Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Media: The Associated Press
Byline: CHRISTOPHER BODEEN
Date: 15 October 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq_Iraq's government indefinitely postponed a much-anticipated
national reconciliation conference on Sunday as at least 83 people were
reported dead in a two-day spree of sectarian revenge killings and insurgent
bombings.
The U.S. military reported the deaths of a Marine and four soldiers.
A brief statement from the Ministry of State for National Dialogue said only
that the Iraqi political powers conference planned for Saturday had been put
off because of "emergency reasons out of the control of the ministry."
The failure to bring Iraq's deeply divided politicians together appeared
likely to exacerbate Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's attempts to strengthen
political consensus, underscoring the effect worsening violence is having on
efforts to stabilize the U.S.-backed government and curb the bloodshed.
Weekend revenge killings among Shiites and Sunnis left at least 63 people
dead in a city north of Baghdad, while 11 people died Sunday in a series of
apparently coordinated bombings on a girls school and other targets in the
northern city of Kirkuk, where Kurds and Arabs are in a tense struggle for
control of the oil-rich city.
Even by Iraq's bleak standards, October has been an especially bloody month.
Hundreds of Iraqi's have died in attacks and 54 U.S. military personnel have
been killed in the first two weeks alone.
U.S. commanders say that based on the record of past years, they expect a
further spike in bloodshed throughout the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Some Islamic militants believe that dying in combat during Ramadan brings
extra blessings in paradise.
The tit-for-tat sectarian killings began late Friday with the discovery of
the decapitated bodies of 17 Shiites kidnapped earlier in the day near
Balad, a predominantly Sunni region northwest of Baghdad and a hotbed of the
insurgency battling U.S. and Iraqi forces.
Suspected Shiite militiamen then began targeting Sunnis in Balad and
surrounding towns, killing at least 46 overnight, according to police and
hospital officials.
Extra police flooded into the area, 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of
Baghdad, to enforce a curfew and additional security measures were taken in
other villages in the area, Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Abdul-Karim
Khalaf said.
Despite that, bullet-ridden bodies continued to be delivered to the Balad's
main hospital well into Sunday morning, according to a hospital director who
asked that his name not be used for fear of reprisals.
An army officer in the nearby city of Tikrit confirmed the death toll and
said 63 suspects _ both Sunnis and Shiites _ were arrested.
The Iraqi Islamic Party, the country's largest Sunni political group, said
30 Sunnis had been killed and accused the Shiite-dominated police force of
cooperating with the militias in snatching 70 people from Balad hospital and
other locations.
"The Iraqi Islamic party condemns the violence in Balad for which we hold
the occupation forces and government fully responsible," the party said in a
statement, using its standard term for the U.S. military presence.
The bombings in Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad,
appeared part of an increasingly bloody power struggle between Arabs and
Kurds for control of northern Iraqi oil wealth that has undermined U.S.
hopes of stabilizing the region.
Two girls who died when a man detonated explosives strapped to his body in
front of the Kurdish al-Mallimin girls high school in downtown Kirkuk,
police officials said.
Distraught mothers sobbed and beat their chests while awaiting word of their
daughters, while fire fighters doused cars set alight by the blast and Iraqi
police joined by U.S. troops sought to keep order. The powerful explosion
left a sizable crater in the concrete road in front of the school.
Five others died when a suicide bomber at the wheel of an explosives-rigged
vehicle targeted a convoy of the Facilities Protection Service that guards
government buildings and infrastructure. Ten others were wounded in that
attack, according to police Brig. Sarhat Abdul-Qadir.
Three other people were killed and eight injured when a suicide bomber blew
himself up in a market in the southern section of the city, Abdul-Qadir
said. Associated Press Television News cameras filmed pools of blood on the
ground around the market while firefighters struggled to break into shops
where fires were raging.
Two other car bombs around the city killed one other person and injured at
least five, Abdul-Qadir said.
The American military said the Marine was killed in combat in Anbar
province, the Sunni heartland west of Baghdad on Saturday.
