A boy covers his face as a U.S. Army soldier from Chief Company, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment passes him during a foot patrol in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2007.
A U.S. Army soldier from Chief Company, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment searches a house in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2007.
A couple are seen in their damaged home in Louzai village, near the Turkish border with northern Iraq, Friday, Dec. 28, 2007. The house was damaged in a Turkish airstrike on Dec. 16. In a recent interview, a Kurdish rebel leader in northern Iraq vowed to take the group's battle for autonomy deep inside Turkey if its cross-border airstrikes do not stop.
Iraqi women browse for gold jewelry in the Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah in northern Baghdad, Iraq, on Friday, Dec. 28, 2007.
Iraqi Shiite girls march in a procession as they arrive to celebrate Eid al-Ghadeer in Najaf, 100 miles south of Baghdad, Iraq, on Thursday, Dec. 27, 2007. Eid al-Ghadeer is the anniversary commemorating Muhammad's last sermon at Ghadir Khumm.
Ahmed Mohammed grieves over the coffin of his brother, Riyadh, as he is taken for burial in the Shiite Holy city of Najaf, 100 miles south of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2007. Riyadh was killed Wednesday by U.S. troops when their vehicle approached the American convoy, his brother said.
Iraqi men look inside a damaged bus in eastern Baghdad, Iraq, after a bombing on Thursday, Dec. 27, 2007. Police said a bomb left in a plastic bag inside the bus traveling through the mostly Shiite district of Baladiyat killed two passengers and injured 10 others.
Retired Iraqi civil servants demonstrate in central Baghdad, Iraq, for an increase in their pensions on Thursday, Dec. 27, 2007.
An Iraqi soldier picks up the skeletal remains of an alleged victim of al-Qaida during a joint U.S.-Iraqi operation in al-Hadid in the Diyala province, about 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2007.
An Iraqi soldier grabs a suspected al-Qaida member, foreground, during a joint U.S.-Iraqi operation in al-Hadid in the Diyala province, about 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2007. The bodies of 17 civilians were unearthed during the operation to rid the area of al-Qaida, which netted twelve suspects.
U.S. army soldiers from Blackfoot Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, stand in line for their Christmas lunch at K-wal combat outpost in the village of Shakarat, in the volatile Diyala province, about 60 miles north of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2007.
An Iraqi man inspects a damaged vehicle near where a suicide car bomb exploded outside a residential complex belonging to a state-run oil company in Beiji, about 155 miles north of Baghdad, Iraq, on Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2007.
Iraqi Christians attend Christmas Mass in Baghdad, Iraq, on Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2007.
A baby girl, injured in a suicide attack on a funeral, is treated for her wounds in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2007. A suicide bomber detonated himself amid mourners at a funeral procession for two members of an anti-al-Qaida group, killing at least four people and injuring 21, police said.
Iraqi Christians attend Christmas Mass in the Dora neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq, on Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2007. The church was badly damaged by a car bomb two years ago, but worshippers continue to attend Mass in what remains of the building.
An Iraqi soldier stands guard as Iraqi Christians leave after Christmas Mass in the Dora neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq, on Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2007. The church was badly damaged by a car bomb two years ago, but worshippers continue to attend Mass in what remains of the building.
U.S. army soldiers from Blackfoot Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, enjoy their Christmas lunch at K-wal combat outpost in the village of Shakarat, about 60 miles north of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2007.
A U.S. army soldier from Blackfoot Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, watches a movie at K-wal combat outpost in the village of Shakarat, about 60 miles north of Baghdad, Iraq, on Christmas Eve, Monday, Dec. 24, 2007.
Iraqi soldiers gather at the site of a bomb explosion near the al-Mansour hotel in western Baghdad, Dec. 24 2007. A bus exploded in western Baghad killing one person and wounding five others. The US ambassador to Baghdad, Ryan Crocker, on Sunday was cautious in acknowledging Iran's role in helping curb the bloodshed in Iraq, but he also said Tehran could trigger chaos there if it wanted.
The sun sets over the Imam Hussein shrine in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles south of Baghdad, Iraq on Monday, Dec. 24, 2007.