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01-19-2005, 06:36 AM
At least 25 Iraqis dead in wave of suicide bombings
Borders to be closed for election security
Wednesday, January 19, 2005 Posted: 5:57 AM EST (1057 GMT)
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Amid a heightened state of security across Iraq, four suicide car bombers managed to carry out separate attacks in and around Baghdad on Wednesday morning within a 90-minute span, killing at least 25 Iraqis, according to a U.S. military spokesman.
Despite the loss of life, Col. Mike Murray, commander of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry, said all of the suicide bombers failed to hit their intended targets.
Around 7 a.m. (11 p.m. ET Tuesday), a bomber detonated near the Australian Embassy in the southern Baghdad neighborhood of Jadriya, killing himself and an Iraqi civilian and wounding several others -- including two Australian soldiers -- according to a U.S. military statement.
About 30 minutes later, another suicide car bomber detonated near the al-Alahi hospital at the outer checkpoint of emergency police headquarters in central Baghdad, killing 18 Iraqis -- including five police -- and wounding at least 15 others, the statement said. The bomber also died in the attack.
A third suicide bomber blew up at a control point south of Baghdad International Airport's airfield around 8:15 a.m., killing two Iraqi security guards and wounding three others.
U.S. soldiers found and detonated another car bomb on the road leading to Baghdad's airport, he said.
About 15 minutes later, a fourth suicide attacker struck near the southern checkpoint of the Al-Muthana airport, which is being used as an Iraqi Army base. Four died in that attack -- two civilians and two soldiers -- the statement said. A U.S. soldier was wounded.
South of Baghdad, a car bomb detonated Wednesday morning about 12 miles (20 km) north of Hilla, killing an Iraqi policeman and seriously wounding two others, according to a news release from Multi-National Forces. The attack happened on the route between al-Mahawil and al-Musayyb, the statement said.
The U.S. commander said Iraqi forces kept the bombings from being even more deadly.
"Out of the four car bombs in Baghdad ... in every case, there was an Iraqi soldier either from the Iraqi army or the Iraqi national guard or an Iraqi policemen that prevented that car bomb from getting to its intended target," Murray said.
"As tragic as it is, there were some Iraqi security forces that paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect their countrymen, the same way that they're going to do on election day."
In advance of Iraq's January 30 election, the country's leadership plans to seal the nation's borders to thwart any plans to disrupt voting.
Closing Iraq's perimeter January 29-31 is one of the latest efforts to reduce risks to people planning to cast ballots for a 275-member transitional national assembly. That body will craft a constitution that will lay the groundwork for a permanent government pending voter approval.
As another election precaution, a U.S. Marine commander announced Tuesday that authorities will not disclose the locations of polling places in Falluja and other towns of the al Anbar province until shortly before voting time.
Lt. Gen. John Sattler, commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said polling locations will be opened in proximity to most of the estimated half-million voting-age Iraqis living in the province.
But officials do not want to give insurgents time to plan attacks against voters or polling places.
"It takes them time to surveil. It takes them time to plan," Sattler said, adding that previous, last-minute rebel plans have failed. "In those cases, when they try that, we normally find them before they have the opportunity to complete their nefarious scheme or they actually detonate against themselves because they put the device together so hastily and sloppily."
U.S. forces may be involved to protect ballots and the electorate.
"It's our goal to make polling places available so that the preponderance of that approximately 500,000 would in fact have the opportunity," Sattler said. "It will be safe. It will be secure."
Although Sattler said polls would be opened inside the cities of Falluja and Ramadi, he said exact locations are still secret. "We have not even put the word out to the Iraqi people. We're going to hold that till right down to the bitter end to ensure that the enemy does not have much time at all if, in fact, they decide to plan against those positions."
Iraq has been under a state of emergency since the first week of November.
The state of emergency essentially puts the country under martial law, and allows interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi to restrict freedom of movement, impose curfews and take any security and military measures he deems necessary.
Chinese workers abducted, archbishop free
A video of eight Chinese construction workers taken hostage in Iraq surfaced Tuesday.
