Thursday, May 24, 2007
Iraqi police find two more bodies in U.S. military uniform
Security
(Voices of Iraq) - Babel police said two more bodies believed to be of the kidnapped U.S. soldiers were found on Wednesday near a bank of the River Euphrates in al-Masayeb area. “Babel police patrols today found two bodies believed to be from the two kidnapped U.S. soldiers near the Euphrates bank in al-Masyeb area,” the source, who asked not to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
He added, “the bodies bore marks of torture with their heads smashed. They wore the U.S. military-style uniform.” The source said “the two bodies were handed over to the U.S. forces at the location where they were found.” U.S. forces immediately cordoned off the area, he also said.
No word has been heard so far from the U.S. army on the incident. Earlier on Wednesday, Babel police found a body believed to of a kidnapped U.S. soldier. Last week, a U.S. vehicle patrol was attacked just south of Baghdad where six soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter were killed and the three service members were kidnapped.
He added, “the bodies bore marks of torture with their heads smashed. They wore the U.S. military-style uniform.” The source said “the two bodies were handed over to the U.S. forces at the location where they were found.” U.S. forces immediately cordoned off the area, he also said.
No word has been heard so far from the U.S. army on the incident. Earlier on Wednesday, Babel police found a body believed to of a kidnapped U.S. soldier. Last week, a U.S. vehicle patrol was attacked just south of Baghdad where six soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter were killed and the three service members were kidnapped.
Labels: Missing U.S. troops, Mussayab
Body of missing U.S. soldier identified
Security
(AP) - Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops fanned out across the fields of southern Iraq in scorching temperatures Thursday as the military said it remained determined to find two missing U.S. soldiers after the body of a third was pulled from a river. The military confirmed Thursday that the body found a day earlier in the Euphrates River south of Baghdad was that of Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., who had been missing since militants ambushed his unit nearly two weeks ago.
A commanding officer identified the remains recovered from the river, but DNA tests were still pending, military officials told Anzack's family. Anzack, 20, vanished along with the two other soldiers after their combat team was ambushed May 12 about 20 miles outside Baghdad. Five others, including an Iraqi, were killed in the ambush, subsequently claimed by al-Qaida.
"We can confirm that we have recovered the remains of Pfc. Anzack," Lt. Col. Josslyn Aberle, a military spokeswoman, said Thursday. Aberle denied reports that a second body had been found and was being examined to determine if it was that of another of the missing soldiers. "The reports of a second set of remains being found is a false report," she said.
Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi forces have been involved in the search for the soldiers ambushed and captured May 12. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, the chief U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, said the remains, later identified as those of Anzack, were recovered by Iraqi police. Witnesses said police using civilian boats searched for other bodies on the river in Musayyib, about 40 miles south of Baghdad, and U.S. troops intensified their presence on a nearby bridge as helicopters flew overhead, witnesses said.
Hassan al-Jibouri, 32, said he saw the body with head wounds and whip marks on its back floating on the river Wednesday morning. He and others then alerted police. The remaining missing soldiers are Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19.
A commanding officer identified the remains recovered from the river, but DNA tests were still pending, military officials told Anzack's family. Anzack, 20, vanished along with the two other soldiers after their combat team was ambushed May 12 about 20 miles outside Baghdad. Five others, including an Iraqi, were killed in the ambush, subsequently claimed by al-Qaida.
"We can confirm that we have recovered the remains of Pfc. Anzack," Lt. Col. Josslyn Aberle, a military spokeswoman, said Thursday. Aberle denied reports that a second body had been found and was being examined to determine if it was that of another of the missing soldiers. "The reports of a second set of remains being found is a false report," she said.
Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi forces have been involved in the search for the soldiers ambushed and captured May 12. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, the chief U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, said the remains, later identified as those of Anzack, were recovered by Iraqi police. Witnesses said police using civilian boats searched for other bodies on the river in Musayyib, about 40 miles south of Baghdad, and U.S. troops intensified their presence on a nearby bridge as helicopters flew overhead, witnesses said.
Hassan al-Jibouri, 32, said he saw the body with head wounds and whip marks on its back floating on the river Wednesday morning. He and others then alerted police. The remaining missing soldiers are Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19.
Labels: Lt. Col. Josslyn Aberle, Missing U.S. troops, Mussayab, Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack Jr., Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, Spc. Alex R. Jimenez
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Iraqi police find body in U.S. military uniform in Euphrates
Security
(AP) - Iraqi police found the body of a man who was wearing what appeared to be a U.S. military uniform and had a tattoo on his left hand floating in the Euphrates River south of Baghdad on Wednesday morning, and one Iraqi official said it was one of three missing American soldiers. The man had been shot in the head and chest, Babil police Capt. Muthana Khalid said. He said Iraqi police turned the body over the U.S. forces.
