U.S. Airstrikes Hit Shiite Stronghold

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

U.S. Airstrikes Hit Shiite Stronghold

Saturday July 21, 2007 8:16 PM

By KIM GAMEL

Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD (AP) - Aircraft fired missiles and dropped a bomb in
a Shiite stronghold in northeastern Baghdad, killing six militants,
the U.S. military said Saturday. Iraqi officials claimed a
higher death toll, saying 18 civilians were killed.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, meanwhile, urged parliament
to cancel its summer break or at least limit it to two weeks,
expressing frustration over the failure to pass key legislation
aimed at promoting reconciliation and stemming support for the
violence.

In other violence, a minibus was struck in a mortar attack shortly
after noon in the predominantly Shiite area of Baladiyat in eastern
Baghdad, killing at least five people and wounding 11, police said.
Mortar shells also slammed into the eastern outskirts of Baghdad,
killing two people and wounding four, another officer said on
condition of anonymity because of security concerns.

-snip-

The military account contradicted reports from Iraqi police and
hospital officials, who said 18 civilians had been killed and 21
wounded in the 2 a.m. attack in Husseiniyah, where Shiite militias
operate openly near the road leading to volatile Diyala province.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6796265,00.html

---

Alternate AP headline: Iraqi PM: Parliament should cancel break

Also: Baghdad minibus blast kills five - BBC

---

Source: Reuters

FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, July 21
21 Jul 2007 19:13:46 GMT

July 21 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq
at 1900 GMT on Saturday:

* BAGHDAD - U.S. forces killed six insurgents and wounded five
overnight in a helicopter strike near Husseiniyah town, north
of Baghdad, the military said. Iraqi police and residents said
the strike killed 18 civilians and wounded 21.

* BAGHDAD - Authorities found 17 bodies across Baghdad
throughout Saturday, police said. Most of the killings are
believed to be part of sectarian violence.

-snip-

BAGHDAD - The Iraqi army said it had killed 13 insurgents in the
city of Baquba, capital of Diyala province.

BAGHDAD - The Iraqi army said it killed five insurgents and
detained 46 in an operation in eastern Diyala, near the Iranian
border. It was unclear when the operation began.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BUL023839.htm

[Eugene]

1. Troops raid Baghdad Sunni mosque complex

Source: Agence France-Presse

Troops raid Baghdad Sunni mosque complex

by Jay Deshmukh
1 hour, 33 minutes ago

BAGHDAD (AFP) - US and Iraqi troops raided a prominent Baghdad
Sunni mosque complex and detained 18 suspected militants on
Saturday, while a bomb aboard a minibus in the capital killed
five people.

In a pre-dawn sweep, troops raided the Umm al-Qura mosque complex
in Baghdad's western Ghazaliyah neighbourhood to capture an Al-Qaeda
in Iraq operative "believed to be operating a terrorist media cell,"
the military said.

"The ground forces surrounded several outer buildings in the compound
and secured them, capturing the targeted individual and 17 other
suspected terrorists," it said.

US forces did not enter the compound.

-snip-

"US forces raided Saturday morning Um al-Qura mosque and arrested
Ammar, the son of Sheikh Ahmed Abdul-Ghafour al-Samaraie, head of
the Sunni endowment office," it said.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070721/ts_afp/iraqunrest_070721155051

[ohio2007]

4. Gotta keep em seperated...

separate but equal....

[wtmusic]

7. Not one word about al-Qaeda

All the dead are "militants"--curious. Has the DOD decided that angle is too obvious?

[jaysunb]

2. Maybe a Dale Carnegie course could help here....

:evilfrown:

[Eugene]

3. Celebratory gunfire kills 3 in Baghdad

Source: Reuters

Celebratory gunfire kills 3 in Baghdad
Sat Jul 21, 2007 3:06PM EDT

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Three people were killed and around
50 others wounded in Baghdad on Saturday when soccer-
loving Iraqis fired weapons into the air to celebrate their
team's quarter-final victory over Vietnam in the Asian Cup.

Police said the victims had been killed and wounded in
different parts of the capital.

Repeated bursts of automatic fire echoed around Baghdad
straight after Iraq's national team won the match 2-0 in
Bangkok.

With their country on the verge of all-out civil war, Iraqis
have taken great delight in reveling in the progress of their
soccer team in the Asian Cup.


Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSYAT15938320070721

[leftchick]

5. in other words: "US STILL BOMBING THE CRAP OUT OF BAGHDAD"

and killing innocents. :(

[ohio2007]

6. the surge is going to continue until the September review

results may vary and be inconclusive......

[LibDemAlways]

8. "Insurgent" = Iraqi

The madness continues.

[Eugene]

9. Iraqi Army and Coalition Forces detain former official allegedly linked to Al Qaeda

Source: MNF Iraq

Iraqi Army and Coalition Forces detain former official allegedly linked to Al Qaeda

Saturday, 21 July 2007

Multi-National Corps – Iraq
Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
APO AE 09342

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE No. 20070721-05
July 21, 2007

Iraqi Army and Coalition Forces detain former official allegedly linked to Al Qaeda
Multi-National Corps – Iraq PAO

BAGHDAD – Soldiers from the 5th Division of the Iraqi Army, with
U.S. Special Operations Forces as advisors, detained a former mayor
and current city council member in As-Sadiyah, July 20.

Iraqi and Coalition Forces raided a residence in as-Sadiyah near
Diyala Province and detained their primary target without incident.

Intelligence reports indicate the detainee is linked to Al Qaeda in
Iraq and the New Baath Party and is linked to kidnappings, murders
and extortion in Diyala Province in order to exert pressure and
influence on local sheiks.

The suspect was reportedly involved in a vehicle borne improvised
explosive device attack in the Zargoush village in As Sadiyah that
killed 19 civilians. Reports indicate that he openly discredits the
Government of Iraq and its efforts to bring stability in the region.

No Iraqi or Coalition Forces were injured in the operation.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12960&Itemid=128

[laststeamtrain]

10. U.S. choppers kill ... who? Enemy or innocents?

Source: McClatchy Newspapers

U.S. choppers kill ... who? Enemy or innocents?
Hannah Allam and Jenan Hussein | McClatchy Newspapers

last updated: July 21, 2007 04:16:06 PM

BAGHDAD, Iraq — This much is agreed upon: at least six Iraqis died overnight Saturday when American attack helicopters pounded a cluster of homes in a dusty, nondescript neighborhood on the northern outskirts of Baghdad.

But the story of why those homes were targeted and who was killed depends on the storyteller.

The U.S. military said the dead were insurgents and the homes in the Husseiniya district probably served as weapons depots; troops observed seven or more secondary explosions after the air assault. By the military's tally, six fighters were killed and five wounded.

Iraqi residents told a different version: the dead came from two Shiite Muslim families who lived in an area controlled by the powerful Mahdi Army militia. The bodies pulled from the rubble, locals say, were ordinary parents killed with their children in the middle of the night. Locals counted 11 corpses - two men, two women, and seven children. Another 10 were injured. Some Iraqi authorities put the death toll as high as 18.

Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/18249.html

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

11. As I said before, why are the people we liberated, the enemy ?

[aquart]

12. I was just about to say.

Although I would have put "liberated" in quotes.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

13. I should have.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

14. ....

[MasonJar]

15. 7 children? That is so unbelievably cruel. Thank you, axis of evil,

White House style.

[sanskritwarrior]

16. Was gunfire received from the neighborhood?

Had that been my platoon on the ground and had we received fire, I would called in Arty to level the homes........

If the rules of engagement were followed then the military didn't do anything wrong. If however they just fired on some houses, those pilots need their asses fried in Fort Leavenworth's cell block...........

I will await more evidence before I take either side......

[leftchick]

17. firing on civilian populations is a war crime

that is a fact.

[sanskritwarrior]

22. Not if you are taking enemy gun fire, RPG fire or

mortar fire........that is a fact.......

I would Frag Mother Teresa if my men were in danger.......

[LetsThink]

18. Fran Townsend..... Actionable Targets Anywhere in the World....

What? Are we in a position to be expanding this war beyond the sectarian civil war morass we have already created by our presence in Iraq? Oh-- yeah. Forgot. We have managed to help the recruitment efforts of some groups.... 'course US military recruitment is not on that list..

[LynnTheDem]

19. 7 children "insurgents" asleep in their beds.

Thank Gawd George W. bUsh is fighting those children over there!

:eyes:

[Barrett808]

20. k & r

[bemildred]

21. So Baghdad is a "Shiite stronghold" now?

Cause Baghad is sure what they bombed.

[Doctor_J]

23. I thought we were battling the Sunni (Al Qaeda)

Damn, it's hard to keep up with Rove's lies.