Nickdfresh
04-29-2005, 03:36 PM
Three U.S. troops among 27 killed in Iraq
Italy differs with American conclusion on agent's shooting death
Friday, April 29, 2005 Posted: 2:25 PM EDT (1825 GMT)
http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/WORLD/meast/04/29/iraq.main/story.iraq.bombing.fri.03.jpg
A car burns in Baghdad on Friday after several bombs exploded.
Image:
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/04/29/iraq.main/index.html)) -- A day after Iraq's new government began to take shape, a spurt of car and roadside bombings Friday killed at least 27 people, including three U.S. troops, and wounded 100 other people, officials said.
Many of the bombs went off after 8:15 a.m. (12:15 a.m. EDT) and focused on Iraqi police and army patrols in Baghdad. Two of the car bombs exploded within 50 yards and several minutes of each other.
At least seven Iraqi soldiers and six Iraqi police officers were among the more than two dozen killed Friday, police said.
Two U.S. soldiers assigned to the 155th Brigade Combat Team, II Marine Expeditionary Force died when a car bomb struck near Diyara, the Marines said. The Marines are based in Anbar province, west of Baghdad.
A car bomb also killed a U.S. soldier and wounded two others in northern Iraq near Taji, the U.S. military said.
The number of U.S. troops who have died in the Iraq war stands at 1,577, according to the military.
Thirteen people died and 50 were wounded when four suicide bombs exploded within a few hundred yards of each other in northern Baghdad neighborhoods in a 15-minute span, police said.
Minutes later, three suicide car bombings struck southeast Baghdad's al-Madain neighborhood, killing nine Iraqis, police said.
Near midday, two car bombs exploded, killing one civilian and wounding eight police officers.
Insurgents also targeted an Iraqi border patrol car in the southern city of Basra. The driver was killed and two officers wounded in the attack, an Iraqi army officer said.
Seven of the car attacks were suicide bombings, but the death toll does not include insurgents' casualties, police said.
The U.S. military took the unusual step of issuing a written statement about the violence.
According to the release, the United States wants to "reassure everyone back home" that the attacks do not appear to be directed at U.S. troops but against Iraqis. They appear to be tied to the announcement of Iraq's new government, the statement said.
On Thursday, Iraq's National Assembly chose a new government following three months of political wrangling in the wake of historic elections. The list of Cabinet members has several vacancies, and at least five appointments are temporary. (Cabinet list)
Purported al-Zarqawi warning
Two Islamist Web sites Friday posted an audio message purportedly recorded by Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most wanted insurgent in Iraq, in which he warned President Bush he would never give up.
Journalists familiar with previous messages said the voice on the tape sounds like al-Zarqawi, but CNN has not confirmed the recording's authenticity.
Much of the speech is filled with quotes from the Koran, and the speaker calls Bush "the dog of the Romans."
According to a translator, the speaker says: "We vow to God you will never reach a decision and your military forces will never feel at peace until we reach our target and as long as we have blood in our veins and our hearts are still beating. We are coming to you, God willing."
The commander of the U.S. Army's Third Infantry Division said the tape was a bad sign for insurgents.
"We know that [al-Zarqawi] posts these messages on a regular basis, and we know that he wants to step up the attacks, and I think it's out of desperation," Maj. Gen. William Webster said. (Full story)
Differing findings on checkpoint shooting
U.S. and Italian officials said Friday that investigators from both countries differ about a checkpoint shooting that led to the death of an Italian security agent.
The March 4 shooting death of Nicola Calipari strained relations between the United States and Italy, where the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq has never been popular with the public. Two other people in the car also were wounded as the vehicle approached a temporary U.S. checkpoint.
Giuliana Sgrena, a reporter for an Italian newspaper who had just been released by abductors, has said American forces deliberately fired on the vehicle, driven by another Italian agent. Sgrena was wounded in the shoulder.
"The investigators did not arrive at shared final conclusions even though, after jointly examining the evidence, they did agree on facts, findings and recommendations on numerous issues," said a statement from State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli.
Ereli said no joint report would be issued.
On Monday, a Pentagon official said that the investigation had cleared the U.S. soldiers involved and they would face no disciplinary action. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the next day that the investigation was not finished.
Other developments
# A bomb killed one U.S. soldier and wounded four others Thursday near Hawija, about 150 miles north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.
# A week before Britain's general elections, Prime Minister Tony Blair authorized the release of a secret memo from the country's attorney general that Blair says supports his assertion that the Iraqi invasion was legal. Opposition party members said the document proves the opposite: that the war, led by the United States but heavily assisted by Britain and its troops, was not a lawful act. (Full story)
CNN's Caroline Faraj, Kevin Flower, Elise Labott, Octavia Nasr, Barbara Starr and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report
Italy differs with American conclusion on agent's shooting death
Friday, April 29, 2005 Posted: 2:25 PM EDT (1825 GMT)
http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/WORLD/meast/04/29/iraq.main/story.iraq.bombing.fri.03.jpg
A car burns in Baghdad on Friday after several bombs exploded.
