Wave of coordinated attacks in Iraq kills 127

[Jolie Rouge]

Wave of coordinated attacks in Iraq kills 127
By Brian Murphy, Associated Press Writer
2 hrs 8 mins ago

BAGHDAD – A suicide car bomb flattened a court building and an explosives-rigged ambulance blew down walls like dominos near the Finance Ministry during a wave of coordinated attacks Tuesday that targeted high-profile symbols of Iraqi authority. At least 127 people were killed.

The blasts — at least five in total — marked the third major strike on government sites since August and brought uncomfortable questions for Iraqi leaders. These include signs al-Qaida in Iraq is regrouping and concerns over the readiness of Iraqi forces to handle security alone as U.S. forces depart.

The bombings also brought swift accusations about the motives behind the attacks. Officials claimed a Sunni insurgent alliance, including members of Saddam Hussein's banned Baath Party, seeks to undermine the pro-Western government ahead of elections set for March 7 and the later withdrawal of U.S. combat forces.

Authorities also faced angry questions about how bombers again found holes in Iraqi security.

"If security falls apart, then everything will collapse," said Abbas al-Bayati, head of parliament's defense committee and an ally of the Shiite government, as lawmakers convened an emergency session.

Another lawmaker, Saadi al-Barazanji, shouted: "If I were the interior minister, I would resign!"

The attacks began with a suicide strike on a police patrol. An hour later, four more explosions rumbled across Baghdad in the span of a few minutes. Suicide car bombings hit three sites: the main Appeals Court, an area outside the Finance Ministry and a government compound that includes the Labor Ministry. A roadside bomb also went off near a university.

Iraq's Health Ministry reported at least 513 people were wounded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. However, multiple bombings are a hallmark of al-Qaida. The past two major strikes on Iraqi government sites were coordinated blasts in August and October that took more than 255 lives. Sunni groups linked to al-Qaida eventually issued statements saying they carried out the attacks.

Iraq's government, however, has tried to cast blame on Saddam loyalists — even parading three suspects on national television who gave what officials termed confessions for the October attacks.

No independent evidence has emerged to support a possible resurgence of the militant Baath Party cells. Instead, the government allegations are seen as attempts to deflect suspicions that al-Qaida and its insurgent allies could be regrouping before the March elections and the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces at the end of August.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government has pointed to the sharp drop in overall violence around Iraq as one of its main achievements going into the elections. Any hints of instability could cost them at the polls.

Just hours after the bombings, the government set March 7 as the date for parliamentary elections. The voting was delayed by nearly seven weeks because of bickering over election rules. The postponement — coupled with any upsurge in violence — could complicate the Pentagon's pullout timetable as pressure builds to shift troops and equipment to Afghanistan.

Al-Maliki drew a direct connection between the attacks and the political compromises that cleared the way for elections.

"The timing of the cowardly terrorist attacks ... shows that the enemies of Iraq aim to create chaos in the country and foil the political process and the elections," said a statement from the U.S.-backed prime minister.

Iraq's military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, blamed the "same hands" the government claims were behind the August and October attacks: Baath loyalists and al-Qaida-linked extremists.

In Washington, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs condemned the attacks, saying Iraqi leaders who passed an elections law this week were moving the country in the right direction and "there are clearly those who are threatened by that."

In a joint statement, U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill and Gen. Raymond Odierno, the top commander in Iraq, pledged to assist the Iraqi government "to bring to justice those individuals or groups for such murder."

Other statements decrying the attacks poured in from around the world.

One stood out: Neighboring Syria said it "strongly condemns the terrorist bombings." Iraq's relations with Syria have soured recently after accusations by Baghdad that the Damascus government harbors Baath Party exiles who have masterminded and waged attacks in Iraq.

The United Nations Security Council condemned the attacks "in the strongest terms," underlining the need to bring the perpetrators and sponsors to justice.

The bombings marked the most serious spate of violence in Baghdad since twin car bombs on Oct. 25 struck outside Baghdad administration offices, killing at least 155. In August, four suicide truck bombers hit the finance and foreign ministries, killing more than 100.

On a Web site known to express militant views, messages exchanged congratulations for the attacks and praised insurgents linked to al-Qaida in Iraq — with no mention of Baath Party alliances.

