BAGHDAD, Dec. 7, 2007

Suicide Blasts Target Sunni Allies In Iraq

2 Bombs Hit Anti-Al Qaeda Groups In Diyala Province, Leave At Least 22 Dead

    • U.S. army soldiers attached to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, walk down a hallway in a building during a security operation in central Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007.

      U.S. army soldiers attached to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, walk down a hallway in a building during a security operation in central Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007.  (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

    • A U.S. army soldier pays his last respect to his fallen comrade, Sgt. Blair W. Emery, a soldier from the 571st Military Police Company, during a memorial service at Camp Warhorse, about 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2007.

      A U.S. army soldier pays his last respect to his fallen comrade, Sgt. Blair W. Emery, a soldier from the 571st Military Police Company, during a memorial service at Camp Warhorse, about 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2007.  (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

    • Army Gen. David Petraeus, commander, Multi-National Forces-Iraq, at a joint-news conference with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi, Dec. 5, 2007, in Baghdad, Iraq.

      Army Gen. David Petraeus, commander, Multi-National Forces-Iraq, at a joint-news conference with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi, Dec. 5, 2007, in Baghdad, Iraq.  (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

    • Iraqi Shiites carry a banner containing the names of Shiite victims killed in Diyala Province, as they take part in a demonstration in Al-Maamel neighborhood, on the eastern outskirts of Baghdad, December 6, 2007. Militants, possibly allied to al Qaeda in Iraq, raided a village northeast of Baghdad last week killing at least 10 people, officials said.

      Iraqi Shiites carry a banner containing the names of Shiite victims killed in Diyala Province, as they take part in a demonstration in Al-Maamel neighborhood, on the eastern outskirts of Baghdad, December 6, 2007. Militants, possibly allied to al Qaeda in Iraq, raided a village northeast of Baghdad last week killing at least 10 people, officials said.  (Getty Images/Wissam Al-Okaili)

    • Iraqis carry the coffin of their relative during his funeral in the shrine city of Najaf, December 6, 2007. The victim was killed yesterday by a car bomb in Baghdad's Karrada neighbourhood along with 13 others in the blast that also wounded 32, as U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates was meeting Iraqi leaders in the nearby heavily-fortified Green Zone.

      Iraqis carry the coffin of their relative during his funeral in the shrine city of Najaf, December 6, 2007. The victim was killed yesterday by a car bomb in Baghdad's Karrada neighbourhood along with 13 others in the blast that also wounded 32, as U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates was meeting Iraqi leaders in the nearby heavily-fortified Green Zone.  (Getty Images/Qassem Zein)

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(CBS/AP)  A female suicide bomber attacked the offices of an anti-al Qaeda group that has joined forces with the U.S., killing 12 people Friday in one of Iraq's most violent provinces, police and the U.S. military said.

A second attack at a checkpoint manned by Iraqi soldiers and another of the U.S-backed groups killed 10 people, an Iraqi army officer said.

The attacks - about 10 miles apart - highlighted the dangers for the U.S.-backed groups, which often include former insurgents who have turned against al Qaeda in Iraq. The groups are credited with helping stem Iraq's violence along with the influx of U.S. troops.

Both bombings were in Diyala, the province just north of Baghdad that remains one of the country's most violent regions despite dramatic security gains in the capital and elsewhere.

In the first attack, in the city of Muqdadiyah, 10 of those killed were members of the local anti-al Qaeda group who have partnered with U.S. and Iraqi forces to rid their neighborhood of militants, said Brig. Gen. Mohammed al-Tamimi, the city police chief, who said the bombing claimed 15 lives and wounded 20. The U.S. military said 12 people died and 17 were wounded.

Ibrahim Bajalan, the head of Diyala provincial council, said the bomber was a former member of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party whose two sons joined al Qaeda and were killed by Iraqi security forces.

"She wanted to avenge the killing of her two sons," he told The Associated Press. He said 15 people died and 35 were wounded when she detonated a belt of explosives.

