|
Nine police trainees gunned down in Iraq
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-03-24 09:30 Gunmen opened fire on a van
filled with police recruits south of Baghdad, killing nine, and assailants shot
and killed two policemen — twin brothers — north of the capital. Early
Wednesday, an explosion resounded in central Baghdad, setting off sirens in the
area housing the U.S.-led coalition headquarters. A U.S. military spokesman said
he had no information on the blast.
The slayings were the latest to target police and other Iraqis who work with
the U.S.-led occupation.
The attack in the south took place on a road between Musayeb and Hillah when
a car pulled in front of the minibus and assailants sprayed it with small arms
fire, police in Hillah said.
A U.S. military official confirmed that nine people died and said two were
wounded. Iraqi police said one wounded trainee survived.
In the northern city of Kirkuk, gunmen in a car killed two policemen and
wounded two others, police Capt. Abdul-Salam Zangana said. He identified the
slain victims as twin brothers Ahmed and Mohammed Kadhim, killed as they were
parking their car in a main square and as worshippers left a nearby mosque.
In Ramadi, west of Baghdad, Iraqi police fired shots to disperse a violent
protest against Israel's assassination of Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin in Gaza
City on Monday.
Iraqi police fired in the air after protesters burned two police cars and two
hand grenades were thrown at the governor's office, witnesses said. Television
footage showed U.S. soldiers remaining behind at the building, protected by
concrete blast barriers, as police with assault rifles moved down the street to
disperse the crowd. At least two police and three protesters were wounded.
Muslim clerics in Ramadi, where support for the anti-U.S. insurgency is
strong, had urged followers to protest the slaying of Yassin, the spiritual
leader of the Palestinian militant group.
In the northern city of Mosul, insurgents fired mortar rounds at a barracks
housing soldiers of the U.S.-trained Iraqi Civil Defense Corps, killing two
civilians and injuring six, the U.S. military said.
Also in Mosul, a U.S. soldier from the 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry
Division died in a "non-combat-related shooting" on Monday, the military said.
An investigation was under way. The soldier's name was withheld pending
notification of next of kin.
At Abu Ghraib prison on the outskirts of Baghdad, the U.S. military released
272 detainees who had been picked up in security sweeps. The men, many of them
bearded and wearing Arab robes or tracksuits, appeared to be in good health.
Two days earlier, 168 prisoners were released, said Lt. Col. Craig Essick of
the 16th Military Police Brigade out of Fort Bragg, N.C. He estimated there were
5,500 to 6,000 security detainees at the prison and the average prisoner spends
three to six months in jail. A military panel meets daily to review cases.
In Baghdad, Les Brownlee, the acting Secretary of the Army, said commanders
are trying to relieve the strain on U.S. troops in Iraq in case the tough
deployment deters Americans from volunteering for the armed forces or extending
tours of duty.
"In the long run there could be some impact," Brownlee told reporters at
Saddam Hussein's former Republican Palace, headquarters of the U.S.-led
occupation.
Brownlee said the Army is already reacting to the rigors of Iraq by planning
to add 30,000 new troops — 10 new combat brigades — to its ranks over the next
several years. In Iraq, the aim is to use as many new Iraqi soldiers as possible
for jobs currently handled by U.S. troops.
For American forces, Iraq is a dangerous assignment where comforts are few.
Restrictions on the force, including no drinking or recreational trips off base,
make the assignment a dreary one. Since the invasion a year ago, 584 U.S. troops
have died — 396 from hostile action.
The next troop rotation begins in the fall. The Army is in the process of
bringing 110,000 troops into Iraq, replacing the current U.S. force of 130,000.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for a member of the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing
Council said the council will investigate alleged corruption in the U.N.
oil-for-food program.
Entifadh Qanbar, spokesman for council member Ahmad Chalabi, said the council
will hire international legal and auditing firms as well as specialized Iraqi
firms to conduct the probe.
On Monday, the United Nations said Secretary-General Kofi Annan would give
the Security Council details about a planned independent commission to
investigate claims of corruption in the program.
Diplomats, officials and companies from around the world allegedly collected
millions of dollars in illegal profits from the program, which allowed Iraq to
sell some of its oil to pay for food during the years of economic sanctions. The
program ended in November.
| |
 |
|
|
|
|
Today's
Top News |
|
|
|
Top World
News |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
