Reasons for sending American troops to die in Iraq:
WMD.... well, where are they?
the al queda connection.. 911 commission says little or none..
WHY THE HELL IS THIS CONTINUING?
Eight marines killed in rebel Iraqi province, deadly bomb hits Baghdad
BAGHDAD (AFP) - Eight US marines were killed conducting security operations in an Iraqi province that is home to rebel strongholds, as five people died in the latest car bomb to rip through the heart of Baghdad.
Talks to avert an all-out military assault rumbled on the rebel-held town of Fallujah in restive Al-Anbar province, where the marines were killed in one of the highest single-day military death tolls since last year's invasion.
A Sudanese and a Somali, meanwhile, became the latest foreigners seized by Islamic militants, as mystery surrounded the fate of a Japanese tourist taken hostage last week.
The marines lost their lives in a province that is home to the flashpoint Sunni Muslim cities of Fallujah and Ramadi that the United States has long struggled to control and have now become hotbeds of insurgent activity.
"Eight Marines assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force were killed in action and nine others were wounded in action today while conducting increased security operations in the Al-Anbar province," the military said.
Time is now running out to find a peaceful solution to a crisis surrounding Fallujah and neighbouring Ramadi, where the US military is doubling is troop strength to 2,000.
An Iraqi government-backed delegation and leaders from Fallujah have been in contact since Wednesday, hoping to find a peaceful solution to the standoff, said Jawad al-Maliki, a member of Iraq (news - web sites)'s interim parliament.
"These negotiations are being pursued and until now we have not been informed of their results," Maliki said.
A spokesman for Allawi's office has indicated that the talks "may be the last chance" for Fallujah to end the crisis peacefully.
Amid the disorder and violence, Iraqi and US officials are bent on restoring order to the country ahead of national elections promised by January -- by force is necessary.
Previous discussions between the government and delegates from the Sunni Muslim hotspot collapsed in mid-October after Allawi threatened Fallujah with invasion if it did not surrender Iraq's most wanted man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and other suspected Al-Qaeda-linked militants.
City leaders insist that the Jordanian-born Zarqawi, wanted for a string of deadly attacks and beheading of hostages in Iraq, does not reside there.
Since October 14, US troops have encircled Fallujah, where the military has repeatedly launched air strikes and some limited ground incursions.
Meanwhile, at least five people were killed and several wounded when a car bomb ripped through the streets outside Al-Arabiya TV's offices in Baghdad on Saturday, the US military said.
Meanwhile, the Dubai-based satellite station, said around seven of its staffers were wounded, while a doctor at a nearby hospital, Firas Najib, said that 19 people had been admitted for treatment.
The blast erupted in front of a car park just across the channel's offices. It was not clear if Al-Arabiya was targeted, a correspondent of the channel said.
In the latest hostage drama, an armed group claimed it had kidnapped a Sudanese working as an interpreter for a US company and demanded that the firm leave Iraq in exchange for the man's freedom, according to a video broadcast Saturday by Al-Arabyia.
The man, who identified himself as Nourredine Zaqaria, from Khartoum, said he had been hired to work with US forces in Ramadi.
Japan, which refused to bow to the demands of militants to pull its troops out of Iraq in exchange for a 24-year-old hostage's life, was also thrown into confusion over the fate of Shosei Koda after the government announced that a body found north of Baghdad was not him.
US forces flew a body found in Balad north of Baghdad to Kuwait, where Japanese experts found the height, head and dental structure did not match those of Koda, officials said.
In addition, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were scrambling for news after militants said they had abducted two drivers, a Bangladeshi and a Sri Lankan, on their way to a US base in Iraq.
And police in Kirkuk said a Somali and two Iraqi truckers had been snatched as well.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Hisham al-Dulaimi, a tribal chief who claims to have mediated a number of hostage releases in Iraq, was arrested overnight by US soldiers, his brother said Saturday.
The US military was not immediately able to confirm the arrest.
Allawi is to receive an audience with Pope John Paul (news - web sites) II at the Vatican (news - web sites) on November 4 during a trip to Europe and Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawar arrived in Kuwait for a two-day official visit. |
