US Army Sniper Acquitted of Murder Charges, 18+ Killed Today
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BAGHDAD - A military panel on Saturday sentenced an Army sniper to five months in prison, a reduction in rank and forfeiture of pay for planting evidence in connection with the deaths of two Iraqi civilians.
The country's sectarian violence, meanwhile, claimed 18 more lives on Saturday, including six people killed when a suicide truck bomber detonated his explosive payload near a Humvee filled with Iraqi soldiers, officials said. Two American soldiers also were killed _ one hit by "enemy gunfire" in Diyala province and the other fatally shot during a firefight in Baghdad, the U.S. military said.
Spc. Jorge G. Sandoval, 22, was acquitted of murder charges in the April and May deaths of two unidentified men. The panel decided he was guilty of a lesser charges of placing detonation wire on one of the bodies to make it look as if the man was an insurgent.
"I feel fortunate that I have been served this sentence," Sandoval said. "I'm grateful that I'm able to continue to be in the Army."
The prosecution had argued Sandoval should be sentenced to five years in prison.
Sandoval, of Laredo, Texas, had faced five charges in the deaths of the two unidentified Iraqi men. In dramatic testimony during the two-day court-martial, Sandoval's colleagues testified they were following orders when they shot the men during two separate incidents near Iskandariyah, a volatile Sunni-dominated area 30 miles south of Baghdad, on April 27 and May 11.
Sgt. Evan Vela and Staff Sgt. Michael Hensley will be tried separately in the case. All three soldiers are part of the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, based at Fort Richardson, Alaska.
Gary Myers, one of Vela's lawyers, claimed this week that Army snipers hunting insurgents in Iraq were under orders to "bait" their targets with suspicious materials, such as detonation cords, then kill those who picked up the items. He said his client was acting on orders.
Asked about the existence of the "baiting program," Capt. Craig Drummond, Sandoval's military defense attorney, said it was unclear "what programs were going on out there and when," especially "if there were things that were done that made the rules of engagement not clear."
On Saturday, Iraqi soldiers acting on a tip tried to intercept the suicide driver as his pickup truck headed toward Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad. As the Iraqi Humvee neared the truck, the driver detonated his explosive payload, according to the officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. Three soldiers and three civilians were killed, the official said.
Late Friday, police officials said Iraqi Interior Ministry commandos handed over nine decomposing bodies to a hospital in Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad. The officials requested anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.
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50+ Killed
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A wave of bombings and shootings has swept Iraq, killing more than 50 people on Wednesday and raising fears that al-Qaida had launched a promised new offensive. The U.S. military acknowledged that violence was rising and blamed it on the terrorist movement.
Another parked car bomb struck a predominantly Shiite area in eastern Baghdad on Thursday, killing two civilians and wounding four, a policeman said. The officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information, said the car was left in an alley, apparently to avoid security barriers surrounding a nearby market area.
Several uniformed workers, meanwhile, swept hunks of metal and other debris from a car bombing in western Baghdad on Wednesday into mounds of rubble as onlookers watched.
The blast in Baiyaa killed at least seven people and wounded 30, according to local police and the operations room of the Interior Ministry. They disputed reports that 32 people were killed.
In a Web posting Sept. 15, the Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaida front group, announced a new offensive for the ongoing Islamic holy month of Ramadan in memory of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the founder of al-Qaida in Iraq who was killed last year in a U.S. airstrike.
The statement said the Islamic State would hunt down tribal sheiks and officials who cooperate with the Americans. Nine days later, a suicide bomber struck a Shiite-Sunni reconciliation meeting in Baqouba, killing 24 people, including the city police chief.
Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi said Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani praised his initiative during their two-hour meeting in the holy city of Najaf, 100 miles south of Baghdad. The reclusive Shiite spiritual leader previously has met with Sunni clerics, but it was his first meeting with a senior government official from the disaffected minority Islamic sect, aides said.
"He generally blesses the initiative," al-Hashemi said, saying he found al-Sistani politically "neutral" and eager to promote national unity.
Al-Sistani has played a key role in shaping the political future of Iraq following the 2003 overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime and wields considerable influence over Shiite politicians and their followers.