The report of the body found was confirmed by a senior Iraqi army officer in the Babil area. He told The Associated Press that the body found in the river was that of an American soldier. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media. The discovery of the body in Musayyib, about 40 miles south of Baghdad in Babil Province, came as U.S. troops and Iraqi forces continued their massive search for the three soldiers abducted May 12 in an ambush on their patrol near Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad.
The U.S. military said in an e-mail that it was looking into the report, but could not confirm it. In an interview with the Army Times newspaper last week, Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said he believed at least two of the missing soldiers were alive. "As of this morning, we thought there were at least two that were probably still alive," he said in the interview, which was posted on the newspaper's Web site on Saturday. "At one point in time there was a sense that one of them might have died, but again we just don't know."
The report of the body found was confirmed by a senior Iraqi army officer in the Babil area. He told The Associated Press that the body found in the river was that of an American soldier. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media. The discovery of the body in Musayyib, about 40 miles south of Baghdad in Babil Province, came as U.S. troops and Iraqi forces continued their massive search for the three soldiers abducted May 12 in an ambush on their patrol near Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad.
The U.S. military said in an e-mail that it was looking into the report, but could not confirm it. In an interview with the Army Times newspaper last week, Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said he believed at least two of the missing soldiers were alive. "As of this morning, we thought there were at least two that were probably still alive," he said in the interview, which was posted on the newspaper's Web site on Saturday. "At one point in time there was a sense that one of them might have died, but again we just don't know."
Labels: Missing U.S. troops, Mussayab
Friday, May 18, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
(McClatchy Newspapers) - Roundup of violence in Iraq - 17 May 2007
The daily Iraq violence report is compiled by McClatchy Newspapers in Baghdad from police, military and medical reports. This is not a comprehensive list of all violence in Iraq, much of which goes unreported. It’s posted without editing as transmitted to McClatchy’s Washington Bureau.
The daily Iraq violence report is compiled by McClatchy Newspapers in Baghdad from police, military and medical reports. This is not a comprehensive list of all violence in Iraq, much of which goes unreported. It’s posted without editing as transmitted to McClatchy’s Washington Bureau.
(Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq at 0700 GMT on Friday 18:
MUSSAYAB - A suicide bomber blew up his vehicle at an Iraqi police checkpoint in the town of Mussayab, south of Baghdad, killing three people and wounding four, police said. Police said most of the victims were policemen.
MUSSAYAB - A suicide bomber blew up his vehicle at an Iraqi police checkpoint in the town of Mussayab, south of Baghdad, killing three people and wounding four, police said. Police said most of the victims were policemen.
Labels: Iraq, Mussayab, policemen, suicide bomber, violence
Monday, April 23, 2007
Fallujah city council chairman assassinated
Security, Politics, Tribal
(Al Jazeera) - The Falluja city council chairman, a critic of al-Qaeda in Iraq who took the job after his three predecessors were assassinated, was killed on Saturday. Sami Abdul-Amir al-Jumaili was shot down by attackers in a passing car as he was walking outside his home in central Falluja, 65km west of Baghdad, according to police. His assassination came a month after he raised his hand to take the dangerous job, promising to improve services and to work with the Americans to ease traffic-clogging checkpoints in the city with a population of an estimated 150,000 to 200,000.
The 65-year-old Sunni sheikh was the fourth city council chairman to be killed in some 14 months as fighters target fellow Sunnis willing to co-operate with the US and its Iraqi partners. The US military confirmed the killing and provincial officials condemned it. "He was one of the many good people of the province who worked to help the city of Falluja rebuild and regain life," the provincial government said in a statement.
Abdul-Amir's predecessor, Abbas Ali Hussein, who was shot to death on February 2. Both men were strong critics of al-Qaeda in Iraq, which is battling a growing number of Sunni tribes that have turned against it in the vast Anbar province - a centre for anti-US militias since the uprising in Falluja in 2004 that galvanised the insurgency.
The attack comes as American officials have increasingly expressed optimism about efforts to tame Anbar, having struck alliances with influential Sunni sheikhs once arrayed against American-led forces. The tribes are competing with al-Qaeda for influence and control over diminishing territory in the face of US assaults. At least 38 people were killed or found dead elsewhere in Iraq, including another top city official, the mayor of Mussayyib who died in a roadside bombing in the city about 60km south of Baghdad.