The video shows the men holding opened passports as an Arabic speaker demanded that the Chinese government declare it would not allow its citizens to work for Americans in Iraq.
"We have taken these individuals hostage as they were trying to leave Iraq," the voice said in Arabic. "After interrogating them, we learned that they are Chinese working for a Chinese contracting company in Iraq. This company is carrying out the task of rebuilding one of the American bases."
The voice, claiming to be a representative of The Islamic Resistance Movement, called on the Chinese government to issue a statement saying they would not allow their citizens to help "their enemy, the Americans."
The terrorist group, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has released previous videos showing foreign workers pleading for their government's help.
In Tuesday's video, the camera zoomed in for a close look at each passport, which indicated three of the hostages were teenagers -- 17, 18 and 19 years old.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Vatican in Rome said Basil George Casmoussa was safely released and no ransom was paid.
There were reports that the kidnappers used Casmoussa's cell phone to demand a $200,000 ransom for the 66-year-old archbishop.
Monsignor Tomas Hadid, a spokesman for the Vatican Embassy in Baghdad, said he had spoken to Casmoussa after he was released and said he's "grateful to God" for the archbishop's release.
Other developments
A car bomb exploded Tuesday outside a Baghdad office of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), killing a guard who tried to stop the vehicle, Iraqi police and a spokesman for SCIRI said. Seven others sustained injuries
At least 13 Iraqi national guard troops died in a battle with insurgents in the Iraqi city of Kut on Monday, according to a police spokesman in Kut. And insurgents killed at least 14 members of Iraqi security forces and one civilian in attacks on checkpoints in Tikrit and near Baquba.
Three U.S. soldiers were killed Monday "while conducting security and stability operations in the Al Anbar Province," according to statements from the U.S. military. Monday's deaths bring to 1,369 the number of American troops killed in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion that toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
CNN's Nermeen al-Mufti, Arwa Damon, Kianne Sadeq and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.
CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/01/19/iraq.main/index.html)
An Australian soldier secures the scene after a bombing Wednesday near the Australian Embassy.
Image:
Borders to be closed for election security
Wednesday, January 19, 2005 Posted: 5:57 AM EST (1057 GMT)
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Amid a heightened state of security across Iraq, four suicide car bombers managed to carry out separate attacks in and around Baghdad on Wednesday morning within a 90-minute span, killing at least 25 Iraqis, according to a U.S. military spokesman.
Despite the loss of life, Col. Mike Murray, commander of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry, said all of the suicide bombers failed to hit their intended targets.
Around 7 a.m. (11 p.m. ET Tuesday), a bomber detonated near the Australian Embassy in the southern Baghdad neighborhood of Jadriya, killing himself and an Iraqi civilian and wounding several others -- including two Australian soldiers -- according to a U.S. military statement.
About 30 minutes later, another suicide car bomber detonated near the al-Alahi hospital at the outer checkpoint of emergency police headquarters in central Baghdad, killing 18 Iraqis -- including five police -- and wounding at least 15 others, the statement said. The bomber also died in the attack.
A third suicide bomber blew up at a control point south of Baghdad International Airport's airfield around 8:15 a.m., killing two Iraqi security guards and wounding three others.
U.S. soldiers found and detonated another car bomb on the road leading to Baghdad's airport, he said.
About 15 minutes later, a fourth suicide attacker struck near the southern checkpoint of the Al-Muthana airport, which is being used as an Iraqi Army base. Four died in that attack -- two civilians and two soldiers -- the statement said. A U.S. soldier was wounded.
South of Baghdad, a car bomb detonated Wednesday morning about 12 miles (20 km) north of Hilla, killing an Iraqi policeman and seriously wounding two others, according to a news release from Multi-National Forces. The attack happened on the route between al-Mahawil and al-Musayyb, the statement said.
The U.S. commander said Iraqi forces kept the bombings from being even more deadly.
"Out of the four car bombs in Baghdad ... in every case, there was an Iraqi soldier either from the Iraqi army or the Iraqi national guard or an Iraqi policemen that prevented that car bomb from getting to its intended target," Murray said.