The first attack came at midmorning in southern Baghdad. A suicide car bomber struck a police patrol in the mostly Sunni district of Dora. At least three policemen and 12 civilians were killed, said a police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.

About an hour later, four blasts roared through different parts of Baghdad in less than 10 minutes, bringing the overall death toll to at least 127, according to police and hospital officials.

"What crime have we committed? Children and women were buried under debris. Why did they (Iraqi troops) let this car bomb pass?" cried Ahmed Jabbar as he staggered through the debris near the new Finance Ministry building alongside the Tigris River — an area where all cars pass through checkpoints manned by Iraqi forces.

Police say the bomber, driving an ambulance rigged with explosives, was stopped at the last checkpoint before the Finance Ministry. Its previous headquarters was destroyed in the August attacks.

The blast ravaged an outdoor market and collapsed rows of brick walls in stores and homes. The ministry was largely unscathed, but a corner was peppered with metal chunks from the exploding vehicle.

At one home, a ginger-colored dog stood with a chain still around its neck, stranded atop a section of wall above the wreckage that killed its owners and their children. The dog's water bucket was beside him.

About two miles (three kilometers) to the west, another suicide bomber rammed through one checkpoint near a judicial compound that included the main Appeals Court, said the spokesman of Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council, Abdul-Sattar Bayrkdar. Guards opened fire before a huge blast that leveled the court and left dozens of cars crushed and shredded.

Near the protected Green Zone in central Baghdad, which includes the U.S. Embassy and Iraqi parliament, a third suicide bomb struck close to an area with government offices including the Labor Ministry.

Finally, a roadside bomb exploded near the Technology University in eastern Baghdad, missing a passing police patrol but killing one civilian passer-by and wounding four others, police said.

___

Associated Press writers Sameer N. Yacoub, Sinan Salaheddin and Chelsea J. Carter contributed to this report.

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[Jolie Rouge]

Iraq militants using new tactics to foil security
By Brian Murphy, Associated Press Writer
1 min ago

BAGHDAD – Militant groups are finding new ways to foil Iraqi security — hiding explosives in the chassis of vehicles or tucking them into secret compartments, the top U.S. commander in Iraq said Tuesday as Baghdad was again hit by a suicide car bomb that sheared off the front of the main crime lab. At least 22 people were killed.

The attack came a day after car bombings struck three Baghdad hotels favored by Western journalists and security contractors. The back-to-back blasts underscored the evolving tactics of suspected Sunni militants to target high-profile sites with periodic — but powerful — assaults that show high degrees of planning and coordination.

The aim appears twofold: to maximize the blows to the Shiite-led government and exploit security gaps with Iraqi forces now almost entirely in control of checkpoints and patrols as the U.S. military draws down.

Any signs of backsliding on security would hurt the American-backed administration of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who is using the drop in overall violence across Iraq as one of the pillars of his campaign in March 7 national elections. But al-Maliki is also under pressure to reach out to Sunnis — who were once favored by Saddam Hussein — to fend off Shiite rivals in upcoming voting.

Insurgents such as al-Qaida in Iraq "have become more creative at how to conduct attacks," the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. Raymond Odierno, told reporters.

The methods include wrapping explosives into the gears and slats of vehicle chassis or into carefully concealed chambers, he said.

He said Iraqi authorities have requested scanners capable of looking inside sealed portions of vehicles. Iraqi forces have been reluctant to expand the use of bomb-sniffing dogs because of the widely held Muslim tradition that avoids contact with dogs.

"They are willing to use them against vehicles," he said. "They don't want to use them against people."

Odierno's comments came as Iraq defended the use of a British-supplied bomb-detection device that is the subject of probes about whether it actually works. Britain has banned its export to Iraq and Afghanistan, but Iraqi security forces continue to operate the hand-held units at checkpoints.

It's not certain whether the bombers in this week's attacks passed through Iraqi inspections before reaching their targets. But the blasts left officials again facing accusations of security lapses.

In Tuesday's attack, the bomber tried to drive a bomb-rigged pickup truck through a checkpoint and around blast walls protecting the forensic evidence office run by the Interior Ministry, said police officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief media.

The force of the blast toppled some of the 10-foot (three-meter) concert blast walls weighing seven tons and sliced away portions of the building's facade. At least 22 people were killed — including 18 police officers and some civilian visitors — and nearly 90 were wounded, said police and hospital officials.

