World

U.S. Jets Strike Sadr City

September 28, 2004 / 6:36 AM EDT / CBS/AP

U.S. jets pounded suspected Shiite militant positions in the Baghdad slum of Sadr City on Monday, killing at least five people and wounding 46. In the northern city of Mosul, insurgents set off a car bomb that killed four National Guardsmen.

The U.S. military said the strikes in Sadr City, a hotbed of insurgents loyal to renegade Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, struck several "positively identified" militant hideouts.

Residents said explosions lit up the night sky for hours before dawn. Mangled vehicles, debris and shards of glass littered the streets.

Dr. Qassem Saddam of the Imam Ali hospital in Sadr City said five people were killed and 40 were wounded — including 15 women and nine children. At least two children wrapped in bloodstains bandages could be seen lying in hospital beds and one man suffered burns from head-to-toe.

Lt. Col. Jim Hutton said insurgents also fired three mortar rounds at a nearby U.S. Army base, but that the shells fell short and exploded in a civilian neighborhood. It was not immediately known if there any casualties.

"While maintaining security is a primary concern, we are also very concerned about minimizing collateral damage and putting the innocent
residents of eastern Baghdad at risk," Hutton said. "The enemy shows no concern for the Iraqi people."

In other developments:

Two U.S. soldiers have been charged with murder in the death of an Iraqi
civilian, the 1st Cavalry Division announced Monday.

A kidnapped Iranian diplomat was released Monday after more than a month in captivity, the Iranian Embassy said.

Pfc. Lynndie England will be court-martialed in January on charges stemming from the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison, the Army announced Monday.

A roadside bomb apparently intended for a U.S. military convoy exploded prematurely outside the city of Baqouba, killing four civilians, said Hussein Ali of the Baqouba General Hospital.

Insurgents fired several mortar rounds that struck a police academy on Palestine street in east Baghdad early Monday, Interior Ministry spokesman Col. Najah Shakre. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

The U.S. military has arrested a commander of the Iraqi security services on which hopes for stability rest. Brig. Gen. Talib al-Lahibi is suspected of having links to militants.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has faced down a string of political crises over the Iraq war, faces another one: delegates at his Labor party's annual conference have called for an emergency debate over Iraq, which is sure to expose deep divisions over the British role in the war, The Guardian reports.

The brother of Kenneth Bigley, the British hostage being held in Iraq, said Monday that Blair should resign. Blair has said his government is doing everything it "properly" can to secure Bigley's release, but hasn't indicated any shift in his policy of refusing to negotiate with kidnappers.

Two Italian aid workers being held hostage in Iraq are alive, Jordan's King Abdullah II said in an interview published Monday.

The Army may cut combat time in Iraq and Afghanistan to improve recruiting efforts, The New York Times reports, but the move faces resistance from commanders who worry that shorter tours will strain manpower at the front lines.

In its latest report, the military said four Marines died in separate incidents Friday, bring the U.S. military death toll in Iraq to at least 1,039.

Secretary of State Colin Powell sees the situation in Iraq "getting worse" as planned elections approach, and the top U.S. military commander for Iraq says he expects more violence ahead.

Powell is suggesting an international conference on Iraq. France's foreign minister says if such a meeting is convened, it should consider the question of a U.S. troop withdrawal.

In Mosul, insurgents set off a car bomb as a seven-vehicle Iraqi National Guard patrol was passing by, killing at least four guardsmen and wounding three others, police said.

Gunmen followed up the blast with a burst of automatic weapons fire before fleeing the scene, said Lt. Col. Saleh Jamer, the patrol's commander.

Police Capt. Mushtaq Abdul-Karim said the explosion killed at least four guardsmen and wounded three others and also hurt a civilian.

The National Guard is the centerpiece of U.S. plans to turn over security responsibilities after elections slated for January. Guardsmen and Iraqi police have been repeatedly targeted by insurgents who are trying to undermine the interim government and drive out the U.S.-led coalition.

The persistent violence, coupled with the coalition forces' lack of control in key parts of the country, have raised questions about the feasibility of holding elections by the Jan. 31 deadline.

"It's getting worse," Powell said on ABC. "They are determined to disrupt the election. They do not want the Iraqi people to vote for their own leaders in a free, democratic election."

Army Gen. John Abizaid, commander of U.S. troops in the Middle East, warned that voting may not be possible in parts of Iraq where the violence is too intense.

The goal in Iraq is to have successful voting in the "vast majority of the country," said Abizaid, who leads the U.S. Central Command.

"We're going to have to fight our way all the way through elections," he said, "and there'll be a lot of violence between now and then."

Abizaid spoke of a major offensive before the election, with U.S. and Iraqi forces doing "whatever's necessary to bring areas in Iraq under Iraqi control."

Powell offered a road map to the coming offensive. He said the military likely will tackle the Sunni Triangle cities of Ramadi and Samarra before attempting to restore order in nearby Fallujah, which he called "the tough one."