Al-Hashemi's blueprint appears to be, at least in part, an attempt to enhance his reputation as a national statesman and project an image of moderation for his Iraqi Islamic Party and the three-party alliance _ the Iraq Accordance Front.
He said he had submitted it to the Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the Shiite bloc the United Iraqi Alliance.
"The time has come to sit around the table and have a candid dialogue about key and sensitive matters," al-Hashemi said at a news conference Wednesday at which he unveiled the blueprint in Baghdad.
His proposals are the latest in a series of highly publicized documents designed to end Iraq's sectarian violence and the Sunni-led insurgency. These include an agreement between senior Sunni and Shiite clerics reached in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, last year and a national reconciliation plan announced by al-Maliki on taking office in May 2006.
Neither declaration made a difference on the ground and there's no reason to believe that al-Hashemi's proposals would have greater success in inspiring the country's rival groups to set aside their differences to embark on serious reform.
But al-Hashemi and his Islamic party have been intensely courted by Shiite and Kurdish leaders, whose communities account for 80 percent of Iraq's population. The Shiites and Kurds need meaningful Sunni representation to meet U.S. demands for wider political inclusion.
The blueprint, which al-Hashemi called the Iraqi National Compact, stressed basic democratic principles like respect for human rights, equality before the law, the sanctity of places of worship, prohibition of the use of force to attain political goals, filling government jobs according to merit and keeping the army and police above sectarian or political affiliations.
It also proposed a blanket pardon for Iraqis who took up arms against the government and the U.S.-led coalition forces in exchange for laying down their arms and joining the political process. And it included a nod to Iraq's Kurds, stating that "pending" issues could be "resolved through compromise," a reference to the disputed Kurdish claim to the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk.
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Special Report: Iraq Expands Blackwater Investigation
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BAGHDAD - Iraq's Interior Ministry has expanded its investigation into incidents involving Blackwater USA security guards amid the furor following a shooting that claimed at least 11 lives, a ministry spokesman said Saturday.
Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said the Moyock, N.C.-based company has been implicated in six other incidents over the past seven months, including a Feb. 7 shooting outside Iraqi state television in Baghdad in which three building guards were fatally shot.
Khalaf said other incidents include: a Sept. 9 shooting in front of Baghdad's municipal government building that killed five people and wounded 10; a Sept. 12 shooting that wounded five on the capital's Palestine Street; a Feb. 4 shooting near the Foreign Ministry, in which Iraqi journalist Hana al-Ameedi died; a May shooting near the Interior Ministry that claimed the life of a passer-by and a Feb. 14 incident in which Blackwater employees allegedly smashed windshields by throwing bottles of ice water at cars.
"These six cases will support the case against Blackwater, because they show that it has a criminal record," Khalaf told The Associated Press.
Blackwater USA spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell had no comment when reached by phone Saturday morning.
An Interior Ministry report into the Sept. 16 shooting at Baghdad's Nisoor square has been handed to the country's judiciary, Khalaf added. But it was not clear if Iraqi courts can raise charges against Blackwater, whose personnel enjoy immunity from law here.
The report concluded Blackwater guards were not attacked and initiated the shooting, first killing a driver who had failed to heed a traffic policeman's call to stop. It was based on the testimony of those wounded at Nisoor Square, Iraqi police accounts from the scene and video footage from a camera at the police headquarters nearby, he said.
Iraqi witnesses have said that some victims were fatally shot when they abandoned their vehicles in panic and tried to run or crawl to safety. Blackwater has said its guards were returning fire from insurgents and acted appropriately.
Khalaf has suggested that the guards involved in Sunday's incident should be prosecuted but not the entire company.
According to Khalaf, eight died at the scene and 15 were wounded, three of whom later died in hospital. He said other security companies have "committed violations" in Iraq but all "apologized for these violations, met the families of the victims and compensated them, something Blackwater hasn't done."
The killing outraged many Iraqis, who have long resented the presence of armed Western security contractors, considering them an arrogant mercenary force that abuses Iraqis in their own country.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who is in New York, said he would discuss the case with President Bush next week on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.
Authorities in Anbar province, meanwhile, announced the arrests of 25 people linked to the assassination of the leader of the U.S.-backed revolt by Sunni Arab tribesmen in the western Anbar province against al-Qaida in Iraq.
