News Features

NEWS ARCHIVE:

Day-by-day stories about the Occupation



August 2004

Day 489: Tuesday, August 31, 2004

Iraqi cleric al-Sadr calls ceasefire
Reuters, Andrew Marshall

Islamic court of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Najaf

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Rebel Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has ordered his militia to end attacks on U.S. and Iraqi government forces and will soon unveil plans to pursue his goals through politics rather than conflict, aides say. Iraq's interim government has been pressuring Sadr, whose Mehdi Army militia launched two bloody uprisings in Iraq this year, to renounce violence and to enter the political arena ahead of elections due to be held in January. "The Mehdi Army is now turning to peaceful struggle. We will have to see in the future -- that could change. But now it is peaceful," Sadr aide Sheikh Mahmoud al-Sudani told Reuters on Monday. "Moqtada will declare his participation in Iraq's political process. He will not participate directly in elections but he will appoint and back someone from his side or elsewhere." Sadr's fighters battled U.S. and Iraqi forces in the holy city of Najaf for three weeks this month until the country's most revered Shi'ite leader, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, returned from his London hospital bed on Thursday to broker a peace deal. Journalists' plea to Chirac as deadline is extended.

read more

Hostages want veil ban retracted to save their lives
The Guardian, Amelia Gentleman and Luke Harding
Two French journalists being held hostage in Iraq last night warned that they faced death if France refused to yield to their kidnappers' demands to repeal legislation which will ban Islamic headscarves in schools. New footage showing the radio correspondent Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot of Le Figaro was broadcast on the Arabic satellite channel al-Jazeera, soon after the 48-hour deadline for their release expired. Their captors extended the deadline for the government to overturn the law by a further 24 hours.   The two men were filmed against the backdrop of a grey mud wall. They appeared to be in good health, but appealed to the French government to save their lives.   read more

Day 488: Monday, August 30, 2004

16 Iraqis killed in air raids, clashes
Dawn.com

Najaf children wonder when the klling will stop

Sixteen Iraqis have died in US air raids on Fallujah and in battles between militia and US soldiers in the Baghdad Shia suburb of Sadr city since Saturday, a spokesman for the health ministry said in the Iraqi capital on Sunday. Ten people have died and 26 were injured in clashes between Moqtada Al-Sadr's "Mahdi army" and US soldiers. At least six people have died in Fallujah and 20 people were injured, the spokesman said. Al-Sadr spokesman Sheikh Ahmad Al-Shibani told Deutsche Press-e- Agent ur that the Mahdi had not given up resistance in the country. "The Mahdi army is a popular resistance," Al-Shibani said. "The Mahdi army militia is ready now to stand in front of the occupation force anywhere in Iraq." The prime minister of the interim Iraqi government, Iyad Allawi, in response said that the government would not tolerate a private army and would take action against such an army. Meanwhile, local media citing police sources reported clashes between insurgents and US soldiers in the northern Iraqi town of Tel Afar in which 35 Iraqi civilians were injured. Police said most of the injured were women and children caught in the cross fire. The US military claimed two Iraqi insurgents were killed. read more

Huge Anti-Bush March Hits NY on Eve of Convention
Reuters, Grant McCool

A crowd fills a Manhattan avenue during a protest march leading to the Republican National Convention site

NEW YORK - Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators toting colorful banners and shouting "no more Bush" took to Manhattan's streets on Sunday, the day before the Republican convention opens, to decry the Iraq war and President Bush's policies. A crowd fills a Manhattan avenue during a protest march leading to the Republican National Convention site, sponsored by United for Peace and Justice, in New York, Sunday, Aug. 29, 2004. (AP Photo/Greg Bull) Organizers estimated 400,000 people turned out for the march, which led to more than 100 arrests and yielded at least one skirmish between self-styled anarchists and police. More than 400 people have been arrested in protests since Thursday. Chanting "Hey Ho, Bush Has Got to Go," the largely peaceful crowd marched past the Madison Square Garden convention site as Republicans and visitors arrived in the city for a four-day event where Bush will be nominated for another four-year term. Police declined to estimate the size of the crowd but it stretched out more than a mile down one of the city's main thoroughfares. Thousands of police -- many clad in riot gear, some on bicycles and others on horseback -- turned out to control the crowd, who carried signs saying "Osama Loves Bush," "Bush Lies Who Dies?" and "Hate is not a Family Value." A small group of masked anarchists set fire to a float just one block from the convention site and hurled bottles at police in riot gear who rushed them and made 11 arrests, police said. March organizer Leslie Cagan told Reuters that despite some minor clashes, "The march has gone very, very well." "People have come to protest the Bush administration on very many issues, but today we were united in speaking out against the Bush agenda," she said. read more

Day 487: Sunday, August 29, 2004

US fights Iraqi police 'by mistake'
Al Jazeera

Local police normally work with US backing in the northern city

US forces have fought with an Iraqi police unit in the centre of Kirkuk in a clash that police describe as a "mistake". Two Iraqi policemen were badly wounded and US occupation forces arrested six of their comrades after the overnight battle, police Colonel Farhat Qadir said on Friday. "The battle happened by mistake," he said, declining to elaborate. The police in Kirkuk have previously been targets of anti-government forces in the area. US forces maintain bases in the northern city, which is an important centre of oil production. The city's Arab, Kurdish and Turkmen populations claim rival historical property rights that have caused sporadic violence in Kirkuk since Saddam Hussein was toppled last year. read more

Emergency talks on Iraq hostages
BBC News

The two journalists were last heard from more than a week ago

The two journalists were last heard from more than a week ago. French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin has held an emergency meeting with colleagues to discuss the kidnapping of two journalists in Iraq. Mr Raffarin cancelled a planned trip to the south of France to hold the talks with the foreign, interior and communications ministers. An Iraqi group says it is holding the journalists - RFI's Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot of Le Figaro. The group wants a reversal of a ban on Islamic headscarves in French schools. But the BBC's Angus Roxburgh in Paris says there seems little chance that Mr Raffarin will agree to any concessions on the headscarf ban, which is due to come into effect when students return to school next week. There will be a second emergency meeting on Sunday afternoon. Observers say there is consternation in France that its citizens have been targeted by Iraqi militants, as Paris strongly opposed the war on Iraq. read more

Day 486: Saturday, August 28, 2004

U.S. warplanes, tanks bombard Fallujah

Associated Press

An anxious man waits over his injured relative in a hospital in Fallujah

FALLUJAH, Iraq -- U.S. warplanes and tanks bombarded targets in Fallujah on Saturday and U.S. forces exchanged gunfire with insurgents on the city's eastern outskirts and the main highway that runs to neighboring Jordan, witnesses said. Fourteen people were wounded in the violence, including eight children, said Dr. Ali Khamis of Fallujah General Hospital. The attacks struck the city's eastern al-Askari neighborhood as well as the industrial area at the eastern entrance of Fallujah. At least four homes were destroyed and people were seen being rushed to hospital. Lt. Col. Thomas V. Johnson, a Marine spokesman, said U.S. troops based on the edge of Fallujah had been attacked "One of our positions near Fallujah has been taking sporadic fire," Johnson said. "Marines countered with tanks and artillery. Witnesses said the air raids began at 7 p.m. and clashes between the two sides continued for several hours. Smoke could be seen billowing into the air and fire blazed in the sky after the strikes. read more

