|
The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
|
March 24th,
2008 - US Death Toll in Iraq War Hits 4,000 |
|
US Death Toll in Iraq War
Hits 4,000 By Robert H. Reid Associated Press March 24, 2008 Baghdad - A roadside bomb
killed four U.S. soldiers in Baghdad on Sunday, the military said, pushing
the overall American death toll in the five-year war to at least 4,000. The
grim milestone came on a day when at least 61 people were killed across the
country. Rockets and mortars pounded
the U.S.-protected Green Zone, underscoring the fragile security situation
and the resilience of both Sunni and Shiite extremist groups despite an
overall lull in violence. The attacks on the Green
Zone probably stemmed from rising tensions between rival Shiite groups and
were the most sustained assault in months against the nerve center of the
U.S. mission. The soldiers with
Multi-National Division - Baghdad were on a patrol when their vehicle was
struck at about 10 p.m. in southern Baghdad, the military said. Another soldier
was wounded in the attack - less than a week after the fifth anniversary of
the conflict Identities of those killed
were withheld pending notification of relatives. Navy Lt. Patrick Evans, a
military spokesman, expressed condolences to all the families who have lost a
loved one in Iraq, saying each death is "equally tragic." "There have been some
significant gains. However, this enemy is resilient and will not give up, nor
will we," he said. "There's still a lot of work to be done." The deadliest attack of the
day was in Mosul when a suicide driver slammed his vehicle through a security
checkpoint in a hail of gunfire and detonated his explosives in front of an
Iraqi headquarters building, killing 13 Iraqi soldiers and injuring 42 other
people, police said. Iraqi guards opened fire on
the vehicle but couldn't stop it because the windshield had been
bulletproofed, said an Iraqi army officer. He spoke on condition of anonymity
because he was not supposed to release the information. Mosul, Iraq's third largest
city about 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, has been described as the last
major urban area where the Sunni extremist al-Qaida group maintains a
significant presence. In Baghdad, rockets and
mortars began slamming into the Green Zone about sunrise, and scattered
attacks persisted throughout the day, sending plumes of smoke rising over the
heavily guarded district in the heart of the capital. A U.S. public address system
in the Green Zone warned people to "duck and cover" and to stay
away from windows. At least five people were
injured in the Green Zone, a U.S. Embassy statement said without specifying
nationalities. The zone includes the U.S. and British embassies as well as
major Iraqi government offices. A U.S. official, speaking on
condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to release the
information, said those injured included an American and four third-country
nationals, meaning they were not American, British or Iraqi. Iraqi police said 10
civilians were killed and more than 20 were injured in rocket or mortar
blasts in scattered areas of eastern Baghdad - some of them probably due to
misfired rounds. Also in the capital, seven
people were killed and 14 wounded in a suicide car bombing Sunday in the
Shiite area of Shula in the capital, police reported. Such attacks are the
hallmark of Sunni religious extremists. Gunmen opened fire on
passengers waiting for buses in a predominantly Shiite area in southeastern
Baghdad, killing at least seven men and wounding 16 people, including women
and children, according to police. Police also found the bullet-riddled
bodies of 12 people - six in Baghdad, four in Mosul and two in Kut, scene of
clashes between government troops and Shiite militiamen. No group claimed
responsibility for the Green Zone attacks, but suspicion fell on Shiite
extremists based on the areas from which the weapons were fired. The attacks followed a
series of clashes last week between U.S. and Iraqi forces and factions of the
Mahdi Army, the biggest Shiite militia loyal to radical cleric Muqtada
al-Sadr. Al-Sadr led two uprisings
against U.S.-led coalition forces in 2004. Last August he declared a
six-month cease-fire to purge the militia of criminal and dissident elements. U.S. officials have cited
the truce, which al-Sadr recently extended, among the reasons behind a 60
percent drop in violence since President Bush ordered 30,000 U.S.
reinforcements to Iraq early last year. But the cease-fire has come
under severe strains in recent weeks. Al-Sadr's followers have accused the
Shiite-dominated government of exploiting the cease-fire to target the
cleric's supporters in advance of provincial elections expected this fall. Al-Sadr recently told his
followers that although the truce remains in effect, they were free to defend
themselves against attacks. Al-Sadr followers have demanded the release of
supporters rounded up in recent weeks. U.S. officials have insisted
they are not going after Sadrists who respect the cease-fire but are
targeting renegade elements, known as special groups, that the Americans
believe have ties to Iran. But the pattern of the
attacks against the Green Zone could be a signal to the Americans and their
Iraqi partners to ease their pressure against mainstream Sadrists or the
special groups. Elsewhere, 12 gunmen were
killed Sunday in a raid against a suspected suicide bombing network east of
Baqouba, the U.S. military said. Iraqi police reported a
dozen civilians killed in an airstrike in the same area. But the military
said those killed in the raid were insurgents, including six who had shaved
their bodies apparently in preparation for suicide operations. A police commander was shot
to death along with his driver in Balad Ruz, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad. A roadside bomb near the
northern city of Tuz Khormato killed four Iraqi soldiers, including an
officer. The violence was reported by
police officials who declined to be identified because they weren't supposed
to release the information. Last year, the U.S. military
deaths spiked as U.S. troops sought to regain control of Baghdad and
surrounding areas. The death toll has seesawed
since, with 2007 ending as the deadliest year for American troops at 901
deaths. That was 51 more deaths than 2004, the second deadliest year for U.S.
soldiers. The 4,000 figure is
according to an Associated Press count that includes eight civilians who
worked for the Department of Defense. Associated Press Writer Kim
Gamel contributed to this report. Copyright © 2008 The
Associated Press. External link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gkx-3oYeFwuWKCusr2jrojs98w8wD8VJJGMG0 |