.Baghdad Curfew Empties Streets
BAGHDAD (AP) - A citywide clampdown emptied Baghdad's streets of all vehicles Thursday in attempts to hold off what authorities dread: a storm of Shiite attacks in revenge for the bombing of one of their main shrines. The tactic appeared to keep a lid on widespread violence, but extremists fired shells into the city's protected Green Zone during a visit by the State Department's No. 2 official.
The barrage of rockets and mortars included one that hit on a street close to the Iraq parliament less than a half hour before Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte passed nearby.
The attack again showed militants' resilience - including their ability to strike the heavily protected zone - despite a U.S.-led security crackdown across the city that began exactly four months ago. But officials paid much closer attention to any signs that Shiites could unleash another wave of retaliation against Sunnis for the Wednesday blasts at the Askariya mosque compound in Samarra.
The first attack on the site in February 2006 sent the country into a tailspin of sectarian violence that destroyed Washington's hopes of a steady withdrawal from Iraq. On Wednesday, bombers toppled the two minarets that stood over the ruins of the mosques famous Golden Dome about 60 miles north of Baghdad.
The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, echoed Washington's claim that the latest attack was the work of al-Qaida.
"I just don't think there's any doubt that it was al-Qaida that first struck the Askariya in February 2006, and the method this time was very similar to that - (explosive) charges very carefully placed to devastating effect," Crocker told a group of reporters.
Negroponte called the Samarra attack a "deliberate attempt by al-Qaida to sow dissent and inflame sectarian strife among the people of Iraq."
The U.S. military issued a statement Thursday saying Iraqi forces had arrested the commander and 12 policemen responsible for security at the shrine, which holds the tombs of two revered 9th century Shiite imams. It was not immediately clear whether the police arrested are suspects in the attack or held for questioning.
Curfews and increased troop levels appeared to hold down retaliatory attacks. The vehicle ban was expected to last through Saturday.
But it did not fully prevent Shiite anger from turning violent.
Four Sunni mosques near Baghdad also were attacked or burned within several hours of the Samarra bombings, police said.
Police in the southern city of Basra said Thursday that four people were killed and six wounded in attacks on at least four mosques on Wednesday.
The Green Zone was repeatedly locked down as U.S. radar picked up incoming rocket fire into the area, which contains the U.S. and British embassies and many key Iraqi government buildings. Workers darted between U.S. occupied buildings in the sprawling region wearing flak jackets and helmets.
A senior military official said it was believed some non-Americans had been killed or wounded. The official, who would not allow use of his name because the official report was not released, said there were no U.S. casualties.
Officially, the U.S. military said its radar detected five rockets aimed at the Green Zone. But a U.S. soldier, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information, said at least a dozen rockets or mortars slammed into the zone.
An Associated Press reporter, traveling in a military convoy behind Negroponte, saw the impact zone where one of the rockets slammed to earth at the edge of the roadway. It had fallen about 25 minutes before Negroponte drove past.
Workers in and out of uniform wore rubber gloves as they picked through the debris from the rocket, which fell near a checkpoint about 200 yards from the Iraqi parliament.
Militants have repeated fire mortars and rockets into the Green Zone in recent months, including a barrage May 19 when British Prime Minister Tony Blair made a farewell visit.
Senior U.S. officials, who spoke anonymously because of the sensitive nature of the information, said it appeared that militant rocket and mortar teams were getting information on high-level visits and schedules from inside sources.
Insurgents linked to al-Qaida, meanwhile, released a videotape showing the execution-style deaths of 14 Iraqi soldiers and policemen after the expiration of a 72-hour deadline for the Iraqi government to meet their demands.
In a statement that preceded the video footage, the Islamic State of Iraq said its religious court "ruled that God's verdict should be implemented against the renegades" after its demands were not met. In an earlier video, the group demanded the release of all female prisoners in Iraqi prisons.
The killings took place in what looked like a rural area, with a grass field and several tall eucalyptus trees. A small wooden shack stood in the background.