The office mainly dealt with data collected during criminal investigations, including fingerprints and other evidence. It is next to the Interior Ministry's major crimes office, which deals with terrorism cases.

A day before, three suicide car bombings struck hotels in central Baghdad in quick succession. In at least one attack, gunmen flanked the vehicle and drove away guards. At least 41 people were killed and some offices of Western media were badly damaged.

The timing of Monday's blast — as Saddam's notorious cousin "Chemical Ali" was hanged — brought speculation about retaliation by insurgents.

But Odierno said he saw "absolutely no connection" with the bombings Monday. The U.S. military did not have any immediate comment on Tuesday's bombing.

"We didn't turn Chemical Ali over until yesterday afternoon ... There was no way anybody could have known about that," Odierno told journalists Tuesday in his office at Camp Victory, the sprawling U.S. military headquarters on the outskirts of Baghdad.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the two days of blasts. In the most recent major attacks in Baghdad — in August, October and December — a group linked to al-Qaida said it carried out the bombings. Each wave of blasts targeted government sites, such as ministries and courts, and each claimed more than 100 lives.

Al-Maliki, however, has focused his blame on sympathizers of Saddam's now-outlawed Baath party from his Sunni-dominated regime. It's seen as possible attempts to divert attention from security shortcomings. But it also has angered Sunni leaders who claim the Shiite-led government is trying to tarnish Sunnis before the critical elections in March to decide Iraq's leadership.

Odierno seemed to offer some backing for al-Maliki's claims — suggesting that hard-core Baath loyalists have made occasional pacts with Sunni insurgents such as al-Qaida in Iraq.

"In some cases, they work together to move toward their own objectives," he said, noting that multiple and coordinated attacks have become a hallmark of al-Qaida in Iraq.

Odierno said U.S. military intelligence indicates between five and 10 main insurgent leaders planning the attacks in Baghdad. He said some of the leaders are believed to be university trained, with degrees in business administration, engineering and law.

He said the duels between Iraqi forces and insurgents show no signs of easing.

"This is still punch, counter-punch," Odierno said.

In Saddam's home village near Tikrit, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Baghdad, the body of Ali Hassan al-Majid — widely known as "Chemical Ali" — was brought from Baghdad and was met by about 200 people after sundown. The coffin was wrapped in an Iraqi flag.

Al-Majid was then buried near the grave of Saddam, who was executed in December 2006.

Al-Majid was hanged Monday for atrocities such as the deaths of an estimated 5,000 Kurds in a poison gas attack in 1988 and other crimes against humanity.

Local authorities demanded a quick and simple burial without chanting or firing shots in the air as is common in Iraqi funerals, said an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.

In the Kurdish town of Halabja in northern Iraq, the scene of the gas attack, more than 400 Kurdish government officials and survivors gathered at a monument to the victims.

"I am wondering which of my family's graves I would visit first to tell them about the death of Chemical Ali so they can sleep in peace," said Parvin Kamal Jalal, a 53-year-old woman who said she lost her parents and 12 other family members in the attack.

In Baghdad, Iraqi lawmakers endorsed a $72.3 billion budget, with cuts in the salaries of top Iraqi officials and lawmakers, said Sami al-Atroushi, a member of the parliament's finance committee.

The budget, which still needs approval from Iraq's presidency council, is a boost from the $58.6 million spending approved for last year.

Iraq has suffered from falling oil prices as it tries to pay for reconstruction projects and expansion of security forces before the full U.S. military withdrawal at the end of next year.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100126/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq

[Jolie Rouge]

Blasts kill 40 at height of Iraq Shiite pilgrimage
Chelsea J. Carter, Associated Press Writer – 32 mins ago

BAGHDAD – Twin car bombs tore through a crowd of Shiite pilgrims packing a highway as they walked to a holy city south of Baghdad on Friday for a major religious observance, killing at least 40 people and wounding 154 others, Iraqi officials said.

It was the third deadly bombing this week hitting the ceremony in which hundreds of thousands of Shiites have been converging on the city of Karbala. Friday's attack struck during the culmination of the pilgrimage.

This week's violence took place as Iraqi politicians argued over an effort to bar hundreds of candidates from running in the March 7 parliamentary elections because of suspected ties to Saddam Hussein's former regime. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Thursday he would not allow the U.S. ambassador to meddle in the dispute, which Washington fears could hamper Sunni-Shiite reconciliation.

