Police: 85 Iraqis Killed Nationwide
Pastor Dale Morgan
Police: 85 Iraqis Killed Nationwide*
Thursday May 3, 2007 4:16 AM
By ROBERT H. REID
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD (AP) - A suicide car bomber struck in the main Shiite district
of the capital Wednesday, killing at least nine people as the U.S.
military said its troop buildup in Baghdad was nearly complete. Three
more U.S. soldiers were killed by bombs in the capital.
At least 85 Iraqis were killed or found dead nationwide, police
reported. They also included eight people who lost their lives when a
roadside bomb destroyed their minibus about 20 miles south of Baghdad.
The suicide attack occurred at dusk near a police station in Sadr City,
the Baghdad stronghold of the Mahdi Army militia. Three policemen and
six civilians were killed and 34 people were wounded, police said.
Ahmed Mohammed Ali, 31, who sells ice cream and cigarettes in Sadr City,
said the blast sent a cloud of black smoke billowing into the air.
``I saw police and civilian cars on fire,'' Ali said, ``There were
several wounded people, including women and children, and most of the
wounds were caused by burns. There were charred bodies near pools of
blood.''
No group claimed responsibility, but suicide bombings are generally
associated with Sunni religious extremists led by al-Qaida. Such
extremists consider Shiites heretics and collaborators with the Americans.
Also Wednesday, two U.S. soldiers were killed and two others were
wounded when a bomb devastated their vehicle in southern Baghdad, the
U.S. command said. Another soldier died in a blast in western Baghdad,
the command said.
At least 3,354 members of the U.S. military have died since the Iraq war
started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. Last
month, at least 104 U.S. service members died - the highest monthly
figure since December.
Persistent bombings threaten to undermine the 11-week U.S. effort to
restore order in the capital, which was wracked by a wave of
Sunni-Shiite slaughter last year that plunged the country into civil
conflict.
``The explosions show the incompetence of the security plan,'' said Saif
Abdul-Khaliq, 28, who owns a stationery shop near the Sadr City blast
site. ``We expected security from this plan, but the only thing we got
was traffic jams and blasts.''
U.S. officials also fear the bombings will provoke a violent response
from Shiite militiamen, who have generally assumed a lower profile in
the capital since the crackdown began Feb. 14.
Despite the latest carnage, U.S. and Iraqi officials presented an upbeat
picture of the security situation in the capital, insisting that
sectarian killings were down while acknowledging the threat from the
bombers.
``While the security situation remains exceedingly challenging, we've
seen some encouraging signs of progress,'' Rear Admiral Mark Fox said,
citing the opening of 57 joint security stations and combat outposts to
protect civilians in the Baghdad area.
``We continue to see a reduced total number of sectarian incidents in
comparison to before the Baghdad security operation, including murders
and kidnappings,'' Fox said.
But he acknowledged that car bomb attacks have increased, including some
with very high casualties.
Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, an Iraqi military spokesman, said
extremist attacks had fallen significantly in Baghdad as militants flee
the city.
He said most of the fighting was occurring in communities near the
capital and that Iraqi forces would bolster their positions within the
city shortly.
``Next week will witness more military operations in both halves of
Baghdad,'' he said, referring to the two sides of the Tigris River that
divides the city. ``Almost all our military operations are now taking
place on Baghdad's outskirts.''
U.S. officials have insisted that it's too early to judge the
effectiveness of the security plan because all American forces will not
be deployed in the streets until next month.
On Wednesday, the U.S. military announced that its buildup of forces was
nearly complete with the arrival this week of the fourth of five
brigades ordered to Baghdad by President Bush in January.
About 3,700 soldiers from the 4th Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division,
based in Fort Lewis, Washington, will be deployed in the Baghdad area
and in northern Iraq, the military said.
When the fifth brigade arrives by next month, the U.S. command will have
about 160,000 American troops in the country.
Still, the security operation has not ended the slaughter.
On Wednesday, police reported finding the bullet-riddled bodies of 55
people apparently slain by sectarian death squads. They included 30 in
Baghdad and 10 in Baqouba, where U.S. troops are trying to wrest control
of the city from al-Qaida and its allies.
The other killings were reported in Mosul, Baghdad and communities south
of the capital, police said.
The violence occurred on the eve of an international conference in the
Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik in a bid to boost economic and
diplomatic support for Iraq.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice acknowledged international
resistance to new financial and political support for Iraq -
particularly debt relief.
``The region has everything at stake here; Iraq's neighbors have
everything at stake here,'' Rice told reporters traveling with her to a
gathering that will include U.S. adversaries Iran and Syria.