The authenticity of the one and a half minute video could not be verified, but it appeared on a Web site commonly used by Islamic militants and carried the logo of the Islamic State of Iraq's media production wing, al-Furqan.
MyWay
Always good to see the war running on schedule
The barrage of rockets and mortars included one that hit on a street close to the Iraq parliament less than a half hour before Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte passed nearby.
The attack again showed militants' resilience - including their ability to strike the heavily protected zone - despite a U.S.-led security crackdown across the city that began exactly four months ago. But officials paid much closer attention to any signs that Shiites could unleash another wave of retaliation against Sunnis for the Wednesday blasts at the Askariya mosque compound in Samarra.
The first attack on the site in February 2006 sent the country into a tailspin of sectarian violence that destroyed Washington's hopes of a steady withdrawal from Iraq. On Wednesday, bombers toppled the two minarets that stood over the ruins of the mosques famous Golden Dome about 60 miles north of Baghdad.
The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, echoed Washington's claim that the latest attack was the work of al-Qaida.
"I just don't think there's any doubt that it was al-Qaida that first struck the Askariya in February 2006, and the method this time was very similar to that - (explosive) charges very carefully placed to devastating effect," Crocker told a group of reporters.
Negroponte called the Samarra attack a "deliberate attempt by al-Qaida to sow dissent and inflame sectarian strife among the people of Iraq."
The U.S. military issued a statement Thursday saying Iraqi forces had arrested the commander and 12 policemen responsible for security at the shrine, which holds the tombs of two revered 9th century Shiite imams. It was not immediately clear whether the police arrested are suspects in the attack or held for questioning.
Curfews and increased troop levels appeared to hold down retaliatory attacks. The vehicle ban was expected to last through Saturday.
But it did not fully prevent Shiite anger from turning violent.
Four Sunni mosques near Baghdad also were attacked or burned within several hours of the Samarra bombings, police said.
Police in the southern city of Basra said Thursday that four people were killed and six wounded in attacks on at least four mosques on Wednesday.
The Green Zone was repeatedly locked down as U.S. radar picked up incoming rocket fire into the area, which contains the U.S. and British embassies and many key Iraqi government buildings. Workers darted between U.S. occupied buildings in the sprawling region wearing flak jackets and helmets.
A senior military official said it was believed some non-Americans had been killed or wounded. The official, who would not allow use of his name because the official report was not released, said there were no U.S. casualties.
Officially, the U.S. military said its radar detected five rockets aimed at the Green Zone. But a U.S. soldier, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information, said at least a dozen rockets or mortars slammed into the zone.
An Associated Press reporter, traveling in a military convoy behind Negroponte, saw the impact zone where one of the rockets slammed to earth at the edge of the roadway. It had fallen about 25 minutes before Negroponte drove past.
Workers in and out of uniform wore rubber gloves as they picked through the debris from the rocket, which fell near a checkpoint about 200 yards from the Iraqi parliament.
Militants have repeated fire mortars and rockets into the Green Zone in recent months, including a barrage May 19 when British Prime Minister Tony Blair made a farewell visit.
Senior U.S. officials, who spoke anonymously because of the sensitive nature of the information, said it appeared that militant rocket and mortar teams were getting information on high-level visits and schedules from inside sources.
Insurgents linked to al-Qaida, meanwhile, released a videotape showing the execution-style deaths of 14 Iraqi soldiers and policemen after the expiration of a 72-hour deadline for the Iraqi government to meet their demands.
In a statement that preceded the video footage, the Islamic State of Iraq said its religious court "ruled that God's verdict should be implemented against the renegades" after its demands were not met. In an earlier video, the group demanded the release of all female prisoners in Iraqi prisons.
The killings took place in what looked like a rural area, with a grass field and several tall eucalyptus trees. A small wooden shack stood in the background.
The authenticity of the one and a half minute video could not be verified, but it appeared on a Web site commonly used by Islamic militants and carried the logo of the Islamic State of Iraq's media production wing, al-Furqan.
MyWay
Always good to see the war running on schedule
posted by madtom at 10:52 PM
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