Roadside Blast Injures 7 Iraqi Prisoners

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Roadside Blast Injures 7 Iraqi Prisoners

Sat May 8, 1:57 PM ET


BAGHDAD, Iraq - Seven Iraqi prisoners being transported for release were wounded Saturday when a roadside bomb blasted their U.S. military convoy west of Baghdad, the U.S. Marines said.


Soldiers from the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division pursued the attackers, killing one and capturing another, the Marines said. The 1st Infantry soldiers are serving alongside the 1st Marine Division.


The convoy was traveling between the western Iraqi towns of Ramadi and Habbaniyah when the blast occurred. The wounded prisoners were treated at a military hospital for shrapnel wounds, the Marines said.

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Accident Kills Stryker Brigade Soldier

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A U.S. soldier from the Army's Stryker Brigade was killed Saturday in an "electrical accident," the U.S. command said.


The statement said the incident, which occurred in Mosul, was under investigation, and the Army released no further details. The Stryker Brigade, part of the 2nd Infantry Division, takes its name from an armored vehicle used by the command.


The latest death brings to 764 the number of U.S. service members who have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq (news - web sites) last year. Of those, 556 died as a result of hostile action and 208 died of non-hostile causes.







_ A soldier from the 2nd Infantry Division's Stryker Brigade was killed Saturday in a mortar attack on a coalition base in Mosul.

REGIMENTAL PRAYER

Almighty, merciful, and loving Father,
you are the one who hears all our prayers and grants our petitions.

We ask you to remember, as we do,
the tremendous sacrifice made by those who went before us.
They have given their lives so that we might live and breathe freely.
We ask you to receive them into your hands.

Father, give us the strength and wisdom to learn from their example,
to uphold freedom and life at home and around the world.

Keep us vigilant as we guard the frontiers of freedom.

Give our leaders the wisdom and the strength to lead well.

Grant all of us courage and confidence.
Be, for all of us, troopers, a wise counsel in keeping peace
and a strong shield for us against our enemies.
Oh heavenly Father, give us the determination
that the peace and freedom won at such a high price be lasting!

Father, hold all of the troopers in the palm of your almighty hand
and protect them in the shadow of your wings.



U.S. Forces Arrest Four in Baghdad Area Sadr Office

BAGHDAD (*******) - U.S. tanks and armored vehicles briefly circled the offices of rebel Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Baghdad's Sadr City on Saturday and arrested four aides in a move to step up pressure on the militia leader.



Witnesses said at least two tanks took up positions near the Sadr offices in the cleric's stronghold in the northeast of Baghdad and gunfire crackled through the district as U.S. helicopters circled overhead.


Sources in Sadr's militia, the Mehdi Army, said four people had been detained, including Sadr's representative in the area.


The U.S. military had no immediate comment on the operation. U.S. forces pulled out after less than an hour, the witnesses said.


The U.S. military has stepped up operations against Sadr in recent days, putting pressure on the Mehdi Army in the cities of Najaf and Kerbala, south of Baghdad, where the militia took control of the central areas.


Earlier on Saturday, Mehdi militiamen fought running battles with British troops in the southern port city of Basra leaving at least two Iraqis dead and several British soldiers wounded.


British forces also clashed with militia in the town of Amara, north of Basra.


Sadr launched an uprising against the U.S.-led occupation a month ago in the south, where Shi'ites dominate. The Mehdi Army also battled U.S. troops in Sadr City.


The former Saddam City was renamed last year in honor of Sadr's father, a well-respected ayatollah killed during Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s rule.







British troops under fire as Shiite radicals extend uprising to southern Iraq

BASRA, Iraq (AFP) - Militiamen loyal to radical Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr clashed with British troops as their battle with the US-led coalition spread to British-controlled southern Iraq (news - web sites).


Five members of Sadr's Mehdi Army were killed and nine British soldiers were wounded when gunbattles erupted in both Basra and the town of Amara further north, according to the British army and Iraqi medics.


None of the Britons' injuries were life-threatening, the British military said.


