, there is a high possibility that you will return home on foot, if you were lucky and not killed. Tribes in Taji such as Al-Tammimi decided to fight Al-Qa'eda and all groups that were related to them. Sheikh Nadeem Hatem Sultan Al-Tammimi, the head of Al-Tammimi tribe in Taji, asked all the sons of the Al-Tammimi tribe to fight Al-Qaeda and to join Al-Sahwa Council in order to restore security in the area. One of the first things this tribe did was to establish checkpoints to search the cars coming in and out of the area around Taji. These new checkpoints were established because there were doubts about the checkpoints belonging to the Iraqi MOI. There were many rumors about the MOI checkpoints not interfering with the work of Al-Qa'eda or stopping cars that were laden with guns or explosives. Shops and some schools were closed due to the lack of security, students were killed as well as headmasters and teachers. Many families living there decided to stop sending their children to school in Taji in order to keep them alive. Families became especially worried after 50 students were killed on a road near Taji that lead to the area around the Taji military base. Even for students coming from colleges like Baghdad University or others used to be stopped at fake checkpoints and asked for their identity to know if they were Sunni or Shi'a. If they were found to be Shi'a they might be taken to an unknown area and killed the next day, something that happened many times frome 2006 to 2007. *** If you appreciate the insightful content provided by Alive in Baghdad, which you won t find anywhere else, please consider becoming a paying subscriber, or making a donation to Alive in Baghdad. You can also purchase Alive in Baghdad T-shirts and DVDs to spread the word!

Baghdad/Adhamiya, Iraq - After Al-Qa'eda controlled several places in Iraq such as Fallujah, Ramadi, and several neighborhoods in the west of Baghdad, there were many atrocities committed by Al-Qa'eda. This caused the people living in those areas to vehemently reject them. Some of the actions done by Al-Qa'eda were to ask the young men not to wear short trousers or colored T-shirts, or any other shirt with English writing. As for women in these regions, they demanded that they wear a headscarf, or a veil, and never go out of their houses without covering their head, and those who didn't obey the strict instructions were facing the threat of being beheaded, killed, or otherwise assassinated by the several militias that were controlled by Al-Qa'eda. The Sahwa Councils were first created in Anbar after some Iraqi tribes agreed to work together with the US forces against the actions of Al-Qa'eda, and in order to wipe out all the elements of Al-Qa'eda in their areas. The first Sahwa council was created under the leadership of Abu Risha. He claimed to organize the first Sahwa council in Anbar against Al-Qa'eda. After Abu Risha's example, other Iraqi tribes were inspired by his work and created Sahwa councils in their areas in order to eliminate Al-Qa'eda cells in their neighborhoods. Some of the areas where Sahwa councils were formed are Mosul, Kirkuk, Diyala, Tikrit, Hawr Rajab, and several neighborhoods in Baghdad, such as Ameriya, Adhamiya, Al-Khadra'a, and Ghazaliya. And what made those councils more dedicated to fighting Al-Qa'eda was the assassination of Abu Risha because they started to consider him a symbol of the fight Al-Qa'eda. The Sahwa Council in Adhamiya After assassinating a huge number of men in Adhamiya due to the things they wear or who they belong, few people agreed on creating a Sahwa council in Adhamiya in late 2007, the Sahwa council was lead by Reyad Al-Samarra'ie at the beginning, whom was assassinated by two suicide bombers in the north of Baghdad which killed 14 Sahwa members along with Reyad Al-Samarra'ie. After the murder of Al-Samarra'ie Abu Al-Abed was took the place of A-Samarra'ie as the leader of the Sahwa Council in Adhamiya, some families claimthat the situation calmed down in Adhamiya after the creation of the Sahwa council.