Turkish truck driver, Iraqi found dead
Associated Press, Todd Pitman
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Police found the bodies of a slain Turkish truck driver and an Iraqi man on a highway in northern Iraq, a Turkish diplomat said Saturday. The corpses were discovered late Friday near Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad, a diplomat at the Turkish Embassy in Baghdad said on condition of anonymity. The diplomat identified the slain Turkish man as Ramadan Erkul, and said it was not known how long he had been missing or who had killed him. Col. Sarhad Qader, head of the provincial police department in Kirkuk, northeast of Beiji, confirmed that two bodies were found with their throats slit Friday night on the same highway south of Beiji but was unable to identify them. The diplomat said the bodies were taken to a hospital morgue in Tikrit, where a Turkish diplomat identified one of them as Erkul, and the other as an Iraqi citizen. read more

Day 485: Friday, August 27, 2004

Shiite Cleric Clinches Najaf Peace Deal
The Scotsman

The Iranian-born cleric is widely respected by Shia Muslim Iraqis
(photo Al Jazeera)

Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, made a dramatic return to Najaf and swiftly won agreement from a rebel cleric and the government to end three weeks of fighting between his militia and US-Iraqi forces. The renegade Muqtada al-Sadr accepted the proposal in a face-to-face meeting yesterday with 75-year-old al-Sistani. Hours later, Iraq’s interim government also agreed the deal. Al-Sistani’s highly publicised, 11th-hour peace mission would almost certainly boost his already high prestige in Iraq and cloak him in a statesman’s mantle, showing that only he had the ability to force an accord between two sides that loathe each other. read more

Group kills Italian journalist in Iraq

Al Jazeera

Baldoni was captured last week on the road to Najaf
Italian journalist Enzo Baldoni, who was taken captive on 24 August, is reported to have been executed by his captors. In a video tape received by Aljazeera, the purported Iraqi group - identifying itself as the Islamic Army in Iraq - said Baldoni had been executed because their demands had not been met. "The group calling itself the Islamic Army in Iraq said they executed the Italian journalist Enzo Baldoni because Italy did not respond to their demand to withdraw troops from Iraq within 48 hours," Aljazeera reported. Aljazeera decided not to broadcast the grisly footage. read more

Day 484: Thursday, August 26, 2004

MPs plan to impeach Blair over Iraq war record
The Guardian, David Hencke

End of the road for Tony boy?

MPs are planning to impeach Tony Blair for "high crimes and misdemeanours" in taking Britain to war against Iraq, reviving an ancient practice last used against Lord Palmerston more than 150 years ago. Eleven MPs led by Adam Price, Plaid Cymru MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, are to table a motion when parliament returns that will force the prime minister to appear before the Commons to defend his record in the run-up to the war. Nine of the MPs are Welsh and Scottish Nationalists, including the party leaders, Elfyn Llwyd, and Alex Salmond, and two are Conservative frontbenchers, Boris Johnson, MP for Henley and editor of the Spectator, and Nigel Evans, MP for Ribble Valley. A number of Labour backbenchers are considering whether to back the motion, though it could mean expulsion from the party. read more

Day 483: Wednesday, August 25, 2004

2 killed at pro-cleric march near Najaf
Associated Press

Picture: Shiite Muslims hoist a picture of Grand Ayatollah Ali Husseini al-Sistani, 73, outside of the place where he is resting, after he crossed into southern Iraq from Kuwait about midday in a convoy of vehicles accompanied by Iraqi police and national guardsmen in to the southern city of Basra, Iraq Wednesday Aug. 25, 2004. Al-Sistani has been in London for medical treatment since Aug. 6, one day after clashes erupted in Najaf. The cleric wields enormous influence among Shiite Iraqis and his return could play a crucial role in stabilizing the crisis. (AP Photo/Nabil al Jurani)
KUFA, Iraq -- Unidentified gunmen on Wednesday killed two people and wounded five others at what appeared to be a peaceful demonstration in support of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Kufa, northeast of Najaf, witnesses and hospital officials said. Videotape from Associated Press Television News showed demonstrators wounded during a few minutes of heavy gunfire. It was unclear who was shooting. read more

US WARPLANES pound NajaF

Iraqi Defense Minister: "We will wipe them out"
Al Jazeera

Al-Mahdi Army fighters have been given just hours to give up

US AC-130 gunships have resumed an aerial assault on al-Mahdi Army positions in Najaf as Muqtada al-Sadr aides say they want to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the standoff. Several blasts were heard after the warplane started circling above the battered city on Tuesday evening. Earlier, the interim Iraqi government issued an ultimatum that was seem as the latest in a series of threats by the US-backed government to the al-Mahdi Army. The al-Mahdi Army is loyal to Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr and has been fighting US occupation soldiers around the Imam Ali mosque for the past three weeks. "We are in the last hours. This evening, Iraqi forces will reach the doors of the shrine and control it and appeal to the al-Mahdi Army to throw down their weapons," Defence Minister Hazim al-Shaalan told a news conference at a US military base outside Najaf. "If they do not, we will wipe them out." A spokesman for al-Sadr's office in Baghdad, Raid al-Kadhimy, said: "This is the beginning of the battle." read more

list of dead American soldiers in Iraq from the last 24 days
truthout.org
Army Spc. Armando Hernandez, age 22; Army Spc. Anthony J. Dixon, age
20;Marine Cpl. Dean P. Pratt, age 22; Army Spc. Justin B. Onwordi, age 28;
Marine Sgt. Juan Calderon Jr., age 26; Army Pfc. Harry N. Shondee, Jr., age
19; Marine Capt. Gregory A Ratzlaff, age 36; Army Sgt. Tommy L. Gray, age
34; Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph L. Nice, age 19; Marine Gunnery Sgt. Elia P.
Fontecchio, age 30; Army Spc. Donald R. McCune, age 20; Marine Sgt. Moses D.
Rocha, age 33; Army Pfc. Raymond J. Faulstich Jr., age 24; Marine Sgt. Yadir
G. Reynoso, age 27; Marine Lance Cpl. Larry L. Wells, age 22; Army Spc.
Joshua I. Bunch, age 23; Marine Cpl. Roberto Abad, age 22; Army Pfc. David
L. Potter, age 22; Marine Lance Cpl. Jonathan W. Collins, age 19; Army Capt.
Andrew R. Houghton, age 25; Marine Lance Cpl. Tavon L. Hubbard, age 24;
Marine Staff Sgt. John R. Howard, age 26; Army Capt. Michael Yury Tarlavsky,
age 30; Marine Lance Cpl. Kane M. Funke, age 20; Marine Lance Cpl. Nicholas
B. Morrison, age 23; Army 1st Lt. Neil Anthony Santoriello, age 24; Marine
Corps Pfc. Geoffrey Perez, age 24; Marine Corps Pfc. Fernando B. Hannon, age
19; Army Spc. Mark Anthony Zapata, age 27; Army 2nd Lt. James Michael Goins,
age 23; Army Sgt. Daniel Michael Shepherd, age 23; Army Pfc. Brandon R.
Sapp, age 21; Army Sgt. David M. Heath, age 30; Army Spc. Brandon T. Titus,
age 20; Marine Lance Cpl. Caleb J. Powers, age 21; Army Spc. Jacob D.
Martir, age 21; Marine Sgt. Harvey E. Parkerson III, age 27; Marine Lance
Cpl. Dustin R. Fitzgerald, age 22; Army Pfc. Henry C. Risner, age 26; Pfc.
Kevin A. Cuming, age 22; 1st Lt. Charles L. Wilkins III, age 38; Pfc. Ryan
A. Martin, age 22.

