bakersfield.com | World: "Officials: Blast survivors hit by gunfire | By SINBAD AHMED, Associated Press Writer | Posted: Saturday July 30th, 2005, 1:48 PM | Last Updated: Sunday July 31st, 2005, 7:11 AM
RABIAH, Iraq (AP) - Some survivors of a suicide bombing targeting Iraqi army recruits were shot and wounded immediately afterward when U.S. and Iraqi soldiers opened fire at the scene, police, doctors and witnesses said Saturday.
The bomber wandered into a crowd of Iraqis waiting Friday to enlist in the army and detonated his explosives, said police and witnesses to the attack in this northern town near the Syrian border. Al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility in a statement posted on the Internet.
After the blast, U.S. and Iraqi troops opened fire believing they were under attack, Rabiah's police chief, Col. Yahya al-Shammari, told The Associated Press.
He said some of the army recruits were killed by the gunfire, although it was unclear how many because dead and wounded were taken to several hospitals across a wide area of northern Iraq.
He said the death toll from the suicide attack had risen to 52 dead and 93 injured by late Saturday.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Monday, July 25, 2005
Innocent civilians ... are increasingly being killed by U.S. troops: "The reason they shot us is just because the Americans are reckless,"
Shots to the Heart of Iraq: "Shots to the Heart of Iraq | By Richard C. Paddock, Times Staff Writer | July 25, 2005
# Innocent civilians, including people who are considered vital to building democracy, are increasingly being killed by U.S. troops.
BAGHDAD — Three men in an unmarked sedan pulled up near the headquarters of the national police major crimes unit. The two passengers, wearing traditional Arab dishdasha gowns, stepped from the car.
At the same moment, a U.S. military convoy emerged from an underpass. Apparently believing the men were staging an ambush, the Americans fired, killing one passenger and wounding the other. The sedan's driver was hit in the head by two bullet fragments.
The soldiers drove on without stopping.
This kind of shooting is far from rare in Baghdad, but the driver of the car was no ordinary casualty. He was Iraqi police Brig. Gen. Majeed Farraji, chief of the major crimes unit. His passengers were unarmed hitchhikers whom he was dropping off on his way to work.
"The reason they shot us is just because the Americans are reckless," the general said from his hospital bed hours after the July 6 shooting, his head wrapped in a white bandage. "Nobody punishes them or blames them."
Angered by the growing number of unarmed civilians killed by American troops in recent weeks, the Iraqi government criticized the shootings and called on U.S. troops to exercise greater care.
U.S. officials have repeatedly declined requests to disclose the number of civilians killed in such incidents. Police in Baghdad say they have received reports that U.S. forces killed 33 unarmed civilians and injured 45 in the capital between May 1 and July 12 — an average of nearly one fatality every two days. This does not include incidents that occurred elsewhere in the country or were not reported to the police. ...
# Innocent civilians, including people who are considered vital to building democracy, are increasingly being killed by U.S. troops.
BAGHDAD — Three men in an unmarked sedan pulled up near the headquarters of the national police major crimes unit. The two passengers, wearing traditional Arab dishdasha gowns, stepped from the car.
At the same moment, a U.S. military convoy emerged from an underpass. Apparently believing the men were staging an ambush, the Americans fired, killing one passenger and wounding the other. The sedan's driver was hit in the head by two bullet fragments.
The soldiers drove on without stopping.
This kind of shooting is far from rare in Baghdad, but the driver of the car was no ordinary casualty. He was Iraqi police Brig. Gen. Majeed Farraji, chief of the major crimes unit. His passengers were unarmed hitchhikers whom he was dropping off on his way to work.
"The reason they shot us is just because the Americans are reckless," the general said from his hospital bed hours after the July 6 shooting, his head wrapped in a white bandage. "Nobody punishes them or blames them."
Angered by the growing number of unarmed civilians killed by American troops in recent weeks, the Iraqi government criticized the shootings and called on U.S. troops to exercise greater care.
U.S. officials have repeatedly declined requests to disclose the number of civilians killed in such incidents. Police in Baghdad say they have received reports that U.S. forces killed 33 unarmed civilians and injured 45 in the capital between May 1 and July 12 — an average of nearly one fatality every two days. This does not include incidents that occurred elsewhere in the country or were not reported to the police. ...
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Suicide Bomber Strikes Baghdad Police Station : 22 - 40 dead, dozens wounded. 500lb bomb
Suicide Bomber Strikes Baghdad Police Station - New York Times: "By EDWARD WONG | Published: July 24, 2005
BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 24 - A suicide truck bomb exploded at a police station today in the middle of a raging sandstorm in eastern Baghdad, killing at least 22 people and wounding dozens of others, Iraqi officials said. The attack came on a day when Sunni Arab leaders involved in drafting the new constitution were in negotiations over an end to their boycott of the process.
