[Centraal] Irak na de oorlog - deel 35

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Op woensdag 20 december 2006 12:09 schreef Lord_Vetinari het volgende:
Dat is omdraaiing van bewijslast.

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Op woensdag 20 december 2006 12:42 schreef Akkersloot het volgende:

[..]

De kapitulatievoorwaarden zijn omschreven na de nederlaag in Koeweit. En als het toelaten van controles daarin zijn opgenomen lag de bewijslast bij Sadam Hoessein. Zoals Balkende antwoordde tijdens het verkiezingsdebat van 21 november.

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Op dinsdag 19 december 2006 22:40 schreef Akkersloot het volgende:

[..]

Je hebt echt het IQ van een zelfmoordterrorist.

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Op woensdag 20 december 2006 16:18 schreef EricT het volgende:

[..]

nou hij heeft gelijk, en trouwens. Wie zegt dat zelfmoordterroristen een laag iq hebben?

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Op woensdag 20 december 2006 18:58 schreef Akkersloot het volgende:

[..]

Nee het enige verschil tussen hen en ons is dat we niet van 72 geiten houden.

En waar blijft zijn reactie dat ik een kruisvaarder zou zijn terwijl ik anti-christendom ben.

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Op woensdag 20 december 2006 19:12 schreef Bertwilwat het volgende:

[..]

Jij bent een soldaat van de kruisvaarder BUSH, die weer gestuurd is door het extreem (Fundamentalisten) Christelijk volk die op hem gestemd heeft en het kapitalistisch maffiavolk dat dacht op een simpele wijze voor 1000 jaar olie in bezit te krijgen en het zozeer geloofden dat de buit al verdeeld was voor de oorlog begonnen was. Maar erg is dat jij vecht namens een kruisvaarder en het zelf niet weet. Sterker nog zelfs anti christendom

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Op woensdag 20 december 2006 08:50 schreef Akkersloot het volgende:

[..]

Als de Iraakse fascisten zouden stoppen met hun moordpartijen zouden de buitenlandse troepen die de Iraakse regering thans helpen al lang weg zijn inderdaad.

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Op vrijdag 22 december 2006 22:47 schreef Monidique het volgende:
"Zijn organisatie heeft in een deel van Irak een eigen emiraat uitgeroepen."

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Op vrijdag 22 december 2006 22:50 schreef Hurricane1 het volgende:

[..]

[afbeelding]

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Op vrijdag 22 december 2006 22:54 schreef Hurricane1 het volgende:
Jawel hoor, hij is de Emir van de soennietische moejahideen in Irak en de omliggende landen

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Op vrijdag 22 december 2006 22:55 schreef Monidique het volgende:

[..]

Zoiets als die Napoleon in Heiloo, zeg maar...

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Bush asserted Sunday night the United States is winning the war in Iraq and issued a plea to Americans divided by doubt: “Do not give in to despair and do not give up on this fight for freedom.”

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President Bush acknowledged for the first time yesterday that the United States is not winning the war in Iraq and said he plans to expand the overall size of the "stressed" U.S. armed forces to meet the challenges of a long-term global struggle against terrorists.

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Insurgents kill 5 more soldiers in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgent attacks killed five more American troops west of the Iraqi capital, the military said Friday, making December the second deadliest month for U.S. servicemen in 2006.

So far this month, 76 American troops have died in
Iraq, the same number that were killed in all of April. With nine days remaining in December, the monthly total of U.S. deaths could meet or exceed the death toll of 105 in October.

As American deaths in the war pushed closer to 3,000, Iraqis continued to fall victim to sectarian violence between Shiites and Sunnis. Police recovered 21 more bodies in the cities of Baghdad, Baqouba and Kut. With 140,000 U.S. troops now in Iraq,
President Bush is considering whether to send thousands more to control the bloodshed.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates flew back to Washington on Friday to give Bush his advice on transforming U.S. policy in Iraq after holding three days of talks in the war zone with military and political leaders. Gates was scheduled to see the president at the mountain retreat of Camp David, Md., on Saturday.

The White House said Bush would meet with his full National Security Council next Thursday during a stay at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. That session is designed to whittle down the options rather than make final decisions, said Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman.

Before leaving Baghdad, Gates declined to say whether he plans to recommend a short-term increase in U.S. troop levels, but said he believes there is "a broad strategic agreement between the Iraqi military and Iraqi government and our military."

