BAGHDAD, April 14, 2008

37 Killed Or Found Dead Across Iraq

12 Die After Car Bomb Explodes Near Iraqi Army Convoy; U.S. Soldier Killed By Roadside Bomb

    • Residents clean up after their shops burned down in eastern Baghdad, Monday, April 14, 2008. Several shops at the market in eastern Baghdad were set on fire after a road side bomb struck a U.S. humvee vehicle, police said. Photo

      Residents clean up after their shops burned down in eastern Baghdad, Monday, April 14, 2008. Several shops at the market in eastern Baghdad were set on fire after a road side bomb struck a U.S. humvee vehicle, police said.  (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

    • A Mahdi Army fighter controls a road in Basra, Iraq, March 29, 2008. Following last month's offensive, in which many Iraqi police and soldiers refused to fight against Shiite militia. Thirteen hundred Iraqi forces members have since been fired. Photo

      A Mahdi Army fighter controls a road in Basra, Iraq, March 29, 2008. Following last month's offensive, in which many Iraqi police and soldiers refused to fight against Shiite militia. Thirteen hundred Iraqi forces members have since been fired.  (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)

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  • Photo Essay Week In Iraq Photos

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(AP)  At least 37 people were killed or found dead across Iraq - half of them in bombings near the northwestern city of Mosul.

A U.S. soldier also was killed Monday by a roadside bomb in the northern Salahuddin province, the military said, raising to at least 4,033 the number of American military members who have died since the war started in March 2003.

The violence comes as the Iraqi government continues to deal with the failure of a major offensive that began on March 25 to dislodge militia groups from Basra, Iraq's second-largest city.

Iraqi security forces were surprised by the ferocious resistance mounted by the outnumbered militiamen, despite artillery and air support provided by U.S. and British forces.

More than 1,000 security troops - including a full infantry battalion - refused to fight or joined the militias, handing them weapons and vehicles.

The government and police officials announced Sunday that those forces along with some 300 police in the southern city of Kut had been fired for abandoning their posts or refusing to fight.

That decision drew an angry response from al-Sadr, who demanded Monday that the security forces be reinstated.

"All the brothers in the army and police who gave up their arms to their bothers (Sadrists), were only obeying their grand religious leaders and they were driven by their religious duties," the anti-U.S. cleric said.

"I call upon all concerned authorities to reconsider their decision to dismiss those people from the army and the police. I demand they be reinstated and even rewarded for their loyalty and devotion to their religion," he added.

The fighting, which quickly spread to other cities in the southern Shiite heartland and Baghdad, ebbed after al-Sadr ordered a cease-fire but sporadic violence continues.

A commander in the police department's serious crimes directorate, Maj. Ali Haider, was shot to death Sunday night, police said. Haider was a member of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, a Shiite political party that is often at odds with factions loyal to al-Sadr.

U.S. officials have praised Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, himself a Shiite, for showing determination in confronting the militias, but they also have said the Basra operation was hastily arranged and badly executed. Critics said it highlighted the Iraqi army's poor leadership and the low morale among its rank and file.

Clashes also continued in Baghdad, where Iraqi and U.S. troops have confronted the Mahdi Army. A large section of a market area in eastern Baghdad was set ablaze early Monday when a bomb exploded next to a convoy of U.S. military vehicles driving down a commercial thoroughfare. The U.S. military said no casualties were reported in the 2 a.m. blast.

Another roadside bomb hit a minibus in downtown Baghdad, killing five passengers and wounding nine, police said.

In northern Iraq, meanwhile, a parked car bomb exploded near an Iraqi army convoy in the Rabiaa area west of Mosul, killing 12 Kurdish soldiers and wounding five, police chief Col. Mutlaq al-Shimmari said.

A suicide bomber also blew himself up during a funeral for a Shiite family in Tal Afar, to the south of Mosul, killing five people and wounding 22, Mayor Najim Abdullah said.

Those attacks came hours after an explosives-laden car blew up in the city itself.

Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, is believed to be the last urban stronghold of al Qaeda in Iraq

Elsewhere in Iraq, the military said U.S. soldiers unearthed a mass grave Sunday containing as many as 30 badly decomposed bodies near Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles north of Baghdad.