The American military said it had received reports of at least 40 deaths in the explosion.
The bomb struck in the early afternoon, as a sandstorm swirled around the capital, cloaking buildings and streets with a thick layer of grit. The driver of the truck, loaded with 500 pounds of explosives, rammed into concrete barricades outside the station before the vehicle burst into a ball of fire, incinerating people standing nearby and peppering them with shrapnel, witnesses said. Many of the victims were believed to be police officers.
BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 24 - A suicide truck bomb exploded at a police station today in the middle of a raging sandstorm in eastern Baghdad, killing at least 22 people and wounding dozens of others, Iraqi officials said. The attack came on a day when Sunni Arab leaders involved in drafting the new constitution were in negotiations over an end to their boycott of the process.
The American military said it had received reports of at least 40 deaths in the explosion.
The bomb struck in the early afternoon, as a sandstorm swirled around the capital, cloaking buildings and streets with a thick layer of grit. The driver of the truck, loaded with 500 pounds of explosives, rammed into concrete barricades outside the station before the vehicle burst into a ball of fire, incinerating people standing nearby and peppering them with shrapnel, witnesses said. Many of the victims were believed to be police officers.
Monday, July 18, 2005
Three days of suicide bombs leave 150 dead ... more than 260 wounded
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Three days of suicide bombs leave 150 dead: "Michael Howard in Irbil | Monday July 18, 2005 | The Guardian
Iraq's fledgling government stood accused of leaving its citizens defenceless yesterday after a devastating three days of suicide attacks left at least 150 people dead and more than 260 wounded."
Iraq's fledgling government stood accused of leaving its citizens defenceless yesterday after a devastating three days of suicide attacks left at least 150 people dead and more than 260 wounded."
Saturday, July 16, 2005
At least 58 killed, 86 hurt by bomb south of Baghdad
IC Publications: "16/07/2005 18:41 BAGHDAD (AFP) | At least 58 killed, 86 hurt by bomb south of Baghdad
At least 58 people were killed and 86 wounded in a powerful bomb attack Saturday evening close to a mosque in Al-Musayyib, 90 kilometres (55 miles) south of the capital, an interior ministry official said.
A bomb was believed to have been put on a petrol tanker, which blew up, setting neighbouring houses on fire, the official said.
At least 58 people were killed and 86 wounded in a powerful bomb attack Saturday evening close to a mosque in Al-Musayyib, 90 kilometres (55 miles) south of the capital, an interior ministry official said.
A bomb was believed to have been put on a petrol tanker, which blew up, setting neighbouring houses on fire, the official said.
Friday, July 15, 2005
A suicide attack every day in the new Iraq since the announcement of a new government
FT.com / Home UK - A suicide attack every day in the new Iraq: By Neil MacDonald in Baghdad | Published: July 14 2005 19:48 | Last updated: July 14 2005 19:48
Suicide bomb attacks in Iraq have averaged at least one per day since the announcement of a new government in April, according to data gathered by the US military."
Suicide bomb attacks in Iraq have averaged at least one per day since the announcement of a new government in April, according to data gathered by the US military."
8 Months After U.S.-Led Siege, Insurgents Rise Again in Falluja - New York Times
8 Months After U.S.-Led Siege, Insurgents Rise Again in Falluja - New York Times: "By EDWARD WONG | Published: July 15, 2005
FALLUJA, Iraq, July 12 - Transformed into a police state after last winter's siege, this should be the safest city in all of Iraq.
Thousands of American and Iraqi troops live in crumbling buildings here and patrol streets laced with concertina wire. Any Iraqi entering the city must show a badge and undergo a search at one of six checkpoints. There is a 10 p.m. curfew.
But the insurgency is rising from the rubble nevertheless, eight months after the American military killed as many as 1,500 Iraqis in a costly invasion that fanned anti-American passions across Iraq and the Arab world. ...
FALLUJA, Iraq, July 12 - Transformed into a police state after last winter's siege, this should be the safest city in all of Iraq.
Thousands of American and Iraqi troops live in crumbling buildings here and patrol streets laced with concertina wire. Any Iraqi entering the city must show a badge and undergo a search at one of six checkpoints. There is a 10 p.m. curfew.
But the insurgency is rising from the rubble nevertheless, eight months after the American military killed as many as 1,500 Iraqis in a costly invasion that fanned anti-American passions across Iraq and the Arab world. ...
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Iraq Suicide Blast Targeting U.S. Troops Kills 24 Children
Iraq Suicide Blast Targeting U.S. Troops Kills 24 Children: "By Borzou Daragahi and Raheem Salman, Times Staff Writers | July 14, 2005
BAGHDAD — The U.S. soldiers had come Wednesday morning to search for explosives in a neighborhood packed with children.