"There is still some work to be done," Gates said. "But I do expect to give a report to the president on what I've learned and my perceptions."

Britain's Defense Secretary Des Browne acknowledged Friday he may have to increase the size of Britain's armed forces as a result of commitments in Iraq and
Afghanistan — echoing military expansion plans being considered in Washington.

Browne told the Times of London he could consider increasing the size of the armed forces from 95,560 because current deployments had left too little time for training exercises.

"People imagine that the best form of training is to be in Iraq or Afghanistan, but it's not true," Browne was quoted as saying by the newspaper. "While we are deploying troops in their thousands, we lose the chance to build up their basic skills."

Poland, which has 900 soldiers in Iraq, agreed Friday to extend its mission in Iraq until the end of 2007. The Poles focus mainly on training Iraqi security forces and are based in an area south of Baghdad that is calmer than the capital.

Also Friday, South Korean lawmakers endorsed a motion to extend the country's deployment in Iraq for another year, but cut the number of troops in half. The motion calls on the South Korean government to withdraw 1,100 troops of its 2,300-strong contingent in the relatively peaceful, northern city of Irbil by April.

The five U.S. deaths announced Friday took place over two days. One soldier died and another was wounded Friday when their patrol came under fire west of Baghdad, the military said. On Thursday, three Marines and one U.S. sailor died from wounds sustained in combat in western Anbar province.

At least 2,964 American troops have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

Meanwhile, Shiites from parliament's largest bloc, the United Iraqi Alliance, met Friday in Najaf amid efforts to craft a new coalition that would also include and Kurds and one Sunni party. They had traveled to the holy city to seek approval for the plan from the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, a revered Shiite cleric who is said to be alarmed at the bloodshed sweeping swathes of the country.

It was unclear whether such a coalition would be able to govern effectively without the backing of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's 30 loyalists in the 275-member parliament, and his six ministers in the 38-member Cabinet.

The builders of the new coalition are trying to exclude al-Sadr, whose faction has been an integral part of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government but has been boycotting the parliament and Cabinet to protest al-Maliki's recent meeting with Bush.

Officials close to the militia leader said he has agreed to end the three-week boycott and allow supporters to rejoin the government. The anti-American cleric's followers appear to have decided to go back to parliament to strengthen their bargaining power — backed up by a militia army — and avoid political isolation.

The Sadrist walkout has prevented the government from passing laws, contributing to a sense of political crisis alongside a deteriorating security situation.

On Friday, a car bomb killed two people and wounded four in Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, police said. A roadside bomb struck a police patrol near the national theater in Baghdad, wounding two policemen.

U.S.-led forces launched raids across the country, killing one militant and capturing several dozen other suspects, the military said.

The operations targeted foreign fighters and al-Qaida in Iraq, the military said. The suspects were believed to be responsible for the movement of foreign fighters, car bombs and other attacks, it said. An al-Qaida in Iraq financier was captured, the statement said.

The purported leader of an al-Qaida-linked militant group offered U.S. troops a one-month truce to withdraw from Iraq without being attacked, according to a speech posted on an Islamic Web site Friday.

The leader of the "Islamic State of Iraq," Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, also called on former officers in
Saddam Hussein's disbanded army to join his militia, promising to provide them with a salary and house so long as they could recite Quranic verses.

The authenticity of the audiotape could not be verified but it appeared on a Web site known for displaying militant groups' statements. The "Islamic State of Iraq" is believed to be an umbrella group for militant organizations, including al-Qaida in Iraq.

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Op zaterdag 23 december 2006 23:17 schreef Godslasteraar het volgende:
en, hoe gaat 's werelds freakshow nr1?

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“They can’t come here now,” a Shiite worker said. “They are Sunni.”

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Iraq suicide bomb kills 7 police

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A suicide bomber walked into a police station in the Iraqi town of Muqdadiya in Diyala province Sunday morning and detonated his explosives, killing at least seven police officers and wounding 30 more, according to a Diyala Joint Coordination Center official.

Muqdadiya, located about 55 miles northeast of Baghdad, is a mixed Sunni-Shiite town that has been the stage for several bombings and kidnappings in the past year.

North of Muqdadiya, in the eastern part of Diyala province, a security source said two roadside bombs exploded, wounding 18 people in the town of Khaneqain.

