THE "small area" REFERRED TO WHERE MOST RESISTANCE IS, JUST HAPPENS TO BE WHERE MOST OF THE POPULATION RESIDES
Bremer: Iraq 'not as safe as it must be'
Central Command: 'Seven of spades' in custody
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) --Offering condolences to families of those who died in this week's terrorist blast at the Jordanian Embassy, U.S. civilian administrator L. Paul Bremer on Saturday said "Iraq is not as safe as it must be."
Thursday's blast killed 17 Iraqis and wounded scores.
Investigators are focusing on Abu Musab al Zarqawi, a Jordanian with ties to al Qaeda, as the possible mastermind of the blast, CNN has learned. (Full story, Gallery: Scenes from the explosion site)
Zarqawi, an associate of Osama bin Laden, has been named by the Bush administration as an al Qaeda terrorist who fled to Iraq from Afghanistan in May 2002 for medical treatment, and then stayed to organize terror plots. He came to Iraq with about two dozen al Qaeda terrorists, according to the administration.
The FBI, Bremer said, is helping Iraqi police conduct forensic work in the matter. Bremer condemned the desire of the terrorists to use the attacks and the ensuing carnage as a propaganda device.
He said he suspected that foreign fighters, Ansar al-Islam or guerrillas still loyal to deposed dictator Saddam Hussein could have been involved in the attack.
In a document released Friday detailing the 100 days since major combat ended in Iraq, the White House referred to Zarqawi as a terrorist with intent to cause harm. Zarqawi was affiliated with Ansar al-Islam, which operated a training camp in northern Iraq that has come under coalition control. Members of Ansar al-Islam are believed to have dispersed after the U.S.-led invasion.
"The al Qaeda affiliate, Ansar al-Islam, is known to still be present in Iraq," the White House paper said. "Such terrorist groups are now plotting against U.S. forces in Iraq." (Full story)
Meanwhile, six U.S. soldiers and two Iraqis received minor injuries in a number of incidents overnight.
Four soldiers were wounded in a rocket-propelled grenade attack at the 4th Infantry Division headquarters in Tikrit overnight, U.S. military officials said.
Soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade on patrol in the northern city of Kirkuk were fired on by a rocket-propelled grenade overnight. The patrol returned fire. Two soldiers were wounded in the explosion and were in stable condition.
Soldiers west of Kirkuk Saturday opened fire on a car that ran a military checkpoint, wounding two Iraqis, who are said to be in stable condition.
Bremer said 80 to 90 percent of the attacks on U.S. forces are taking place in a small area, referring to the so-called "Sunni triangle" in and around Baghdad, and asserted that "most of this country is at peace."
Since President Bush declared the end of major combat May 1, 122 service members have died -- 56 were killed in hostile fire. Since the start of the war, 260 U.S. troops have been killed, 171 of them in hostile fire.
Central Command: New capture
U.S. Central Command blamed bureaucratic bungling for its announcement -- twice in one month -- that a senior Iraqi official was in U.S. custody, but a spokesman said Saturday's announcement is "the real deal."
Officials at the command's headquarters in Tampa, Florida, issued a news release Saturday announcing, "The former Iraqi Minister of Interior surrendered to coalition forces" Friday.
"Mahmud Dhiyab al-Ahmad, number 29 on the coalition's list of most wanted government officials, is now [in the] custody of coalition forces," the news release said. The former minister was the Seven of Spades on the deck of cards released by U.S. forces of wanted Iraqis.
"Back in July, we thought we had number 29," the command's spokesman, Lt. Cmdr. Nick Balice, told CNN Saturday. However, he added, "We never had him in custody."
To date, 31 Iraqis on the list are in custody, two are dead, two are suspected possibly dead and one is listed as "status unknown." (Interactive: Flash gallery of Iraq's most wanted)
Oil smugglers intercepted
The British Navy Friday intercepted a ship off the coast of southern Iraq carrying 1,100 tons of smuggled Iraqi oil, the largest discovery so far, according to a navy spokesman.
The intercepted vessel belongs to a United Arab Emirates company based in Dubai, British Navy Cmdr. Graeme Mackay said.
The UAE vessel, Navstar 1, ignored three warnings from the HMS Sutherland to return to the southern Iraqi port of Umm Qasr, prompting the Royal Marines to board the ship and arrest the master and crew. (Full story)
Other developments
• In Basra, British forces responded Saturday to "small riots" when irate Iraqis, waiting in the searing heat to fuel their cars, threw stones in frustration, according to a British army spokesman. Maj. Charlie Mayo said the forces had restored calm, after disturbances broke out at four gas stations in this southern Iraqi city. The temperatures -- up to 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 C) -- along with infrastructure problems, led to the breakdown of a power generator, which prevented Iraqi drivers from using gas pumps to fill up their vehicles.
• Coalition forces in Iraq conducted 18 raids in the last 24 hours and seized surface-to-air missiles, other weapons and ammunition, Central Command said Saturday. After a tip, 1st Armored Division forces uncovered 24 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, four rocket-propelled grenade missiles, 97 rifle grenades, 110 rocket-propelled grenade boosters and 200 rounds of ammunition. They found three ROLAND surface-to-air missiles in a separate raid. Troops of the 101st Airborne Division in the Mosul area disarmed two improvised explosive devices with 155-mm rounds that were "primed and ready to fire
• President Bush told reporters Friday that security in Iraq has improved in the 100 days since he declared an end to major combat and that in some areas the infrastructure has been restored to prewar levels. When asked how long the U.S. occupation would last, Bush said "as long as it takes to win this war on terror. (Full story)
• U.S. officials said former Iraqi Defense Minister Sadi Tuma Abbas has surrendered to American forces and is in custody. They said they hoped that Abbas, who was more recently the labor and social affairs minister, might be helpful in the hunt for weapons of mass destruction and former regime officials. Abbas was not highlighted in the deck of cards depicting Iraqi leaders who were on the U.S. military's most-wanted list.
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