Sun, May. 13, 2007 | IRAQ | Disappeared without a trace: more than 10,000 Iraqis | By Shashank Bengali | McClatchy Newspapers
...
Over the past four years, as sectarian kidnappings and killings have gripped Iraq and U.S. forces have arrested untold numbers in an effort to pacify the country, tens of thousands of Iraqis have vanished, often in circumstances as baffling as that of Kereem's husband, a Shiite Muslim father of three.
There's no accurate count of the missing since the war began. Iraqi human rights groups put the figure at 15,000 or more, while government officials say 40 to 60 people disappeared each day throughout the country for much of last year, a rate equal to at least 14,600 in one year.
What happened to them is a frustrating mystery that compounds Iraq's overwhelming sense of chaos and anarchy. Are they dead? Were they kidnapped or killed in some mass bombing? Is the Iraqi government or some militia group holding them? Were they taken prisoner by the United States, which is holding 19,000 Iraqis at its two main detention centers, at Camp Cropper and Camp Bucca? ...
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
Marine says urinated on dead Iraqi at Haditha
Marine says urinated on dead Iraqi at Haditha | By Marty Graham
05/10/07 "Reuters" -- - CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., May 9 (Reuters) - Angered that a beloved member of his squad had been killed in an explosion, a U.S. Marine urinated on one of the 24 dead Iraqi civilians killed by his unit in Haditha, the Marine testified on Wednesday.
Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, who has immunity from prosecution after murder charges against him were dismissed, also said he watched his squad leader shoot down five Iraqi civilians who were trying to surrender.
In dramatic testimony in a pretrial hearing for one of the seven Marines charged in the Nov. 2005 Haditha killings and alleged cover-up, Dela Cruz described his bitterness after a roadside bomb ripped Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, known as T.J., into two bloody pieces.
"I know it was a bad thing what I've done, but I done it because I was angry T.J. was dead and I pissed on one Iraqi's head," said an unemotional Dela Cruz in a military courtroom in Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego, California.
Dela Cruz also said he watched squad leader Sgt. Frank Wuterich shoot five men whose hands were tied up near a car. Dela Cruz said he also shot the five men as they laid on the ground.
Wuterich "walked to me and told me that if anybody asked, they were running away and the Iraqi Army shot them," Dela Cruz testified.
Three Marines have been charged with murder, and four officers have been charged with dereliction of duty and obstructing the investigation. ...
05/10/07 "Reuters" -- - CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., May 9 (Reuters) - Angered that a beloved member of his squad had been killed in an explosion, a U.S. Marine urinated on one of the 24 dead Iraqi civilians killed by his unit in Haditha, the Marine testified on Wednesday.
Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, who has immunity from prosecution after murder charges against him were dismissed, also said he watched his squad leader shoot down five Iraqi civilians who were trying to surrender.
In dramatic testimony in a pretrial hearing for one of the seven Marines charged in the Nov. 2005 Haditha killings and alleged cover-up, Dela Cruz described his bitterness after a roadside bomb ripped Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, known as T.J., into two bloody pieces.
"I know it was a bad thing what I've done, but I done it because I was angry T.J. was dead and I pissed on one Iraqi's head," said an unemotional Dela Cruz in a military courtroom in Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego, California.
Dela Cruz also said he watched squad leader Sgt. Frank Wuterich shoot five men whose hands were tied up near a car. Dela Cruz said he also shot the five men as they laid on the ground.
Wuterich "walked to me and told me that if anybody asked, they were running away and the Iraqi Army shot them," Dela Cruz testified.
Three Marines have been charged with murder, and four officers have been charged with dereliction of duty and obstructing the investigation. ...
Sunday, May 13, 2007
234 bodies - men murdered by death squads - dumped around the capital ... up from 137 in April
'More troops' call as Iraq murders soar | 234 bodies dumped in Baghdad in only 11 days | Peter Beaumont, foreign affairs editor | Sunday May 13, 2007 | The Observer
The US military surge in Iraq, designed to turn around the course of the war, appears to be failing as senior US officers admit they need yet more troops and new figures show a sharp increase in the victims of death squads in Baghdad.
In the first 11 days of this month, there have already been 234 bodies - men murdered by death squads - dumped around the capital, a dramatic rise from the 137 found in the same period of April. Improving security in Baghdad and reducing death-squad activity was described as one of the key aims of the US surge of 25,000 additional troops, the final units of whom are due to arrive next month. ...