The detainees included the head of the security detail that was supposed to protect Sheik Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, killed in a bombing Sept. 13 at his compound near Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, said Lt. Col. Jubeir Rashid, an Iraqi police officer in Anbar.
Rashid said Abu Risha's security chief, Capt. Karim al-Barghothi, confessed and said al-Qaida in Iraq had offered him $1.5 million for the slaying, but he was arrested before he could collect the money.
According to Rashid's account, al-Barghothi allowed a suicide car bomber into the compound minutes before Abu Risha was due to enter. The bomber pretended to be parking but detonated his explosives as the tribal leader's vehicle passed about 20 yards away, Rashid said.
Another suspect confessed to filming the operation, he said.
Maj. Jeff Pool, a U.S. spokesman for American troops in western Iraq said the information was in line with what the military knew about the arrests.
The U.S. military earlier said an al-Qaida-linked militant _ identified as Fallah Khalifa Hiyas Fayyas al-Jumayli, an Iraqi also known as Abu Khamis _ connected to Abu Risha's death and a plot to kill other tribal leaders, had been arrested during a raid north of Baghdad. Pool said two other suspects were arrested in the raid.
Abu Risha's killing _ just 10 days after his meeting with Bush _ dealt a blow to one of the few success stories in U.S. efforts to stabilize Iraq. The tribal leader brought together Anbar sheiks into an alliance against extremists, after years of American failure to tame flash points such as Ramadi and Fallujah.
Two other bodyguards as well as some of Abu Risha's neighbors also had been detained, Iraqi police said. Al-Qaida front group the Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility for the assassination.
Elsewhere Saturday, gunmen ambushed an Iraqi police checkpoint in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, killing one officer and wounding five others, according to authorities. A civilian also was killed in Khalis, a Shiite enclave near Baqouba in the volatile Diyala province, when gunmen opened fire on his car.
U.S. troops killed seven suspected insurgents and detained an operative believed to have knowledge about the whereabouts of al-Qaida in Iraq leaders south of Baghdad, the military said.
The military said seven militants were killed and weapons and military-style assault vests were found at the site in Musayyib, 40 miles south of Baghdad.
The troops also detained 12 suspected insurgents, including a militant believed to have been responsible for the movement of senior al-Qaida in Iraqi leaders and to have extensive knowledge of their whereabouts, the military said.
An al-Qaida umbrella group in Iraq posted a video recording on showing the killing of five kidnapped Iraqi army officers.
The footage, posted by the Islamic State of Iraq, shows a masked gunman shooting the blindfolded officers in the back of the head with a pistol. The officers' hands are bound behind their backs during the shooting.
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18+ Killed Dozens Wounded in Series of Bombings
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The deadliest attack on Tuesday was a car bombing that occurred in a parking lot near the Health Ministry and a medical complex in central Baghdad, killing seven people and wounding 23.
Another parked car bomb targeted a police patrol in Palestine Street, killing two civilians and wounding six.
A parked car bomb also struck a busy market in northern Baghdad, killing six people and wounding 26.
Maitham Mustafa, 27, who has a kiosk about 150 yards away from the blast, was wounded by broken glass.
"The explosion was so powerful. It took place a few minutes before midday prayers," he said, his clothes soaked with blood as he helped evacuate victims. "We rushed to the site and we saw a car on fire, pieces of flesh were scattered and there were pools of blood on the street."
Two roadside bombs also killed a policeman and two civilians and wounded eight other people in separate attacks in predominantly Shiite areas of eastern Baghdad. The violence was reported by police officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.
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3 Killed, 10 Wounded, US Blackwater Security Company License Revoked by Iraq
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In violence Monday, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden car near a busy market in Baghdad, killing three people and wounding 10 in an attack that apparently targeted a police patrol, said a police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to release the information.
Hamid Ghassan, a 20-year-old juice vendor, who described hearing the blast, said he was dismayed that al-Maliki's government is "sitting safe, making agreements and lying to people while masses ... are being killed."
BAGHDAD - The Iraqi government said Monday that it was revoking the license of an American security firm accused of involvement in the deaths of eight civilians in a firefight that followed a car bomb explosion near a State Department motorcade.
The Interior Ministry said it would prosecute any foreign contractors found to have used excessive force in the Sunday shooting. It was latest accusation against the U.S.-contracted firms that operate with little or no supervision and are widely disliked by Iraqis who resent their speeding motorcades and forceful behavior.
Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul-Karim Khalaf said eight civilians were killed and 13 were wounded when contractors believed to be working for Blackwater USA opened fire in a predominantly Sunni neighborhood of western Baghdad.
"We have canceled the license of Blackwater and prevented them from working all over Iraqi territory. We will also refer those involved to Iraqi judicial authorities," Khalaf said.
The spokesman said witness reports pointed to Blackwater involvement but said the shooting was still under investigation. It was not immediately clear if the measure against Blackwater was intended to be temporary or permanent.
Blackwater, based in Moyock, N.C., provides security for many U.S. civilian operations in the country.
Phone messages left early Monday at the company's office in North Carolina and with a spokeswoman were not immediately returned.
The U.S. Embassy said a State Department motorcade came under small-arms fire that disabled one of the vehicles, which had to be towed from the scene near Nisoor Square in the Mansour district.
"There was a convoy of State Department personnel and a car bomb went off in proximity to them and there was an exchange of fire as the personnel were returning to the International Zone," embassy spokesman Johann Schmonsees said, referring to the heavily fortified U.S.-protected area in central Baghdad also known as the Green Zone.
Officials provided no information about Iraqi casualties but said no State Department personnel were wounded or killed.
The embassy also refused to answer any questions on Blackwater's status or legal issues, saying it was seeking clarification on the issue as part of the investigation, which was being carried out by the State Department's diplomatic security service and law enforcement officials working with the Iraqi government and the U.S. military.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki late Sunday condemned the shooting by a "foreign security company" and called it a "crime."
The decision to pull the license was likely to face a challenge, as it would be a major blow to a company that was at the forefront of one of the main turning points in the war.
The 2004 battle of Fallujah _ an unsuccessful military assault in which an estimated 27 U.S. Marines were killed, along with an unknown number of civilians _ was retaliation for the killing, maiming and burning of four Blackwater guards in that city by a mob of insurgents.
Tens of thousands of foreign private security contractors work in Iraq _ some with automatic weapons, body armor, helicopters and bulletproof vehicles _ to provide protection for Westerners and dignitaries in Iraq as the country has plummeted toward anarchy and civil war.
Monday's action against Blackwater was likely to give the unpopular government a boost, given Iraqis' dislike of the contractors.
Many of the contractors have been accused of indiscriminately firing at American and Iraqi troops, and of shooting to death an unknown number of Iraqi citizens who got too close to their heavily armed convoys, but none has faced charges or prosecution.
"There have been so many innocent people they've killed over there, and they just keep doing it," said Katy Helvenston, the mother of late Blackwater contractor Steve Helvenston, who died in 2004 during the ambush in Fallujah. "They have just a callous disregard for life."
Helvenston is now part of a lawsuit that accuses Blackwater of cutting corners that ultimately led to the death of her son and three others.
The question of whether they could face prosecution is legally murky. Unlike soldiers, the contrators are not bound by the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Under a special provision secured by American-occupying forces, they are exempt from prosecution by Iraqis for crimes committed there.
Khalaf, however, denied that the exemption applied to private security companies.
Iraqi police said the contractors were in a convoy of six sport utility vehicles and left after the shooting.
"We saw a convoy of SUVs passing in the street nearby. One minute later, we heard the sound of a bomb explosion followed by gunfire that lasted for 20 minutes between gunmen and the convoy people who were foreigners and dressed in civilian clothes. Everybody in the street started to flee immediately," said Hussein Abdul-Abbas, who owns a mobile phone store in the area.
The wartime numbers of private guards are unprecedented _ as are their duties, many of which have traditionally been done by soldiers. They protect U.S. military operations and diplomats and have guarded high-ranking officials including Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Baghdad.
They also protect journalists, visiting foreign officials and thousands of construction projects.
Blackwater has an estimated 1,000 employees in Iraq, and at least $800 million in government contracts. It is one of the most high-profile security firms in Iraq, with its fleet of "Little Bird" helicopters and armed door gunners swarming Baghdad and beyond.
The secretive company, run by a former Navy SEAL, is based at a massive, swampland complex. Until the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, it had few security contracts.