(Al Jazeera) - The Falluja city council chairman, a critic of al-Qaeda in Iraq who took the job after his three predecessors were assassinated, was killed on Saturday. Sami Abdul-Amir al-Jumaili was shot down by attackers in a passing car as he was walking outside his home in central Falluja, 65km west of Baghdad, according to police. His assassination came a month after he raised his hand to take the dangerous job, promising to improve services and to work with the Americans to ease traffic-clogging checkpoints in the city with a population of an estimated 150,000 to 200,000.
The 65-year-old Sunni sheikh was the fourth city council chairman to be killed in some 14 months as fighters target fellow Sunnis willing to co-operate with the US and its Iraqi partners. The US military confirmed the killing and provincial officials condemned it. "He was one of the many good people of the province who worked to help the city of Falluja rebuild and regain life," the provincial government said in a statement.
Abdul-Amir's predecessor, Abbas Ali Hussein, who was shot to death on February 2. Both men were strong critics of al-Qaeda in Iraq, which is battling a growing number of Sunni tribes that have turned against it in the vast Anbar province - a centre for anti-US militias since the uprising in Falluja in 2004 that galvanised the insurgency.
The attack comes as American officials have increasingly expressed optimism about efforts to tame Anbar, having struck alliances with influential Sunni sheikhs once arrayed against American-led forces. The tribes are competing with al-Qaeda for influence and control over diminishing territory in the face of US assaults. At least 38 people were killed or found dead elsewhere in Iraq, including another top city official, the mayor of Mussayyib who died in a roadside bombing in the city about 60km south of Baghdad.
COMMENT: This latest assassination will only intensify the fighting between the tribes who are anti-Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), spur their efforts to rid the area of the group and increase anti-AQI sentiment. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Abbas Ali Hussein, Al Qaeda in Iraq, Falluja city council chairman, mayor, Mussayab, Sami Abdul-Amir al-Jumaili
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
(Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq as of 1100 GMT on Saturday:
* denotes new or updated items
* MUSSAYAB - Mussayab mayor Mehdi Abdul Hussein al-Najem and two of his bodyguards were killed in an ambush, police said. A roadside bomb exploded next to their vehicles in the attack at Mussayab, 60 km (40 miles) south of Baghdad, and gunmen then opened fire.
BAGHDAD - One soldier was killed and two others were wounded when they were hit by a roadside bomb during a patrol southwest of Baghdad, the U.S. military said
KHALIS - The bodies of eight people were found in Khalis, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, a police source said. All showed signs of torture and four had been beheaded.
BAGHDAD - A bomb planted in a minibus in Baghdad's Shi'ite stronghold of Sadr City killed up to two people and wounded about five others, police said. Another bus next to it was also hit by the blast.
KIRKUK - Gunmen stormed a house and killed four members of the same family -- a wife, husband and their two children -- in the city of Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad.
DIWANIYA - One Polish soldier was killed and four more were wounded in a roadside bomb attack near Diwaniya, 180 km (112 miles) south of Baghdad, on Friday, Poland's Ministry of Defence said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb attack on a U.S. military patrol wounded two soldiers at Baladiat, east of Baghdad, Iraqi police said.
MUSSAYAB - An Iraqi civilian was found shot dead in Mussayab, police said.
* denotes new or updated items
* MUSSAYAB - Mussayab mayor Mehdi Abdul Hussein al-Najem and two of his bodyguards were killed in an ambush, police said. A roadside bomb exploded next to their vehicles in the attack at Mussayab, 60 km (40 miles) south of Baghdad, and gunmen then opened fire.
BAGHDAD - One soldier was killed and two others were wounded when they were hit by a roadside bomb during a patrol southwest of Baghdad, the U.S. military said
KHALIS - The bodies of eight people were found in Khalis, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, a police source said. All showed signs of torture and four had been beheaded.
BAGHDAD - A bomb planted in a minibus in Baghdad's Shi'ite stronghold of Sadr City killed up to two people and wounded about five others, police said. Another bus next to it was also hit by the blast.
KIRKUK - Gunmen stormed a house and killed four members of the same family -- a wife, husband and their two children -- in the city of Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad.
DIWANIYA - One Polish soldier was killed and four more were wounded in a roadside bomb attack near Diwaniya, 180 km (112 miles) south of Baghdad, on Friday, Poland's Ministry of Defence said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb attack on a U.S. military patrol wounded two soldiers at Baladiat, east of Baghdad, Iraqi police said.
MUSSAYAB - An Iraqi civilian was found shot dead in Mussayab, police said.
Labels: ambush, Baghdad, bomb, Diwaniya, gunmen, Khalis, Kirkuk, Mehdi Abdul Hussein al-Najem, Mussayab, roadside bombs