Two separate roadside bomb attacks on U.S. combat patrols killed two U.S. soldiers and wounded four more Saturday south of the Iraqi capital, the U.S. military said Sunday.

The first U.S. soldier was killed when a roadside bomb exploded near a Multi-National Division-Baghdad combat patrol operating southwest of Baghdad, the military said.

The patrol was conducting a combat re-supply mission to deliver supplies to units in the area. A second U.S. soldier was killed and four were wounded during operations southeast of Baghdad when a roadside bomb exploded near the soldier's vehicle.

"The patrol was conducting combat operations in order to search for suspected terrorists in the area and reestablish security for the local populace," the military said. The military did not release the soldier's names or their combat teams.

This brings the number of U.S. military deaths this month to 76 and the number during the Iraq war to 2,965.

On Saturday, residents in Baquba blamed U.S. troops for a rocket attack that killed six people and wounded six others, including women and children, a Baquba joint coordination center official said.

Rockets landed on a residential neighborhood Friday, leveling one of the houses and partially damaging several others.

It was not known who attacked the town 37 miles northeast of Baghdad, and no one has claimed responsibility.

The U.S. military declined to comment Saturday but said it was investigating the incident.

Baquba, the provincial capital of ethnically mixed Diyala province, is a hotspot for insurgent strongholds.

In the city of Diwaniya, police found the bullet-riddled body of an Iraqi military intelligence officer a day after he had been kidnapped.

Police identified him as Hussein Jabr Hadwan, who was previously employed to protect Iraq's former interim defense minister Hazem al-Shaalan.

The bullet-riddled body of a member of the government's facilities protection force was also found, police said.

Diwaniya, located in Iraq's Qadisiya province, was the scene of fierce clashes between Shiite militias and the U.S. Army in October.

In Ramadi, coalition forces killed a terrorist and arrested nine insurgents in a raid targeting individuals linked with al Qaeda in Iraq Saturday, the U.S. military announced.

U.S. and Iraqi troops have been fighting insurgents for many months in Ramadi, the capital of the Sunni-dominated Anbar province.

Red Crescent Society: 13 still in captivity
Nearly a third of the 41 people abducted at or near an Iraqi Red Crescent Society office in Baghdad early this week remain in captivity, an Iraqi Red Crescent Society official said Saturday.

Police said the people had been abducted by gunmen dressed in camouflage Iraqi commando uniforms.

The 13 hostages were among employees, cleaners, visitors and two Dutch Embassy security guards seized on Sunday, said Mazin Abdullah, secretary general of the group.

Twenty-eight people have been released during the past week and found in different areas of Baghdad.

The remaining hostages have been identified as 12 Red Crescent employees and a Dutch Embassy guard.

Armed gunmen dressed in camouflage Iraqi commando uniforms were behind the kidnapping, police said.

The Iraqi Red Crescent has suspended its operation in Baghdad in light of the incident and is calling on the kidnappers to release the remaining hostages.

The group has 40 offices in Baghdad with about 400 employees. There are 1,000 employees in Iraq and thousands of volunteers.

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Op zaterdag 23 december 2006 23:57 schreef Godslasteraar het volgende:
25% van de Iraakse bevolking woont in Bagdad? Das niet mis. Maar goed, meer van hetzelfde dus. Ik hoorde dat Bush nu zelfs meer militairen wil sturen, met steun van de Democraten?

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Op woensdag 20 december 2006 18:58 schreef Akkersloot het volgende:

[nou hij heeft gelijk, en trouwens. Wie zegt dat zelfmoordterroristen een laag iq hebben]

* note++ *

En waar blijft zijn reactie dat ik een kruisvaarder zou zijn terwijl ik anti-christendom ben.

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Op dinsdag 19 december 2006 22:40 schreef Akkersloot het volgende:
[Verkiezingen, In nederland was in de Tweede wereld oorlog ook een president de Hr Nasser.]
[..]

* note++ *

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Op zondag 24 december 2006 20:01 schreef Arcee het volgende:
Ben je nou met jezelf aan het kletsen, Akkersloot?

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Op zondag 24 december 2006 20:01 schreef Arcee het volgende:
Ben je nou met jezelf aan het kletsen, Akkersloot?

