NEWS: 4 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq roadside bombings
Attacks come as U.S., Iraqis launch raids ahead of Ramadan
The Associated Press
Updated: 8:49 a.m. ET Oct. 13, 2004
msnbc.msn.com
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Four American soldiers were killed in separate roadside bombings in the Baghdad area, the U.S. command said Wednesday.
One soldier was killed in an explosion about 4:50 a.m. local time Wednesday in western Baghdad, the command said.
The three others died when an improvised bomb exploded near their patrol about 10 p.m. Tuesday in eastern Baghdad, a military statement said.
The names of the soldiers were withheld pending notification of their families. No further details of the incident were disclosed.
As of Tuesday, 1,072 members of the U.S. military had died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to the U.S. Defense Department.
Baqouba raids
Separately on Wednesday, more than 1,000 U.S. troops, Iraqi police and Iraqi National Guardsmen launched two simultaneous raids in Baqouba, north of Baghdad, to clear the area of insurgents before the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan this week.
One of the early morning operations took place just south of Baqouba, in the village of Daliabbas, said Capt. Marshall Jackson, spokesman for the 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. Several people were detained, but Jackson had no other information. The other operation also took place in Baqouba though no location was given.
“Basically, it’s a pre-Ramadan operation just to clear up some of the area around Baqouba,” Jackson said.
No fighting was reported in either operation. U.S. troops have been scouting the area to find out more about militants.
A U.S. official, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Tuesday, said there are concerns within the U.S. government about a possible rise in insurgent violence around Ramadan, because of an upswing last year — when bombings and rocket attacks accelerated significantly in Baghdad and other areas at the beginning of the holy month.
Some militants believe they would win a special place in paradise by sacrificing their lives in a jihad, or holy war, during Ramadan, when Muslims say their sacred book the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.
In an unrelated attack, a police captain was killed Wednesday in a morning drive-by shooting near Baqouba, police said.
He had worked in a police office that handles citizens’ complaints, said a Diyala province police official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The attack took place on the main highway, about four miles east of Baqouba, the official said.
Insurgents regularly target Iraq’s security forces, which are seen as collaborators with the United States and its allies.
Soldiers sweep into Ramadi
U.S. troops also swept into Ramadi on Wednesday, sealing off key streets and searching buildings, residents said.
There was no comment from the U.S. command on the operation, and it was unclear whether the troops were searching for specific individuals or making a show of force.
A day earlier, Iraqi government soldiers supported by U.S. Marine and Army units raided seven mosques in Ramadi, detaining four people and seizing bomb-making materials and pro-insurgent literature, the military said.
In Baghdad, the Association of Muslim Scholars, a Sunni clerical group suspected of links to the insurgency, condemned the mosque raids as an example of alleged American hostility toward Islam.
“I think there is a religious ideology that drives the American troops,” said the association’s official spokesman, Mohammed Bashar al-Faydhi. “President Bush has said at the beginning of the war that this is a ‘crusade,”’ he said, referring to the Christian attacks on Muslims in the Middle Ages.
However, the raids followed a surge in insurgent attacks in Ramadi, and the U.S. command accused the militants of violating the sanctity of the mosques by using them for military purposes. Marine spokesman Maj. Francis Piccoli said U.S. troops provided backup for the Iraqi soldiers but did not enter the mosques. |