Three soldiers died in a roadside bombing Saturday south of Baghdad, and one
soldier was killed in a roadside bombing Friday night southwest of the
capital. The soldiers' names were being withheld pending notification of
their families.
In Baghdad Sunday, Interior Ministry undersecretary Hala Shakir Salim
survived a roadside bomb attack that killed seven others, the latest
government official targeted in a campaign by insurgents to undermine the
U.S.-backed government.
Four bystanders and three bodyguards were killed in the blast that hit as
Salim was being driven to work from her home in Baghdad's eastern
Mustansiriya neighborhood, police Capt. Mohammed Abdul-Ghani said. Salim is
the chief financial officer for the ministry, which runs the Iraqi police
forces.
A husband, wife and two of their sons were killed and two daughters-in-law
critically wounded Sunday morning when gunmen burst into their home in
Mosul, Iraq's third largest city 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of
Baghdad. Police Col. Eid al-Jibouri said the identities of the attackers and
their motive were unknown.
South of Baghdad, three women and four men were killed in drive-by shootings
in the predominantly Shiite village of Wahda on Saturday afternoon,
according to provincial police spokesman Lt. Hadi Hassan.
Two policeman were killed in attacks by unidentified gunmen in the northern
city of Mosul and in Suwayrah, 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Baghdad,
police spokesmen said.
A suicide bomber apparently targeting plain clothes policemen blew himself
up in the city of Tal Afar 420 kilometers (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad,
killing an eight-year-old and wounding six others, Najim Abdullah, the
provincial governor said.
A bomb also exploded Sunday morning in the old bazaar in the southern city
of Basra, injuring 3 people, police Capt. Karim al-Zaidi said.
Also Sunday, the U.S. military announced Iraq's Central Criminal Court had
sentenced an al-Qaida member to death and convicted 64 others on charges of
belonging to armed groups and other crimes, the U.S. military command said
Sunday.
The military's statement did not name the man condemned to death, but said
he was a "known member of the al-Qaida organization." Others sentenced to
life in prison included a Saudi Arabian man that the court said had admitted
to coming to Iraq to fight U.S. and government forces.
Byline: CHRISTOPHER BODEEN
Date: 15 October 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq_Iraq's government indefinitely postponed a much-anticipated
national reconciliation conference on Sunday as at least 83 people were
reported dead in a two-day spree of sectarian revenge killings and insurgent
bombings.
The U.S. military reported the deaths of a Marine and four soldiers.
A brief statement from the Ministry of State for National Dialogue said only
that the Iraqi political powers conference planned for Saturday had been put
off because of "emergency reasons out of the control of the ministry."
The failure to bring Iraq's deeply divided politicians together appeared
likely to exacerbate Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's attempts to strengthen
political consensus, underscoring the effect worsening violence is having on
efforts to stabilize the U.S.-backed government and curb the bloodshed.
Weekend revenge killings among Shiites and Sunnis left at least 63 people
dead in a city north of Baghdad, while 11 people died Sunday in a series of
apparently coordinated bombings on a girls school and other targets in the
northern city of Kirkuk, where Kurds and Arabs are in a tense struggle for
control of the oil-rich city.
Even by Iraq's bleak standards, October has been an especially bloody month.
Hundreds of Iraqi's have died in attacks and 54 U.S. military personnel have
been killed in the first two weeks alone.
U.S. commanders say that based on the record of past years, they expect a
further spike in bloodshed throughout the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Some Islamic militants believe that dying in combat during Ramadan brings
extra blessings in paradise.
The tit-for-tat sectarian killings began late Friday with the discovery of
the decapitated bodies of 17 Shiites kidnapped earlier in the day near
Balad, a predominantly Sunni region northwest of Baghdad and a hotbed of the
insurgency battling U.S. and Iraqi forces.
Suspected Shiite militiamen then began targeting Sunnis in Balad and
surrounding towns, killing at least 46 overnight, according to police and
hospital officials.
Extra police flooded into the area, 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of
Baghdad, to enforce a curfew and additional security measures were taken in
other villages in the area, Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Abdul-Karim
Khalaf said.