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Op zaterdag 23 december 2006 23:57 schreef Godslasteraar het volgende:
25% van de Iraakse bevolking woont in Bagdad? Das niet mis. Maar goed, meer van hetzelfde dus. Ik hoorde dat Bush nu zelfs meer militairen wil sturen, met steun van de Democraten?

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Brits leger valt politie Basra aan

***************************************
` Het Britse leger heeft in Basra,in
het zuiden van Irak,een politiebureau
aangevallen.Het gebouw zou een bolwerk
zijn van criminele activiteiten.Zo
zouden er gevangenen zijn geëxecuteerd
en vanuit het kantoor zouden aanslagen
op de coalitietroepen zijn beraamd.

Toen de Britten bij het politiebureau
aankwamen,werden ze meteen onder vuur
genomen.Het Britse leger schoot daarop
zeven opstandelingen dood.Ook werd het
gebouw zwaar beschadigd.

Toen de Britten het kantoor binnen
gingen,vonden ze tientallen gevangenen.
Sommigen waren gewond.Onderzocht wordt
of ze gemarteld zijn.

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Amerikaans dodental Irak overstijgt 11 september

WASHINGTON - Het aantal gesneuvelde Amerikaanse militairen in Irak heeft het aantal slachtoffers van de aanslagen van 11 september 2001 in New York en Washington ingehaald. Dat blijkt uit verscheidene tellingen van onafhankelijke Amerikaanse organisaties en media.

In totaal 2973 mensen vonden ruim vijf jaar geleden de dood toen terroristen zich met gekaapte vliegtuigen in het World Trade Center in New York en het Pentagon bij Washington boorden. Een toestel stortte neer in de staat Pennsylvania.

Volgens tellingen zijn er tot nog toe in Irak 2974 of 2975 Amerikaanse militairen gesneuveld. Het Amerikaanse ministerie van Defensie houdt dat aantal vooralsnog op 2957.

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IRAK:
Irakezen klinken niet op gelukkig nieuwjaar
Dahr Jamail en Ali Al-Fadhily

BAGDAD, 25 december (IPS) - Vorig jaar deze tijd kregen de Irakezen de belofte dat 2006 een nieuw begin zou zijn van een welvarend, democratisch en verenigd Irak. Ze zouden vrede vinden dankzij een verkozen parlement en een eenheidsregering en kunnen starten met de heropbouw van een land dat was uiteengerukt door de VN-sancties en de Amerikaanse invasie en bezetting. Vandaag is iedereen het over één ding eens: het geweld, de tegenstellingen en de desintegratie van de economie zijn erger dan ooit.

"Ik wou dat ik naar eender welk derdewereldland kon vluchten en daar vuilnisman zou kunnen worden. Liever dat dan hier blijven en leven als een bange rat" zegt Adel Mohammed Aziz, een leraar uit Bagdad. "We leven allemaal in angst om ons leven; dood jaagt ons overal achterna."

De migratie van Irakezen uit Irak is momenteel 's werelds snelst groeiende vluchtelingencrisis, zegt de internationale ngo Refugees International. De Verenigde Naties schatten dat minstens 2,3 miljoen Irakezen het toenemende geweld zijn ontvlucht - 1,8 miljoen naar buurlanden en 0,5 miljoen naar veiliger plaatsen in Irak zelf. Naar schatting trekken elke maand 40.000 Irakezen naar Syrië alleen al.

Monsterlijke martelingen

Sektarische moorden kwamen al voor 2006 voor, gericht tegen specifieke groepen als ex-militairen of wetenschappers. Maar dit jaar werden de doodseskaders een bedreiging voor alle Irakezen, vooral voor soennitische moslims. Er vallen nu al minstens honderd doden per dag, de meeste na monsterlijke martelingen.

"We kunnen niet gaan werken, niet gaan bidden in de moskee, niet onze kinderen naar school sturen", zegt Um Rheem, een jonge moeder uit de Shaab-wijk in Bagdad. "Veel soennitische mannen zijn gedood door sjiitische doodseskaders die de volledige steun krijgen van de regering en van de Amerikanen."

"Op plaatsen waar soennieten in de meerderheid zijn, vallen doodseskaders met honderden tegelijk aan, onder dekking van de avondklok en met gebruik van politiewagens", zegt Mahmood Abdulla uit de overwegend soennitische Jihad-wijk in de hoofdstad. "Als we onszelf en onze huizen verdedigen, vallen ze aan met mortieren en Kaytousharaketten. Dat gebeurt allemaal onder de ogen van de Amerikanen en de Iraakse overheidsfunctionarissen."