That is the list of dead American soldiers in Iraq from the last 24 days.
That is August, so far. Two other American soldiers - Army Sgt. Bobby E.
Beasley, age 36, and Army Staff Sgt. Craig W. Cherry, age 39 - were killed
in Afghanistan by an improvised explosive device on August 7th. We don't
talk about that war anymore, either. --end of story--

Day 482: Tuesday, August 24, 2004

Battle near Iraq shrine rages, US planes strike
New Zealand Herald

Smoke rises over a mosque in Najaf. Picture / Reuters

NAJAF, IRAQ - US warplanes, artillery and marines engaged Shi'ite militiamen in a fierce battle around a shrine in the Iraqi city of Najaf on Monday in some of the heaviest fighting since the 20-day-old rebellion erupted. US aircraft and ground artillery launched several strikes that rocked the area near the Imam Ali mosque, where Mehdi Army fighters of radical Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr have holed up in defiance of the US-backed interim government. An AC-130 gunship, equipped with rapid-fire cannon and howitzers, circled above the southern city while artillery and armoured fighting vehicles struck on the ground. read more

Bush tries to cash in on Iraq's Olympic success

Sydney Morning Herald, Lawrence Donegan

Iraqi players have rebuked Bush for trying to take credit for their success

The United States President, George Bush, has been accused of using the Olympics for political ends, amid reports he was planning to visit Athens this week to watch a gold-medal effort by the Iraqi soccer team. According to unconfirmed reports, in the US, the White House is examining the logistical and security implications of Mr Bush travelling to Athens for Saturday's soccer final. Iraq, whose progress to the semi-finals has been one of the Games's most captivating stories, play Paraguay tomorrow for a place in the final. The Greek Foreign Ministry has confirmed that the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, will be in Athens for the closing ceremony. But it is the possible presidential visit to the Games that will fuel a dispute between the election campaign of Mr Bush and his running mate, Dick Cheney, and the US Olympic Committee over a commercial that links Iraq's and Afghanistan's participation in the Games with the US's "war on terrorism". read more

Day 481: Monday, August 23, 2004

Pakistan, Malaysia blast US on Najaf

Al Jazeera

Shia leader Sayyid Anis Haidar Naqvi says US seeks Iraqi oil

Protesters in Pakistan have demonstrated against the bombardment in Najaf, saying the US and its allies seek control of Iraqi resources, while Malaysia has called for attacks on the city to stop. About 200 Shia Muslims staged a demonstration in Multan, central Pakistan, against US attacks near the Imam Ali shrine in the Iraqi city of Najaf. Protesters marched and condemned what they called the desecration of the shrine. "The United States wants to occupy the oil resources of Muslim states on the pretext of terrorism and the hunt for al-Qaida," Shia leader Sayyid Anis Haidar Naqvi told the rally. The protesters carried placards reading: "Stop US barbaric operation in Iraq, Najaf", "Stop bombing holy places", "Down with America and Britain", "Bush and allied forces are terrorists" and "Desecration of sacred places will not be tolerated". read more

Talks stall as Najaf under intense shelling

Fighters loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr have refused to surrender

Al Jazeera

Amid a constant barrage of AC-130 cannon fire, talks to end the standoff between US-led forces and militiamen loyal to Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr appear to have stalled. Four large explosions were heard near the shrine early on Monday as AC-130 gunships pounded Mahdi Army positions around the Imam Ali mosque and near the cemetery, witnesses said. In the latest round of clashes, al-Sadr aide Ahmad al-Shaibani told Aljazeera that US military helicopters and heavy artillery on Sunday bombed the old sector of Najaf. He claimed shells fell in the vicinity of the Imam Ali shrine and a tank round caused a big hole in the outer wall of the shrine. read more

CRitics warn of plan to sack 30,000 Iraqi police

The Scotsman, Gethin Chamberlain

AS MANY as 30,000 members of Iraq’s new police force are to lose their jobs in a radical shake-up aimed at weeding out troublemakers and officers considered unsuitable for employment. A $60 million (£33 million) fund has been set aside by the interim government in Iraq to pay off the sacked police officers, with the axe due to fall at the end of this month. They will receive an average pay-off of $2,000 (£1,100). But critics of the plan in Iraq say that it risks repeating the mistakes made when the Iraqi army was disbanded after the end of the war in 2003, when 400,000 disaffected soldiers were turned on to the streets with no source of income. Many joined the insurgency against the coalition forces. Yesterday, one senior Iraqi officer, Major Basim Mahmoud Hameed, warned that the same could happen again if police officers are dismissed from their jobs. "It is about their loyalty. Some of them are loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr [the radical Shiite cleric]. They are wearing police uniforms and when we need them to be on our side they are on the side of Sadr or with the terrorists in Fallujah," he said. read more

Soldiers face Abu Ghraib hearings

The charges relate to some of the most notorious incidents

BBC News

Four US soldiers charged with abusing Iraqi prisoners are facing pre-trial hearings before a military tribunal at a US barracks in Germany.

Appearing on Monday are Spc Charles Graner, one of the alleged ringleaders of the abuse at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison, and Pte Megan Ambuhl. Staff Sgt Ivan Frederick and Sgt Javal Davis are due to appear on Tuesday. The scandal erupted in April after images emerged of prison guards abusing and sexually humiliating detainees. Seven US soldiers have been charged over the scandal. One soldier, Jeremy Sivits, pleaded guilty in May and was sentenced to a year in prison. During the hearing in Mannheim, a US military judge will hear witnesses, take evidence and deal with procedural matters before the soldiers' trial by court martial.

read more

Day 480: Sunday, August 22, 2004

Blasts, gunfire shake Najaf as talks drag

Associated Press, Abdul Hussein Al-Obeidi

A U.S. Army tank commander patrols in Najaf

NAJAF, Iraq -- Explosions and gunfire shook Najaf's Old City on Sunday in a fierce battle between U.S. forces and Shiite militants, as negotiations dragged on for the handover of the shrine that the fighters have used for their stronghold. Late Sunday, U.S. warplanes and helicopters attacked positions in the Old City for the second night with bombs and gunfire, witnesses said. Militant leaders said the Imam Ali Shrine compound's outer walls were damaged in the attacks The U.S. military, which has been careful to avoid damaging the compound, said it fired on sites south of the shrine, where militants were shooting from, and did not hit the compound wall. read more

4 U.S. marines killed in Iraq province

Associated Press

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Four U.S. Marines assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force have been killed in separate incidents in Iraq's volatile Anbar province, the military announced Sunday. --end story--

Day 479: Saturday, August 21, 2004

Insurgents bomb oil pipeline in Iraq

Associated Press

Natural gas burns near the area insurgents bombed at an oil pipeline in southern Iraq

BASRA, Iraq -- Insurgents bombed Saturday an oil pipeline in southern Iraq that had not been in use for several days, setting it ablaze, security forces in the area said. That attack took place at Berjisiya, 20 miles southwest of the southern city of Basra, said Lt. Mohammed al-Mousawi of the Iraqi National Guard. The pipeline, which connects the Rumeila oilfields with export storage tanks in the Faw peninsula, had been shut down for a week due to threats from insurgents, and it was unclear what effect the bombing would have on exports. read more

