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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hope Praytochange who wrote (661052)	11/17/2004 10:38:32 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

U.S. commander: Mosul under control Officials report sporadic fighting Wednesday, November 17, 2004 Posted: 10:26 AM EST (1526 GMT) BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- On the second day of increased U.S. and Iraqi security operations in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, conditions are more stable, a top U.S. commander said Wednesday. "The situation today in Mosul is pretty calm," said Brig. Gen. Carter Ham, commanding general of Task Force Olympia in Mosul. He said U.S.-led forces and the Nineveh provincial leadership have established control, although there is sporadic fighting. "There are some isolated instances of insurgent contact, but relatively light," Ham said. Ham said the pace of fighting has lessened over the last few days. Since last week, Ham said, "we had one big day of fighting that was pretty tough, frankly, and I would categorize that as a sustained level of combat throughout the day. "Over the next couple of days, the levels of attacks decreased a bit in intensity and frequency. I would call those sporadic incidents." Breaking the lull, insurgents fired mortar rounds on the city's al-Ahrar police station in a midday attack. Capt. Angela M. Bowman with Task Force Olympia said multinational forces are assessing damage to the city's police stations and are determining what repairs and equipment are needed. Insurgents launched a series of attacks last week on police stations and other government buildings, including an attack late Saturday on an Iraqi national guard base that killed two guardsmen and wounded three others and another that wounded eight guardsmen. Wednesday's attack on the al-Ahrar police station destroyed three police cars and left the building on fire, witnesses said. The station in the al-Baath neighborhood in the eastern part of the city was empty at the time. Mosul police are in the beginning stages of reoccupying the stations, Bowman said. Mosul remains under a curfew from 4 p.m. to 6 a.m. (8 a.m.-10 p.m. ET). Four northern bridges into the city were closed for a second day. The southern-most bridge into Mosul has reopened, but all traffic is being screened at a checkpoint. In Mosul on Wednesday, there was report of a heavy presence of multinational forces and Iraqi national guard members in sections of the city, including heavy security around Mosul General Hospital and al-Jamhouri hospital. No insurgent activity was reported Wednesday. But it was a different story Tuesday afternoon as insurgents clashed with guardsmen of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in northern Mosul's al-Ta'mim neighborhood, an official with PUK said. At least two insurgents were killed when PUK guards fired a rocket-propelled grenade into a car carrying four insurgents. Three PUK guards were wounded in the exchange, the official added. CARE worker feared dead Western political leaders have united to condemn the kidnappers of charity worker Margaret Hassan after a video surfaced apparently showing a militant firing a pistol into the head of a blindfolded woman wearing an orange jumpsuit. Hassan, Irish-born and with dual British and Iraqi nationality, was seized October 19 by gunmen on her way to work in western Baghdad. She headed CARE International's operations in Iraq and had lived with her husband in the country for 30 years. In Ireland, several hundred mourners packed a Roman Catholic church Wednesday to pay their final respects to Hassan. (Full story) Falluja fighting In Falluja on Wednesday, U.S. and Iraqi forces consolidated their hold on the militant Sunni stronghold, commanders said. U.S. troops are hunting down weapons caches, ferreting out remaining fighters and making the city safe for the return of residents. Commanders said aid distribution centers have opened to offer civilians food, water and medical supplies as fighting abated in some areas. Recent reports have told of the deaths of civilians looking for aid amid the fighting. The office of the U.N. high commissioner for human rights Tuesday said it is "deeply concerned" about the civilians in Falluja caught in the crossfire and called on all parties to take "every possible precaution" to protect residents. (Full story) At last report from the U.S. military, 38 U.S. troops and six Iraqi forces have been killed in the assault since the Falluja operation began November 7. U.S. casualties include 275 Americans wounded in the fighting. U.S. officials said between 1,000 and 2,000 insurgents have been killed and 1,000 people have been detained. Other developments An attack on a U.S. Army convoy north of Baghdad Tuesday morning killed an American soldier and wounded another, according to a military statement. The Combined Press Information Center said the attack took place near Balad and described it as an "indirect fire attack," typically meaning mortar fire. The death brought the number of U.S. troops killed in the Iraq war to 1,197, including 931 in hostile action, according to the U.S. military. The U.S. military is investigating a videotaped incident in which a Marine allegedly shot and killed an unarmed, wounded insurgent in Falluja. (Full story) The Army is recommending punishment for about two dozen soldiers from an Army Reserve unit in Iraq that refused orders to drive a fuel convoy because they believed it was too dangerous, officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Preliminary findings faulted about 24 members of the 343rd Quartermaster Company, which is based at Rock Hill, South Carolina. (Full story) CNN's Jane Arraf and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.