Sjiitische Irakezen klagen dan weer dat ze niet naar overwegend soennitische wijken kunnen gaan werken of reizen over de grote baan naar Syrië en Jordanië - uit angst voor soennitische militairen uit op wraak.

"Soennieten die familieleden verloren zouden elke sjiiet die ze zien, vermoorden, dus kunnen we niet door hun wijken gaan", zegt Sa'arat Hassan, een groentenverkoper op de Jameelamarkt in bagdad.

Al 654.965 Irakezen gedood

Een onderzoek uitgevoerd door Amerikaanse en Iraakse artsen in opdracht van de Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, en in oktober van dit jaar gepuliceerd in het gerenommeerde medische vakblad The Lancet, stelt dat 654.965 Irakezen, of 2,5 procent van de bevolking, stierf tengevolge van de Amerikaanse invasie en bezetting. Meer dan 600.000 doden waren te wijten aan geweld, meestal vuurwapens.

De twee maanden die op de publicatie volgden waren de bloedigste ooit. De straten van Bagdad, eens vol auto's en winkels, zien er het grootste deel van de dag uitgestorven uit. "We kunnen onze winkels niet meer dan drie tot vier uur per dag openen", zegt een tapijtverkoper in Rasheed Street. "Veel van mijn collega's zijn op weg naar hun werk ontvoerd voor losgeld of gedood voor sektarische redenen. We verwachten de dood elke minuut."

De economische ineenstorting is een noodsituatie geworden. Meer dan vijf miljoen Irakezen leven onder de armoedegrens, de helft in wanhopige omstandigheden. Dat zegt een overheidsstudie. Iraakse functionarissen en ngo's schatten dat meer dan zestig procent van de Irakezen werkloos zijn. Tegelijk stegen de prijzen van basisbenodigdheden - een rapport van het Iraakse centrale bureau voor de statistiek suggereert 70 procent inflatie tussen juli 2005 en juli 2006. (ADR)(EINDE/2006)

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Op woensdag 27 december 2006 19:13 schreef klez het volgende:
[quote]Op woensdag 27 december 2006 18:55 schreef zakjapannertje het volgende:

[..]
Wat een kwatsartikel weer. Al 100 doden per dag. tjongejonge. Dat is toch zeker 36000 per jaar. Maar volgens het flut onderzoek van de lancet zijn het 650.000 in 3 jaar... Iedereen roept maar wat.

quote:

Op woensdag 27 december 2006 19:13 schreef klez het volgende:
[quote]Op woensdag 27 december 2006 18:55 schreef zakjapannertje het volgende:

[..]
Wat een kwatsartikel weer. Al 100 doden per dag. tjongejonge. Dat is toch zeker 36000 per jaar. Maar volgens het flut onderzoek van de lancet zijn het 650.000 in 3 jaar... Iedereen roept maar wat.

quote:

Op woensdag 27 december 2006 19:13 schreef klez het volgende:
[quote]Op woensdag 27 december 2006 18:55 schreef zakjapannertje het volgende:

Iedereen roept maar wat.

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Op woensdag 27 december 2006 19:18 schreef Finder_elf_towns het volgende:

[..]

De extreem linkse propaganda begint een beetje onzorgvuldig te worden en daarmee nog ongeloofwaardiger dan ze al waren.

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Suicide attack on Iraq mosque kills nine

BAGHDAD - An attacker detonated an explosive-laden vest in a Shiite mosque in the town of Khalis north of Baghdad just after Friday prayers and killed at least nine people, including an imam, officials said.

Police Lieutenant Mohammed Abdulrazak said the suicide bomber had killed nine people and wounded eight in an attack on the mosque, which is in a region plagued by violence between rival Sunni and Shiite death squads.

An official at the interior ministry in Baghdad, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the attack had appeared to target the imam of the mosque, Khadhum Hamid, whom he said was among the dead.

A defence ministry official confirmed the attack but gave a higher casualty toll, saying that 10 people had been killed and 15 wounded.

Khalis is a town in Diyala province 70 kilometres (40 miles) north of the capital in an area roamed by Sunni insurgents fighting and Shiite militias linked to parties in Iraq's US-backed government.

