5 Americans Killed; Baghdad Hit By Bomb
A parked car bomb exploded near a market in a predominantly Shiite area in Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 21 people and wounding more than 60, police said. The U.S. military also said four American troops had died in fighting northeast of the capital, raising to five the number reported killed.
Smoke billowed into the sky after the thunderous explosion, which also left nine cars burned and set a three-story building on fire in the busy Karradah shopping district, according to police and hospital officials who gave the casualty toll.
It was the deadliest in a series of attacks that left more than 40 people dead nationwide.
The three U.S. Marines and a sailor died Tuesday while conducting combat operations in Diyala province — the site of a major military operation against a Sunni insurgent stronghold, the military said Thursday. It announced earlier that a U.S. soldier had been killed Wednesday during a gun battle in southern Baghdad.
Identities of the dead were withheld pending notification of relatives.
Earlier Thursday, Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the top day-to-day U.S. commander in Iraq, expressed cautious optimism over a decline in the number of American troops killed this month.
At least 64 U.S. troops have died so far in July, after the death toll topped 100 for the previous three months, according to an Associated Press tally based on military statements.
Odierno said it appeared that casualties had increased as fresh U.S. forces expanded operations into militant strongholds as part of the five-month-old security operation aimed at clamping off violence in the capital, but were going down as the Americans gained control of the areas.
"We've started to see a slow but gradual reduction in casualties, and it continues in July," he said at a joint news conference with Iraqi military commander Maj. Gen. Abboud Qanbar. "It's an initial positive sign, but I would argue we need a bit more time to make an assessment whether it's a true trend."
On a less positive note, Odierno (seen at left) said the military had noted a "significant improvement" in the aim of attackers firing rockets and mortars into the heavily fortified Green Zone in the past three months, a trend he linked to training in Iran.
Odierno said networks continue to smuggle powerful roadside bombs and mortars across the border from Iran despite Tehran's assertions that it supports stability in Iraq.
His remarks came two days after the U.S. and Iranian ambassadors to Iraq met in Baghdad and agreed to establish a security committee to jointly address the violence amid Washington's allegations that Tehran is fueling the violence by support Shiite militias. Odierno said the military also believes training of extremists is being conducted in Iran.
"One of the reasons why we're sitting down with the Iranian government ... is trying to solve some of these problems," Odierno said at a news conference in the Green Zone, which is home to the U.S. Embassy and the Iraqi government headquarters.
"We have seen in the last three months a significant improvement in the capability of mortarmen and rocketeers to provide accurate fires into the Green Zone and other places, and we think this is directly related to training that is conducted in Iran," Odierno said. "So we continue to go after these networks with the Iraqi security forces."
Iran has denied the U.S. allegations about its activities in Iraq.
Attacks against the sprawling complex along the Tigris River in the center of Baghdad have increased in recent months, adding to the concern over the safety of key Iraqi and international officials and thousands of U.S. soldiers and contractors who live and work there.
On July 10, a barrage of more than a dozen mortars or rockets struck the area, killing at least three people, including an American, and wounding 18. In a report last month, the United Nations office in Baghdad said the "threat of indirect fire" — meaning rockets and mortars — into the Green Zone had increased, adding that the barrages had become "increasingly concentrated and accurate."
In other developments:
Jordan and Syria complained Thursday they have been abandoned by the West to deal with the massive burden of more than 2 million Iraqi refugees who have fled the violence in their homeland.
A roadside bomb struck a police patrol on the road between Hillah and Diwaniyah on Thursday, killing five officers and wounding two as they were on their way home from an operation with U.S. forces, police said. Diwaniyah, 80 miles south of Baghdad, has been the site of heavy clashes between U.S.-Iraqi security forces and Shiite militia fighters.
Baghdad residents swept up debris from bloodstained pavement a day after two suicide bombings killed at least 50 cheering, dancing, flag-waving fans celebrating Iraq's national soccer team's semifinal victory in the Asian Cup tournament. The attacks bore the hallmarks of Sunni militants who have fueled the violence in Iraq for nearly four years. The bombings, in parked cars less than an hour apart in separate corners of Baghdad, appeared designed to gain attention rather than target a particular sect.
CBS News reporter Vicki Barker reports an international conference is under way in Jordan to try and figure out how the region should deal more than 4 million people displaced from their homes by violence in Iraq. The United Nations is seeking money from the international community, and is also asking the U.S., European Union and Britain to help re-settle more refugees.
Iraq's Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi's office said the moderate Sunni leader had met with U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker on Wednesday to discuss his political bloc's objections to the leadership of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The meeting occurred on the same day al-Hashemi's Iraqi Accordance Front suspended membership in the government, a bid that appeared timed to deepen disenchantment in Washington with the Shiite prime minister's faltering leadership.
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Smoke billowed into the sky after the thunderous explosion, which also left nine cars burned and set a three-story building on fire in the busy Karradah shopping district, according to police and hospital officials who gave the casualty toll.
It was the deadliest in a series of attacks that left more than 40 people dead nationwide.
The three U.S. Marines and a sailor died Tuesday while conducting combat operations in Diyala province — the site of a major military operation against a Sunni insurgent stronghold, the military said Thursday. It announced earlier that a U.S. soldier had been killed Wednesday during a gun battle in southern Baghdad.
Identities of the dead were withheld pending notification of relatives.
Earlier Thursday, Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the top day-to-day U.S. commander in Iraq, expressed cautious optimism over a decline in the number of American troops killed this month.