Instead, a suicide bomber found them.
In the deadliest insurgent attack in Iraq in more than two months and the most lethal one involving children since September, an explosives-filled SUV killed at least 27 Iraqis and an American soldier.
About two dozen of the dead were youngsters who had been playing near U.S. soldiers at an impromptu checkpoint in Jadida, a lower-class residential district of low-lying buildings and rotting water mains populated by Shiites, Sunnis and Christians.
The children were taking candy from the U.S. soldiers at the time of the blast. ....
BAGHDAD — The U.S. soldiers had come Wednesday morning to search for explosives in a neighborhood packed with children.
Instead, a suicide bomber found them.
In the deadliest insurgent attack in Iraq in more than two months and the most lethal one involving children since September, an explosives-filled SUV killed at least 27 Iraqis and an American soldier.
About two dozen of the dead were youngsters who had been playing near U.S. soldiers at an impromptu checkpoint in Jadida, a lower-class residential district of low-lying buildings and rotting water mains populated by Shiites, Sunnis and Christians.
The children were taking candy from the U.S. soldiers at the time of the blast. ....
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
100,000 Iraqi Civilian Deaths in 28 Months: US troops killed 39,000 civilians since the beginning of the war
100,000 Iraqi Civilian Deaths in 28 Months: "By Cihan News Agency |
07/13/05 'Turkish Weekly' - -
The US invasion of Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein's regime has cost 100,000 Iraqi civilian lives.
An international research organization in Switzerland said US troops killed 39,000 civilians since the beginning of the war.
The organization indicated there were far more civilian casualties than the number announced as the 'Iraqi Body Count.' US troops' direct fire or clashes have claimed 39,000 Iraqi civilians' lives.
With suicide attacks and other accidents, the death toll amounts to 100,000 civilian dead in 28 months. The number of the losses of US and other coalition forces for the same period is 1,937. "
07/13/05 'Turkish Weekly' - -
The US invasion of Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein's regime has cost 100,000 Iraqi civilian lives.
An international research organization in Switzerland said US troops killed 39,000 civilians since the beginning of the war.
The organization indicated there were far more civilian casualties than the number announced as the 'Iraqi Body Count.' US troops' direct fire or clashes have claimed 39,000 Iraqi civilians' lives.
With suicide attacks and other accidents, the death toll amounts to 100,000 civilian dead in 28 months. The number of the losses of US and other coalition forces for the same period is 1,937. "
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Iraqi humanitarian organization is reporting that 128,000 Iraqis have been killed since the U.S. invasion began in March 2003.
World Peace Herald: "raqi civilian casualties | By UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL | Published July 12, 2005
BAGHDAD -- An Iraqi humanitarian organization is reporting that 128,000 Iraqis have been killed since the U.S. invasion began in March 2003.
Mafkarat al-Islam reported that chairman of the 'Iraqiyun humanitarian organization in Baghdad, Dr. Hatim al-'Alwani, said that the toll includes everyone who has been killed since that time, adding that 55 percent of those killed have been women and children aged 12 and under. "
'Iraqiyun obtained data from relatives and families of the deceased, as well as from Iraqi hospitals in all the country's provinces. The 128,000 figure only includes those whose relatives have been informed of their deaths and does not include those were abducted, assassinated or simply disappeared.
The number includes those who died during the U.S. assaults on al-Fallujah and al-Qa'im. 'Iraqiyun's figures conflict with the Iraqi Body Count public database compiled by Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International Studies. According to the Graduate Institute of International Studies' database, 39,000 Iraqis have been killed as a direct result of combat or armed violence since March 2003. No official estimates of Iraqi casualties from the war have been issued by the Pentagon, which insists that it does not do "body counts." The Washington Post on July 12 reported that U.S. military deaths in Iraq now total 1,755.
BAGHDAD -- An Iraqi humanitarian organization is reporting that 128,000 Iraqis have been killed since the U.S. invasion began in March 2003.
Mafkarat al-Islam reported that chairman of the 'Iraqiyun humanitarian organization in Baghdad, Dr. Hatim al-'Alwani, said that the toll includes everyone who has been killed since that time, adding that 55 percent of those killed have been women and children aged 12 and under. "
'Iraqiyun obtained data from relatives and families of the deceased, as well as from Iraqi hospitals in all the country's provinces. The 128,000 figure only includes those whose relatives have been informed of their deaths and does not include those were abducted, assassinated or simply disappeared.
The number includes those who died during the U.S. assaults on al-Fallujah and al-Qa'im. 'Iraqiyun's figures conflict with the Iraqi Body Count public database compiled by Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International Studies. According to the Graduate Institute of International Studies' database, 39,000 Iraqis have been killed as a direct result of combat or armed violence since March 2003. No official estimates of Iraqi casualties from the war have been issued by the Pentagon, which insists that it does not do "body counts." The Washington Post on July 12 reported that U.S. military deaths in Iraq now total 1,755.