Friday's attack began shortly after noon when a parked car bomb exploded just east of one of three main entrances to Karbala, two Health Ministry officials said. The explosion sent throngs of pilgrims running down the highway and straight into the path of a suicide car bomber who detonated the vehicle, they said.

At least 154 people were wounded in the consecutive blasts, the officials said.

However, an Iraqi police official reported it was two mortar rounds that struck the area, followed by a suicide car bomb. Such conflicting accounts are common in the chaotic aftermath of bombings in Iraq.

The attack came at the height of the pilgrimage when roads around Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad, were clogged with people trying to reach the city by Friday. The crowds made it difficult for ambulances to get to the wounded, another police official said.

The officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

Al-Maliki blamed al-Qaida and Saddam loyalists for the bombings, saying in a statement that the attacks against the pilgrims have failed to ignite sectarian strike and destabilize security.

There was no formal claim of responsibility.

The Arbaeen holy day, preceded by days of mass marches to Karbala, marks the end of 40 days of mourning after the anniversary of the death of Imam Hussein, a revered Shiite figure.

The concentration of Shiites makes the annual ceremony a prime target for suspected Sunni militants.

Iraqi security forces have increased protection for pilgrims but face huge challenges trying to find a single attacker in the crowds — and this year's Arbaeen commemorations have been the deadliest since 2007.

Friday's twin bombing in Karbala was just a short distance from where a bomb exploded two days earlier, killing around two dozen people. And on Monday, a female suicide bomber killed at least 54 pilgrims heading for the city in an attack just north of Baghdad.

In another attack Friday, a roadside bomb struck a bus carrying pilgrims through Baghdad, killing one and wounding 13, police and hospital officials said on condition of anonymity for the same reason as the others.

In each of the past two years, attacks during the ceremonies killed around 60 Shiites, a drop from the more than 340 killed in 2007.

Iraqi security forces have increased protection for pilgrims but face huge challenges trying to find a single attacker in the crowds.

But Ali Ahmed, a 32-year-old Shiite bookshop owner in Baghdad, blamed Iraq's authorities for failing to ensure security for the faithful.

"The huge number of pilgrims and the lack of experience of the Iraqi security forces led to these explosions," he said.

In Pakistan, where Shiites have also faced attacks by Sunni extremists, two bombs targeting those observing Arbaeen exploded on Friday. One blast went off outside a hospital treating victims from an earlier attack on worshippers heading to a procession. At least 25 people were killed and more than 100 wounded.

In Iraq, tension also escalated this week between al-Maliki's Shiite-led government and Iraq's Sunni politicians over the push to ban some candidates from next month's election.

A parliamentary committee responsible for rooting out Saddam loyalists blacklisted more than 450 politicians, but an appeals court overturned the ban on Wednesday.

Al-Maliki denounced the ruling, and election officials have asked Iraq's highest judicial authority for a final ruling.

The U.S. is deeply worried the ban could undercut the credibility of the election among Iraqis and cripple efforts to reconcile majority Shiites and the Sunnis who dominated Iraq under Saddam.

U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill applauded the decision to lift the ban and has said that Iraq must have a credible election.

Al-Maliki warned Hill not to get involved.

"We will not allow American Ambassador Christopher Hill to go beyond his diplomatic mission," al-Maliki said late Thursday in a statement published on his political coalition's Web site.

Al-Maliki said the ban on the candidates should be implemented and that Iraq must not bow to U.S. pressure.

The U.S. Embassy dismissed the warning, saying that Hill has been doing what any diplomat normally does — offering his government's views on issues that could affect American interests.

"That is not going beyond the bounds of acceptable diplomacy. Iraqi leaders take on board our views but then make their own decisions," Philip Frayne, an embassy spokesman in Baghdad, said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "Of course, we respect Iraqi sovereignty."

[Jolie Rouge]

New spate of bombings strikes Baghdad, killing 49
Sinan Salaheddin And Lara Jakes, Associated Press Writers – 6 mins ago

BAGHDAD – At least five bombs ripped through apartment buildings across Baghdad Tuesday and another struck a market, killing 49 people and wounding more than 160, authorities said.

