.Military: Iraq strikes killed 20 insurgents
BAGHDAD -- The U.S. military said 20 insurgents,including two women, were killed in a raid and subsequent airstrike yesterday on a predominantly Sunni village northwest of Baghdad, but local officials alleged the dead were civilians -- including eight children.
In southern Iraq, more than 1,000 British and Danish forces hunted rogue Shi'a militiamen blamed for recent attacks, conducting a pre-dawn raid that was described by coalition officials as the largest offensive in the area since the war began.
In the northern battle, U.S.-led coalition forces said they were searching several buildings near Lake Tharthar in Salahuddin province when al Qaeda-linked militants launched an attack. Coalition troops returned fire, killing two insurgents, the U.S. military said.
As the firefight continued, the troops called in airstrikes that killed 18 more fighters, the military said, including two women. "Al Qaeda in Iraq has both men and women supporting and facilitating their operations unfortunately," the U.S. command's statement said.
Amir Fayadh, mayor of the village of Ishaqi east of the lake, and local police disputed the claim that the strike only killed insurgents. The mayor said that 19 civilians were among the dead, including seven women and eight children.
An Associated Press photo showed an Iraqi man in blue garb holding up the dusty head of a boy of about 10, identified by villagers as killed in the attack. The boy lay on a floral print quilt, and his right hand poked out from under a piece of fabric, his fingers curled.
The twin raids capped another bloody week of sectarian violence in Iraq, and came as Washington debated a report urging the gradual shift of coalition forces out of combat and into training roles. The report said this would prepare Iraqi forces to take over security and allow American troops to go home.
Underscoring the deadly nature of the conflict, the military said two soldiers were killed and two were wounded in an explosion south of Baghdad after they left their vehicles to examine a suspected roadside bomb.
In a separate incident, a third U.S. soldier was killed by a roadside bomb Thursday as his patrol conducted joint operations with the Iraqi army in western Baghdad.
At least 2,928 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an AP count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 2,356 died as a re sult of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
At least 47 Iraqis, meanwhile, were killed or found dead yesterday, including 25 who died when mortar shells landed in a poor Shi'a neighborhood on the outskirts of the capital.
In the clashes near Lake Thar thar, coalition forces say they found and destroyed several weapons caches. The arsenals included AK- 47s, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, anti-personnel mines, explosives, blasting caps and suicide vests, the command said.
In Ishaqi in the north, AP Television News gathered horrific video of the scene. The images show more than a dozen charred and bloody bodies, some of which ap peared almost mummified. In the video, villagers pulled back colorful wool blankets to reveal several bodies. In some cases, it seemed impossible to guess the sex or age of the dead.
The mayor of Ishaqi initially reported that more than 19 civilians had died, before he lowered the figure. He said he was initially mistaken because a group of visitors had left the area just before the air strike.
This spring, a U.S. military investigation cleared American soldiers of misconduct in a March 15 raid in Ishaqi in which Air Force planes destroyed a building where al Qaeda in Iraq insurgents were thought to be hiding. Villagers claimed the soldiers killed 11 Iraqi civilians before calling for the airstrike.
The Star Ledger
In southern Iraq, more than 1,000 British and Danish forces hunted rogue Shi'a militiamen blamed for recent attacks, conducting a pre-dawn raid that was described by coalition officials as the largest offensive in the area since the war began.
In the northern battle, U.S.-led coalition forces said they were searching several buildings near Lake Tharthar in Salahuddin province when al Qaeda-linked militants launched an attack. Coalition troops returned fire, killing two insurgents, the U.S. military said.
As the firefight continued, the troops called in airstrikes that killed 18 more fighters, the military said, including two women. "Al Qaeda in Iraq has both men and women supporting and facilitating their operations unfortunately," the U.S. command's statement said.
Amir Fayadh, mayor of the village of Ishaqi east of the lake, and local police disputed the claim that the strike only killed insurgents. The mayor said that 19 civilians were among the dead, including seven women and eight children.
An Associated Press photo showed an Iraqi man in blue garb holding up the dusty head of a boy of about 10, identified by villagers as killed in the attack. The boy lay on a floral print quilt, and his right hand poked out from under a piece of fabric, his fingers curled.
The twin raids capped another bloody week of sectarian violence in Iraq, and came as Washington debated a report urging the gradual shift of coalition forces out of combat and into training roles. The report said this would prepare Iraqi forces to take over security and allow American troops to go home.
Underscoring the deadly nature of the conflict, the military said two soldiers were killed and two were wounded in an explosion south of Baghdad after they left their vehicles to examine a suspected roadside bomb.
In a separate incident, a third U.S. soldier was killed by a roadside bomb Thursday as his patrol conducted joint operations with the Iraqi army in western Baghdad.
At least 2,928 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an AP count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 2,356 died as a re sult of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
At least 47 Iraqis, meanwhile, were killed or found dead yesterday, including 25 who died when mortar shells landed in a poor Shi'a neighborhood on the outskirts of the capital.
In the clashes near Lake Thar thar, coalition forces say they found and destroyed several weapons caches. The arsenals included AK- 47s, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, anti-personnel mines, explosives, blasting caps and suicide vests, the command said.
In Ishaqi in the north, AP Television News gathered horrific video of the scene. The images show more than a dozen charred and bloody bodies, some of which ap peared almost mummified. In the video, villagers pulled back colorful wool blankets to reveal several bodies. In some cases, it seemed impossible to guess the sex or age of the dead.
The mayor of Ishaqi initially reported that more than 19 civilians had died, before he lowered the figure. He said he was initially mistaken because a group of visitors had left the area just before the air strike.
This spring, a U.S. military investigation cleared American soldiers of misconduct in a March 15 raid in Ishaqi in which Air Force planes destroyed a building where al Qaeda in Iraq insurgents were thought to be hiding. Villagers claimed the soldiers killed 11 Iraqi civilians before calling for the airstrike.
The Star Ledger
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