Since then, Blackwater profits have soared. And it has become the focus of numerous controversies in Iraq, including the May 30 shooting death of an Iraqi deemed to be driving too close to a Blackwater security detail.
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UPDATE: 54 Killed on Sunday
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BAGHDAD - Dozens of suspected Sunni insurgents raided Shiite villages north of Baghdad, killing at least 15 people and setting homes ablaze on Sunday, police said. A bicycle bomb struck a cafe serving tea and food during the Ramadan fast in northern Iraq.
The surge of bloodshed _ 54 people killed or found dead nationwide _ occurred a day after al-Qaida in Iraq announced a new campaign during the Islamic holy month aimed at countering U.S. and Iraqi claims that the terror movement is reeling after the U.S.-led offensives around the Iraqi capital.
But the U.S. military insisted it had the group on the run and said a man believed responsible for the assassination of a U.S.-allied Sunni tribal leader in Anbar province had been arrested north of Baghdad.
Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, 37, was the leader of Anbar Awakening _ an alliance of clans backing the Iraqi government and U.S. forces against al-Qaida in Iraq that was touted as one of the success stories of the war. He and three companions were killed in a bombing Thursday outside his heavily guarded compound in the provincial capital of Ramadi, days after he had met with President Bush.
The U.S. military said an al-Qaida linked militant linked to his death and a plot to kill other tribal leaders _ Fallah Khalifa Hiyas Fayyas al-Jumayli, an Iraqi also known as Abu Khamis _ was seized Saturday during a raid on three buildings west of Balad, and the search continued for other suspects.
Brig. Gen. Joe Anderson, chief of staff to the No. 2 commander in Iraq, said al-Qaida fighters were "off-balance" and had "clearly been neutralized" in Baghdad.
"They are very fractured. It's very localized and the ability for them to conduct large-scale, sensational attacks has been greatly decreased," Anderson said at a news conference.
Sunday's violence included the deaths of nine civilians killed, police said, by security contractors who opened fire in the heart of Baghdad.
In the raids on the Shiite villages of Jichan and Ghizlayat, the fighters arrived from several different directions and residents fought back until Iraqi security forces arrived and forced the attackers to flee to nearby farms.
Iraqi police and army officials said 15 people were killed and 10 wounded, including two children, in the clashes some 60 miles north of Baghdad.
Mohammed Azzawi Ali al-Timimi, 30, said he was out buying supplies for his store when the attacks occurred. He returned home to devastation.
"When I came back to my Jichan village I shocked to find that my father had been killed, along with two of my brothers and my 7-year-old nephew," he said. "Four other houses of my relatives were attacked as well and more than eight cars were burned out."
Farther north, a booby-trapped bicycle exploded in the religiously mixed town of Tuz Khormato, killing at least five people and wounding 19.
Witnesses said a boy left the bike near the outdoor cafe, which was in a popular market and was one of the few open during daylight hours despite Ramadan. Tradition requires faithful to abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset during the monthlong observance.
Two of the slain victims were in the cafe, while three were in the market, police chief Capt. Abbas Mohammed said.
No one claimed responsibility, but the attack bore the hallmark of Sunni insurgents led by al-Qaida and underscored militants' ability to find new ways to thwart stringent security measures.
In Baghdad, Iraqi police said security contractors opened fire in a predominantly Sunni neighborhood of western Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least nine civilians. The U.S. Embassy said contractors working for the State Department were involved in an incident in Baghdad but provided no further details, saying an investigation was still under way.
Leslie Phillips, a State Department spokeswoman in Washington, said an investigation was under way.
"We saw a convoy of SUVs passing in the street nearby. One minute later, we heard the sound of bomb explosion followed by gunfire that lasted for 20 minutes between gunmen and the convoy people who were foreigners and dressed in civilian clothes. Everybody in the street started to flee immediately," said Hussein Abdul-Abbas, who owns a cell phone store nearby.
The police officer who reported the shootings in Mansour spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
American soldiers arrived afterward and were not involved, military spokesman Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl said.
Many contractors have been accused of indiscriminately opening fire and of shooting to death an unknown number of Iraqi citizens who got too close to their heavily armed convoys, but none has faced charges or prosecution.
The wartime numbers of private guards are unprecedented _ as are their duties, many of which have traditionally been done by soldiers. They protect U.S. military operations and have guarded high-ranking officials including Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Baghdad.
