Secret Squirrel
01-28-2005, 02:00 PM
A U.S. helicopter crashed in Baghdad Friday night, the latest development after a day that saw insurgents kill five U.S. soldiers and attack polling centers ahead of Sunday's elections, while the Iraqi government trumpeted the arrests of three men it says are top aides to terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
The Army helicopter crashed in southwestern Baghdad and the fate of the crew was not immediately known, a U.S. military official said.
Military officials do not think the helicopter was hit by hostile fire, but are still investigating, said Lt. Col. James Hutton.
The OH-58 Kiowa copter usually carries a crew of three and is unlikely to carry large numbers of passengers. On Wednesday, a Marine helicopter crashed in western Iraq, killing 31 soldiers. Bad weather was cited as the cause.
Ground units were at the scene, but the status of the crew was not immediately known, Hutton told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. Kiowas are used mostly for surveillance purposes. Other helicopters were flying over the crash site in southwest Baghdad to provide cover for the ground search and rescue units, Hutton said.
Earlier Friday, three U.S. soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in southwestern Baghdad, military officials said.
Two other soldiers were killed in separate attacks. A roadside bomb killed one soldier and injured three others in southern Baghdad. Another soldier was shot dead about 15 minutes later in the city’s north, the military said.
In another attack, a suicide car bomb killed four Iraqi policemen in Baghdad on Friday.
Arrests announced
Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh told reporters Friday that al-Zarqawi's military adviser, an Iraqi named Anad Mohammed Qais, had been arrested. Earlier Friday, another Iraqi official said two other al-Zarqawi aides had been nabbed.
Asked if authorities were close to arresting al-Zarqawi, Saleh replied: "We are getting close to finishing off al-Zarqawi and we will get rid of him."
Qassim Dawoud, a top security adviser, earlier announced the two other arrests, saying they occurred in mid-January but gave few details. Dawoud said one of the men, Salah Suleiman al-Loheibi, headed al-Zarqawi’s Baghdad operation and had met with the Jordanian-born terror leader more than 40 times over three months.
The other was identified as Ali Hamad Yassin al-Issawi.
The announcements bring to four the number of purported al-Zarqawi lieutenants arrested this month. The announcement appeared aimed at bolstering public confidence in security forces in advance of Sunday’s election.
Rebels have threatened to kill anyone who votes, and officials fear a low turnout, especially among Sunni Arabs, could tarnish the legitimacy of the new government. In their first democratic election in some 50 years, Iraqis will choose a National Assembly and governing councils in each of the country’s provinces.
“The insurgents have conducted a fairly sophisticated, apparently well thought-out campaign against infrastructure, particularly around Baghdad — oil, electricity and water are being interrupted by attacks on these facilities,” said Bill Taylor, a senior U.S. embassy official in Baghdad.
Politician's murder shown
On Thursday, al-Zarqawi’s al-Qaida affiliate in Iraq posted a video on the Internet showing the murder of a candidate from Prime Minister Ayad Allawi’s party. The tape included a warning to Allawi personally: “You traitor, wait for the angel of death.”
Friday’s suicide car bombing rattled Baghdad’s Doura neighborhood, a flashpoint in recent days, with several street battles between insurgents and Iraqi National Guard troops, and with assassinations of government officials.
Police opened fire on the speeding car in an attempt to stop it just as it burst into flames. Hours later, another car bomb exploded on the neighborhood’s main road, causing some damage to a school where voters are to cast ballots Sunday. No one was hurt.
In other violence:
Insurgents hit designated polling centers in at least six major cities across the country. Gunmen attacked a school to be used as a polling station in Kirkuk, killing one policeman, officials said.
In southern Iraq, a roadside bomb hit an Iraqi police vehicle, killing one officer and wounding three others, said police Lt. Col. Karim al-Zaydi. The attack occurred in the town of Zubair, south of the port city of Basra.
An insurgent hurled a hand grenade at an American patrol in the capital, injuring a soldier.
Insurgents shelled a U.S. Marine base south of Baghdad, injuring three American troops and three civilians, the military said.