Iraq's air force launches first flights
Associated Press, Todd Pitman
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's new air force took to the skies this week for the first time since the U.S. invaded last year and disbanded the country's armed forces, the U.S. military said. Iraqi pilots on Wednesday flew two Seabird Seeker SB7L-360 reconnaissance aircraft on what the U.S. military described as "limited operations missions intended to protect infrastructure facilities and Iraq's borders." The two light reconnaissance planes are fitted with surveillance systems that can transmit live video images to ground forces. They are the first of a fleet that will eventually number 10 light aircraft of "similar capability," the statement said. read more

Day 478: Friday, August 20, 2004

Two U.S. Marines killed in action in Iraq

Associated Press

U.S. Army soldiers guard the entrance of a building during a raid and under sniper fire

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Attackers ambushed a U.S. patrol north of the Iraqi capital on Friday, killing one American soldier and wounding four others, while the U.S. military said two Marines were killed in action in Iraq's volatile Anbar province earlier this week, The soldiers were attacked with an "improvised explosive device" in Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, said Maj. Neal O'Brien, a spokesman for the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division. read more

Al-Sadr Tells Militia to Turn Over Shrine
Associated Press, Abdul Hussein Al-Obeidi

High-altitude jet fighters dropped four bombs on Najaf Thursday (AP)

NAJAF, Iraq - Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his fighters Thursday to hand control of a revered Najaf shrine to top Shiite religious authorities, hours after U.S. forces bombed militant positions and Iraq (news - web sites)'s prime minister made a "final call" for the cleric's militia to surrender. Blasts and gunbattles persisted throughout the day Thursday in the streets of Najaf, where militants bombarded a police station with mortar rounds, killing seven police and injuring 35 others. At night, at least 30 explosions shook the Old City as a U.S. plane hit militant targets east of the Imam Ali shrine. U.S. forces also battled al-Sadr's supporters in a Baghdad slum, where militants said five fighters and five civilians were killed. Also, late Thursday, an American warplane bombed targets in the Sunni city of Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad. read more

US Baghdad embassy shelled

Al Jazeera

Negroponte, a former UN ambassador, was not in Iraq

A mortar shell hit the roof of the US embassy in Baghdad slightly wounding two American employees, an embassy spokesman said. The spokesman said the building was hit between 0500 and 0530 (1300-1330 GMT) on Thursday. US ambassador John Negroponte was not in Iraq at the time of the attack. "One of the injured was shaken. The other injured person required medical treatment but the injuries are not severe," the spokesman said, adding the roof was slightly damaged in the attack. The US embassy in Baghdad, the largest U.S. mission in the world, is in the heavily fortified Green Zone, which also houses the offices of the US-appointed Iraqi interim government. Iraqi resistance fighters have routinely launched mortar and missile attacks against the Green Zone, which used to house the main palace of former leader Saddam Hussein. read more

Day 477: Thursday, August 19, 2004

Sceptical Najaf residents desperate for peace
Reuters

Najaf residents: caught in the crossfire

NAJAF, Iraq - Residents of the bloodied city of Najaf want peace so badly that some will take any leader who can stabilise Iraq -- even one hated across the Arab world. Give us anyone who can stop this destruction. We don't care who it is or where he comes from. We will even accept an Israeli, even (Prime Minister) Ariel Sharon, said Abdullah Sultan, an unemployed 50-year-resident of Najaf. We are caught right in the middle of the fighting. Look at my neighbour's house. A mortar landed here. It must stop. Talk of Sharon leading Iraqis could get someone lynched in this fiercely anti-Israeli country. It shows just how desperate some have become. After two weeks of fighting between militiamen loyal to firebrand Shi�ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and US marines, Najaf's people were doubtful that signs of a possible end to battles would silence menacing guns and mortars. read more

Iran may strike if nuclear site threatened
Al Jazeera

Iran says it will strike Dimona if Israel attacks its N-facilities

Iranian Defence Minister Ali Shamkhani has warned that Iran might launch a pre-emptive strike to prevent an attack on its nuclear facilities. He said this in an interview with Aljazeera TV on Wednesday. "We will not sit (with arms folded) to wait for what others will do to us. Some military commanders in Iran are convinced that preventive operations which the Americans talk about are not their monopoly," Shamkhani said when asked about the possibility of a US or Israeli strike against Iran's nuclear facilities. "America is not the only one present in the region. We are also present, from Khost to Kandahar in Afghanistan; we are present in the Gulf and we can be present in Iraq," said Shamkhani. Earlier, the Iranian press reported a commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards as saying Iran will strike the Israeli reactor at Dimona if Israel attacks the Islamic republic's nuclear facilities. read more

Day 476: Wednesday, August 18, 2004

Radical Iraqi cleric reportedly agrees to peace plan
Associated Press

Muqtada Al-Sadr has vowed to fight "until the last drop of my blood has been spilled."

Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr accepted a peace plan Wednesday to end fighting in Najaf that would disarm his militiamen and remove them from a holy shrine where they are hiding out, according to an al-Sadr spokesman. However, al-Sadr wanted to negotiate how the deal would be implemented. The cleric's decision came just hours after Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan said the government was prepared to raid the revered Imam Ali shrine as early as Wednesday to root out the militants. The agreement could spell the end of the two-week resurgence of violence in this holy city that enraged many of the country's majority Shiites and posed the greatest test yet for the fledgling government of interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.

read more

US army to prune Halliburton bills
The Guardian, David Teather

Cheney's company once again the subject of intrigues

The United States army will withhold payment of up to $60m (£32.8m) a month on future invoices submitted by Halliburton, the firm formerly run by vice-president Dick Cheney, due to a continuing dispute over work done in Iraq. The decision contradicted a statement issued by Halliburton on Monday saying that it had won a suspension of the longstanding threat to withhold payments. Shares in the oilfield services and construction company fell more than 4% in early trade on Wall Street after the ruling was announced. They have dropped 16% since the beginning of the month. The decision puts Halliburton under further financial pressure. The company needs cash to pay for a $2.3bn settlement of asbestos injury lawsuits stemming from a division acquired during Mr Cheney's tenure as chairman and chief executive. read more

Day 475: Tuesday, August 17, 2004

Baghdad tries new Najaf peace bid
The Guardian, Luke Harding and Michael Howard

Will the peace initiative bear fruit or are US forces in for a long war?

A delegation from Iraq's first national conference will today travel to the holy city of Najaf in a bold attempt to broker a peace deal with the radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The group of Iraqi politicians will set off from Baghdad in a fleet of minibuses, pursuing an initiative first suggested by a distant relative of the cleric, Sayed Hussain al-Sadr. The move came after the Najaf fighting dominated a meeting in the Iraqi capital where 1,300 political and religious leaders had gathered to agree a new assembly to oversee Iraq's interim government. In Najaf itself, the fighting between Mr Sadr's Mahdi army and US and Iraqi government forces appeared to have eased off. There were skirmishes near the Imam Ali mosque, where Mr Sadr's supporters are dug in, and in the nearby cemetery. Yesterday's proposal came after Hussein al-Sadr, an ally of the US, appealed for an end to the 12-day uprising in Najaf. read more