They also protect journalists, visiting foreign officials and thousands of construction projects.
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Sunday 39 Killed or Found Dead Across Iraq Saturday 38 Killed
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BAGHDAD - A booby-trapped bicycle exploded near a cafe serving tea and food during Ramadan fasting hours Sunday, killing at least five people in a religiously mixed area in northern Iraq, police said.
Dozens of fighters linked to the Sunni-dominated al-Qaida in Iraq streamed into Shiite villages north of Baghdad, torching homes and killing at least 15 residents, police and army officials said.
In separate violence, Iraqi police said security contractors opened fire in a predominantly Sunni neighborhood of western Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least nine civilians. The U.S. Embassy said contractors working for the State Department were involved in an incident in Baghdad but provided no further details, saying an investigation was still under way.
"We saw a convoy of SUVs passing in the street nearby. One minute later, we heard the sound of bomb explosion followed by gunfire that lasted for 20 minutes between gunmen and the convoy people who were foreigners and dressed in civilian clothes. Everybody in the street started to flee immediately," said Hussein Abdul-Abbas, who owns a cell phone store nearby.
The police officer who reported the shootings in Mansour spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
American soldiers arrived afterward and were not involved, military spokesman Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl said.
Many contractors have been accused of indiscriminately firing at American and Iraqi troops, and of shooting to death an unknown number of Iraqi citizens who got too close to their heavily armed convoys, but not one has faced charges or prosecution.
The wartime numbers of private guards are unprecedented _ as are their duties, many of which have traditionally been done by soldiers. They protect U.S. military operations and have guarded high-ranking officials including Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Baghdad. They also protect journalists, visiting foreign officials and thousands of construction projects.
In the raids on the villages of Jichan and Ghizlayat, the fighters arrived from several different directions and residents fought back until Iraqi security forces arrived and chased the attackers, who fled to nearby farms.
The clashes about 60 miles north of Baghdad lasted about two hours, the officials and witnesses said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared reprisals.
In all, at least 39 people were killed or found dead nationwide. The bloodshed came the day after al-Qaida in Iraq announced a new offensive in the Islamic holy month and was a blow to government hopes that a peaceful Ramadan would demonstrate the success of the seven-month operation in the capital.
Separately, a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq fighter believed responsible for the assassination of a U.S.-allied Sunni sheik was arrested north of the capital, the military said Sunday.
In the late-morning blast in Tuz Khormato, 130 miles north of Baghdad, witnesses said a boy left the bicycle bomb near the cafe, which was located in a popular market and was one of the few open during daylight hours despite Ramadan. Tradition requires faithful to abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset during the monthlong observance.
Two of the slain victims were in the cafe, while three were in the market, police chief Capt. Abbas Mohammed said. He also said 19 people were wounded.
No one claimed responsibility for the attack.
Saturday Summary of Iraqi Killings:
Saturday 15 September: 38 dead
Baghdad: car bomb kills 11 outside bakery, Amil; 11 bodies.
Baquba: 2 bodyguards killed in attack on police chief of intelligence; 2 sheikhs, members of Baquba Salvation Council, assassinated.
Falluja: hand grenade thrown at police patrol misses its target and kills shop owner.
Samarra: mortars kill 2 people, one of them a child.
Khalis: 2 bodies found inside car.
Karma: 3 bodies. Have a nice day.
11 Killed by Baghdad Bakery Car Bomber
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BAGHDAD - A car bomb struck a bakery crowded with customers lining up for bread, killing at least 11 people on Saturday as they ended their daytime Ramadan fast, officials said.
The government, which had hoped for a peaceful holy month would demonstrate the success of a 7-month-old security operation, suffered another blow when lawmakers loyal to the anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced their withdrawal from the Shiite bloc in parliament.
The leaves the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki 30 seats short of a majority, although it can likely count on support from independent Shiites who hold 30 seats and some minor parties.
The decision by al-Sadr's followers is likely to complicate further U.S.-backed efforts to win parliamentary approval of power-sharing legislation including the oil bill and an easing of curbs that prevent former Saddam Hussein supporters from getting back their government jobs.
Hospital officials said the 11 killed in the Baghdad explosion included two children. The blast damaged five stores and three houses and burned five cars, according to police.