At least 64 U.S. troops have died so far in July, after the death toll topped 100 for the previous three months, according to an Associated Press tally based on military statements.
Odierno said it appeared that casualties had increased as fresh U.S. forces expanded operations into militant strongholds as part of the five-month-old security operation aimed at clamping off violence in the capital, but were going down as the Americans gained control of the areas.
"We've started to see a slow but gradual reduction in casualties, and it continues in July," he said at a joint news conference with Iraqi military commander Maj. Gen. Abboud Qanbar. "It's an initial positive sign, but I would argue we need a bit more time to make an assessment whether it's a true trend."
(AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Odierno said networks continue to smuggle powerful roadside bombs and mortars across the border from Iran despite Tehran's assertions that it supports stability in Iraq.
His remarks came two days after the U.S. and Iranian ambassadors to Iraq met in Baghdad and agreed to establish a security committee to jointly address the violence amid Washington's allegations that Tehran is fueling the violence by support Shiite militias. Odierno said the military also believes training of extremists is being conducted in Iran.
"One of the reasons why we're sitting down with the Iranian government ... is trying to solve some of these problems," Odierno said at a news conference in the Green Zone, which is home to the U.S. Embassy and the Iraqi government headquarters.
"We have seen in the last three months a significant improvement in the capability of mortarmen and rocketeers to provide accurate fires into the Green Zone and other places, and we think this is directly related to training that is conducted in Iran," Odierno said. "So we continue to go after these networks with the Iraqi security forces."
Iran has denied the U.S. allegations about its activities in Iraq.
Attacks against the sprawling complex along the Tigris River in the center of Baghdad have increased in recent months, adding to the concern over the safety of key Iraqi and international officials and thousands of U.S. soldiers and contractors who live and work there.
On July 10, a barrage of more than a dozen mortars or rockets struck the area, killing at least three people, including an American, and wounding 18. In a report last month, the United Nations office in Baghdad said the "threat of indirect fire" — meaning rockets and mortars — into the Green Zone had increased, adding that the barrages had become "increasingly concentrated and accurate."
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Posted by FeelFree1 at 09:45 PM : Jul 27, 2007
feely ol' girl
Spectrum already has Diarrhea of the mouth so that is a good question,
bush loving, flag waving, bible thumping, war making, evangelist creeps and republican snakes.
the south never does good for america.
always war, hate, arrogance, belligerent, ignorant pieces of anti-american snakes.
the south should secede again...
i'm sure no one would stop them .
ha,ha,ha.
america's getting a good look at you dixie snakes...
and they don't like what they see.
nothing good comes out of the south.
Re: "Anyone caught performing a religious act should be shot on sight as an example to the rest to start behaving. No funerals allowed either, dig your own graves in the dirt floor of your own houses."
"All demonstrators would be considered rioters, also subject to being shot on sight and en masse."
"More killing definitely needs to be done starting with the leaders until they conform to secular overlords since their gods can't seem to help them out either. Bow to the guns, raggies."
Hmmm.....grave digging, shooting demonstrators, killing, bowing,......you are a true visionary, but are you sure that they will have the time to do all of this, on top of their dancing and flower-throwing duties?
Have you ever been screened for syphilis?
Very thoughtful.
your suggestions sound fine except:
Saudi Arabia will never allow Maliki and his Shiites to get control of Iraq, being Sunni, they believe that Iran, being Shiite, is backing Maliki.
Iran will not allow the Sunni's to gain any control because of their favor during Saddam and also because of their closeness to Saudi Arabia.
Peacekeepers would probably be kidnapped by one or the other.
Partitioning might have more success. Biden seems to think so and, ultimately, that may be the only solution left ~ however, the longer we continue to dessimate the country, the harder it will become for any solution.
1. Does anyone know about any diplomatic efforts to understand or resolve the fighting in Iraq?
2. What would you think about peacekeepers going in to take the place of our soldiers?
3. Why not think about partitioning the country?
We heard again today that it is Saudi Arabia who is sending militants and funding the Sunni militants. Saudi has repeatedly told the administration that it would be a mistake to invade Iraq. They warned them of the consequences of invading Iraq. They continue to warn them of the inadvisability of staying there. And being Saudi's, they have made sure it is proven to be so. We really do not have an ally in the Middle East anymore. It will take a long time for that part of the world to view America as anything but an aggressor. The longer we continue on our present course with our present leaders, the longer it will take for any of these countries to trust us in any kind of world leadership position.
Re: "Submit your evidence to the NY Times or to various European news organizations about the CIA suicide bombers you claim are at work in Iraq. They'd be glad to publicize such a scandal."
Sure thing. I'll forward it to Judith Miller. I'm sure that she will get to the bottom of it.
Keep on gobbling up propaganda. There is plenty more where that came from.
Submit your evidence to the NY Times or to various European news organizations about the CIA suicide bombers you claim are at work in Iraq. They'd be glad to publicize such a scandal. Send your evidence to any one of a thousand anti-establishment lawyers in the US/UK/Israel, they'd be overjoyed to take it to court. Take your evidence yourself to the European Parliament and its anti-CIA members and let them present it to the Int'l. Court of Justice. The problem with all these alternatives is that there either is no evidence to begin with for your claim, which is a fantasy of the Islamist press, or it has been looked at and rejected by anybody with any standing in the press or the courts. Not even the Iranians will hold a public inquiry about such claims or press such claims at the UN or the Hague.