Fierce fighting erupts in Najaf
SwissInfo, Dean Yates

US forces are facing a growing resistance among Iraq's Shia

U.S. troops and Shi'ite militiamen have battled in the holy Iraqi city of Najaf only hours after political and religious leaders in Baghdad agreed to make a last-ditch appeal for peace. Broadening their uprising from the urban battlefield in Najaf and seven other cities, the Mehdi Army of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr set an oil well on fire in southern Iraq, the government said on Monday. Iraqis meeting to pick an interim national assembly in Baghdad said they would send a delegation to Najaf to try to convince Sadr to end a conflict that has killed hundreds and undermined the authority of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.   Explosions boomed and the crackle of machinegun fire echoed across the city, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad. read more

Day 474: Monday, August 16, 2004

Najaf fighting claims three US soldiers
Al Jazeera

US forces are preparing for another assault on the city

Three American troops have been killed in Iraq's Najaf province amid fresh efforts to mediate between US-led occupation forces and Shia fighters. Smoke was seen rising from Najaf before an expected major US-led assault on Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr's al-Mahdi Army militiamen. "Three US soldiers attached to the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit were killed as a result of enemy action in Najaf province 15 August," said a US military statement on Monday. Mortars later fell near Najaf police headquarters at around 8:00pm (16:00 GMT), while the clinic in the shrine said eight people were wounded on the second day of isolated clashes. Bullets have also hit the northern wall of the Imam Ali shrine, witnesses said. Meanwhile, at least 50 delegates from the key Iraqi National Conference in Baghdad prepared to drive to Najaf, hoping to persuade al-Sadr to withdraw his fighters...   read more   Visit Full News Archive

Human shields await US tanks
Reuters, Michael Georgy

Witneses say the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf has been damaged by rockets or mortars

With his militants and human shields holed up inside one of Shi'ite Islam's most sacred shrines, radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is playing a shrewd waiting game before an expected American-led offensive. Sadr's militiamen were inside the Imam Ali shrine and positioned outside along alleyways and on rooftops with a seemingly endless supply of AK-47 rifles and grenades intermittently fired at U.S. troops in a nearby cemetery. But it was about 2,000 impassioned Iraqi civilian "volunteers" cheering Sadr in the marble-floored courtyard of the mosque who made the biggest show of force on Monday.

read more

Day 473: Sunday, August 15, 2004

Iraq evicts reporters from Najaf

Associated Press

A plume of smoke is seen rising from an explosion over Najaf's vast cemetery (AP Photo/Jim MacMillan) Height (pixels)

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraqi police ordered all journalists to leave the holy city of Najaf on Sunday, just as a new U.S. offensive against militants hiding out in a revered shrine began. Four police cars surrounded a hotel in the city where journalists were staying and presented the order signed by Najaf's police chief, Brig. Ghalib al-Jazaari. It did not spell out a punishment for those who did not comply, but police who delivered the order said any reporters remaining would be arrested, according to journalists at the hotel. The police said any cameras and cellular phones they saw would be confiscated. In response to the threat, many journalists left the city. read more

List of foreigners taken hostage in Iraq
Associated Press
Insurgents in Iraq have kidnapped dozens of people in their campaign to drive out coalition forces and hamper reconstruction:
HELD HOSTAGE:
-Mustafa Koksal and Durmus Kumdereli, Turkish truck drivers. Kidnapped Aug. 14 outside Mosul after delivering water to U.S. base in Baghdad.
-Micah Garen, freelance Western journalist, and Amir Doushi, Iraqi translator. Seized by gunmen Aug. 13 at market in Nasiriyah.
-Faridoun Jihani, Iranian consul to Karbala. In video made public Aug. 7, kidnappers accused Iran of meddling in Iraq's affairs. read more

Day 472: Saturday, August 14, 2004

Scores dead in latest Iraq violence

Reuters

Scores of Iraqi civilians have been killed in US attacks on cities

BAGHDAD - U.S. forces have killed around 90 insurgents in Iraqi towns north and south of Baghdad, but a truce appears to be holding in the holy city of Najaf despite a radical cleric's threat to fight to the death. The fresh violence erupted on the eve of a national conference aimed at advancing Iraq's progress towards democracy, already overshadowed by a 10-day Shi'ite Muslim uprising led by radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The U.S. military said on Saturday it had killed about 50 fighters... read more

Thousands of Iraqis are rallying to support al-Sadr's movement

Al Jazeera

Thousands of Iraqis are rallying to support al-Sadr's movement

In an exclusive interview with Aljazeera, Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr said the Iraqi people want the interim Iraqi government to resign, saying its policies are worse than those of Saddam Hussein. Speaking from an undisclosed location in Najaf before the announcement that talks with the interim government had failed, al-Sadr questioned the legitimacy of the Iyad Allawi government and claimed that he, and the Mahdi Army, were fighting for the rights of all Iraqis. "This is the desire of the Iraqi people and I am here fighting for them," he said, referring to his demands on Friday that the interim Iraqi government resign. "I am a part of the people and I am a brother to them in this world and the next". "This is a government propped up by the Americans," he said. When asked if he was seeking any political office in any future reconciliation government, al-Sadr said he would not seek any official post, "not now, and until I die". read more

Day 471: Friday, August 13, 2004

Iraqi officials resign over US 'aggression'

Al Jazeera

Several Iraqi officials working within the interim government have resigned in protest of the US-led assault on Najaf and Kut. Sixteen of Najaf's 30-member provincial council resigned in protest at the US-led assault on the Najaf as fighting between the Mahdi Army loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr and US occupation forces entered its eighth day. "We have decided to resign due to what has befallen Najaf and all of Iraq from the hasty US invasion and bombardment of Najaf," the council said in a statement to the press. The council's resignations came several hours after the deputy governor of Najaf resigned in protest against the US offensive on the city. "I resign from my post denouncing all the US terrorist operations that they are doing against this holy city," Jawdat Kadam Najim al-Kuraishi, deputy governor of Najaf, said on Thursday morning. read more

84 killed, 148 hurt as US bombs militiamen in Kut

Associated Press

Kut/Basra: Heavy overnight US bombing of Kut killed 84 people and wounded 148, one day after clashes between police and Shiite militiamen in the southern city, Iraq's health ministry said yesterday. Many of the dead and wounded were women and children, said Kut hospital director Khader Fadal Arar. "We have 75 killed and 148 wounded, according to what the hospitals in Kut have told us," said ministry spokeswoman May Abdul Karim yesterday. Police Colonel Salam Fakhri said the bombing started at 1am and lasted until 3am Wednesday. "The bombing was concentrated in the Al Sharkia district as the US military felt there were a lot of Shiite militiamen in that area. It also has an office of Moqtada Sadr," he said. read more

Day 470: Thursday, August 12, 2004

IRaqis protest as US plans assault on Najaf

Al-Sadr has told loyalists to carry on fighting even if he is killed
Al Jazeera

Al-Sadr has told loyalists to carry on fighting even if he is killed

As US occupation forces announce they are preparing a final assault on Najaf, thousands of Iraqis have been protesting against the interim Iraqi government and the joint US-Iraqi forces' actions. Thousands of protesters in the southern city of Nasiriya called for the fall of interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and set fire to the local office of his political party on Wednesday. The demonstrators, enraged by military action against Iraqi Shia Muslim fighters in Najaf, screamed, "Down, down Allawi" and "Allawi, you coward, you American agent". They held up posters of Muqtada al-Sadr... read more