In other developments:

  • Iraqi troops rescued a British journalist for CBS News in the southern city of Basra on Monday two months after he was kidnapped, the Iraqi military said.

  • The Department of Defense has released its latest American military casualty numbers for those who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the figures reveal non-fatal casualties that go well beyond the more than 4,000 U.S. troops who have died so far.

  • The U.S. military says it will release Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein after more than two years in custody. The statement said Hussein will be freed Wednesday now that Iraqi judicial committees have granted him amnesty for all allegations. Hussein has been in custody since April 12, 2006 when he was detained by U.S. Marines for alleged links to insurgents. The AP and Hussein deny any improper links and say he was only doing his job as a journalist.

  • After five years, Republicans and Democrats seem to have found common ground on at least one aspect of the war. From the fiercest war foes to the most steadfast Bush supporters, they are looking at Iraq's surging oil income and saying Baghdad should start picking up the tab, particularly for rebuilding hospitals, roads, power lines and the rest of the shattered country.


    © MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

    Video and Galleries from Iraq After Saddam

    Add a Comment See all 55 Comments
    by inventagod April 14, 2008 7:05 PM EDT

    Anyone else tired of endless oil invasions?
    Thanks, Bu$h.
    Reply to this comment
    by mcvet April 14, 2008 7:50 PM EDT
    More than 1,000 security troops - including a full infantry battalion - refused to fight or joined the militias, handing them weapons and vehicles.

    Now all of you that weren''t around during Vietnam, welcome to OUR world!! If you think these people are going to Kill each other for something they do NOT understand, you are flat out of your tree!! Sieg Heil Bush
    Reply to this comment
    by tejasdemo April 14, 2008 8:03 PM EDT
    My God ! When are we going to realize that we failed and let these people have their country back ?! We arent helping !
    I am sick of seeing young people killed over this nightmare.
    Reply to this comment
    by whight April 14, 2008 8:11 PM EDT
    Now George says we are winning. Kinda like we don''t torture. George does nothing but lie. When are we the people going to rid ourselves of this GOP failure?
    Reply to this comment
    by liberalme April 14, 2008 8:29 PM EDT
    More than 1,000 security troops - including a full infantry battalion - refused to fight or joined the militias, handing them weapons and vehicles.

    Ok we started this and now we are enablers--get the heII out!!

    Bush misrepresented the war in Iraq and used our troops as pawns to attract the terrorists.

    It seems to me, it''s going to take nationwide protesting for Washington to notice just how angry Americans are!!

    I''m 65, but I''ll carry a sign anywhere FOR our TROOPS.
    We are saddened and angry at the way our troops have been treated by this government from the onset to now, and no one will be held accountable, thanks to Pelosi, Kennedy, Reed and the rest of the do nothings in OUR Congress.
    I really hope they are all voted out in November!!

    Go to heII Bush and Cheney!
    Reply to this comment
    by liberalme April 14, 2008 8:30 PM EDT
    THERE IS NOTHING TO WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Reply to this comment
    by inventagod April 14, 2008 8:44 PM EDT
    I am desperately trying to believe the NeoCons did not pull off 9/11 for the oil, but it gets harder every day.
    I sure hope Bu$hCo did not plan the ''New Pearl Harbor'' to generate hatred against Muslems, but every day that passes makes me wonder why the USA invaded Iraq...
    Reply to this comment
    by jerr11 April 14, 2008 8:47 PM EDT
    935 lies.

    Tens of thousands killed because of those lies.

    George W Bush - Son of Satan.

    Damned for all time!

    In the words of Harry Powell, "A liar is an abomination before the eyes of the Lord."


