Iraqi Priest Killed In Drive-By Shooting

Baghdad Bomb Strikes Minibus, Kills At Least 4; Sporadic Gunfire Continues In Basra

(AP)  A Christian priest was killed in a drive-by shooting and a bomb exploded on a minibus, killing at least four passengers Saturday in separate attacks in Baghdad, police said.

The priest, Youssef Adel, was driving to a church when gunmen in another car sped past him and opened fire in the central district of Karradah, two police officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information.

Adel's religious affiliation was not immediately available. Iraq is a predominantly Islamic country but has a number of religious minorities, including Catholics and Orthodox Christians, who have faced frequent attacks.

The minibus was bombed shortly before 8 a.m. as people were going to work on busy Palestine Street in eastern Baghdad, a police officer said, declining to be identified for the same reason.

The four passengers killed and 15 wounded were primarily workers and vendors from the Sadr City district who were on their way to commercial areas elsewhere in the capital, the officer said.

The attacks underscored the dangers that continue to face Iraqis in Baghdad and elsewhere as attacks persist despite a sharp decline in violence over recent months amid a U.S.-Iraqi security crackdown.

The Iraqi government, meanwhile, eased security measures in two Baghdad neighborhoods that are strongholds of Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia - Sadr City and Shula - amid complaints of food shortages nearly a week after the radical Shiite cleric issued a cease-fire order.

Trucks carrying maintenance teams, food, oil products and ambulances are now allowed to get into the areas, according to a statement issued by Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, Baghdad's chief Iraqi military spokesman.

The areas - including Sadr City, home to some 2.5 million Shiites and the militia's largest base - have suffered as a vehicle ban remained effect despite the lifting of a curfew elsewhere in the capital earlier this week.

While al-Sadr's order put an end to large-scale fighting that broke out over a government crackdown in the southern city of Basra, clashes have continued between his fighters and Iraqi security forces.

Sporadic gunfire could still be heard in Basra, although it was relatively calm as aid workers delivered humanitarian assistance to the beleaguered residents.

Associated Press Television News footage showed neighbors in the Hayaniyah area examining the rubble of a house they said was destroyed in an air strike Friday evening in the militia stronghold.

Police said five people were killed in the strike, acknowledging they included an unspecified number of militants who had fired a mortar at Iraqi security forces.

British military spokesman Maj. Tom Holloway said an attack helicopter hit a position from which militants were firing at Iraqi forces in Hayaniyah, but he gave no information about casualties and did not specify whether the aircraft was U.S. or British.

A series of air strikes have struck suspected militant positions since the fighting erupted on March 25, drawing American and British forces into the battle and casting further doubt on the ability of Iraqi forces to take over their own security.

The White House has conditioned further U.S. troop withdrawals on the readiness of the Iraqi military and police.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had suggested he planned similar crackdowns in Sadr City and Shula earlier this week, but instead he ordered a nationwide freeze on Iraqi raids against Shiite militants on Friday.

The reversal came after al-Sadr hinted at retaliation if Iraqi security forces continue to arrest his followers.

In Amman, Jordan, David Shearer, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said an estimated 700 people were killed and more than 1,500 were wounded in fighting that erupted after the Basra crackdown. He said the figures could rise "as facts and the numbers become more clear."

U.S. and Iraqi authorities had insisted the Basra operation was not aimed at al-Sadr's powerful political movement but instead at ridding the streets of criminals and gunmen who had effectively ruled the city since 2005.

But al-Sadr's supporters believed the crackdown was aimed at weakening their movement before provincial elections this fall. Al-Sadr expects to score major electoral gains against Shiite parties that work with the Americans.

[missingamerica]

Well, the next American government can withdraw its support of Israel and fix that little problem. Everyone feeling better now?

Posted by REALITYCALLS at 12:24 AM : Apr 06, 2008

Is that you, Kristol?

[hbevis]

THIS IS THE FIRST POST ABOUT THIS STORY. IT SEEMS THAT THE REST OF THE POST ALL HAVE SOME KIND OF NEGATIVE SLANT. WHY??? WHY DON''T PEOPLE HAVE SOMETHING POSITIVE TO TALK ABOUT. WHAT THIS WHOLE THING GETS DOWN TO, IS THAT THE RADICAL MUSLIM FIGHTERS ARE FIGHTING ANOTHER HOLY WAR LIKE THEY DID SEVEN OR EIGHT HUNDRED YEARS AGO. I THINK IT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR MANY YEARS. IT HAS JUST GOTTEN MUCH WORSE SINCE WE WENT INTO IRAQ. AND IT IS GOING TO GET WORSE NOT BETTER.

This demonstrates that in Iraq there is no real government. Anarchy rules the day. One could call it a civil war, but it''''s too difficult to know exactly who is killing who. War 101 on how to win the battle, but not the peace.


Posted by rudy654 at 11:46 PM : Apr 05, 2008

[hungry1968]

Of the minibus bombing that killed 4, and the Basra crackdown that killed 700, are secondary stories under the headline "Priest Killed"?

One man out ranks 704 others in priority?

Or is CBS just trying to make an inflammatory story for better ratings?

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by newsterl at 12:39 AM

You are really whacked, aren''t you? There has been a sizable Christian population for centuries in Iraq. Yeah, I don''t agree with their religion, but clap,clap,clap? Bizarre.

[newsterl]

CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP!

He should have STAYED out of a country where his brand of religion is UN-wanted.

[rudy654-2009]

This demonstrates that in Iraq there is no real government. Anarchy rules the day. One could call it a civil war, but it''s too difficult to know exactly who is killing who. War 101 on how to win the battle, but not the peace.

[jerr11]

Bush''s greatest accomplishment:

Took away Iraq''s secular government, turned it into an islamist state and gave it to the Iranians.

Now they''re killing Christians in Iraq.

Thanks to George W Bush - Son of Satan

Damned for all time!

[swwils]

That shows you right there that those extremist are nuts,they are killing their own Priest.We just have to keep protection on the oil and let them live their lives.Change is not fourth coming to Iraq.They will still be fighting each other when sticks and stones are the weapons again.

[termtex01]

"The President who was never deigned to go to Dover Air Force Base to salute the fallen who are coming home says no photographs of their coffins can be permitted because that would hurt the feelings of the families.
Posted by getcentered at 04:26 PM : Apr 05, 2008"

This is true, and another reason is gutless propogandists like you would use each and every coffin photo for your own little political rants, rather than giving them and their grieving families the respect they deserve.

You and that ranting preacher from Kansas who holds bigotted rallies at military funerals are two of a kind.

[termtex01]

Why is this story buried? You want proof Iran has a controlling influence over insurgents in Iraq? Here it is.

Officials Confirm Iran''s Role In Truce
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/05/ap/middleeast/main3996013.shtml?source=search_story

"(AP) Officials in Iran confirmed for the first time Saturday that the country played an important role in brokering a recent truce between the Iraqi government and anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Iran''s Shiite government helped end the clashes between Iraqi government troops and al-Sadr''s Mahdi Army militia for the sake of Shiite unity, said a senior Iranian official who deals with Iraq.

"It is in Iran''s best interests to see unity among Shiite factions," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki heads a Shiite-dominated government in Iraq, but has clashed with other Shiite factions in the country, including the one led by al-Sadr."