Image:
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/04/29/iraq.main/index.html)) -- A day after Iraq's new government began to take shape, a spurt of car and roadside bombings Friday killed at least 27 people, including three U.S. troops, and wounded 100 other people, officials said.
Many of the bombs went off after 8:15 a.m. (12:15 a.m. EDT) and focused on Iraqi police and army patrols in Baghdad. Two of the car bombs exploded within 50 yards and several minutes of each other.
At least seven Iraqi soldiers and six Iraqi police officers were among the more than two dozen killed Friday, police said.
Two U.S. soldiers assigned to the 155th Brigade Combat Team, II Marine Expeditionary Force died when a car bomb struck near Diyara, the Marines said. The Marines are based in Anbar province, west of Baghdad.
A car bomb also killed a U.S. soldier and wounded two others in northern Iraq near Taji, the U.S. military said.
The number of U.S. troops who have died in the Iraq war stands at 1,577, according to the military.
Thirteen people died and 50 were wounded when four suicide bombs exploded within a few hundred yards of each other in northern Baghdad neighborhoods in a 15-minute span, police said.
Minutes later, three suicide car bombings struck southeast Baghdad's al-Madain neighborhood, killing nine Iraqis, police said.
Near midday, two car bombs exploded, killing one civilian and wounding eight police officers.
Insurgents also targeted an Iraqi border patrol car in the southern city of Basra. The driver was killed and two officers wounded in the attack, an Iraqi army officer said.
Seven of the car attacks were suicide bombings, but the death toll does not include insurgents' casualties, police said.
The U.S. military took the unusual step of issuing a written statement about the violence.
According to the release, the United States wants to "reassure everyone back home" that the attacks do not appear to be directed at U.S. troops but against Iraqis. They appear to be tied to the announcement of Iraq's new government, the statement said.
On Thursday, Iraq's National Assembly chose a new government following three months of political wrangling in the wake of historic elections. The list of Cabinet members has several vacancies, and at least five appointments are temporary. (Cabinet list)
Purported al-Zarqawi warning
Two Islamist Web sites Friday posted an audio message purportedly recorded by Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most wanted insurgent in Iraq, in which he warned President Bush he would never give up.
Journalists familiar with previous messages said the voice on the tape sounds like al-Zarqawi, but CNN has not confirmed the recording's authenticity.
Much of the speech is filled with quotes from the Koran, and the speaker calls Bush "the dog of the Romans."
According to a translator, the speaker says: "We vow to God you will never reach a decision and your military forces will never feel at peace until we reach our target and as long as we have blood in our veins and our hearts are still beating. We are coming to you, God willing."
The commander of the U.S. Army's Third Infantry Division said the tape was a bad sign for insurgents.
"We know that [al-Zarqawi] posts these messages on a regular basis, and we know that he wants to step up the attacks, and I think it's out of desperation," Maj. Gen. William Webster said. (Full story)
Differing findings on checkpoint shooting
U.S. and Italian officials said Friday that investigators from both countries differ about a checkpoint shooting that led to the death of an Italian security agent.
The March 4 shooting death of Nicola Calipari strained relations between the United States and Italy, where the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq has never been popular with the public. Two other people in the car also were wounded as the vehicle approached a temporary U.S. checkpoint.
Giuliana Sgrena, a reporter for an Italian newspaper who had just been released by abductors, has said American forces deliberately fired on the vehicle, driven by another Italian agent. Sgrena was wounded in the shoulder.
"The investigators did not arrive at shared final conclusions even though, after jointly examining the evidence, they did agree on facts, findings and recommendations on numerous issues," said a statement from State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli.
Ereli said no joint report would be issued.
On Monday, a Pentagon official said that the investigation had cleared the U.S. soldiers involved and they would face no disciplinary action. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the next day that the investigation was not finished.
Other developments
# A bomb killed one U.S. soldier and wounded four others Thursday near Hawija, about 150 miles north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.
# A week before Britain's general elections, Prime Minister Tony Blair authorized the release of a secret memo from the country's attorney general that Blair says supports his assertion that the Iraqi invasion was legal. Opposition party members said the document proves the opposite: that the war, led by the United States but heavily assisted by Britain and its troops, was not a lawful act. (Full story)
CNN's Caroline Faraj, Kevin Flower, Elise Labott, Octavia Nasr, Barbara Starr and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report