    Reply to this comment
    by Hybdiesel April 14, 2008 9:09 PM EDT
    Hey folks you know the surge is working. Bushit and Gen. Btrayus both told us several times. I am over seventy years old but I am about ready to pick up my shotgun and declare war on all republicans and a few butt lickers in the democrat ranks. My legs are worn out but a good wheel chair with a turbo and mud grip tires and I will be ready to roll.
    Reply to this comment
    by underdogus April 14, 2008 9:10 PM EDT
    THERE IS NOTHING TO WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Posted by liberalme ...liberalism is a mental disorder............when the chickens come to roost they''ll be c.ock a doodle doing all over your 5000lb SUV....
    Reply to this comment
    by joyous88 April 14, 2008 9:12 PM EDT
    we lost another war but the surge is working

    we lost the occupation but the surge is working

    we lost our conomy but the surge is working

    bush is a criminal

    republicons are not americans
    Reply to this comment
    by underdogus April 14, 2008 9:13 PM EDT
    bring back the PINTO!! he,he,
    Reply to this comment
    by liberalme April 14, 2008 9:18 PM EDT
    THERE IS NOTHING TO WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Posted by liberalme ...liberalism is a mental disorder............when the chickens come to roost they''''ll be c.ock a doodle doing all over your 5000lb SUV....
    Posted by underdogus at 06:10 PM : Apr 14, 2008

    Don''t have an suv SA sooooooooooo tell me----What Will We Win????????????????????
    Reply to this comment
    by bgwinnett April 14, 2008 9:22 PM EDT
    THERE IS NOTHING TO WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Posted by liberalme at 05:30 PM : Apr 14, 2008

    Not quite if ruins count.
    Reply to this comment
    by underdogus April 14, 2008 9:23 PM EDT
    THE UNITED STATES WILL BE A THIRD WORLD NATION!!
    Reply to this comment
    by liberalme April 14, 2008 9:25 PM EDT
    THE UNITED STATES WILL BE A THIRD WORLD NATION!!



    Posted by underdogus at 06:23 PM : Apr 14, 2008

    Answer me--you disagreed==What will we WIN???????????? Come on your the genius
    Reply to this comment
    by underdogus April 14, 2008 9:26 PM EDT
    FREEDOM !!! ...............
    Reply to this comment
    by bgwinnett April 14, 2008 9:26 PM EDT
    THE UNITED STATES WILL BE A THIRD WORLD NATION!!

    Posted by underdogus at 06:23 PM : Apr 14, 2008

    That would be unprecedented in modern History.
    Reply to this comment
    by fibonacci_ April 14, 2008 9:28 PM EDT
    underdogus has the smallest, most idiotic, morinic, under-educated, high-school dimploma religious brain. Believes in this with no evidence whatsoever, wants to force his "values" upon others - grew up in the South. Can you get any dumber than that puny little religious Christian brain. Christianity is a RELIGION.
    Reply to this comment
    by liberalme April 14, 2008 9:29 PM EDT
    FREEDOM !!! ...............


    - Posted by underdogus at

    Where do you live? I live in the US we''ve always had FREEDOM and still do--so tell me again

    What will we WIN????????????/
    Reply to this comment
    by fibonacci_ April 14, 2008 9:30 PM EDT
    I repeat, Christianity is a RELIGION! Make your own dictionary! Screw good old American Websters, huh?
    Reply to this comment
    by bgwinnett April 14, 2008 9:31 PM EDT
    underdogus has the smallest, most idiotic, morinic, under-educated, high-school dimploma religious brain. Believes in this with no evidence whatsoever, wants to force his "values" upon others - grew up in the South. Can you get any dumber than that puny little religious Christian brain. Christianity is a RELIGION.