Authorities on Thursday night found the bodies of four Iraqi National Guardsmen who had been shot dead in Ramadi, capital of the troubled Anbar province. Police believe the four had been kidnapped several days ago.
In an interview appearing in its Friday editions, President Bush told the New York Times that “most of the leadership there understands that there will be a need for coalition troops at least until the Iraqis are able to fight.”
More than 1,411 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq since fighting began in March 2003.
Security measures
Iraq’s government is imposing extraordinary security restrictions to try to safeguard the polls. Land borders were closed from Friday and travel between provinces inside the country is also banned. An extended curfew has been announced in most cities, from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The ballot is the cornerstone of a U.S. plan to transform Iraq from dictatorship to democracy but it risks worsening the insurgency by further alienating minority Sunni Arabs, and could end up fomenting sectarian strife.
Around 280,000 overseas Iraqis have registered to vote — a lower number than expected. Around 13 million Iraqis inside the country are eligible to cast their ballots.
In all, 256 groups and individuals registered to run in the election. But many are either not fielding candidates or joined 33 coalition lists, leaving the likely ballot paper featuring about 100 choices.
Most parties reflect sectarian and ethnic divides.
Shiite Muslims, the long-oppressed 60 percent majority oppressed under Saddam, is expected to cement its new political dominance through the polls. An alliance of candidates formed under the guidance of Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, is almost certain to win the most votes.
Another top-contending list is led by interim Prime Minister Allawi, a secular Shiite. Kurds, accounting for 10 percent to 15 percent of Iraqis, mostly back one of two big Kurdish parties.
Sunni Arabs, about 20 percent of the population, dominated Saddam’s regime and earlier administrations and some prominent Sunni politicians and religious figures have called for an election boycott. However, many Sunni groups are now standing in the poll.
Voters will cast ballots for a 275-seat transitional National Assembly that will choose a government and draft a permanent constitution. They will also be voting for councils in the 18 provinces. Those living in the Kurdish self-governing region of the north will also choose a regional parliament.
But no single list may win an outright majority, so the actual makeup of the new government may take weeks to shake out.
link (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6874656/)
The Army helicopter crashed in southwestern Baghdad and the fate of the crew was not immediately known, a U.S. military official said.
Military officials do not think the helicopter was hit by hostile fire, but are still investigating, said Lt. Col. James Hutton.
The OH-58 Kiowa copter usually carries a crew of three and is unlikely to carry large numbers of passengers. On Wednesday, a Marine helicopter crashed in western Iraq, killing 31 soldiers. Bad weather was cited as the cause.
Ground units were at the scene, but the status of the crew was not immediately known, Hutton told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. Kiowas are used mostly for surveillance purposes. Other helicopters were flying over the crash site in southwest Baghdad to provide cover for the ground search and rescue units, Hutton said.
Earlier Friday, three U.S. soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in southwestern Baghdad, military officials said.
Two other soldiers were killed in separate attacks. A roadside bomb killed one soldier and injured three others in southern Baghdad. Another soldier was shot dead about 15 minutes later in the city’s north, the military said.
In another attack, a suicide car bomb killed four Iraqi policemen in Baghdad on Friday.
Arrests announced
Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh told reporters Friday that al-Zarqawi's military adviser, an Iraqi named Anad Mohammed Qais, had been arrested. Earlier Friday, another Iraqi official said two other al-Zarqawi aides had been nabbed.
Asked if authorities were close to arresting al-Zarqawi, Saleh replied: "We are getting close to finishing off al-Zarqawi and we will get rid of him."
Qassim Dawoud, a top security adviser, earlier announced the two other arrests, saying they occurred in mid-January but gave few details. Dawoud said one of the men, Salah Suleiman al-Loheibi, headed al-Zarqawi’s Baghdad operation and had met with the Jordanian-born terror leader more than 40 times over three months.
The other was identified as Ali Hamad Yassin al-Issawi.