Iraqi officials blamed al-Qaida in Iraq insurgents for the violence — the latest sign the country's fragile security is dissolving in the chaos of the unresolved election.

It was the fourth set of attacks with multiple casualties across Iraq in five days, a spate of violence that has claimed more than 100 lives. Attacks have spiked as political leaders scramble to secure enough support to form a government after the March 7 elections failed to produce a clear winner.

Ayad Allawi, whose bloc came out ahead in the vote by two seats over Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's, said the political deadlock lies behind the new wave of violence. He also raised the prospect that the impasse could last for months as both sides try to cobble together the majority needed to govern.

"This is blamed on the power vacuum of course, and on how democracy is being raped in Iraq," Allawi told The Associated Press in an interview. "Because people are sensing there are powers who want to obstruct the path of democracy, terrorists and al-Qaida are on the go. ... I think their operations will increase in Iraq."

He added that he did not foresee any clear timetable to form a government.

"It could either be formed in two months or it could last four or five months," he said.

Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, an Iraqi military spokesman for Baghdad's operations command center, said the attackers detonated blasts using homemade bombs and, in one case, a car packed with explosives. He said there were at least seven blasts; the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said there were five.

Al-Moussawi blamed al-Qaida in Iraq for the explosions and said Iraq was in a "state of war" with terrorists.

He said most of the buildings are two stories, but one in the Allawi district downtown was five stories.

Police and medical officials said the death toll from the explosions and the car bomb was at least 49, and that women and children were among the dead. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to release information publicly.

The explosions started at about 9:30 a.m. at a residential building in the Shula area of northwest Baghdad. Then a car bomb struck in an intersection about a mile away, damaging nearby buildings, police and hospital officials said.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the press.

A few minutes later, at 9:45 a.m. a bomb left in a plastic bag exploded at a restaurant in the Allawi district downtown, near the Culture Ministry. Dozens of people gathered at the bomb site in the hours after the explosion, digging through bricks in the hopes of finding survivors.

Several hours later, a parked car bomb exploded in a market, killing six civilians, a police officer said. A doctor at the nearby Yarmouk hospital where those caught in the blast were taken confirmed the causality figures.

College student Ali Hussein, 22, was riding the bus to school when one of the Shula bombs exploded. He described "people running in different directions with fear."

"Cars began to collide with one another in the street because of fear," said Hussein, who fled for home after the blast. "We saw a cloud of fire and black smoke rising from a building at the explosion site, and while we were terrified by this explosion, another one took place."

On Monday, a Shiite couple and four of their children were gunned down in their home outside Baghdad, while more than 40 were killed Sunday after suicide attackers detonated three car bombs near embassies in Baghdad. On Friday, gunmen went house-to-house in a Sunni area south of Baghdad, killing 24 villagers execution-style.

The steady drumbeat of attacks serves as a chilling reminder of the violence that brought Iraq to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007. In the face of the recent spike in attacks, U.S. military and diplomatic officials have sought to downplay the possibility that Iraq is heading back down the path toward sectarian bloodshed.

"We're obviously concerned but we don't see the parallels with what happened a few years ago," U.S. Embassy spokesman Philip Frayne said. "We don't see a sectarian war breaking out again."

Army Lt. Col. Eric Bloom, a U.S. military spokesman, blamed al-Qaida for all of the attacks, which he described as "random acts of violence."

Still, many fear such violence and a drawn-out political dispute could allow insurgents to regroup in the political vacuum left after the elections.

Nearly a month after the national vote, Iraq still finds itself in a political deadlock.

Allawi's secular Iraqiya bloc won 91 of the 325 parliament seats to 89 for the mainly Shiite list of Prime Minister al-Maliki. But both parties are far short of the necessary majority needed to govern alone, which has forced them into bargaining with other smaller blocs to muster the support needed to form a governing coalition.

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please remember; Islam is a religion of peace.

[Jolie Rouge]

Deaths of 2 al-Qaida in Iraq leaders big blow
By Lara Jakes And Qassim Abdul-zahra, Associated Press Writers 34 mins ago

BAGHDAD – U.S. and Iraqi forces killed the two top al-Qaida figures in the country in a nighttime rocket attack on a safe house near Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, a joint operation the U.S. called a significant blow to the insurgency and a sign Iraqi security forces are strengthening.