The attack came as the Shiite-led government prepared to execute ousted Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein, an event which is expected to further increase the already sky-high tensions between Sunni and Shiite factions.

quote:

U.S. Forces Kill 6

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S. troops killed six people and destroyed a weapons cache Friday in separate raids in Baghdad and northwest of the Iraqi capital, the U.S. military said.

American forces killed four people and destroyed two buildings in a morning raid in the village of Thar Thar, northwest of Baghdad, the military said in a statement.

Intelligence reports indicated that roadside bombs were being produced in the buildings, and U.S. troops found 16 pounds of homemade explosives, two large bombs, a rocket-propelled grenade, suicide vests and multiple batteries, the military said.

"Upon entering the first building, coalition forces were engaged by armed terrorists. Coalition forces returned fire, killing four terrorists," the statement said. The military then destroyed the buildings in an airstrike.

In another raid, U.S. troops killed two people and captured two others in a raid against purported al-Qaida terrorists in Baghdad, the military said. Two Iraqis were also wounded. A cache of AK-47s was seized in that raid.

quote:

Bomb kills 31, wounds 58 in Iraqi town

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A bomb planted on a minibus killed 31 people in a fish market in a mostly Shiite town south of Baghdad on Saturday, and the man blamed for parking the vehicle was cornered and killed by a mob as he walked away from the explosion.

There was no indication that the explosion, in Kufa, a Shiite town 100 miles south of the Iraqi capital, was related to the execution of
Saddam Hussein. The attack came on the eve of when
Iraq's Shiites begin celebrating Eid al-Adha, the most important holiday of the Islamic calendar. Shoppers had crowded the market to buy supplies for the four-day festival.

At least 58 people were wounded, said Issa Mohammed, director of the morgue in the neighboring town of Najaf.

Television footage showed hundreds of men in traditional Arab headdresses swarming around the vehicle's charred frame, toppled on its side in the street. Ambulances and fire trucks pulled up to the site, and a coffin could be seen being loaded onto the top of a car.

The U.S. military announced the deaths of three Marines and two soldiers, making December the year's deadliest month for U.S. troops in Iraq with the toll reaching 108.

The Marines, all assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5, died Thursday of wounds from fighting in western Anbar province, the U.S. military said. A soldier assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division and also died in combat in Anbar, and another was killed by a roadside bomb in northwest Baghdad, the military said.

Their deaths pushed the toll past the 105 U.S. service members killed in October. At least 2,997 members of the U.S. military have been killed since the Iraq war began in March 2003, according to an AP count.

Saddam was hanged early Saturday, after his conviction last month for crimes against humanity in connection with the 1982 killings of 148 Shiites. Despite concerns about a spike in unrest, Saturday's violence was not unusually high.

Curfews were enforced in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit and in Samarra, both in the predominantly Sunni Salahuddin province north of Baghdad.

On Friday, a suicide bomber killed at least nine people near a Shiite mosque in Baghdad, and 32 tortured bodies were found across the country.

American troops killed six people and destroyed a weapons cache in separate raids Friday in Baghdad and northwest of the Iraqi capital, the U.S. military said. One of the raids targeted two buildings in the village of Thar Thar, where U.S. troops found 16 pounds of homemade explosives, two large bombs, a rocket-propelled grenade, suicide vests and multiple batteries, the military said.

Iraqi forces backed by U.S. troops entered a mosque southeast of Baghdad, capturing 13 suspects and confiscating weapons, the U.S. military also said.

December was also shaping up to be one of the worst months for Iraqi civilian deaths since The Associated Press began keeping track in May 2005.

Through Thursday, at least 2,139 Iraqis have been killed in war-related or sectarian violence, an average rate of about 76 people a day, according to an AP count. That compares to at least 2,184 killed in November at an average of about 70 a day, the worst month for Iraqi civilians deaths since May 2005. In October, AP counted at least 1,216 civilians killed.

The AP count includes civilians, government officials and police and security forces, and is considered a minimum based on AP reporting. The actual number is likely higher, as many killings go unreported.

quote:

Russia says Saddam's death may breed more violence
Sat 30 Dec 2006 9:22:56 GMT


MOSCOW, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Russia said it regretted former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's execution on Saturday for crimes against humanity and was worried his death could trigger a new spiral of violence in Iraq.