Heavy bombing leaves 56 dead in Kut
AFP

Heavy overnight US bombardment of Kut has killed 56 people and wounded more than 110, one day after clashes between police and Shi'ite Muslim militiamen in the southern Iraqi city, a medic said. "American planes started bombing the al-Shakia district, in southern Kut after 3:00am (0900 AEST)," said Kut hospital director, Khader Fadal Arar. Many of the dead and wounded were women and children, he added. "They destroyed 18 houses and killed 56 people and injured more than 110, some of them very seriously," he said. The bombardment followed a day of fierce clashes between Iraqi police and militiamen loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, in which at least two national guardsmen and three policemen were wounded. The office of Sadr's movement in Kut was flattened in the bombing, said supporter of the militia leader, Sheikh Mohammed Yihyiah. "Our office has been destroyed because it was in the same district, fortunately there were was no one in the office that's why we have no casualties. Perhaps they thought it would be full of militiamen," he said. read more

Day 469: Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Najaf showdown imminent
U.S. and Iraqi forces prepare to decide who controls Iraq holy city
ajc.com

Spent shells litter a rooftop from which soldiers of the 1st Cavalry Division fire on insurgent militiamen during fighting in the Najaf cemetery

A climactic showdown appears to be looming in Iraq's holy city of Najaf between the U.S. military and Iraqi forces on one side and the Mahdi Army militia of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on the other. "Iraqi and U.S. forces are making final preparations as we get ready to finish this fight that the Muqtada Militia started," Marine Col. Anthony M. Haslam said. The expected assault, which officials said was postponed Wednesday but could come at any moment, follows several moves by the government of interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi to assert its authority two months after taking over from U.S. occupation forces. In recent days, Allawi ordered the closing of the Baghdad bureau of al-Jazeera, accusing the pan-Arabic television channel of "inciting violence." The government also issued arrest warrants for former Pentagon favorite Ahmad Chalabi who, since falling out of favor with U.S. officials, has sought to establish himself as a Shiite populist — and allied himself with al-Sadr. Authorities also ordered the arrest of his nephew Salem Chalabi, who heads the tribunal overseeing the trial of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein. read more

Iraq Violence Kills at Least 62 in Center, South, Officials Say

Bloomberg.com

Violence in central and southern Iraq has killed at least 62 people, including a politician, since 9 a.m. yesterday, Iraqi officials said in telephone interviews from Baghdad. Bombings and clashes between militiamen and U.S.-led coalition forces killed at least 61 people in Baghdad, Diyala province, and around the southern cities of Diwaniyah, Basra and Amara, said Iraqi Health Ministry spokesman Saad al-Amily. Ali al- Saadi, who headed the Diyala office of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq party, was shot dead early today, said party official Haitham al-Husseini. The interim government of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi has struggled to establish security in Iraq since gaining sovereignty from the U.S.-led coalition on June 28. Government and local officials have been the target of numerous attacks, and coalition forces in the south are battling militiamen loyal to Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. read more

Day 468: Tuesday, August 10, 2004

U.S. forces pound Iraqi militia
SwissInfo

931 US military personnel have now died in Iraq

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. forces are pounding Shi'ite militia from the air and ground in the holy Iraqi city of Najaf, and using loudspeakers to urge the entrenched fighters to surrender. U.S. helicopter gunships pounded positions near the city's ancient Shi'ite Muslim cemetery, a haven for militiamen from firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army who have been battling American marines for six straight days. But in a relief for the cash-strapped government, Iraq is expected to resume full oil exports on Wednesday after it shut one of two pipelines feeding the country's southern terminal... read more

Attack Warning For Iraqi GovERNMENT
CBS / AP

al-Sadr Followers take to streets in Basra (AP)

(CBS/AP) A militant group on Monday threatened to launch a campaign of attacks against ministers and government offices and warned Iraqi state employees to stay away from work. The group, calling itself the Divine Wrath Brigades, said its "military rebellion and the shelling" would start Tuesday against state buildings. "We warn all civilian government employees and others ... against going to the offices and institutions where they work because they could be subjected to shelling," the group said in a statement. It said humanitarian groups and Health Ministry employees working in hospitals would not be targeted. Meanwhile, insurgents in southern Iraq attacked and set fire to an office of the political party of interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.     read more

Kerry says would still have approved Iraq force
By Patricia Wilson, Reuters

Kerry: I would have invaded Iraq

GRAND CANYON, Arizona (Reuters) - Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry has said he would have voted for the congressional resolution authorising force against Iraq even if he had known then no weapons of mass destruction would be found. Taking up a challenge from President George W. Bush, whom he will face in the November 2 election, the Massachusetts senator said on Monday: "I'll answer it directly. Yes, I would have voted for the authority. I believe it is the right authority for a president to have but I would have used that authority effectively." Speaking to reporters from the Powell's Landing on the rim of the Grand Canyon above a mile-deep drop, Kerry also said reducing U.S. troops in Iraq significantly by next August was "an appropriate goal." "My goal, my diplomacy, my statesmanship is to get our troops reduced in number and I believe if you do the statesmanship properly, I believe if you do the kind of alliance building that is available to us, that it's appropriate to have a goal of reducing the troops over that period of time," he said. read more

Day 467: Monday, August 9, 2004

The Fighting unabated in Najaf, Baghdad
Al Jazeera

US occupation forces use air power on Najaf

Heavy fighting has continued in Baghdad and Najaf where days of clashes between Iraqi security forces, backed by US marines, and Shia fighters have left many dead. On Monday, the sound of crashing mortars and machine-gun fire could be heard at the western and northern entrances of Najaf from about 4am (0100 GMT), as US helicopters circled overhead. Artillery and tank fire, backed up by air power, battered the centre of the city. read more

Chalabi: murder charge politically motivated
The Guardian

Salem Chalabi. Salem Chalabi. Photograph: Yasser Al-Zayyat/Getty Images

Salem Chalabi, the man organising the trial of Saddam Hussein, today said he feared he would be killed in jail if he returned to Iraq to face charges of murdering a government official. The nephew of Ahmed Chalabi, the former darling of the Pentagon who was this weekend charged with fraud, claimed he would be a target for imprisoned Ba'athist supporters. "I plan on returning, I just want to get assurances I will not be killed in a jail," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. Baghdad-born Mr Chalabi, 41, a US-trained lawyer, is at present on what is described as a private visit to London. He denied any connection to the June murder of Haithem Fadhil, director general of the finance ministry. "The charge supposedly is that I made a threat to this ministry of finance official who was investigating properties belonging to me," he told the BBC. read more

Day 466: Sunday, August 8, 2004

Iraq war a 'gift' to Osama: CIA analyst
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/40B1A9EE-08BC-47C2-937D-2E48A5845B53.htm

AFP

The US invasion of Iraq was a "tremendous gift" to Osama bin Laden and a major setback in the struggle against al-Qaeda, according to a CIA terrorism expert who has written a scathing account of the conduct of the US "war on terror". In an interview with AFP, the author of Imperial Hubris: Why the West Is Losing the War on Terror blasted the efforts of successive US governments and the US intelligence community in fighting what he describes as a global Islamic insurgency. "Anonymous," as he is known, painted a dismal picture of the situation in Iraq, a "very bleak" outlook for Afghanistan and advocated debate about US policies which he claimed are providing a fertile recruiting ground for al-Qaeda in the Muslim world. read more

Aljazeera vows to cover Iraq despite closure
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/9C888134-9481-485A-A675-DD3C50DA224D.htm