Al-Qaida in Iraq has remained a potent force, seeking recently to sow chaos after the March 7 elections and ahead of a planned U.S. troop withdrawal. The terror group has shown a remarkable ability to change tactics and adapt despite repeated blows to its leadership.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced the killings of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri at a news conference in Baghdad and showed reporters photographs of their bloody corpses. The deaths were later confirmed by U.S. military officials.

The Iraqi leader said ground forces surrounded a house and used rockets to kill the two, who were hiding inside. The U.S. military said an American helicopter crashed during the assault, killing one U.S. soldier.

In Washington, Vice President Joe Biden called the killing of the two a "potentially devastating blow" to al-Qaida in Iraq.

U.S. forces commander Gen. Raymond Odierno praised the operation.

"The death of these terrorists is potentially the most significant blow to al-Qaida in Iraq since the beginning of the insurgency," he said. "There is still work to do but this is a significant step forward in ridding Iraq of terrorists."

In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the operation targeting the two leaders showed the growing capability of Iraqi security forces.

U.S. military officials have been highlighting the role of Iraqi security forces in the country as a way to demonstrate their ability to take over security as American forces draw down. Under a plan by President Barack Obama, all combat forces will be out of Iraq by the end of August, leaving about 50,000 U.S. forces in the country for such roles as trainers and support personnel.

Al-Maliki described the deaths as "a quality blow breaking the back of al-Qaida."

Al-Masri was the shadowy national leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, which he took over after its Jordanian-born founder, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in a June 2006 U.S. airstrike. Al-Masri's real name was Abdul-Monim al-Badawi, according to a 2009 al-Qaida statement describing the makeup of a new "War Cabinet."

Al-Qaida in Iraq emerged after al-Zarqawi pledged his allegiance to Osama bin Laden, leader of the global al-Qaida network, in October 2004. It has survived a series of setbacks in recent years.

At its height, the group was able to inflame sectarian violence so intense that some described it as a civil war.

Though al-Qaida has shown it is still capable of staging its hallmark coordinated suicide attacks against high-profile targets in the heart of the capital, U.S. and Iraqi military operations have diminished its power since the height of the violence several years ago.

A revolt against al-Qaida by Sunni Arab tribes in Western Iraq in late 2006 and 2007 deprived the group of its main bases of support. Taking advantage of the vulnerability, the U.S. pummeled the group during the 2007 troop surge.

Al-Qaida in Iraq has been led primarily by foreigners, but Iraqis form its backbone. At its height, it was estimated at close to 10,000 fighters but it is believed to have dropped off in recent years.

Al-Masri, an Egyptian, kept a lower public profile than al-Zarqawi, who appeared in militant videos on the Web including one in which he personally beheaded American Nicholas Berg.

The deaths are a significant boost for al-Maliki, who has staked his reputation on being the man who can restore stability to Iraq after years of bloodshed.

The news came as Iraq's election commission announced it would recount ballots cast in Baghdad in the March 7 election, after al-Maliki's State of Law coalition raised accusations of fraud and irregularities in the capital as well as four other provinces.

Al-Maliki's coalition is currently trailing one led by a secular challenger, Ayad Allawi, and the recount could potentially give the Iraqi prime minister the lead.

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Biden hails killing of 2 al-Qaida figures in Iraq
By Charles Babington, Associated Press Writer 1 hr 31 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Vice President Joe Biden said Monday that the killings of the top two al-Qaida figures in Iraq are "potentially devastating" blows to the terror network there and proof that Iraqi security forces are gaining strength.

Biden came before reporters in the White House briefing room to draw added attention to the results of a joint U.S and Iraqi operation — a nighttime rocket attack on a safe house near Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri were killed.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki first announced the deaths at a news conference in Baghdad and showed reporters photographs of their bloody corpses.

Biden referred to those killed as former leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq who "plotted, planned and executed terrorist attacks" against Iraqis and Americans. "Their deaths are potentially devastating blows to al-Qaida Iraq," Biden said. "But equally important in my view is this action demonstrates the improved security, strength and capacity of Iraqi security forces. The Iraqis led this operation, and it was based on intelligence the Iraqi security forces themselves developed."

Al-Maliki said ground forces surrounded a house and used rockets to kill the two, who were hiding inside. The U.S. military said an American helicopter crashed during the assault, killing one U.S. soldier. Biden expressed condolences to the family of that soldier.