Saturday, July 02, 2005
Iraqi UN Ambassador Seeks Probe of U.S. Marines killing of his 21-year-old cousin 'in cold blood'
Iraqi Seeks Probe of Killing: "By Colum Lynch | Washington Post Staff Writer | Saturday, July 2, 2005; Page A19
UNITED NATIONS, July 1 -- Iraq's U.N. ambassador Friday accused U.S. Marines of killing his 21-year-old cousin 'in cold blood' during a June 25 raid in a village in the Sunni Muslim-dominated province of Anbar.
Samir S.M. Sumaidaie called on the United States to investigate the death of Mohammed Sumaidaie in 'a credible and fair way to ensure that justice is done.' He said the killing represents a 'betrayal' of Iraqi and U.S. efforts to rebuild Iraq on a foundation of 'freedom, democracy and respect for human rights and the rule of law.'"
UNITED NATIONS, July 1 -- Iraq's U.N. ambassador Friday accused U.S. Marines of killing his 21-year-old cousin 'in cold blood' during a June 25 raid in a village in the Sunni Muslim-dominated province of Anbar.
Samir S.M. Sumaidaie called on the United States to investigate the death of Mohammed Sumaidaie in 'a credible and fair way to ensure that justice is done.' He said the killing represents a 'betrayal' of Iraqi and U.S. efforts to rebuild Iraq on a foundation of 'freedom, democracy and respect for human rights and the rule of law.'"
Friday, July 01, 2005
More than 8,000 Iraqis killed in insurgent attacks - 12,000 wounded
CNN.com - More than�8,000 Iraqis killed�in insurgent attacks - Jun 30, 2005: "Spokesman: Reliance on car bombs a 'distinctive shift' | Thursday, June 30, 2005 Posted: 2009 GMT (0409 HKT)
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Insurgent attacks in the last six months have killed more than 8,000 Iraqi civilians, police and troops, according to Iraq's interior minister.
...
In an interview with CNN, Iraqi Interior Minister Baqir Jabbur said "terrorists" had killed 8,175 people and wounded another 12,000 since January 2005.
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, there have been 307 U.S. fatalities in combat during the same period.
...
Unofficial estimates of Iraqi civilian deaths during the Iraq war range from about 22,000 -- according to the Web site iraqbodycount.net -- to about 100,000 -- from an independent survey reported in The Washington Post. The Pentagon does not give numbers for civilian deaths in Iraq.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Insurgent attacks in the last six months have killed more than 8,000 Iraqi civilians, police and troops, according to Iraq's interior minister.
...
In an interview with CNN, Iraqi Interior Minister Baqir Jabbur said "terrorists" had killed 8,175 people and wounded another 12,000 since January 2005.
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, there have been 307 U.S. fatalities in combat during the same period.
...
Unofficial estimates of Iraqi civilian deaths during the Iraq war range from about 22,000 -- according to the Web site iraqbodycount.net -- to about 100,000 -- from an independent survey reported in The Washington Post. The Pentagon does not give numbers for civilian deaths in Iraq.
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
VA Confirms 103,000 Iraq and Afghan Veterans Seek Healthcare
VA Confirms 103,000 Iraq and Afghan Veterans Seek Healthcare: "David Espo and Mary Dalrymple, Associated Press | Posted 2005-06-28 15:58:00.0 | By DAVID ESPO | The Associated Press | Tuesday, June 28, 2005; 3:26 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/28/AR2005062800545.html
VA Confirms 103,000 Iraq and Afghan Veterans Seek Healthcare: Senate Plans $1.5 Billion Spending Boost for Veterans
WASHINGTON -- Struggling to prevent political damage, Senate Republicans intend to raise spending on veterans programs by $1.5 billion to make up for a shortage caused partly by the return of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday.
'I'm glad they have seen the light,' said Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada. He said majority Republicans had refused to provide the money when members of his party called for it earlier in the year.
Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, who chairs the Veterans Committee, said a vote was likely Tuesday or Wednesday.
The decision to approve the funds came in response to last week's disclosure that the Department of Veterans Affairs needs $1 billion more for veterans health care this year."
...
About one-quarter of this year's $1 billion shortfall results from the services needed by veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, he said, adding that the estimate of roughly 23,000 returning veterans proved far below the actual total of 103,000.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/28/AR2005062800545.html
VA Confirms 103,000 Iraq and Afghan Veterans Seek Healthcare: Senate Plans $1.5 Billion Spending Boost for Veterans
WASHINGTON -- Struggling to prevent political damage, Senate Republicans intend to raise spending on veterans programs by $1.5 billion to make up for a shortage caused partly by the return of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday.
