J
Joe S.
Guest
QUOTE
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- At least nine U.S. soldiers were killed Monday in a
pair of deadly attacks north of Baghdad, U.S. military statements released
Tuesday said.
"Six Task Force Lightning soldiers died as a result of injuries sustained
following an explosion near their vehicles," a statement said. The attack
took place during combat operations in Salah ad Din province.
Three other soldiers were wounded and taken to military treatment
facilities.
In Diyala province, three more Task Force Lightning soldiers died when a
bomb exploded near them, the military said. One other soldier was wounded.
The deaths brought to 3,176 the number of U.S. troops killed in the Iraq
war. Seven American civilian contractors of the military also have died in
the conflict.
Violence in Iraq on Tuesday left at least 14 people dead.
Two Shiite pilgrims were killed and six others were wounded when gunmen
opened fire on a pair of minibuses in Latifiya, about 25 miles (40 km) south
of Baghdad.
The pilgrims were on their way to Karbala for Arbayeen, the end of the
commemoration of the killing of Imam Hussein.
Arbayeen, which falls on March 10, marks the end of the traditional 40-day
mourning period following the anniversary of Imam Hussein's death, known as
Ashura.
Shortly afterward, one Shiite pilgrim was killed and three others were
injured when gunmen opened fire on a group of Shiite pilgrims walking in
Latifiya.
Later, five Iraqi police officers were killed when a roadside bomb exploded
near their patrol in eastern Baghdad's Aubaydi district.
Also, two people died and four others were wounded when a roadside bomb
exploded near a fuel tanker on the Sarrafiya Bridge in northern Baghdad.
In addition, four Shiite pilgrims were killed and 14 others were injured
when a car bomb exploded in Baghdad's Yarmouk district.
Suicide car bomber kills 28
On Monday, a suicide car bomber detonated explosives in a busy commercial
district of Baghdad, killing 28 people and wounding 56 others, Baghdad
police said.
The attack took place in a book market along Mutanabi Street at 11:45 a.m.
(3:45 a.m. ET)
Mutanabi Street, named after a legendary 10th-century poet, once attracted
Baghdad's intellectuals, who gathered at the bookshops for a lively exchange
of ideas.
"Papers from the book market were floating through the air like leaflets
dropped from a plane," a Health Ministry worker who was near the explosion
told The Associated Press.
"Pieces of flesh and the remains of books were scattered everywhere," he
told AP.
U.S., Iraqi forces meet little resistance in crackdown
More than a thousand U.S. and Iraqi forces continued a massive clearing
operation of the Sadr City area in eastern Baghdad on Monday. There have
been no reports of any major resistance in the densely populated Shiite
district, once a hotbed of sectarian violence.
The clearing operation, which is in its second day, is part of the new
Baghdad security plan.
CNN's Jennifer Eccleston spent eight hours on patrol with Iraqi and U.S.
forces on Monday in Sadr City, which is also the headquarters of the Mehdi
Army, a militia loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
"People were out shopping, children were playing soccer, playing football
.... groups of young girls were walking around," she said. "I have been to
Sadr City half a dozen times in three years, and I have never seen it so
calm and seemingly normal."
Eccleston said residents told her they feel safer than they have in a long
time and praised the Iraqi forces.
When asked about the American forces, residents said, "Well, they are
helping out the Iraqis, and when that's done, they will go home," Eccleston
reported.
On Sunday, the U.S. command in Baghdad said the joint operation in Sadr City
is the largest security sweep of the neighborhood since the Iraq-led
security plan, dubbed "Enforcing the Law," or "Fardh al Qanoon" in Arabic,
was officially launched February 14.
No weapons caches were found or suspects detained during the operation, said
Lt. Col. Scott R. Bleichwehl, a U.S. military spokesman. There were no
incidents of violence and no casualties to coalition forces, Iraqi security
forces or civilians during the sweep, he said.
Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, commander of the multinational corps in Iraq,
speaking from Baghdad on Sunday, said he expects it will be "a minimum of
six to nine months" before Iraqi forces will be able to maintain order in
Baghdad.
Other developments
a.. At least 26 people were arrested in operations in the Salaheddin
province, including a local leader of a conservative Sunni organization and
five of his aides, according to Iraqi officials. Also in the province,
gunmen killed five Iraqi police who were driving to their jobs in Samarra,
according to an official with the Tikrit police.
a.. Chinese oil officials are scheduled to arrive in Baghdad on Tuesday to
renegotiate an old contract to develop an oil field along a major pipeline
in Kut, an oil ministry spokesman told CNN on Monday. The announcement came
a week after Iraq's government agreed on a plan to open the country's oil
industry to international investment.
a.. Iraqi security forces working with coalition advisers arrested a
suspected rogue member of the Mehdi Army, a militia loyal to anti-American
Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, on Monday, a U.S. military statement said.
The military did not identify the suspect.
a.. Late Sunday, Iraqi security forces arrested the local leader of an al
Qaeda-linked Sunni insurgent group in Dhuluiya, north of Baghdad, an
Interior Ministry spokesman said. The group, the Islamic State of Iraq,
claimed responsibility for the recent kidnappings and killings of 15 Iraqi
police officers in retaliation for an alleged rape that has aggravated the
already deteriorating ties between Sunnis and Shiites.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/03/06/iraq.main/index.html
END QUOTE
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- At least nine U.S. soldiers were killed Monday in a
pair of deadly attacks north of Baghdad, U.S. military statements released
Tuesday said.