Gunmen armed with rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) mingled with protestors at the provincial governor's office and the former headquarters of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s Baath party before firing on British troops in the centre of Basra, a military spokesman said.


The demonstrations appeared to have been prompted by the offer of a 250,000-dinar (170-dollar) bounty by Sadr's representative in the city, Abdelsattar Al-Bahadili, for the capture of British soldiers.


"There's been a number of groups of people causing civil unrest armed with RPGs and small arms and taking pot shots at British patrols and Iraqi police in the city," said British military spokesman Squadron Leader Jon Arnold.


The British sent reinforcements to the city centre, deploying 75 troops around the governor's office and establishing tanks and armoured vehicles in key positions.


The violence followed days of fighting between US troops and Sadr's militiamen around the south-central holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, in which scores of radicals were killed.


Gunbattles in Basra left two militiamen dead and one captured, said Arnold. Four British soldiers were wounded.


Hundreds of militiamen armed with RPGs and guns were in control of the Qarma neighbourhood, home to 25,000 people, in the north of the city, witnesses said. Militiamen also set up five roadblocks on the highway out of Basra to the southwest.


But Arnold said Iraqi police and coalition forces were "in complete control".


"They (Sadr's supporters) are an indiscriminate bunch of thugs and militiamen," he said.


British troops raided a Sadr office in Basra at about 10:00 am (0600 GMT), several hours after a patrol was attacked in a nearby square.


There was a 20-minute gunbattle followed by a second attack when militiamen fired on troops from a building used by Sadr's men, four kilometres (more than two miles) northwest of the city centre.


The clashes started around the offices of a state-owned oil company and spread to several other points in the city.


British troops also raided a Sadr office in Amara after a convoy was attacked and three British soldiers slightly wounded. Militiamen responded with RPGs and small-arms fire, wounding two more soldiers who seized mines and mortars.


"Three militiamen were killed and six others were injured," said Saad Fakruddin, a doctor at Amara's hospital.





Witnesses said the British troops later left the Sadr office but reported that British tanks and armoured vehicles remained close by.

The British military later said calm had been restored to both cities and Iraqi police were on patrol.

Basra's governor Saturday then a ban on the carrying of arms and announced the formation of a rapid reaction force drawn from police ranks to deal with any future disturbances.

"No one has the right to carry arms and those who do face life in prison," Judge Wael Abdel Latif told reporters.

The eruption of fighting in southern Iraq followed several days of attacks by US troops in central Iraq designed to place the militiamen under mounting pressure.

"What the British troops are doing today is a reaction to what the Mehdi Army did yesterday (Friday) in Najaf and Karbala," said Sadr spokesman Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fartoosi.

Sadr, who has led a month-long insurgency against the US-led occupation, is holed up in Najaf, where he has vowed to lead his thousands of followers to martyrdom.

He is wanted for the murder of a rival cleric last year and the US-led coalition has embarked on a series of political and military moves to try to isolate him, crush his militia and woo disaffected young Shiite Muslims from his ranks.

"We hope with time his militiamen will desert him or get killed," a coalition official said.





Marines Offer Support to Iraqi Communities

AL ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq - Marines recently delivered supplies and provided funding in support of community improvements throughout the Al Anbar province.

Marines visited Al Budekil to repair damage done to a farmer's field after a Marine tank became bogged down in it. Marines paid for the damages and delivered supplies, including 50 tons of fertilizer and farming tools, to help local villagers with the planting season. They also handed out pens and pencils, soccer balls, nets and Frisbees donated by Spirit of America, a nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles.

Marines also met with a local sheik to plan future projects including street paving, warehouse and mosque repairs. The sheik told Marines he was eager to work with Coalition forces to bring further improvements to his village.

In Fallujah, Marines began renovations to the Civil-Military Operations Center. A shaded area is being constructed and access to water will be provided for visitors.

Finally, Marines in Ramadi met with the President of the Al Anbar Province University to discuss future projects and how to improve educational opportunities for Iraqi students. They also donated $7,000 for a laminating machine to produce identification cards at the university.