"We rushed outside the house after hearing the sound of the explosion. I could see the bakery and a nearby pickle shop on fire," said Abu Ahmed, a 36-year-old Shiite government employee. "The wounded were screaming for help as the ambulances were arriving."
The bombing occurred at the start of iftar, the meal Muslims eat to break their dawn-to-dusk fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
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20 + Killed in Attacks, Bomb targets and Kills Sheik Who Met with Bush
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In violence on Thursday, police said six people were killed and 18 wounded when a bomb under a parked car exploded near the Sadr City section of Baghdad. The bomb was apparently aimed at a U.S. convoy but missed its target, police said.
In eastern Baghdad, a roadside bomb killed one person and injured two others, police also said.
Near Samarra, 60 miles north of the Iraqi capital, authorities said about 60 gunmen attacked a police station and ignited clashes with residents and police _ leaving four assailants dead and two policemen wounded.
A U.S. general, meanwhile, said a fatal attack against the headquarters garrison of the American military in Iraq was carried out using a 240 mm rocket _ a type of weapon that he claimed Iran provided to Shiite extremists.
One person was killed and 11 were wounded in the attack Tuesday against Camp Victory, which includes the headquarters of Multinational Forces-Iraq.
Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner said the rocket was launched from a populated area in the Rasheed district of west Baghdad, which he said was infiltrated by breakaway factions of the Mahdi Army militia of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
The most prominent figure in a U.S.-backed revolt of Sunni sheiks against al-Qaida in Iraq was killed Thursday by a bomb planted near his home in Anbar province, 10 days after he met with President Bush, police and tribal leaders said.
Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha was leader of the Anbar Salvation Council, also known as the Anbar Awakening _ an alliance of clans backing the Iraqi government and U.S. forces.
The death of the charismatic young sheik dealt a blow to American efforts to recruit tribal leaders to fight the terror network.
The White House, preparing for Bush's Iraq speech to the nation Thursday night, called his death an "unfortunate and outrageous act," but said it was not a setback because other sheiks have said the killing would not deter them from working with the United States against al-Qaida. It also said it believed al-Qaida in Iraq was responsible.
Abu Risha and two of his bodyguards were killed by a roadside bomb planted near the tribal leader's home in the provincial capital of Ramadi, said Col. Tareq Youssef, supervisor of Anbar police.
No group claimed responsibility for the assassination but suspicion fell on al-Qaida in Iraq, which U.S. officials say has suffered devastating setbacks in Anbar thanks to Abu Risha and his fellow sheiks.
"This is a tragic loss," said Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, in a statement released in Washington by his spokesman. "It's a terrible loss for Anbar province and all of Iraq. It shows how significant his importance was and it shows al-Qaida in Iraq remains a very dangerous and barbaric enemy. He was an organizing force that did help organize alliances and did help keep the various tribes together."
Petraeus went before Congress this week to testify about progress in Iraq, including the recent success in Anbar.
During a visit Sept. 3 to al-Asad Air Base, Bush hailed the courage of Abu Risha and others "who have made a decision to reject violence and murder in return for moderation and peace."
On Thursday, Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino said Abu Risha "was one of the first to come forward to want to work with the United States to repel al-Qaida."
"Remember, al-Qaida was killing some of the sheiks' children and, in one instance, severed several heads from young children and put them in a cooler to deliver to the sheiks," Perino said. "This is the type of enemy that we're dealing with."
She said that while the death was not a setback to the U.S. efforts in Anbar, U.S. officials would "have to redouble our efforts to work with the local populations to get the support they need to prevent other such murders."
"There has been a complete shift in attitude over the past year or so and we have to capitalize on that," Perino said.
But two Pentagon officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the matter, said the assassination could be a huge setback because it sends a chilling message about the consequences of cooperating with the U.S.
It was not the first time that Abu Risha has been targeted. A suicide bomber tried and failed to kill him on Feb. 19. That same day, gunmen ambushed a minivan on the main highway from Baghdad to Anbar and killed all 13 passengers who were accused of opposing the largely Sunni al-Qaida in Iraq.
In June, a suicide bomber blew himself up in the lobby of Baghdad's Mansour Hotel during a meeting of U.S.-linked Sunni tribal leaders, killing 13 people and wounding 27. Among those killed was the former governor of Anbar and sheik of the al-Bu Nimir tribe, Fassal al-Guood _ a key ally of Abu Risha. A day later, al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack.
Abu Risha had recently begun traveling with fewer bodyguards as the security situation improved in Anbar.
Within two hours of his death, Islamic extremist Web sites praised his killing. One called him "one of the biggest pigs of the Crusaders," in an apparent reference to U.S. forces in Iraq. Abu Risha would spend the holy month of Ramadan "in the pits of hell," another posting said.
Many Ramadi residents reacted with shock and sadness, calling Abu Risha a "hero" who helped pacify their city.
"We were able to reopen our shops and send our children back to school," said Alaa Abid, who owns an auto parts store in Ramadi. "Now we're afraid that the black days of al-Qaida will return to our city."
A senior member of Abu Risha's group, Sheik Jubeir Rashid, called the assassination a "criminal act" by al-Qaida, and said some of Abu Risha's security guards were being questioned.
"It is a major blow to the council, but we are determined to strike back and continue our work," he said. "Such an attack was expected, but it will not deter us."
Abu Risha, who was 36 or 37, lived within the walls of a massive compound that housed several villas that were home to him and his extended family. The compound was guarded by a tank, and was across the street from the largest U.S. military base in Ramadi. Within the walls were camels, other animals and palm trees, which he spent time showing to visitors.
He spent days meeting with tribal sheiks, discussing the fate of Anbar and al-Qaida. He was constantly busy, with lines of people waiting to speak to him, and took endless calls on his cell phone.
He smoked profusely and drank endless glasses of sweet tea. He carried a pistol, usually stuck in a holster strapped around his waist, and dressed in traditional flowing robes and headdresses.
Abu Risha was part of a group of younger sheiks whose power grew when their elders fled Anbar after other, more senior sheiks were assassinated.
He harbored a personal grudge against al-Qaida, who he said had killed several of his close relatives. He knew the group would keep trying to kill him, but that did not appear to bother him.
Rashid said the fatal bombing took place at 3:30 p.m. as Abu Risha was returning home.
A Ramadi police officer said Abu Risha had received a group of poor people at his home earlier in the day, a charitable gesture to mark the beginning of Ramadan. The officer, speaking on condition of anonymity out of security concerns, said authorities believed the bomb was planted by one of the visitors.
Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said that after the first blast that killed Abu Risha, a car bomb exploded nearby.
"The car bomb had been rigged just in case the roadside bomb missed his convoy," Khalaf said. There were no casualties from the car bomb, he added.
After the bombing, police announced a state of emergency in Ramadi and set up additional checkpoints throughout the city, Rashid said. Another colleague of Abu Risha, Hamid al-Hayis, said a seven-day mourning period would be observed.
Anbar police were investigating the attack, and the Interior Ministry would send a committee to assist, Khalaf added.
The Interior Ministry swiftly ordered plans for a monument built to honor Abu Risha as a "martyr," Khalaf said. It would be build either at the explosion site, or at the center of Ramadi, he said.
Have a nice day.
1,809 Iraqi Civilians Killed in August 2007
Good morning,
BAGHDAD - A huge suicide attack in northern Iraq caused civilian deaths to rise slightly in August despite security gains elsewhere, making it the second deadliest month for Iraqis since the U.S. troop buildup began, figures compiled by The Associated Press showed Saturday.
At least 1,809 civilians were killed, compared to 1,760 in July, based on figures compiled from official Iraqi reports.
The August total included 520 people killed in quadruple suicide bombings near the Syrian border on Aug. 14, the deadliest day since the war began in March 2003. The attacks targeted Yazidis, a small Kurdish-speaking sect whose members are considered to be blasphemers by Muslim extremists.
U.S. deaths last month remained well below figures from last winter, when the U.S began dispatching 30,000 additional troops to Iraq.
American officials have maintained that violence is declining in Iraq in the run-up to a series of reports to Congress this month that will decide the course of the U.S. military presence here.
The top U.S. commander, Gen. David Petraeus, told The Australian newspaper in an interview published Friday that the troop increase has sharply reduced sectarian killings in Baghdad, in particular. Petraeus is expected to make the same point when he reports to Congress in about two weeks.
Have a nice day.
