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| Iraq |
| 20 killed in Iraq clashes |
| 2007-08-20 |
| At least 20 people were killed and 39 wounded during clashes in Iraq, US statements and security and medical officials here said. At least 12 people were killed and 31 wounded during an intensive mortar bombardment of the mainly Shiite suburb of Al-Obeidi on Sunday, security and medical officials here said. An interior ministry official said the attack came during heavy clashes between the US military and militiamen. "Many mortars were fired. The area has been sealed off," the official said. A security official said at least five mortar shells landed in the suburb and all those killed were civilians. The Al-Sadr hospital in the Sadr City slum reported receiving 12 bodies and 18 wounded people, while the Ibn Nafees hospital in central Baghdad said 13 wounded were there for treatment. In another incident, one person was killed and five wounded when a bomb hidden in a motorcycle exploded in the Al-Shorjah market close to the city centre, a security official said. Al-Shorjah is the oldest and largest market in the Iraqi capital. Separately, one person was killed and three were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded in central Baghdad's Mishin area, a security official said. The US military, meanwhile, said American-led forces killed three suspected militants and detained 21 others in a series of operations on Sunday aimed at Al Qaeda in Iraq. Two suspected militants were killed in a raid targeting the leader of an Al Qaeda in Iraq cell near the town of Muqdadiyah in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, a military statement said. Snipers gunned down the two when they refused to leave a building and were perceived by US troops to be a "hostile threat," the statement said. In the town of Tarmiyah, just north of the capital, US-led forces conducted an operation to "disrupt a foreign terrorist facilitation network that safeguards senior leaders of Al Qaeda in Iraq," the statement added. One man who had been rounded up during the operation "made threatening movements" and troops shot him in "self-defence," the statement said, adding Iraqis on the scene identified the man as a member of Al Qaeda, which the US blames for much of the violence in the country. Seven suspected militants were arrested during the operation, the statement added. More suspected militants were also arrested in a series of raids in other parts of Iraq, including in northern Salah ad Din province, the US military said. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Yeah, got that. It just kinda happened. Maybe Allan did it. Mortars, you can't trust 'em. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2007-08-20 10:29 |
| #1 "5 mortar shells landed" "a bomb hidden in a motorcycle exploded" Goodness, those bad, bad, mortars and bombs. Why do they do such things? |
| Posted by: Brian H 2007-08-20 08:24 |