    Posted by fibonacci_ at 06:28 PM : Apr 14, 2008

    I''ve read a lot of double digit IQ posts on this site, naming no names.
    Reply to this comment
    by fibonacci_ April 14, 2008 9:32 PM EDT
    underdogus, please post us your level of education. Id peg your IQ at around 83.
    Reply to this comment
    by liberalme April 14, 2008 9:35 PM EDT
    He''s calling Condi to find out what we''re supposed to be winning.
    Reply to this comment
    by fibonacci_ April 14, 2008 9:36 PM EDT
    Yea, this whole "win" thing is only taken seriously by completely idiotic morons. Does that word really fit in this case? God these Christians are dumb.
    Reply to this comment
    by liberalme April 14, 2008 9:41 PM EDT
    And they believe Bush is being guided by God to do this--these people are happy happy happy--just being told how to think, and if that''s not cultist I don''t know what is.
    Reply to this comment
    by liberalme April 14, 2008 9:43 PM EDT
    News just said there are over 3 million Iraq refugees who left their homes and living in squalor---wow bad terrorists huh?
    Reply to this comment
    by fibonacci_ April 14, 2008 9:46 PM EDT
    We should have never gone in there - and little old McCain "I got my arm bashed in" needs to admit that too.
    Reply to this comment
    by liberalme April 14, 2008 9:48 PM EDT
    Yep--those refugees must be the terrorists Bush says we have on the run--wonder how many are children!
    Reply to this comment
    by liberalme April 14, 2008 9:51 PM EDT
    Wasn''t today supposed to be D day for some?
    Reply to this comment
    by bgwinnett April 14, 2008 9:51 PM EDT
    Yep--those refugees must be the terrorists Bush says we have on the run--wonder how many are children!

    Posted by liberalme at 06:48 PM : Apr 14, 2008

    The only thing(s) that will be on the run soon are the Banks.
    Reply to this comment
    by inventagod April 14, 2008 9:55 PM EDT

    It does not matter what you think about Iraq, Bu$h will pillage the country for the oil... and you will pay the bill.
    Reply to this comment
    by aaabee-2009 April 14, 2008 9:56 PM EDT
    THE PURGE IS WORKING!! Oh, this word is surge...surge. Sorry.

    P. Bush
    Reply to this comment
    by shalom2u-2009 April 14, 2008 10:59 PM EDT
    I honestly believe, if we leave the Middle East, then we will be choosing the best option. Iraq & Afghan citizens don''t want us occupying their country. Let the people choose their political leaders and clerics, and form a government. We need to understand that we are dividing the country and it''s people, and I hope our president repents and brings the troops home soon.
    Reply to this comment
    by ajmarine1 April 14, 2008 11:15 PM EDT
    NAJAF, Iraq %u2014 Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr demanded Monday that the Iraqi government reinstate all security forces fired for deserting during fighting in Basra.

    The statement was issued by his office in the holy city of Najaf a day after more than 1,300 soldiers and policemen were sacked for abandoning their posts or refusing to fight when clashes broke out during an offensive that began last month in the southern oil hub.

    "All the brothers in the army and police who gave up their arms to their bothers (Sadrists), were only obeying their grand religious leaders and they were driven by their religious duties," the anti-U.S. cleric said.

    "I call upon all concerned authorities to reconsider their decision to dismiss those people from the army and the police. I demand they be reinstated and even rewarded for their loyalty and devotion to their religion," he added.

    Reply to this comment
    by yongamerica April 14, 2008 11:25 PM EDT
    It''s about time the US got out of Iraq and moved into Iran. It can almost be guaranteed that as soon as Iran comes under attack Sadr''s militia will fold having lost their financial and military backing.
    Reply to this comment
    by hungry1968 April 14, 2008 11:28 PM EDT
    Posted by AJMarine1 at 08:15 PM : Apr 14, 2008



    WOW!!!

    Can you imagine an American politician asking something like that of an American governmental agency?

    It''s like a state finding out that 1300 state troopers are aiding criminals, and then the head of that criminal gang asking the governor to give them their jobs back, after they were fired!!
    Reply to this comment
    by ajmarine1 April 14, 2008 11:32 PM EDT
    Posted by hungry1968 at 08:28 PM : Apr 14, 2008

    Al Sadr is the power in Iraq. If Iraq wants to become a country, they are going to have to deal with him, or just let him, and Iran, run things.
    Reply to this comment
    by hungry1968 April 14, 2008 11:44 PM EDT
    Al Sadr is the power in Iraq. If Iraq wants to become a country, they are going to have to deal with him, or just let him, and Iran, run things.

    Posted by AJMarine1 at 08:32 PM : Apr 14, 2008




    Exactly.

    Myself and j-whitman have been discussing this same prospect on several different threads.
    Reply to this comment
    by arlt1627 April 14, 2008 11:47 PM EDT
    It''''s about time the US got out of Iraq and moved into Iran. It can almost be guaranteed that as soon as Iran comes under attack Sadr''''s militia will fold having lost their financial and military backing.