The US military surge in Iraq, designed to turn around the course of the war, appears to be failing as senior US officers admit they need yet more troops and new figures show a sharp increase in the victims of death squads in Baghdad.
In the first 11 days of this month, there have already been 234 bodies - men murdered by death squads - dumped around the capital, a dramatic rise from the 137 found in the same period of April. Improving security in Baghdad and reducing death-squad activity was described as one of the key aims of the US surge of 25,000 additional troops, the final units of whom are due to arrive next month. ...
Thursday, May 10, 2007
arines Killed 19 Civilians in March ... Afghan Families Get a U.S. Apology ... and $2,000
69 Afghans' Families Get a U.S. Apology | Marines Killed 19 Civilians in March | By Josh White | Washington Post Staff Writer | Wednesday, May 9, 2007; Page A12
A U.S. Army brigade commander in Afghanistan yesterday told the families of 69 civilians who were killed or wounded by members of an elite Marine Special Forces unit in March that he is "deeply, deeply ashamed" about the incident, describing the series of shootings along a civilian thoroughfare as a "terrible, terrible mistake."
Col. John Nicholson said he apologized to a group of Afghan people in the eastern Nangahar province on behalf of the U.S. government and delivered solatia payments of approximately $2,000 to the families of 19 innocent civilians who died as a result of the March 4 attacks. Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon via a video feed from Afghanistan yesterday, Nicholson said the payments were "essentially a symbol of our sympathy to them" and "a way of expressing our genuine condolences over the incident occurring." ...
A U.S. Army brigade commander in Afghanistan yesterday told the families of 69 civilians who were killed or wounded by members of an elite Marine Special Forces unit in March that he is "deeply, deeply ashamed" about the incident, describing the series of shootings along a civilian thoroughfare as a "terrible, terrible mistake."
Col. John Nicholson said he apologized to a group of Afghan people in the eastern Nangahar province on behalf of the U.S. government and delivered solatia payments of approximately $2,000 to the families of 19 innocent civilians who died as a result of the March 4 attacks. Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon via a video feed from Afghanistan yesterday, Nicholson said the payments were "essentially a symbol of our sympathy to them" and "a way of expressing our genuine condolences over the incident occurring." ...
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Probes find 50 Afghan civilians killed in US-led action
Thursday May 3, 12:25 AM | Probes find 50 Afghan civilians killed in US-led action
Investigations into a US-led offensive in western Afghanistan at the weekend found around 50 civilians were killed, officials said Wednesday, as President Hamid Karzai summoned the top US general over the casualties.
The US-led coalition has said it is not aware of any civilian deaths following the offensive, which involved intense bombing and ground fighting in the western province of Herat on Friday and Sunday.
The coalition, which invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 and helped to topple the Taliban government, said 136 Taliban fighters were killed.
But hundreds of demonstrators torched government offices in Herat's Shindand district Monday, insisting civilians were among the dead.
A United Nations investigation had so far found that 49 civilians lost their lives in the operation in the Zerkoh Valley, about 120 kilometres (75 miles) south of Herat city, spokesman Adrian Edwards said.
Police inquiries showed 51 civilians were dead, the police spokesman for western Afghanistan, Akramudin Yawar, told AFP. This included "18 women and a number children," he said. ...
Investigations into a US-led offensive in western Afghanistan at the weekend found around 50 civilians were killed, officials said Wednesday, as President Hamid Karzai summoned the top US general over the casualties.
The US-led coalition has said it is not aware of any civilian deaths following the offensive, which involved intense bombing and ground fighting in the western province of Herat on Friday and Sunday.
The coalition, which invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 and helped to topple the Taliban government, said 136 Taliban fighters were killed.
But hundreds of demonstrators torched government offices in Herat's Shindand district Monday, insisting civilians were among the dead.
A United Nations investigation had so far found that 49 civilians lost their lives in the operation in the Zerkoh Valley, about 120 kilometres (75 miles) south of Herat city, spokesman Adrian Edwards said.
Police inquiries showed 51 civilians were dead, the police spokesman for western Afghanistan, Akramudin Yawar, told AFP. This included "18 women and a number children," he said. ...
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