'I'm glad they have seen the light,' said Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada. He said majority Republicans had refused to provide the money when members of his party called for it earlier in the year.
Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, who chairs the Veterans Committee, said a vote was likely Tuesday or Wednesday.
The decision to approve the funds came in response to last week's disclosure that the Department of Veterans Affairs needs $1 billion more for veterans health care this year."
...
About one-quarter of this year's $1 billion shortfall results from the services needed by veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, he said, adding that the estimate of roughly 23,000 returning veterans proved far below the actual total of 103,000.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
U.S. Accused in Iraqi Journalist's Death --- third Iraqi journalist allegedly killed in similar incidents in the past week
Excite News: "U.S. Accused in Iraqi Journalist's Death | Jun 28, 4:44 PM (ET)
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - U.S. troops allegedly killed an Iraqi television director Tuesday when he drove near a U.S. convoy, colleagues and a hospital official said. The U.S. military said it had no reports of the incident.
Ahmed Wael Bakri, a program director for al-Sharqiya television, was the third Iraqi journalist allegedly killed in similar incidents in the past week.
He was trying to pass a traffic accident and wasn't paying attention to a U.S. convoy when troops allegedly opened fire at his car, according to Riyadh al-Salman, a production director at the station.
...
On Sunday, Maha Ibrahim, a news editor with the local Baghdad TV channel, was killed when U.S. troops opened fire after apparently coming under attack in a Baghdad neighborhood, channel director Saad al-Bayati said. Ibrahim and her husband were on their way to the station, owned by the Iraqi Islamic Party.
On Friday, an Iraqi reporter working for an American news organization was shot and killed in Baghdad, allegedly by U.S. troops, after he apparently did not respond to a shouted signal from a military convoy, witnesses said.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - U.S. troops allegedly killed an Iraqi television director Tuesday when he drove near a U.S. convoy, colleagues and a hospital official said. The U.S. military said it had no reports of the incident.
Ahmed Wael Bakri, a program director for al-Sharqiya television, was the third Iraqi journalist allegedly killed in similar incidents in the past week.
He was trying to pass a traffic accident and wasn't paying attention to a U.S. convoy when troops allegedly opened fire at his car, according to Riyadh al-Salman, a production director at the station.
...
On Sunday, Maha Ibrahim, a news editor with the local Baghdad TV channel, was killed when U.S. troops opened fire after apparently coming under attack in a Baghdad neighborhood, channel director Saad al-Bayati said. Ibrahim and her husband were on their way to the station, owned by the Iraqi Islamic Party.
On Friday, an Iraqi reporter working for an American news organization was shot and killed in Baghdad, allegedly by U.S. troops, after he apparently did not respond to a shouted signal from a military convoy, witnesses said.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Monday, June 20, 2005
Surge of attacks leaves at least 73 dead in Iraq
Surge of attacks leaves at least 73 dead in Iraq: "Surge of attacks leaves at least 73 dead in Iraq
Published Monday, June 20, 2005
IRBIL, Iraq (AP) - A suicide car bomber killed at least 15 traffic police and wounded about 100 more today outside the unit’s headquarters in the northern Kurdish city of Irbil, police and hospital officials said.
Iraq’s insurgency appeared unfazed by two massive U.S.-Iraqi military offensives against militant smuggling routes and training centers west and north of Baghdad, mounting attacks that have killed at least 73 in the past two days - including 28 people today."
Published Monday, June 20, 2005
IRBIL, Iraq (AP) - A suicide car bomber killed at least 15 traffic police and wounded about 100 more today outside the unit’s headquarters in the northern Kurdish city of Irbil, police and hospital officials said.
Iraq’s insurgency appeared unfazed by two massive U.S.-Iraqi military offensives against militant smuggling routes and training centers west and north of Baghdad, mounting attacks that have killed at least 73 in the past two days - including 28 people today."
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
An average of about 23 patients arrive each day most from Iraq, 12,350 wounded to date
CBS 2 - New York News: World Wire: "Hospital in Germany copes with heavy flow of wounded from Iran, Afghanistan | Sunday May 29, 2005 | By MATT MOORE | Associated Press Writer
...
An average of about 23 patients arrive each day most from Iraq, where more than 12,350 soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen have been injured since the U.S.-led war began in March 2003. The flow can spike sharply, as it did during the battle for Fallujah: 537 over two days.
Fighting in Afghanistan adds more patients. Since troops arrived there in October 2001, 455 have been wounded in action through early this May, almost all of them coming to Landstuhl with injuries and wounds not normally found in a civilian hospital.
In civilian medicine, ``a blast injury is a very rare event,'' said Army Col. Rhonda Cornum, the hospital's medical director. ``Unfortunately, it's a very common thing here.''
...
