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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bentway who wrote (192465)	7/21/2006 11:15:20 AM
From: michael97123	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

I thought you might have some insight into this. I guess i was wrong.

To: bentway who wrote (192465)	7/21/2006 11:32:20 AM
From: sylvester80	Respond to of 281500

NEWS: Women, child killed in U.S. raid near Baghdad Military expresses regrets, says it was going after al-Qaida terrorists The Associated Press URL: msnbc.msn.com Updated: 6:19 a.m. MT July 21, 2006 BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. troops raided a neighborhood northeast of Baghdad early Friday, killing five people — including two women and a child — after gunmen fired from the rooftops of buildings, the U.S. military said. A U.S. statement said troops were looking for “terrorists” associated with the al-Qaida in Iraq network during the raid in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of the capital. Iraqi police said a single man fired warning shots because he believed the soldiers were militiamen. The Americans said ground troops and a helicopter fired at the buildings after occupants ignored repeated warnings to leave. As troops secured the area, they were fired at from a rooftop. “The terrorists attempted to reposition themselves between, and on top of, the adjacent buildings,” the statement said. “Several men were seen moving around on the rooftops. The ground force twice gave verbal instructions for all occupants to exit the target buildings. These instructions were ignored.” The statement said helicopters fired on the building and a third warning was given to the occupants “before force was escalated.” “The troops secured the area using a combination of aerial and ground fire,” the U.S. statement said. “We regret that civilians are hurt or killed while coalition forces search to rid Iraq of terrorism.” The acknowledgment of the civilian deaths follows a string of allegations that U.S. soldiers in Iraq have killed unarmed civilians. Five soldiers and one ex-soldier face charges in the alleged March 12 rape-slaying an Iraqi teenager and three members of her family in Mahmoudiya. The U.S. military also is investigating the alleged massacre of dozens of civilians in Haditha. Vehicle ban in Baghdad Baghdad was generally peaceful Friday after the government extended a vehicle ban to prevent car bombings against worshippers at weekly prayer services. The Friday car ban ordinarily expires at 3 p.m. but was extended to 7 p.m., government television said. Still, a bomb injured four people near a Sunni mosque in the capital, police said. After prayers, hundreds of people gathered in front of Baghdad’s most sacred Sunni shrine to demand that the government replace the army battalion stationed in their neighborhood, accusing the soldiers of sectarian prejudice. Residents of the Azamiyah neighborhood complained that the soldiers stationed there are mostly Shiites, and some are rude. Khalil al-Obeidi, who heads a local Azamiyah council, also demanded improvements in the area’s infrastructure and the abolition of Shiite militias threatening the area. Gunmen attacked a Shiite neighborhood in Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad, killing seven security force members, police said. The area has experienced increased sectarian tensions since a July 17 attack on a Shiite market killed 51 people. Arrests in Basra In Basra, a British spokesman said British troops arrested an undisclosed number of “terrorists” and seized explosives and weapons. The British did not say how many people were detained, but Iraqi police said three. The raid appeared to be part of a British crackdown on Shiite militiamen who have infiltrated police and government agencies in the southern city. The attacks also come a day after U.S. military officials in Baghdad acknowledged a recent increase in violence around Baghdad. U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said there were an average of 34 attacks a day involving U.S. and Iraqi forces in and around the capital since Friday — a significant increase from the daily average of 24 registered between June 14 and July 13. URL: msnbc.msn.com