"Regrettably, repeated calls by representatives of various nations and international organisations to the Iraqi authorities to refrain from capital punishment were not heard," a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

"Saddam Hussein's execution can lead to further aggravation of the military and political situation and the growth of ethnic and sectarian tensions."

Russian ultra-nationalists from the Liberal Democratic Party, led by firebrand deputy parliamentary speaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky, were planning a protest rally in front of the Iraqi embassy in Moscow later on Saturday.

In harsh remarks broadcast at length by Russian radio and television stations, former Iraqi ambassador to Russia Abbas Halaf decried Saddam's death as "the murder of a real son of his nation".

"When we now witness all those bloody events happening under the occupation of U.S. troops and their marionettes, when Baghdad streets are strewn with corpses of more than 100 people killed daily, then compared to all that Saddam Hussein is an angel," he said.

quote:

US soldier killed by roadside bomb
From correspondents in Baghdad
December 30, 2006

A US soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad on Friday, the US military said today, bringing the number of US military deaths in Iraq since the beginning of the war to at least 2996.
Earlier, the US military reported the deaths of three US marines from wounds suffered in combat in Iraq's western Anbar province.

quote:

3 Marines killed in Iraq, making December deadliest month for U.S. troops in 2006

Posted 12/29/2006 7:03 PM ET


BAGHDAD (AP) — Three more Marines were killed in battle in Iraq, the U.S. military said Friday, making December the deadliest month this year for American troops in war-wracked nation with the toll reaching 106.
The Marines, all assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5, died Thursday of wounds from fighting in western Anbar province, the U.S. military said. Their deaths pushed the toll past the 105 U.S. service members killed in October.

At least 2,993 members of the U.S. military have been killed since the Iraq war began in March 2003, according to an AP count.

In violence Friday, a suicide bomber killed at least nine people near a Shiite mosque in Baghdad, and 32 tortured bodies were found across the country as Iraqis braced for Saddam Hussein's execution.

American troops killed six people and destroyed a weapons cache in separate raids in Baghdad and northwest of the Iraqi capital, the U.S. military said. One of the raids targeted two buildings in the village of Thar Thar, where U.S. troops found 16 pounds of homemade explosives, two large bombs, a rocket-propelled grenade, suicide vests and multiple batteries, the military said.

Iraqi forces backed by U.S. troops entered a mosque southeast of Baghdad, capturing 13 suspects and confiscating weapons, the U.S. military also said.

A suicide bomber wearing an explosives belt detonated himself near a Shiite mosque in Khalis, 50 miles north of Baghdad, killing nine people and wounding about a dozen, police said.

Twenty-two bodies showing signs of torture were found dumped on the streets of the Iraqi capital Friday, and 10 more were found in Baqouba northeast of Baghdad, police and morgue officials said.

The violence was not heavier than usual in Iraq on Friday, three days after an Iraqi appeals court upheld Saddam's death sentence for the 1982 killings of 148 Shiites. The court said the former president should be hanged within 30 days, but his execution appeared likely to take place this weekend, American and Iraqi officials said.

Those officials have also expressed concern about the potential for a spike in bloodshed following Saddam's death.

Already, December was shaping up to be one of the worst months for Iraqi civilian deaths since The Associated Press began keeping track in May 2005.

Through Thursday, at least 2,139 Iraqis have been killed in war-related or sectarian violence, an average rate of about 76 people a day, according to an AP count. That compares to at least 2,184 killed in November at an average of about 70 a day, the worst month for Iraqi civilians deaths since May 2005. In October, AP counted at least 1,216 civilians killed.

The AP count includes civilians, government officials and police and security. forces, and is considered a minimum based on AP reporting. The actual number is likely higher, as many killings go unreported.

In more violence Friday, gunmen killed two oil company employees in Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, police said. A civilian was shot dead near his home in another attack in the same area.

Two more civilians and a policeman died in separate attacks in Musayyib, about 40 miles south of Baghdad, police said.

A round of mortar shells slammed into al-Maidan square in central Baghdad, wounding 10 people and damaging shops and buildings in the area, a police officer at Rissafa police station said on condition of anonymity out of security concerns.

A roadside bomb wounded three civilians in Balad Ruz, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad, police said.

quote:

Op zaterdag 30 december 2006 13:27 schreef Monidique het volgende:
Tsja, er gaan dagelijks Amerikanen dood door die roadside bombs. Geen nieuws, me dunkt.