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[Jolie Rouge]

On Monday, a Shiite couple and four of their children were gunned down in their home outside Baghdad, while more than 40 were killed Sunday after suicide attackers detonated three car bombs near embassies in Baghdad. On Friday, gunmen went house-to-house in a Sunni area south of Baghdad, killing 24 villagers execution-style.

At least five bombs ripped through apartment buildings across Baghdad Tuesday and another struck a market, killing 49 people and wounding more than 160, authorities said.


Iraq arrests network suspected in embassy bombings
By Hamid Ahmed, Associated Press Writer 1 hr 33 mins ago

BAGHDAD – A top Iraqi security official said Tuesday that authorities have dismantled the militant network allegedly behind suicide car bombings in April against three embassies in Baghdad, which killed 46 people.

Military operations spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi said police on April 14 arrested members of the network based on evidence given by a failed bomber caught on the day of the attacks against German, Iranian and Egyptian embassies.

In the course of his news conference, al-Moussawi showed videotaped confessions of a man he identified as the failed suicide bomber, Haitham Ahmed Khalaf, and the network's alleged ringleader, Mubarak Mohammed Abbas.

Since last August, there have been a series of devastating suicide car bomb attacks against foreign and government targets in Baghdad, claiming hundreds of lives. In the past months, however, security has announced a series of high-profile arrests of top al-Qaida operatives allegedly behind the attacks.

On March 11, police said they arrested the leading al-Qaida member in Baghdad, Munaf Abdul-Rahim al-Rawi, who gave security the information they needed to kill the terrorist organizations leaders in Iraq, Abu Omar al-Baghdad, and Abu Ayyub al-Masri.

Al-Moussawi did not specify how many people were arrested in the raid to disrupt the alleged bombing network, which he said was linked to al-Rawi.

In the April 4 attacks, police said Khalaf attempted to detonate his car in front of his target twice, but failed. When he tried to escape, al-Moussawi said he was shot and wounded by security forces, who then detained him.

"For intelligence reasons, we then announced his death on Iraqiya TV so that we could proceed with investigations on the terrorist network," al-Moussawi said.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's has based his reputation on restoring security to Iraq after years of war and instability and his popularity was shaken by the string of bombings.

The violence also came as the country's political factions are squabbling over the results of a close fought election on March 7 which left no clear winner.

A recount began on Monday of ballots in Baghdad after al-Maliki, whose coalition came in second, alleged there had been fraud in Baghdad.

Election officials said that the first day of counting when smoothly with 622 ballot boxes out of around 11,000 counted so far.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100504/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq;_ylt=Ag7Guk0NNGhJlw4KNsm_R8Ks0NUE;_ylu=X3o DMTNib2w3bnQzBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNTA0L21sX2lyYXEEY 2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3BvcwM1BHBvcwMyBHB0A2hvbWV fY29rZQRzZWMDeW5faGVhZGxpbmVfbGlzdARzbGsDaXJhcWFyc mVzdHNu



I have to admit that i am very happy to see democrecy is working in Iraq, and I am casting my vote tommorow. AS an an Iraqi i am so thankful to all the troops and USA to change our country for ever to a better future. I never thought once in life time to see the Iraqi goverment is being critzied by the people, none of this could happened if it was not for the help of the USA.


listen the faster we get out of iraq the faster we will have to go right back- it sucks it does cost alot of money but these people need our help. Everyone was in a rush to help Haiti but because their problem isnt as complex or as expensive its "ok" Now we have a job to do over in Iraq and to hell with politics republicans democrats- im telling you as a vetrean of Iraq when your over there, there is no republican or democrats only the military so quit blaming politics and feeling bad for soliders. Let us do our job and listen it dont matter if you are a republican or democrat about 9 years ago everyone was happy to take down sadam they just thought that was the end though so deal with it


No one else seems to notice this, but Iraq is coming around pretty quickly for a country that has never known democracy. It is on its way. American forces are leaving and Iraqis can handle it all themselves. I've been there and seen the worst parts turned into places that are self policing. Lets not forget that over 7,000 people were killed last year in MEXICO. They have been free for much longer than 7 years. These things take time, and will never be pretty. The good news is that they are taking control themselves.