The U.S. statement there was no confirmation that any of the dead or wounded were part of the anti-al Qaeda group. About half the wounded were taken to a nearby base for treatment, said Maj. Peggy Kageilery, a U.S. military spokeswoman for northern Iraq.

Jassim Jerad, a former Iraqi soldier who was injured in the bombing, said he saw a woman approaching the offices, then felt the explosion.

"I fell down, but stood up quickly to save my son, who was screaming," he said from his hospital bed, while his 6-year-old son wept nearby.

Later Friday, a suicide car bombing at a checkpoint near Mansouriayat al-Jabal killed seven Iraqi soldiers and three members of a local anti-al Qaeda group, according to Iraqi army Capt. Saad al-Zuhairi, who was about 150 yards away. Al-Zuhairi said the driver detonated his explosives when the guards asked to search the car.

In Other Developments:

  • CBS News correspondent Cami McCormick has the story of the Army's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, who have just returned to Ft. Hood, Texas after a harrowing 15-month tour in Diyala province. Some of the soldiers were shocked by how dangerous their deployment in the previously-unknown hotspot became. Now, the brigade's chaplain hopes the holidays will help the soldiers ease back into life off the battle field. (Listen to Cami McCormick's report)

  • A Marine was charged for a second time with murdering a detainee three years ago in Fallujah, Iraq, the military announced Friday. Sgt. Jermaine A. Nelson was charged with murder and dereliction of duty, charges that were earlier dismissed to give a general more time to review the case. Nelson is the second person charged in the case that centers on allegations that a Marine squad shot a group of unarmed captives during heavy fighting in November 2004.

  • A Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll shows that families with ties to the military - long a reliable source of support for wartime presidents - disapprove of President Bush and his handling of the war in Iraq, with a majority concluding the invasion was not worth it.

  • Tractor trailers, tank recovery vehicles, crates of machine guns and rocket propelled grenades are just a sampling of more than $1 billion in unaccounted for military equipment and services provided to the Iraqi security forces, according to a new report issued today by the Pentagon Inspector General and obtained exclusively by the CBS News investigative unit.

  • Democrats controlling Congress sent the most explicit signals yet on Thursday that they are resigned to providing additional funding for the war in Iraq before Congress adjourns for the year. Conceding that President Bush is in a strong position as Congress seeks to wrap up its work, Democrats are cooking up a pre-Christmas endgame that would deliver tens of billions of dollars for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan on conditions acceptable to the White House. The Iraq funding would ultimately be attached by Mr. Bush's Senate GOP allies to a $500 billion-plus "omnibus" appropriations bill taking shape in closed-door talks.

  • Insurgents exploded a bomb Friday under a key oil pipeline in northern Iraq, but oil continues to flow through the damaged pipe, Iraqi police said. The blast went off around 6 a.m. beneath a stretch of pipeline in al-Fatha, east of Beiji, police said. Leaking oil erupted in flames, and firefighters were still working to extinguish the fire by midmorning, they said. Beiji - which lies 155 miles north of Baghdad - houses northern Iraq's largest oil refinery, and serves as a key transfer point for crude oil being exported out of Iraq.

    Violence is down nationwide in Iraq, but has increased in the north, where al Qaeda militants and other extremists are believed to have fled a U.S.-led security crackdown that began in mid-February in Baghdad.

    As the influx of U.S. troops gained momentum earlier this year, American officials have courted both Sunni and Shiite tribal leaders around the country, hoping they will help lead local drives against al Qaeda and other militants. A similar effort saw some success in Iraq's westernmost province, Anbar, where Sunni tribes rose against the organization's brutality and austere version of Islam.

    The groups now include some 60,000 Iraqis nationwide, most of them Sunni Arabs, according to the U.S. military, and members have come under increasing attack from militants trying to offset recent security gains.

    Since the groups began forming in Diyala in July, many of their members have faced deadly militant strikes. In Baqouba, at least 13 have died in suicide attacks, roadside bombings shootings, according to records compiled from local police.

    © MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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    by firststate December 8, 2007 2:22 AM EST
    terrorislam6 or Lars by whichever name, confuses critical thinking with thinking of ways to be critical and bring more zeal to his bigotry. The madman who is the biggest threat for the world is in the White House, not Tehran. He decides what he wants to do and then tries to force the facts to fit his chosen course of action. By definition, many bushit policies are more appropriately called fascist than Iran''s. Christo-fascism is as repugnant as Islamo-fascism or any other variety of fascism.
    Reply to this comment
    by ajmarine1 December 8, 2007 1:44 AM EST
    Widely considered the father of community organizing, Alinsky brought together residents in Chicago''s Back of the Yards neighborhood in the 1930s. Yet the activist''s anti-establishment mantra made him a controversial figure.

    "He argued that powerless people could learn to trust one another and recognize their potential for making change," said Associate Professor of Sociology Hilary Silver. "I don''t think that anybody who advocates for poor people has been considered a mainstream guy in this country."

    Though some biographers labeled Alinsky a communist, he disputed those claims before his death in 1972.

    According to a March 3 article on MSNBC.com, Clinton''s thesis praised aspects of Alinsky''s vision and leadership style but criticized his overarching vision. In her 2003 autobiography "Living History," Clinton wrote, "I agreed with some of Alinsky''s ideas. b%u20AC& But we had a fundamental disagreement. He believed you could change the system only from the outside. I didn''t."

    In 1993, the Clinton White House asked Wellesley to make the thesis unavailable to the public, spurring speculation among some conservatives that Sen. Clinton''s writings revealed radical or communist sympathies. Accessible to Wellesley visitors since 2001, the paper could become fodder for the senator''s presidential opponents.

    http://media.www.browndailyherald.com/media/storage/paper472/news/2007/03/14/Feature/Hillary.Clintons.secret.Paper.An.Undergrad.Thesis.Enters.The.Race.For.08-2775160.shtml

    Reply to this comment
    by ajmarine1 December 8, 2007 1:44 AM EST
    Widely considered the father of community organizing, Alinsky brought together residents in Chicago''s Back of the Yards neighborhood in the 1930s. Yet the activist''s anti-establishment mantra made him a controversial figure.

    "He argued that powerless people could learn to trust one another and recognize their potential for making change," said Associate Professor of Sociology Hilary Silver. "I don''t think that anybody who advocates for poor people has been considered a mainstream guy in this country."

    Though some biographers labeled Alinsky a communist, he disputed those claims before his death in 1972.

    According to a March 3 article on MSNBC.com, Clinton''s thesis praised aspects of Alinsky''s vision and leadership style but criticized his overarching vision. In her 2003 autobiography "Living History," Clinton wrote, "I agreed with some of Alinsky''s ideas. b%u20AC& But we had a fundamental disagreement. He believed you could change the system only from the outside. I didn''t."

    In 1993, the Clinton White House asked Wellesley to make the thesis unavailable to the public, spurring speculation among some conservatives that Sen. Clinton''s writings revealed radical or communist sympathies. Accessible to Wellesley visitors since 2001, the paper could become fodder for the senator''s presidential opponents.

    http://media.www.browndailyherald.com/media/storage/paper472/news/2007/03/14/Feature/Hillary.Clintons.secret.Paper.An.Undergrad.Thesis.Enters.The.Race.For.08-2775160.shtml

    Reply to this comment
    by iceman_1960 December 8, 2007 1:44 AM EST
    Actually George W. Bush"s senior thesis was revealed at about the same time.

    But to the dismay of scholars, it was rendered illegible by beer stains.
    Reply to this comment
    by iceman_1960 December 8, 2007 1:42 AM EST
    "Not bad, but you can"t go by me, I have always thought that she was an attractive woman and I think Chelsea is too."
    - Posted by AJMarine1 at 10:37 PM : Dec 07, 2007

    She"s much better looking than Gennifer Flowers.

    Her senior thesis is described as written in "nuanced language" -- can you believe that ????
    Reply to this comment
    by ajmarine1 December 8, 2007 1:37 AM EST
    Posted by Iceman_1960 at 10:34 PM : Dec 07, 2007,

    Not bad, but you can''t go by me, I have always thought that she was an attractive woman and I think Chlese is too.
    Reply to this comment
    by iceman_1960 December 8, 2007 1:34 AM EST
    "Hillary"s hidden senior thesis" was revealed some time ago.

    Catch that foxy picture of her -- she looks like a young Hollywood actress:

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17388372/
    Reply to this comment
    by iceman_1960 December 8, 2007 1:29 AM EST
    "Last I read, she still had the college she attended refusing to release her master"s thesis. Can"t remember the name of the school at the moment."
    - Posted by formrusmcsgt at 09:38 PM : Dec 07, 2007

    Interesting. Actually it was her senior thesis. I don"t think she holds a master"s degree.

    It was at Wellesley, one of the top colleges in the nation, from which she graduated with honors.

    Believe it or not, there"s an entire Wikipedia article about this (if it hasn"t been vandalized):

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Rodham_senior_thesis
    Reply to this comment
    by ajmarine1 December 8, 2007 1:22 AM EST
    Posted by USAyesterday at 10:12 PM : Dec 07, 2007

    I''m leaving in an hour, it''s been pretty refreshing having conversations without someone attacking someone instead of discussing the article.

    Live Long and Prosper USA; have a good weekend.
    Reply to this comment
    by usayesterday December 8, 2007 1:12 AM EST
    AJ, it''s been fun as well

    I''ll be back on in a few hours (as usual).

    talk to you later

    Good night.
    Reply to this comment
    by usayesterday December 8, 2007 1:11 AM EST
    Hopefully he and all others like him are gone forever;........just a waste of good posting space.

    Posted by AJMarine1 at 10:04 PM : Dec 07, 2007
    ..........

    As long as we all are vigilant in reporting those spammers when the appear, (as I do).

    I think it was because we all got tired of it, that CBSnews finally did something about it.

    Oh, and good night donbl and j-
    Reply to this comment
    by ajmarine1 December 8, 2007 1:10 AM EST
    Posted by donbl1 at 10:05 PM : Dec 07, 2007


    Good night to you too Don, it''s been a good night.
    Reply to this comment
    by ajmarine1 December 8, 2007 1:09 AM EST
    Posted by j-whitman at 10:06 PM : Dec 07, 2007


    Enjoy,.....both the article and your meal, have a good one.
    Reply to this comment
    by j-whitman December 8, 2007 1:06 AM EST
    AJ,,, Got it thanks, I''ll read it later --- Gotta take my Pop out to eat
    Reply to this comment
    by donbl1 December 8, 2007 1:05 AM EST
    Good night, see ya''ll tomorrow.
    Reply to this comment
    by ajmarine1 December 8, 2007 1:04 AM EST
    Posted by USAyesterday at 10:02 PM : Dec 07, 2007


    Hopefully he and all others like him are gone forever;........just a waste of good posting space.
    Reply to this comment
    by usayesterday December 8, 2007 1:02 AM EST
    A true blessing isn''''t it.

    Posted by AJMarine1 at 10:01 PM : Dec 07, 2007
    ............

    Yes.

    Though now I wonder if I jinxed that!

    :-)
    Reply to this comment
    by ajmarine1 December 8, 2007 1:01 AM EST
    Good, lengthy discussions like this would not have been possible with a "Prophet" in the mix!

    Posted by USAyesterday at 09:54 PM : Dec 07, 2007


    A true blessing isn''t it.
    Reply to this comment
    by ajmarine1 December 8, 2007 12:58 AM EST
    Posted by formrusmcsgt at 09:54 PM : Dec 07, 2007

    Back at you Sgt., Have a good weekend.
    Reply to this comment
    by donbl1 December 8, 2007 12:57 AM EST
    J, on the Hillary secrecy, it is time for Bill to wag his finger at us and tell us he did not do that!

    He has tried to blame it on Bush and then on the Clinton Archives but it is really Clintons'' penchant for secrecy
    Reply to this comment
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