"Six Task Force Lightning soldiers died as a result of injuries sustained
following an explosion near their vehicles," a statement said. The attack
took place during combat operations in Salah ad Din province.
Three other soldiers were wounded and taken to military treatment
facilities.
In Diyala province, three more Task Force Lightning soldiers died when a
bomb exploded near them, the military said. One other soldier was wounded.
The deaths brought to 3,176 the number of U.S. troops killed in the Iraq
war. Seven American civilian contractors of the military also have died in
the conflict.
Violence in Iraq on Tuesday left at least 14 people dead.
Two Shiite pilgrims were killed and six others were wounded when gunmen
opened fire on a pair of minibuses in Latifiya, about 25 miles (40 km) south
of Baghdad.
The pilgrims were on their way to Karbala for Arbayeen, the end of the
commemoration of the killing of Imam Hussein.
Arbayeen, which falls on March 10, marks the end of the traditional 40-day
mourning period following the anniversary of Imam Hussein's death, known as
Ashura.
Shortly afterward, one Shiite pilgrim was killed and three others were
injured when gunmen opened fire on a group of Shiite pilgrims walking in
Latifiya.
Later, five Iraqi police officers were killed when a roadside bomb exploded
near their patrol in eastern Baghdad's Aubaydi district.
Also, two people died and four others were wounded when a roadside bomb
exploded near a fuel tanker on the Sarrafiya Bridge in northern Baghdad.
In addition, four Shiite pilgrims were killed and 14 others were injured
when a car bomb exploded in Baghdad's Yarmouk district.
Suicide car bomber kills 28
On Monday, a suicide car bomber detonated explosives in a busy commercial
district of Baghdad, killing 28 people and wounding 56 others, Baghdad
police said.
The attack took place in a book market along Mutanabi Street at 11:45 a.m.
(3:45 a.m. ET)
Mutanabi Street, named after a legendary 10th-century poet, once attracted
Baghdad's intellectuals, who gathered at the bookshops for a lively exchange
of ideas.
"Papers from the book market were floating through the air like leaflets
dropped from a plane," a Health Ministry worker who was near the explosion
told The Associated Press.
"Pieces of flesh and the remains of books were scattered everywhere," he
told AP.
U.S., Iraqi forces meet little resistance in crackdown
More than a thousand U.S. and Iraqi forces continued a massive clearing
operation of the Sadr City area in eastern Baghdad on Monday. There have
been no reports of any major resistance in the densely populated Shiite
district, once a hotbed of sectarian violence.
The clearing operation, which is in its second day, is part of the new
Baghdad security plan.
CNN's Jennifer Eccleston spent eight hours on patrol with Iraqi and U.S.
forces on Monday in Sadr City, which is also the headquarters of the Mehdi
Army, a militia loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
"People were out shopping, children were playing soccer, playing football
.... groups of young girls were walking around," she said. "I have been to
Sadr City half a dozen times in three years, and I have never seen it so
calm and seemingly normal."
Eccleston said residents told her they feel safer than they have in a long
time and praised the Iraqi forces.
When asked about the American forces, residents said, "Well, they are
helping out the Iraqis, and when that's done, they will go home," Eccleston
reported.
On Sunday, the U.S. command in Baghdad said the joint operation in Sadr City
is the largest security sweep of the neighborhood since the Iraq-led
security plan, dubbed "Enforcing the Law," or "Fardh al Qanoon" in Arabic,
was officially launched February 14.
No weapons caches were found or suspects detained during the operation, said
Lt. Col. Scott R. Bleichwehl, a U.S. military spokesman. There were no
incidents of violence and no casualties to coalition forces, Iraqi security
forces or civilians during the sweep, he said.
Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, commander of the multinational corps in Iraq,
speaking from Baghdad on Sunday, said he expects it will be "a minimum of
six to nine months" before Iraqi forces will be able to maintain order in
Baghdad.
Other developments
a.. At least 26 people were arrested in operations in the Salaheddin
province, including a local leader of a conservative Sunni organization and
five of his aides, according to Iraqi officials. Also in the province,
gunmen killed five Iraqi police who were driving to their jobs in Samarra,
according to an official with the Tikrit police.
a.. Chinese oil officials are scheduled to arrive in Baghdad on Tuesday to
renegotiate an old contract to develop an oil field along a major pipeline
in Kut, an oil ministry spokesman told CNN on Monday. The announcement came
a week after Iraq's government agreed on a plan to open the country's oil
industry to international investment.
a.. Iraqi security forces working with coalition advisers arrested a
suspected rogue member of the Mehdi Army, a militia loyal to anti-American
Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, on Monday, a U.S. military statement said.
The military did not identify the suspect.
a.. Late Sunday, Iraqi security forces arrested the local leader of an al
Qaeda-linked Sunni insurgent group in Dhuluiya, north of Baghdad, an
Interior Ministry spokesman said. The group, the Islamic State of Iraq,
claimed responsibility for the recent kidnappings and killings of 15 Iraqi
police officers in retaliation for an alleged rape that has aggravated the
already deteriorating ties between Sunnis and Shiites.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/03/06/iraq.main/index.html
END QUOTE