An average of about 23 patients arrive each day most from Iraq, where more than 12,350 soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen have been injured since the U.S.-led war began in March 2003. The flow can spike sharply, as it did during the battle for Fallujah: 537 over two days.
Fighting in Afghanistan adds more patients. Since troops arrived there in October 2001, 455 have been wounded in action through early this May, almost all of them coming to Landstuhl with injuries and wounds not normally found in a civilian hospital.
In civilian medicine, ``a blast injury is a very rare event,'' said Army Col. Rhonda Cornum, the hospital's medical director. ``Unfortunately, it's a very common thing here.''
Monday, May 23, 2005
Car bombs, suicide attacks kill 49, 130 Wounded, 5 US troops dead
Car bombs, suicide attacks kill 49, scores hurt - Iraq's new chapter - MSNBC.com: "Iraqi security official slain; 5 U.S. troops die over weekend | Associated Press | Updated: 6:26 p.m. ET May 23, 2005
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A string of car bombs and suicide attacks across Iraq killed at least 49 Iraqis and wounded more than 130 Monday, striking a Baghdad restaurant popular with police, a Shiite mosque and the home of a community leader near Mosul.
...
About 610 people, including 49 U.S. troops, have been killed since April 28, when Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari announced his new government. ...
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A string of car bombs and suicide attacks across Iraq killed at least 49 Iraqis and wounded more than 130 Monday, striking a Baghdad restaurant popular with police, a Shiite mosque and the home of a community leader near Mosul.
...
About 610 people, including 49 U.S. troops, have been killed since April 28, when Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari announced his new government. ...
Saturday, May 21, 2005
US Apache helicopters joined the battle: 10 IRAQIS KILLED 'IN US BUNGLE'
Mirror.co.uk - News - 10 IRAQIS KILLED 'IN US BUNGLE': "20 May 2005
BUNGLING US forces were accused of killing guards protecting an Iraqi politician yesterday.
National Assembly member Fawaz al-Jarba said the guards opened fire at insurgents who shot at his house in Mosul.
US Apache helicopters joined the battle. Al-Jarba, a Sunni and recent candidate for parliament speaker, said 10 guards died and claimed his home was bombed. He asked: 'The terrorists were firing at me. Why did the Americans?'"
BUNGLING US forces were accused of killing guards protecting an Iraqi politician yesterday.
National Assembly member Fawaz al-Jarba said the guards opened fire at insurgents who shot at his house in Mosul.
US Apache helicopters joined the battle. Al-Jarba, a Sunni and recent candidate for parliament speaker, said 10 guards died and claimed his home was bombed. He asked: 'The terrorists were firing at me. Why did the Americans?'"
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Marine-led campaign didn't distinguish between the Iraqis who supported the United States and the fighters battling it.
KR Washington Bureau | 05/16/2005 | Marine-led campaign killed friends and foes, Iraqi leaders say: "Mon, May. 16, 2005 | By Hannah Allam and Mohammed al Dulaimy | Knight Ridder Newspapers
BAGHDAD, Iraq - When foreign fighters poured into villages with jihad on their minds and weapons in their hands, some Iraqi tribesmen in western desert towns fought back.
...
And when they still couldn't uproot the terrorists streaming in from Syria, tribal leaders said, they took a most unusual step: They asked the Americans for help.
...
In interviews, influential tribal leaders and many residents of the remote border towns said the 1,000 U.S. troops who swept into their territories in the weeklong campaign that ended over the weekend didn't distinguish between the Iraqis who supported the United States and the fighters battling it.
"The Americans were bombing whole villages and saying they were only after the foreigners," said Fasal al Goud, a former governor of Anbar province who said he asked U.S. forces for help on behalf of the tribes. "An AK-47 can't distinguish between a terrorist and a tribesman, so how could a missile or tank?"
BAGHDAD, Iraq - When foreign fighters poured into villages with jihad on their minds and weapons in their hands, some Iraqi tribesmen in western desert towns fought back.
...
And when they still couldn't uproot the terrorists streaming in from Syria, tribal leaders said, they took a most unusual step: They asked the Americans for help.
...
In interviews, influential tribal leaders and many residents of the remote border towns said the 1,000 U.S. troops who swept into their territories in the weeklong campaign that ended over the weekend didn't distinguish between the Iraqis who supported the United States and the fighters battling it.
"The Americans were bombing whole villages and saying they were only after the foreigners," said Fasal al Goud, a former governor of Anbar province who said he asked U.S. forces for help on behalf of the tribes. "An AK-47 can't distinguish between a terrorist and a tribesman, so how could a missile or tank?"
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Trigger-happy US troops:"I explained that their tactics were alienating the civil population and could lengthen the insurgency by a decade.
Telegraph | News | Trigger-happy US troops 'will keep us in Iraq for years': "By Sean Rayment | (Filed: 15/05/2005)
British defence chiefs have warned United States military commanders in Iraq to change their rules for opening fire or face becoming bogged down in a terrorist war for a decade or more.
The Telegraph has learnt that the warning was issued last month in response to a series of incidents that led to the deaths of Iraqi civilians, mainly at checkpoints, after soldiers opened fire in the mistaken belief that they were being attacked by suicide bombers.
The warning is said to have taken the form of advice from senior officers who accompanied Gen Sir Mike Jackson, the chief of the General Staff, on a recent trip to southern Iraq and Baghdad to visit British troops.
...
A British officer said that some of the tactics employed by American forces would not be approved by British commanders.
The officer said: "US troops have the attitude of shoot first and ask questions later. They simply won't take any risk.
"It has been explained to US commanders that we made mistakes in Northern Ireland, namely Bloody Sunday, and paid the price.
"I explained that their tactics were alienating the civil population and could lengthen the insurgency by a decade. Unfortunately, when we ex-plained our rules of engagement which are based around the principle of minimum force, the US troops just laughed."
British defence chiefs have warned United States military commanders in Iraq to change their rules for opening fire or face becoming bogged down in a terrorist war for a decade or more.
The Telegraph has learnt that the warning was issued last month in response to a series of incidents that led to the deaths of Iraqi civilians, mainly at checkpoints, after soldiers opened fire in the mistaken belief that they were being attacked by suicide bombers.
The warning is said to have taken the form of advice from senior officers who accompanied Gen Sir Mike Jackson, the chief of the General Staff, on a recent trip to southern Iraq and Baghdad to visit British troops.
...
A British officer said that some of the tactics employed by American forces would not be approved by British commanders.
The officer said: "US troops have the attitude of shoot first and ask questions later. They simply won't take any risk.
"It has been explained to US commanders that we made mistakes in Northern Ireland, namely Bloody Sunday, and paid the price.
"I explained that their tactics were alienating the civil population and could lengthen the insurgency by a decade. Unfortunately, when we ex-plained our rules of engagement which are based around the principle of minimum force, the US troops just laughed."
Friday, May 13, 2005
Seventeen U.S. soldiers killed since Saturday
Seventeen U.S. soldiers killed since Saturday: "Friday 13th May, 2005
Seventeen U.S. soldiers killed since Saturday "
Seventeen U.S. soldiers killed since Saturday "
Thursday, May 12, 2005
The Pentagon secretly keeps track of many grim statistics in Iraq. The numbers are not encouraging.
Body Counts - Newsweek The War on Iraq - MSNBC.com: "WEB EXCLUSIVE | By Christopher Dickey | Updated: 3:31 p.m. ET May 11, 2005
The Pentagon secretly keeps track of many grim statistics in Iraq. The numbers are not encouraging.
The morning news from Iraq today brought fresh chronicles of slaughter. Yes, even more than usual. American troops are waging an offensive they call Operation Matador in a remote stretch of desert near the Syrian border, while suicide bombs are going off in Iraq’s towns and cities, including the capital. Who’s winning? Who’s losing? Who knows? ...
...
... An accidentally declassified Pentagon report about a killing on the road to Baghdad airport at the beginning of March shows quite clearly how much worse the overall situation is than the Bush administration would like us, or even its allies in the Coalition forces, to believe.
“The U.S. considers all of Iraq a combat zone,” says the report, which was wrapped up at the end of April, three months after the elections that were supposed to have turned the tide in this conflict. “From July 2004 to late March 2005,” says the document, “there were 15,527 attacks against Coalition Forces throughout Iraq.” Then comes one of several paragraphs marked S//NF (secret, not for distribution to foreign nationals): “From 1 November 2004 to 12 March 2005 there were 3306 attacks in the Baghdad area. Of these, 2400 were directed against Coalition Forces.” In a span of four and a half months, which included the election turning point, that’s not only a hell of a lot of hits in the capital city, it’s just pure hell.
...
... Everyone knows the eight-mile road from downtown Baghdad to the airport is dangerous. Here’s how dangerous: “(S//NF) Between 1 November 2004 and 12 March 2005, there were 135 attacks or hostile incidents that occurred along Route Irish,” as the military calls the airport highway. That’s just about one attack per day during those months, by the Pentagon’s calculations, or, looking at it another way, almost 17 attacks per mile. There were nine “complex attacks” combining, say, the explosion of a roadside bomb along with small-arms fire and mortars; there were 19 explosive devices found, three hand grenades, seven “indirect fire attacks” 19 roadside explosions, 14 rocket-propelled grenades, 15 car bombs and four other kinds of attacks. Investigators into the March 4 shooting had a grenade thrown at them when they tried to visit the scene.