Aljazeera

Iraqi officials said the closure was in the people's interests

Aljazeera has vowed to continue its Iraq coverage despite the one-month closure of its Baghdad office announced by the Iraqi interim government on Saturday. In a statement Aljazeera expressed regret for the unjustified move, and said it was contrary to pledges made by the Iraqi Government to start a new era of free speech and openness. Aljazeera said in the statement that they held the Iraqi authorities responsible for the safety of Aljazeera staff in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq. The station's Baghdad staff said the decision to close the office had been expected for some time. They said they had been facing difficulties covering the news from Baghdad and that Iraqi officials had been reacting negatively to requests submitted by the channel. Iraqi police officers arrived in the early evening at the Baghdad office to implement the closure decision. read more

Day 465: Saturday, August 7, 2004

Sadr comes out of the graveyard
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1278091,00.html

The Guardian

Al Sadr's forces and US forces are now in open conflict

It began at the heavily barricaded blue police station of Najaf at 1am on Thursday. From the ancient cemetery nearby, a crowd of gunmen attacked with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. As the fighting escalated, the governor of Najaf called in the US 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, based in the desert 30 miles away and just two weeks into its mission to secure one of the most politically sensitive sites in the country. Within 48 hours, Iraq was seeing its most serious fighting for weeks, and stood on the precipice of yet another big religious revolt, with US forces claiming they had already killed 300 insurgents. read more

Day 464: Friday, August 6, 2004

US 'kills 300' in Najaf battle
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/40B1A9EE-08BC-47C2-937D-2E48A5845B53.htm

Al Jazeera

Najaf has seen heavy fighting over the past two days

US marines have killed an estimated 300 Shia fighters in fierce clashes around the Iraqi city of Najaf in the past two days, a senior US officer has said.   But a spokesman for Shia Muslim leader Muqtada al-Sadr denied many of his fighters had been killed. The spokesman said 36 fighters had been killed in several Iraqi cities after clashes that have fuelled fears of a new rebellion among Iraqi Shias. The fresh fighting, which still raged on Friday, marks a major challenge for the interim government of Prime Minister Iyad Alawi. read more

Day 423: Thursday, August 5, 2004

General Franks has released his autobiography

Franks predicts long haul in Iraq

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3540414.stm

The US general who led the invasion of Iraq says he believes foreign troops may have to remain in the country for a further three to five years.

Retired General Tommy Franks told BBC's Newsnight programme he believed that would be the time it took for Iraqis to take full control of their country. He said US-led troops would have to stay in Afghanistan for a similar amount of time. But he said that did not mean troop levels would have to remain as high. "I think in Iraq the total process, until Iraqis are as firmly and fully in charge of their country as they would want to be, is three to five years," he told Newsnight.   read more

Remembering Hiroshima at Los Alamos

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0805-03.htm

By Father John Dear, CommonDreams.org

Nestled in the beautiful desert hills near Santa Fe, New Mexico is the mother of all weapons of mass destruction, the birthplace of the bomb--Los Alamos. Hundreds of us will mark the 59th anniversary of the August 6th atomic bombing of Hiroshima by lining the main road into Los Alamos, holding our peace signs and praying for an end to war and nuclear weapons. It remains important for thousands to protest each November at the 'School of the Americas' in Fort Benning, Georgia, as well as to demonstrate at the political conventions. But this is the headquarters of nuclear terrorism, and more and more people need to face it and call for its closing. The Labs have been closed for several weeks now because of missing computer disks. But in general, business at Los Alamos is booming. The Bush Administration's proposed 2005 budget is the largest nuclear weapons budget in history, even though the Cold war is over and there's no other nuclear superpower. read more

Day 422: Wednesday, August 4, 2004

US troops, al-Mahdi Army clash in Najaf
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8175FD91-B832-4B69-87EE-763F166D2309.htm

Al Jazeera

Fighting ongoing since the early hours of Thursday

Light and medium weapons were used in the clashes. US occupation forces have clashed with al-Mahdi Army in Najaf leaving two civilians dead and wounding five others, Aljazeera's correspondent quoted medical sources as saying. Light and medium weapons as well as mortar shells were used in the clashes with Muqtada al-Sadr's forces which started near major police stations early on Thursday.

read more

Day 424: Monday, August 2, 2004

Few Injured, Ill Troops Get Disability Pay

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-4376888,00.html
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - Nearly one-third of the National Guard and Reserve troops returning from war with illnesses or injuries are forced to wait more than four months to learn whether they'll be compensated under the military's disability system. That's only one problem in a compensation system that can be as unforgiving as the battlefield. Fewer than one in 10 applicants receives the long-term disability payments they request. The Army knows the troops are unhappy. But military officials say soldiers do not understand that their disability system measures fitness for duty, not the degree of one's sacrifice.   read more

July 2004

June 2004

Day 424: Saturday, June 28, 2004

Captive US marine faces execution in Iraq

Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/27DFDFC0-2CDE-4EF7-8731-FF0900CE82BF.htm

US marine Hassoun Ali is one of two captives under threat

A US marine captured by a purported Iraqi resistance group is to be decapitated unless certain prisoners held in occupation prisons are released. In a video broadcast by Aljazeera on Sunday, the Islamic Retaliation Movement/Armed Resistance Wing said US marine Hassoun Wassef Ali would be beheaded if detainees in US-led occupation prisons were not freed. The group claims to have taken Ali - of Pakistani origin - captive after "infiltrating a US military base in Iraq". The video received by Aljazeera shows a kneeling blindfolded moustached man in camouflage military garb. A hand holding a long sword is seen standing behind Ali. US occupation forces acknowledged that a US marine had been reported missing. read more

The rehabilitation of Muqtada al-Sadr
Shaheen Chughtai, Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/7039F7AA-E3B5-44C6-906E-934378D91844.htm

The young al-Sadr commands a loyal following of Iraqis

Once wanted dead or alive by US-led occupation forces, Muqtada al-Sadr is refashioning himself to join the political process Washington is installing in Iraq on 30 June. But despite the Shia Muslim leader’s latest moves to cease his militia’s armed opposition to US-led occupation forces, his bid to integrate into the political mainstream remains uncertain. "The mission of US forces is to kill or capture Muqtada al-Sadr," said Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, the US commander in Iraq on 12 April after the Mahdi Army took control of three southern mainly Shia cities and confronted foreign occupation troops. Al-Sadr had at the time vowed to turn Iraq into another Vietnam for the US. read more

Day 423: Sunday, June 27, 2004

Family of held Marine asks for prayers

Travis Reed, Associated Press

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/7039F7AA-E3B5-44C6-906E-934378D91844.htm

WEST JORDAN, Utah -- The family of a Marine taken hostage in Iraq and threatened with beheading has asked people around the world to pray for his safe return. The family of Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun issued a brief statement late Sunday confirming that a hostage held in Iraq was the missing U.S. soldier, who is of Middle Eastern origin. "In the name of Allah, the merciful, the compassionate, we accept destiny with its good and its bad," Hassoun family friend and spokesman Tarek Nosseir said outside the family's home. "We pray and we plead for his safe release and we ask all people of the world to join us in our prayers. May God bless us all." In the video, the hostage had a white blindfold covering his eyes. He wore military fatigues, and his mustache was trimmed. The U.S. military said Hassoun was of Lebanese descent. read more

Day 422: Saturday, June 26, 2004

Death toll rises to 40 in attack in Hillah

Associated Press

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apmideast_story.asp?category=1107&slug=Iraq%20Explosion