"As tragic as it is, there were some Iraqi security forces that paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect their countrymen, the same way that they're going to do on election day."
In advance of Iraq's January 30 election, the country's leadership plans to seal the nation's borders to thwart any plans to disrupt voting.
Closing Iraq's perimeter January 29-31 is one of the latest efforts to reduce risks to people planning to cast ballots for a 275-member transitional national assembly. That body will craft a constitution that will lay the groundwork for a permanent government pending voter approval.
As another election precaution, a U.S. Marine commander announced Tuesday that authorities will not disclose the locations of polling places in Falluja and other towns of the al Anbar province until shortly before voting time.
Lt. Gen. John Sattler, commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said polling locations will be opened in proximity to most of the estimated half-million voting-age Iraqis living in the province.
But officials do not want to give insurgents time to plan attacks against voters or polling places.
"It takes them time to surveil. It takes them time to plan," Sattler said, adding that previous, last-minute rebel plans have failed. "In those cases, when they try that, we normally find them before they have the opportunity to complete their nefarious scheme or they actually detonate against themselves because they put the device together so hastily and sloppily."
U.S. forces may be involved to protect ballots and the electorate.
"It's our goal to make polling places available so that the preponderance of that approximately 500,000 would in fact have the opportunity," Sattler said. "It will be safe. It will be secure."
Although Sattler said polls would be opened inside the cities of Falluja and Ramadi, he said exact locations are still secret. "We have not even put the word out to the Iraqi people. We're going to hold that till right down to the bitter end to ensure that the enemy does not have much time at all if, in fact, they decide to plan against those positions."
Iraq has been under a state of emergency since the first week of November.
The state of emergency essentially puts the country under martial law, and allows interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi to restrict freedom of movement, impose curfews and take any security and military measures he deems necessary.
Chinese workers abducted, archbishop free
A video of eight Chinese construction workers taken hostage in Iraq surfaced Tuesday.
The video shows the men holding opened passports as an Arabic speaker demanded that the Chinese government declare it would not allow its citizens to work for Americans in Iraq.
"We have taken these individuals hostage as they were trying to leave Iraq," the voice said in Arabic. "After interrogating them, we learned that they are Chinese working for a Chinese contracting company in Iraq. This company is carrying out the task of rebuilding one of the American bases."
The voice, claiming to be a representative of The Islamic Resistance Movement, called on the Chinese government to issue a statement saying they would not allow their citizens to help "their enemy, the Americans."
The terrorist group, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has released previous videos showing foreign workers pleading for their government's help.
In Tuesday's video, the camera zoomed in for a close look at each passport, which indicated three of the hostages were teenagers -- 17, 18 and 19 years old.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Vatican in Rome said Basil George Casmoussa was safely released and no ransom was paid.
There were reports that the kidnappers used Casmoussa's cell phone to demand a $200,000 ransom for the 66-year-old archbishop.
Monsignor Tomas Hadid, a spokesman for the Vatican Embassy in Baghdad, said he had spoken to Casmoussa after he was released and said he's "grateful to God" for the archbishop's release.
Other developments
A car bomb exploded Tuesday outside a Baghdad office of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), killing a guard who tried to stop the vehicle, Iraqi police and a spokesman for SCIRI said. Seven others sustained injuries
At least 13 Iraqi national guard troops died in a battle with insurgents in the Iraqi city of Kut on Monday, according to a police spokesman in Kut. And insurgents killed at least 14 members of Iraqi security forces and one civilian in attacks on checkpoints in Tikrit and near Baquba.
Three U.S. soldiers were killed Monday "while conducting security and stability operations in the Al Anbar Province," according to statements from the U.S. military. Monday's deaths bring to 1,369 the number of American troops killed in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion that toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
CNN's Nermeen al-Mufti, Arwa Damon, Kianne Sadeq and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.
CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/01/19/iraq.main/index.html)
An Australian soldier secures the scene after a bombing Wednesday near the Australian Embassy.
Image: