U.S. Air Strike Kills 6 Iraqi Fighters

3 U.S. Troops Killed By Bomb; Friendly Fire Claims Members Of U.S.-Allied Awakening Council

(CBS/AP)  Three U.S. soldiers were killed in a roadside bombing, the military said, bringing the American death toll since the war's start five years ago closer to 4,000. Two Iraqi civilians also were killed in the attack northwest of Baghdad.

Two of the Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldiers died when the bomb struck their vehicle during a patrol, according to a statement. The third died later of wounds suffered in the attack, the military said.

The statement did not provide more details about the location. The soldiers' identities were not released because relatives had not yet been notified.

The latest deaths brought to 3,996 the number of U.S. service members and Pentagon civilians who have died since the war began on March 20, 2003, according to an Associated Press count. Rocket or mortar fire killed one U.S. soldier and wounded four others Friday south of Baghdad, the military said.

Meanwhile, a U.S. attack helicopter fired on two checkpoints manned by U.S.-allied Sunni fighters near Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, killing six and injuring two, Iraqi police said.

The U.S. military said an AH-64 Apache helicopter fired on the positions after five people were "spotted conducting suspicious terrorist activity" in an area notorious for roadside bombs.

"Initial reports suggested the attack may have been a Sons of Iraq checkpoint," the military said, using a term for the armed U.S.-backed groups. "The incident is currently under a joint Iraqi-Coalition Force investigation."

A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information, said the six members of the so-called awakening council were killed and two others were wounded when an air strike hit two checkpoints about 100 yards apart.

The air strikes came some two hours after U.S. soldiers stopped at the two checkpoints to meet with the Sunni fighters, according to a local leader for the so-called awakening council.

"They asked us general questions like: have you gotten your IDs and do you need anything and then they left," Sabbar al-Bazi told The Associated Press. "Two hours later, after I had gone home, I heard two explosions, probably caused by two missiles, and machine-gun fire from a helicopter."

Lt. Col. Dhiya Mahmoud Ahmed, an Iraqi military officer in charge of security in the area, said he told the Americans after the attack that he had been aware of the friendly checkpoints for two days.

AP Television News footage of the aftermath showed awakening council members loading bodies into a pickup. Their faces were masked and they wore bright yellow vests - apparently to identify themselves for U.S. forces as members of friendly groups. Bloodstained rocks and bits of flesh could be seen around the checkpoint.

U.S.-funded awakening councils, which first sprung up in Anbar province west of Baghdad and spread to Baghdad and surrounding areas, are composed of ex-Sunni insurgents who turned against al Qaeda in Iraq and joined forces with the Americans.

But the Shiite-dominated leadership in Baghdad has been ambivalent toward the mostly Sunni councils, fearing they could turn against the government as America draws down its forces.

The U.S. command credits those groups, a cease-fire by anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia and the addition of an extra 30,000 American troops with a drastic drop in violence nationwide.

However, as told in this video produced by GuardianFilms for Britain's Channel 4, thousands of Iraqis employed at $10 a day by the U.S. to take on insurgents as part of awakening councils are going on strike because they haven't been paid.

Sunni men in Diyala province said they have been used by the Americans "to do their dirty work" in battling al Qaeda in Iraq fighters, for which American and Iraqi politicians have claimed political success.

The men, who say they are excluded from jobs in the police and army by the Shia government, feel abandoned by the U.S. and showed their discontent by staging a strike.

Comments from dozens of awakening councils across the country showed that a majority had not been paid, and are considering a nationwide, coordinated strike.

U.S. Army Captain Robert Gable told the filmmakers, "If they quit, then it appears that the public is quitting with them, and then it's all reliant on the government of Iraq to provide security. That is something that we hope does not happen."

Al Sadr Followers In Power Struggle

Tensions between rival Shiite militia factions loosely associated with al-Sadr's movement have been on the rise amid a violent struggle for power in the oil-rich south.

U.S. officials have been careful to avoid accusing the young cleric of any role in recent fighting but have cracked down on his followers in volatile cities south of Baghdad and in the capital itself.

The U.S. military officials also said insurgents had used mortars to attack a military outpost in Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad, on Saturday but no casualties were reported.

On Friday, U.S. and Iraqi troops clashed with Shiite gunmen in southwestern Baghdad.

The U.S. command said American helicopters fired a Hellfire missile and a 30 mm cannon at gunmen who had attacked troops with mortars or rockets. Six of the gunmen were killed and three others detained, the military said.

Al-Sadr proclaimed a cease-fire last August and extended it indefinitely last month. But Al-Sadr's supporters have complained the Shiite-led government has used the cease-fire to accelerate a crackdown against their movement in the capital and the Shiite heartland to the south.

The firebrand cleric, who led two uprisings against U.S.-led forces in 2004, has authorized his followers to defend themselves if attacked.

In Other Developments

• A bomb exploded on a minibus in a predominantly Shiite area in eastern Baghdad, killing at least 1 passenger and wounding eight others, including a woman, police said.
  
  
• A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol also killed one passer-by and wounded seven other people, including five officers, in the northern city of Kirkuk, according to police Col. Burhan Tayyeb.
  
  
• Late Saturday, bombs exploded at four offices of the Iraqi Red Crescent Society in the Mansour district of Baghdad, causing damage but no casualties. The Red Crescent Society is the Muslim world's equivalent of the Red Cross.
  
