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Major developments for Iraq on February 26
SECURITY DEVELOPMENTSHILLA - A bomb destroyed a minibus as it was leaving a large bus station in Hilla 100 km (60 miles) south of Baghdad on Sunday, killing five people and wounding three, police said. The blast was caused either by a roadside bomb or an attached device, they said. BAGHDAD - Two U.S. soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in western Baghdad on Sunday, bringing the number of U.S. personnel killed since the invasion in March 2003 to at least 2,290. One soldier was killed immediately by the bomb, the U.S. military said, while the second died from wounds after being evacuated to a military hospital. MADAEN - One police officer was killed and two wounded when their patrol was hit by two roadside bombs near Madaen, the interior ministry said. BASRA - Explosives packed into the wash area of a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in the southern city of Basra 550 km (340 miles) blew up on Sunday, causing minor injuries, police and witnesses said. Police said they suspected three men wounded in the attack were planting the bomb when it exploded prematurely. RAMADI - A former Baathist officer in the previous Iraqi regime was killed in Ramadi, 110 km (70 miles) west of Baghdad, police said. FALLUJA - Three bodies with their hands bound and gunshot wounds to the head were found near Fallujah, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad, police said. The killings took place some three days ago, according to a medical source. POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS BAGHDAD- Shi'ite Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, flanked by Sunni and Kurdish politicians, made a midnight televised appeal for Iraqis not to turn on each other after Wednesday's suspected al Qaeda bomb at a Shi'ite shrine. The appeal came after a round of phone calls from U.S. President George W. Bush, though Sunni leader Tareq al-Hashemi said he was not yet ready to end a boycott of the U.S.-sponsored tal ks. BASRA - Firebrand Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr held a rally in Basra calling on Sunnis and Shi'ites to hold joint prayers on Friday. The anti-American cleric was speaking several km (miles) away from the blast at the mosque in Basra. Posted by: Dan Darling 2006-02-26 |
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