BAGHDAD, Iraq – Attackers waiting for Iraqi troops detonated a roadside bomb on the dangerous road leading to Baghdad’s airport Sunday, killing two Iraqi soldiers and wounding 11.
U.S. soldiers accompanying the Iraqis on the road said the Americans had just passed a traffic circle with the Iraqis behind them when assailants triggered the bomb.
“The hardcore terrorists don’t care who they kill,” said Lt. Col. Tim Ryan, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment. “These guys are bigger targets than we are now.”
Insurgents have hammered Iraqi security forces to discourage volunteers from bolstering security forces straining to create stability before the interim government assumes power June 30.
Elsewhere, U.S. forces clashed with insurgents in Samarra, striking back with helicopter gunships after guerrillas fired mortars into a residential neighborhood. U.S. 1st Infantry Division spokesman Maj. Neal O’Brien said at least four insurgents were killed.
The U.S. military said a Marine was killed in action Saturday in Anbar province, which includes Ramadi and Fallujah. A mortar round also injured six police and four Iraqis in a separate attack Sunday near the Iraqi central bank in Baghdad.
Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi appealed Sunday for international help for his beleaguered forces and said the government was considering “emergency law” in unspecified regions.
Such measures could be imposed on the Sunni stronghold of Fallujah, where an American airstrike Saturday leveled a building that U.S. officials said was a suspected safehouse for the network of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian-born militant believed to be linked to al-Qaida. At least 16 people were killed in the strike.
A senior officer of the U.S.-backed Fallujah Brigade disputed the American contention, saying Sunday that rescue operations uncovered only the belongings of women and children.
“Through our inspection in the ruins, we could see clothes and stuff of women and children,” Col. Mohammed Awad said. “There was no sign that foreigners have lived in the house.”
Other developments
* A military court in the Baghdad Convention Center will hear pretrial motions today in the cases against Sgt. Javal S. Davis, Spc. Charles A. Graner Jr. and Staff Sgt. Ivan L. “Chip” Frederick II, who have been charged with abusing Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
* Iraq could execute former leader Saddam Hussein after trying him, said Salem Chalabi, the director of the country’s war crimes tribunal system. Chalabi said it could be as long as a year before trials can begin.
* Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi announced a restructuring of the country’s security forces, grouping all Iraqi troops under a central command whose chief duty is tackling insurgents plaguing the country.
* Iraqi Interior Minister Falah Hassan al-Naqib said the government is considering an amnesty for insurgents who were not involved in killings of U.S.-led occupation forces or Iraqis.
* Repairs continued on two key pipelines that transport crude oil to offshore terminals in the south, prolonging Iraq’s absence from the market, a coalition spokesman said Sunday.
Herald news services
Other developments
* A military court in the Baghdad Convention Center will hear pretrial motions today in the cases against Sgt. Javal S. Davis, Spc. Charles A. Graner Jr. and Staff Sgt. Ivan L. “Chip” Frederick II, who have been charged with abusing Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
* Iraq could execute former leader Saddam Hussein after trying him, said Salem Chalabi, the director of the country’s war crimes tribunal system. Chalabi said it could be as long as a year before trials can begin.
* Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi announced a restructuring of the country’s security forces, grouping all Iraqi troops under a central command whose chief duty is tackling insurgents plaguing the country.
* Iraqi Interior Minister Falah Hassan al-Naqib said the government is considering an amnesty for insurgents who were not involved in killings of U.S.-led occupation forces or Iraqis.
* Repairs continued on two key pipelines that transport crude oil to offshore terminals in the south, prolonging Iraq’s absence from the market, a coalition spokesman said Sunday.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