  
• A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol also killed one passer-by and injured seven, including five officers, in the northern city of Kirkuk, police said.
  
  
• An awakening council member in western Baghdad's Mansour neighborhood was killed and four others were injured in a mortar blast, police and hospital officials said.

[prinzowhales]

The entire Clinton move into Kosovo and the war against Iraq are part and parcel of a strategy proposed by the Cheney DoD under Bush41. Clinton carried out the first war of aggression against Yugoslavia...Bush 43 the war against Iraq. One nice big happy Demopublican Regime...

[mcvet]

Posted by obama8years at 08:56 PM : Mar 22, 2008
+ report abuse

I''m not concerned about what you say about Obama, you freaks have been doing stuff like this for years. What I''d like to know is what possible reason would we have to stick with the Republican''s? They told us this war would last 6 months and wouldn''t cost us anything. Now I''d say going into the 6th year and paying out 28 Billion a Month raises serious questions about their ability to govern as well as their ability to tell the truth. Sieg Heil Bush

[mcvet]

Posted by lastdance51 at 09:36 PM : Mar 22, 2008

lastdance

always bashing the war widows calling them prostitutes.

lastdance

proud defender of murdering of Iraqi civilians by al-qaeda

lastdance

always blasting our commander-in-chief and the CIA

lastdance

Take a last dance and trip back to your NAZI DEMONRATS Party headquarter in your fantasy Island.

signed: BagghdadsHere


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Posted by BaghdadsHere at 09:47 PM : Mar 22, 2008
+ report abuse

Have you EVER in your entire life had an orginal Idea? I''ve seen you post NOTHING on here except to attack another poster.. a very childish and stupid attempt to prevent them from expressing their opinion. If you have a defense for the conduct of the Fascist Government, let''s hear it. After all you and they have been in control for some time now. Sieg Heil Bush

[alphaa10-2009]

As part of its attempt to keep the horrendous loss of blood and treasure out of US media, the Pentagon will not release publicy the number of American wounded. An FOI request is required.

Likewise, the Pentagon will not allow the press to photograph coffins arrrving at Dover AFB. Or photograph soldier funerals-- even at a respectful distance.

And likewise, the Pentagon does not consider a soldier who dies of wounds suffered in Iraq to be an Iraq theater casualty-- unless he dies in Iraq.

On this basis, the toll of American dead passed 4,000 at least one year ago.

This is our country, and supposed to be our government-- not the private preserve of Bush and his gang who have hijacked our political system for themselves.

[alphaa10-2009]

This friendly fire is most obviously a tragedy. It is impossible to rationalize a satisfactory answer.

And when this happens routinely in Afghanistan-- so routinely it reaches the point where Karzai, himself, asks that the bombings stop-- is it the same problem?

Sometimes, only a friendly fire tragedy can wake people up to a situation that desperately needs remedy.

[racam_us]

Is this Bush propaganda to balance out the news of the loss of American soldiers lives. A thousand of their lives would not be worth one American soldiers life. This is going to keep happening until Americans refuse to send their sons and husbands and fathers to be sacrificed for oil.

[baghdadshere]

In The Year 2000
Former : Defense Secretary Rumsfeld - Was involved in selling
a Nuclear Plant to : North Korea
Along with the technology to refine : Uranium and produce Plutonium.
The main ingredients of a : Nuclear Weapon

Treason was once a Criminal Act

Posted by lastdance51 at 09:36 PM : Mar 22, 2008

lastdance

always bashing the war widows calling them prostitutes.

lastdance

proud defender of murdering of Iraqi civilians by al-qaeda

lastdance

always blasting our commander-in-chief and the CIA

lastdance

Take a last dance and trip back to your NAZI DEMONRATS Party headquarter in your fantasy Island.

signed: BagghdadsHere

[rowdytexan2]

Rowdy, there have been several studies on media bias all indicating the majority of media being left leaning.

The government does not control your media. If they did I would ask them to get rid of Katie.




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Posted by donbl1 at 08:21 PM : Mar 22, 2008

Getting rid of Katie is not a bad idea. I have never seen so many stupid interviews.

However, you are quite wrong about the control of our media. It is definitely controlled what gets fed to us. aka the Obama stardom.

As we speak another article is up accusing Bill Clinton of saying Obama is unpatriotic. It''s the biggest piece of horse site journalism I''ve seen.

Now who do you think is supporting such nonsense?

[obama8years]

Obama is more than the church. I would like Khalidi and Ayers to be brought to the attention of the networks. Khalidi is pro-Palestinian and wants to destroy israel and the Jews. Go to the Woods Fund from when Obama was there. He is a supporter of Obama. This is where Obama got to say I will shake hands with Iran. Ayers bombed government buildings in the US. He and Obama are friends. They taught together in Illinois. Khalidi teaches at Columbis U. That is why the Iranian A%u2026 went to Columbia to make a speech. These people hate America and are supporting Obama. It%u2019s all there. I would love for Hannity to bring this out since the other networks won%u2019t. That is the real Obama. Yes, people who voted for him have been duped. Farrqahkan, Khalidi, Ayers, Wright, etc. are giving Obama lots of monry to support the anti-American, pro-Arab movement

[donbl1]

Rowdy, on oil,,,,,

I think the war was about getting a Western toehold in the middle of the ME. BECAUSE the vast majority of the oil is located there.

Wars have been fought over this for millenia.