The announcements bring to four the number of purported al-Zarqawi lieutenants arrested this month. The announcement appeared aimed at bolstering public confidence in security forces in advance of Sunday’s election.
Rebels have threatened to kill anyone who votes, and officials fear a low turnout, especially among Sunni Arabs, could tarnish the legitimacy of the new government. In their first democratic election in some 50 years, Iraqis will choose a National Assembly and governing councils in each of the country’s provinces.
“The insurgents have conducted a fairly sophisticated, apparently well thought-out campaign against infrastructure, particularly around Baghdad — oil, electricity and water are being interrupted by attacks on these facilities,” said Bill Taylor, a senior U.S. embassy official in Baghdad.
Politician's murder shown
On Thursday, al-Zarqawi’s al-Qaida affiliate in Iraq posted a video on the Internet showing the murder of a candidate from Prime Minister Ayad Allawi’s party. The tape included a warning to Allawi personally: “You traitor, wait for the angel of death.”
Friday’s suicide car bombing rattled Baghdad’s Doura neighborhood, a flashpoint in recent days, with several street battles between insurgents and Iraqi National Guard troops, and with assassinations of government officials.
Police opened fire on the speeding car in an attempt to stop it just as it burst into flames. Hours later, another car bomb exploded on the neighborhood’s main road, causing some damage to a school where voters are to cast ballots Sunday. No one was hurt.
In other violence:
Insurgents hit designated polling centers in at least six major cities across the country. Gunmen attacked a school to be used as a polling station in Kirkuk, killing one policeman, officials said.
In southern Iraq, a roadside bomb hit an Iraqi police vehicle, killing one officer and wounding three others, said police Lt. Col. Karim al-Zaydi. The attack occurred in the town of Zubair, south of the port city of Basra.
An insurgent hurled a hand grenade at an American patrol in the capital, injuring a soldier.
Insurgents shelled a U.S. Marine base south of Baghdad, injuring three American troops and three civilians, the military said.
Authorities on Thursday night found the bodies of four Iraqi National Guardsmen who had been shot dead in Ramadi, capital of the troubled Anbar province. Police believe the four had been kidnapped several days ago.
In an interview appearing in its Friday editions, President Bush told the New York Times that “most of the leadership there understands that there will be a need for coalition troops at least until the Iraqis are able to fight.”
More than 1,411 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq since fighting began in March 2003.
Security measures
Iraq’s government is imposing extraordinary security restrictions to try to safeguard the polls. Land borders were closed from Friday and travel between provinces inside the country is also banned. An extended curfew has been announced in most cities, from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The ballot is the cornerstone of a U.S. plan to transform Iraq from dictatorship to democracy but it risks worsening the insurgency by further alienating minority Sunni Arabs, and could end up fomenting sectarian strife.
Around 280,000 overseas Iraqis have registered to vote — a lower number than expected. Around 13 million Iraqis inside the country are eligible to cast their ballots.
In all, 256 groups and individuals registered to run in the election. But many are either not fielding candidates or joined 33 coalition lists, leaving the likely ballot paper featuring about 100 choices.
Most parties reflect sectarian and ethnic divides.
Shiite Muslims, the long-oppressed 60 percent majority oppressed under Saddam, is expected to cement its new political dominance through the polls. An alliance of candidates formed under the guidance of Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, is almost certain to win the most votes.
Another top-contending list is led by interim Prime Minister Allawi, a secular Shiite. Kurds, accounting for 10 percent to 15 percent of Iraqis, mostly back one of two big Kurdish parties.
Sunni Arabs, about 20 percent of the population, dominated Saddam’s regime and earlier administrations and some prominent Sunni politicians and religious figures have called for an election boycott. However, many Sunni groups are now standing in the poll.
Voters will cast ballots for a 275-seat transitional National Assembly that will choose a government and draft a permanent constitution. They will also be voting for councils in the 18 provinces. Those living in the Kurdish self-governing region of the north will also choose a regional parliament.
But no single list may win an outright majority, so the actual makeup of the new government may take weeks to shake out.
link (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6874656/)