Despite that, bullet-ridden bodies continued to be delivered to the Balad's
main hospital well into Sunday morning, according to a hospital director who
asked that his name not be used for fear of reprisals.
An army officer in the nearby city of Tikrit confirmed the death toll and
said 63 suspects _ both Sunnis and Shiites _ were arrested.
The Iraqi Islamic Party, the country's largest Sunni political group, said
30 Sunnis had been killed and accused the Shiite-dominated police force of
cooperating with the militias in snatching 70 people from Balad hospital and
other locations.
"The Iraqi Islamic party condemns the violence in Balad for which we hold
the occupation forces and government fully responsible," the party said in a
statement, using its standard term for the U.S. military presence.
The bombings in Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad,
appeared part of an increasingly bloody power struggle between Arabs and
Kurds for control of northern Iraqi oil wealth that has undermined U.S.
hopes of stabilizing the region.
Two girls who died when a man detonated explosives strapped to his body in
front of the Kurdish al-Mallimin girls high school in downtown Kirkuk,
police officials said.
Distraught mothers sobbed and beat their chests while awaiting word of their
daughters, while fire fighters doused cars set alight by the blast and Iraqi
police joined by U.S. troops sought to keep order. The powerful explosion
left a sizable crater in the concrete road in front of the school.
Five others died when a suicide bomber at the wheel of an explosives-rigged
vehicle targeted a convoy of the Facilities Protection Service that guards
government buildings and infrastructure. Ten others were wounded in that
attack, according to police Brig. Sarhat Abdul-Qadir.
Three other people were killed and eight injured when a suicide bomber blew
himself up in a market in the southern section of the city, Abdul-Qadir
said. Associated Press Television News cameras filmed pools of blood on the
ground around the market while firefighters struggled to break into shops
where fires were raging.
Two other car bombs around the city killed one other person and injured at
least five, Abdul-Qadir said.
The American military said the Marine was killed in combat in Anbar
province, the Sunni heartland west of Baghdad on Saturday.
Three soldiers died in a roadside bombing Saturday south of Baghdad, and one
soldier was killed in a roadside bombing Friday night southwest of the
capital. The soldiers' names were being withheld pending notification of
their families.
In Baghdad Sunday, Interior Ministry undersecretary Hala Shakir Salim
survived a roadside bomb attack that killed seven others, the latest
government official targeted in a campaign by insurgents to undermine the
U.S.-backed government.
Four bystanders and three bodyguards were killed in the blast that hit as
Salim was being driven to work from her home in Baghdad's eastern
Mustansiriya neighborhood, police Capt. Mohammed Abdul-Ghani said. Salim is
the chief financial officer for the ministry, which runs the Iraqi police
forces.
A husband, wife and two of their sons were killed and two daughters-in-law
critically wounded Sunday morning when gunmen burst into their home in
Mosul, Iraq's third largest city 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of
Baghdad. Police Col. Eid al-Jibouri said the identities of the attackers and
their motive were unknown.
South of Baghdad, three women and four men were killed in drive-by shootings
in the predominantly Shiite village of Wahda on Saturday afternoon,
according to provincial police spokesman Lt. Hadi Hassan.
Two policeman were killed in attacks by unidentified gunmen in the northern
city of Mosul and in Suwayrah, 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Baghdad,
police spokesmen said.
A suicide bomber apparently targeting plain clothes policemen blew himself
up in the city of Tal Afar 420 kilometers (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad,
killing an eight-year-old and wounding six others, Najim Abdullah, the
provincial governor said.
A bomb also exploded Sunday morning in the old bazaar in the southern city
of Basra, injuring 3 people, police Capt. Karim al-Zaidi said.
Also Sunday, the U.S. military announced Iraq's Central Criminal Court had
sentenced an al-Qaida member to death and convicted 64 others on charges of
belonging to armed groups and other crimes, the U.S. military command said
Sunday.
The military's statement did not name the man condemned to death, but said
he was a "known member of the al-Qaida organization." Others sentenced to
life in prison included a Saudi Arabian man that the court said had admitted
to coming to Iraq to fight U.S. and government forces.