Iraqis wait while U.S. Army soldiers check their identification cards during a raid in Abu Ghraib Prison.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Explosions that rocked the center of the predominantly Shiite Muslim city of Hillah killed 40 people and injured 22, the military said Sunday. The blasts, which occurred at about 8:45 p.m. Saturday near the former Saddam Hussein mosque, may have been caused by a pair of car bombs, a military official said on condition of anonymity. "Our estimates now are that 40 people were killed in last night's blasts and 22 were injured," the official said Sunday. Earlier, the military had said 19 Iraqi civilians were killed and as many as 40 civilians were injured. The violence came just days after insurgents launched a coordinated wave of attacks across the country. The attacks, which left 100 dead, were aimed at undermining confidence in the interim Iraqi government, which is set to take power Wednesday. --end of story--

Foes of U.S. in Iraq Criticize Insurgents
Clerics and Militiamen Decry Violence
Edward Cody, Washington Post Foreign Service
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5662-2004Jun25.html

Aws Khafaji, right, spokesman for Moqtada Sadr in Baghdad's, decried attackers as "lunatics " (AP)

BAGHDAD, June 25 -- Key Iraqi opponents of the U.S. occupation expressed unease Friday over the wave of insurgent attacks that killed more than 100 Iraqis a day earlier, and rejected efforts by foreign guerrillas to take the lead in the insurgency and mate it with the international jihad advocated by Osama bin Laden. The objections -- from anti-U.S. Shiite and Sunni Muslim leaders, including rebellious cleric Moqtada Sadr, and even from militia fighters in the embattled city of Fallujah -- arose in part from revulsion at the fact that victims of the car bombings and guerrilla assaults in six cities and towns Thursday were overwhelmingly Iraqis. read more

Iraq violence may force state of emergency; NATO to help
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/focusoniraq/2004/June/focusoniraq_June211.xml&section=focusoniraq

BAGHDAD - Iraq’s defense minister said that a declaration of a state of emergency may be needed to deal with violence in Iraq as NATO members met to respond to a request for help from Iraq’s interim prime minister. With only five days to go before the US-led coalition hands over power to an Iraqi interim government, US warplanes bombed Fallujah for the third time in a week to root out rebels. In Baghdad, heavy weapons fire was heard from the west of the city and flashes of light illuminated the sky early Saturday morning, an AFP correspondent reported, but the US military had no immediate comment. In a separate incident, four rocket-propelled grenades were fired toward the US-coalition’s Baghdad headquarters, but the explosives fell short of their target, a US soldier said. read more

Day 421: Friday, June 25, 2004

Iraqi cities ablaze ahead of US 'handover'

Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/77105564-3B94-439B-BA1B-35B17BB5FAA8.htm

More than 60 people were killed in Mosul

At least 90 people have died in a wave of brazen attacks targeting mainly Iraqi security personnel across the occupied country in the run-in to the US handover of limited authority. Most of the deaths were in the northern city of Mosul, where 62 people were killed and 216 injured in a string of car bombings of police buildings. Apart from the Iraqi casualties, the US military said an American soldier was killed and three wounded in the blasts. It said a security guard was also killed. Clashes also occurred in Baquba, Ramadi, Baghdad and other areas. The extent of the attacks is a clear sign of just how powerful the resistance to US-led occupation in Iraq remains - and could be the start of a new push to torpedo the 30 June transfer of authority to an interim transitional government. read more

Baqouba Sealed Off as U.S. Forces Lose Control of City
Dahr Jamail, the New Standard

http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=605
Baqouba, Iraq , Jun 24 - Just six days before Iraq’s interim government is to gain partial sovereignty from the US, resistance fighters launched a series of coordinated attacks against US forces and Iraqi government targets in Baghdad, Mosul, Ramadi and Baqouba today. Fierce fighting between the Iraqi resistance and US forces has killed at least 85 people and wounded 320, according to the Iraqi Ministry of Health. Here in Baqouba, a small city 50 kilometers northeast of Baghdad, early morning attacks by resistance fighters and bombing raids by the US military killed 13 civilians and wounded another 15 , according to the Health Ministry. Sporadic fighting continued around Baqouba this afternoon after US forces sealed off the city. A sergeant with the 1st Infantry Division, whose fatigue label said Johnson, said resistance fighters ambushed a US patrol in the city at 5:30 this morning, killing two soldiers and wounding seven others. This was later confirmed by a Multi-National Corps Iraq Press Release. Sergeant Johnson said his unit called in tanks for support after the initial attack. Shortly after the attack, insurgents appeared to have taken control of the Al-Mufraq district in western Baqouba. Residents here said occupation forces had retreated from the area after being ambushed. read more

Day 421: Thursday, June 24, 2004

Iraqi resistance executes multiple attacks
Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/78657592-15F6-4274-90AC-0ADFAF8C4EF9.htm

Iraq's police force has taken dozens of casualties within hours

Iraq's police force has taken dozens of casualties within hours
Resistance fighters have launched a series of attacks on police stations and US troops around Iraq. Rocket-propelled grenades slammed into three different stations around the western city of Ramadi during a coordinated attack on Thursday, according to police officer Lieutenant Ahmad Sami. "We were inside the al-Qatana station ... [it] was attacked from all around." Sami confirmed that the Faruq station and another government building had also been destroyed. Dr Hamad al-Dulaimi of Ramadi hospital said he knew seven police officers had died so far and that at least 13 had been seriously wounded. Meanwhile, a hospital spokesperson in the northeastern city of Baquba said at least 15 people were killed and another 22 injured during a morning raid there. read more

Security a shambles ahead of handover
Rory McCarthy and Jonathan Steele, The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1245926,00.html

Up to 30,000 Iraqi police officers are to be sacked for being incompetent and unreliable and given a $60m payoff before the US hands over to an Iraqi government, senior British military sources said yesterday. Many officers either deserted to the insurgents or simply stayed at home during the recent uprisings in Falluja and across the south.   Fourteen months after the war and just a week before the Iraqis take power on June 30, the sources revealed serious shortfalls of properly trained police and soldiers and vital equipment.   The problems are particularly critical because 35 new police checkpoints are to be set up across Baghdad before the handover, when violence is expected to escalate.   Although the US has set aside $3.5bn to rebuild the security forces, much of the training and many of the contracts have yet to be completed. read more

Day 420: Wednesday, June 23, 2004

Clinton defends Blair's decision on Iraq
Associated Press
http://news.bostonherald.com/international/view.bg?articleid=33036

Would Clinton have lied too?

Minister Tony Blair's decision to send British forces to Iraq, even though many Britons opposed the war.   "Prime Minister Blair was left in an unenviable position," Clinton said on the British Broadcasting Corp. television program "Panorama." "He either had to go with the American position, which he didn't entirely agree with, or go with the European position, which he didn't entirely agree with," Clinton said in the interview, which was conducted before Tuesday's release of his memoir "My Life" in bookstores in Britain and Ireland. "In the end, I believe he thought that there was still some risk that Saddam (Hussein) had the weapons (of mass destruction), that if he stayed involved he could have an influence on the post-Saddam Iraq, that if he stayed involved he could keep America and Europe closer together than they otherwise would have been. And so he made the decision to do it. I can't quarrel with that. He was in a very difficult position." Blair has been sharply criticized at home and in other European countries for making Britain the top U.S. military ally during the war, especially after no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq with the defeat of Saddam. read more

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continue to January to May, 2004: Day-by-Day Stories from the Occupation