...
ut just before she died, Marla wrote a report with a partial number she said she’d received from U.S. military sources: 29 civilians killed by small-arms fire in Baghdad alone during firefights between U.S. troops and insurgents over the course of five weeks before April 5. Estimates of the total number of Iraqi civilian casualties in this war, calculated by reporters and human-rights groups, have ranged from about 10,000 to the much-less-plausible 100,000. Does the Pentagon know? If so, it should tell.
The Pentagon secretly keeps track of many grim statistics in Iraq. The numbers are not encouraging.
The morning news from Iraq today brought fresh chronicles of slaughter. Yes, even more than usual. American troops are waging an offensive they call Operation Matador in a remote stretch of desert near the Syrian border, while suicide bombs are going off in Iraq’s towns and cities, including the capital. Who’s winning? Who’s losing? Who knows? ...
...
... An accidentally declassified Pentagon report about a killing on the road to Baghdad airport at the beginning of March shows quite clearly how much worse the overall situation is than the Bush administration would like us, or even its allies in the Coalition forces, to believe.
“The U.S. considers all of Iraq a combat zone,” says the report, which was wrapped up at the end of April, three months after the elections that were supposed to have turned the tide in this conflict. “From July 2004 to late March 2005,” says the document, “there were 15,527 attacks against Coalition Forces throughout Iraq.” Then comes one of several paragraphs marked S//NF (secret, not for distribution to foreign nationals): “From 1 November 2004 to 12 March 2005 there were 3306 attacks in the Baghdad area. Of these, 2400 were directed against Coalition Forces.” In a span of four and a half months, which included the election turning point, that’s not only a hell of a lot of hits in the capital city, it’s just pure hell.
...
... Everyone knows the eight-mile road from downtown Baghdad to the airport is dangerous. Here’s how dangerous: “(S//NF) Between 1 November 2004 and 12 March 2005, there were 135 attacks or hostile incidents that occurred along Route Irish,” as the military calls the airport highway. That’s just about one attack per day during those months, by the Pentagon’s calculations, or, looking at it another way, almost 17 attacks per mile. There were nine “complex attacks” combining, say, the explosion of a roadside bomb along with small-arms fire and mortars; there were 19 explosive devices found, three hand grenades, seven “indirect fire attacks” 19 roadside explosions, 14 rocket-propelled grenades, 15 car bombs and four other kinds of attacks. Investigators into the March 4 shooting had a grenade thrown at them when they tried to visit the scene.
...
ut just before she died, Marla wrote a report with a partial number she said she’d received from U.S. military sources: 29 civilians killed by small-arms fire in Baghdad alone during firefights between U.S. troops and insurgents over the course of five weeks before April 5. Estimates of the total number of Iraqi civilian casualties in this war, calculated by reporters and human-rights groups, have ranged from about 10,000 to the much-less-plausible 100,000. Does the Pentagon know? If so, it should tell.
21 dead, 90 wounded: Iraqis expressed growing fury at the relentless bloodshed, throwing stones at police and U.S. forces
Excite News: "Iraq Car Bombings Kill 21, Injure 90 | May 12, 7:54 PM (ET) | By ANTONIO CASTANEDA
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A car bomb exploded in a jammed commercial district Thursday, turning the sky gray as shops and restaurants caught fire in the most deadly of a string of attacks that killed 21, including a general and colonel who were assassinated.
Iraqis expressed growing fury at the relentless bloodshed, throwing stones at police and U.S. forces who came to the scene of the bombing. More than 90 were also wounded in Thursday's violence.
The attacks came as U.S. troops were in the midst of a major offensive near the Syrian border, 200 miles northwest of Baghdad. Fierce clashes were reported with insurgents on the outskirts of the town of Qaim, where angry residents lashed out at U.S. forces.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A car bomb exploded in a jammed commercial district Thursday, turning the sky gray as shops and restaurants caught fire in the most deadly of a string of attacks that killed 21, including a general and colonel who were assassinated.
Iraqis expressed growing fury at the relentless bloodshed, throwing stones at police and U.S. forces who came to the scene of the bombing. More than 90 were also wounded in Thursday's violence.
The attacks came as U.S. troops were in the midst of a major offensive near the Syrian border, 200 miles northwest of Baghdad. Fierce clashes were reported with insurgents on the outskirts of the town of Qaim, where angry residents lashed out at U.S. forces.
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Iraq: Suicide bombs: 71 dead, [400 dead in last 2 weeks
Excite News: "Four suicide attacks kill at least 71 | May 11, 10:37 AM (ET) | By Andrew Marshall
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Suicide bombs killed at least 71 people in Iraq on Wednesday, taking to nearly 400 the number of Iraqis killed in guerrilla attacks since a new government was unveiled two weeks ago."
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Suicide bombs killed at least 71 people in Iraq on Wednesday, taking to nearly 400 the number of Iraqis killed in guerrilla attacks since a new government was unveiled two weeks ago."
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