    Posted by yongamerica at 08:25 PM : Apr 14, 2008

    Are you really being serious here?? I mean, do you desperately want a war with China or even Russia? That''s what you''re asking for....if you are being serious.
    Reply to this comment
    by hungry1968 April 15, 2008 12:13 AM EDT
    It''''''''s about time the US got out of Iraq and moved into Iran. It can almost be guaranteed that as soon as Iran comes under attack Sadr''''''''s militia will fold having lost their financial and military backing.

    Posted by yongamerica at 08:25 PM : Apr 14, 2008





    Bush has our military stretched so thin, that we couldn''t invade Qatar right now.

    And you want to invade Iran?!?!?!
    Reply to this comment
    by hungry1968 April 15, 2008 12:33 AM EDT
    This is a friggin'' embarrassment too:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7232011.stm#map


    Instead of going full force into Afghanistan, we cut-and-ran from the war on terror ignoring all of the problems there, to instead create the disaster in Iraq. Meanwhile, "THE REST OF THE WORLD" is cleaning up our mess:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7232011.stm
    Reply to this comment
    by bgwinnett April 15, 2008 12:55 AM EDT
    It''''s about time the US got out of Iraq and moved into Iran. It can almost be guaranteed that as soon as Iran comes under attack Sadr''''''''''''''''s militia will fold having lost their financial and military backing.

    Posted by yongamerica at 08:25 PM : Apr 14, 2008

    Rather you than me, as wouldn''t fancy my chances of coming back from that adventure much. I do hope you have volunteered, if you aren''t part of the military already.
    Reply to this comment
    by gce65 April 15, 2008 1:49 AM EDT
    Bush: "No! People, don''t read this! Don''t listen to this! Iraq is safe! The surge is working! Democracy is spreading like...like...(aside to an aid: What''s something that spreads quickly?)"

    Aid: "Uh, Herpes?"

    Bush: "Right. It''s spreading like Herpes! Wasn''t he that Greek messenger god or something?"
    Reply to this comment
    by joyous88 April 15, 2008 2:22 AM EDT
    well, we bombed em till the Bubbas were happy,

    mission accomplished

    the surge is working

    how did we lose the war?
    Reply to this comment
    by stn_sage April 15, 2008 2:54 AM EDT
    Well, we see just how well the surge continues to work!

    Gen. Petraeus, are you going to reinstate the Iraqi soldiers and police who refused to fight the militia---who exposed themselves for what they were traitors, and made themselves useless to al-Sadr---OR, are you going to uphold their dismissal?! At least, you found out the traitors in your midst in one fell swoop!
    Reply to this comment
    by lovesamerica April 15, 2008 3:13 AM EDT
    Who is everyone going to blame when Bush is no longer president...this goes WAY beyond a single man.
    Reply to this comment
    by jerr11 April 15, 2008 3:24 AM EDT
    George W Bush''s greatest accomplishment:

    Deliver Iraq to the Mullahs in Iran.

    And at what cost to us.

    Over 4000 Dead Americans.

    $12 Billion a month.

    At home people are losing their homes.

    And we''re giving free cash to the sunni warlords and islamist hoodlums as part of the "surge."

    As Harry Powell said, "A liar is an abomination to the Lord."

    The Liar-in-Chief, George W Bush is an abomination to the Lord!

    He''s the Son of Satan - Damned for all time!

    Reply to this comment
    by lovesamerica April 15, 2008 3:34 AM EDT
    There is not a Government official alive that is honest...otherwise they wouldn''t have managed to be elected. Wars stink,there were wars before George Bush, there will be wars after George Bush. Troops are dying and instead of caterwalling,you should be thanking those who VOLUNTARILY join the services to fight for their country whether you think its wrong or not.
    Reply to this comment
    by lovesamerica April 15, 2008 3:34 AM EDT
    There is not a Government official alive that is honest...otherwise they wouldn''t have managed to be elected. Wars stink,there were wars before George Bush, there will be wars after George Bush. Troops are dying and instead of caterwalling,you should be thanking those who VOLUNTARILY join the services to fight for their country whether you think its wrong or not.
    Reply to this comment
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