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| Iraq |
| 7 US troops killed in Iraq |
| 2006-05-16 |
| Insurgents shot down a U.S. helicopter during a raid against al Qaeda militants south of Baghdad and killed two soldiers, bringing the weekend death toll of American service members to seven, the U.S. military said Monday. The military also said American forces killed more than 40 militants, including an al Qaeda operative, in five raids south of Baghdad in an area commonly known as the "Triangle of Death" because of the large number of insurgent attacks. The U.S. hopes a national unity government that includes Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds will sap the insurgency's strength, but Iraqi politicians struggled against a deadline to form such a government. And with at least 20 Iraqis killed in roadside bombings and drive-by shootings Monday, sectarian violence showed no signs of letting up. The helicopter was downed after a U.S. operation in Youssifiyah, about 12 miles south of Baghdad. The Mujahedeen Shura Council, a coalition of insurgent groups that includes al Qaeda in Iraq, claimed responsibility in a statement posted on the Internet. Other Americans killed over the weekend included two U.S. Marines who died Sunday during unspecified "enemy action" in Anbar province, the area of western Iraq that is the heart of the Sunni-led insurgency. Two soldiers died Sunday in a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad, and another died in a roadside bomb in the capital Saturday. The five U.S. raids south of Baghdad resulted in the killing of an al Qaeda militant blamed for an April 1 attack in the same area that downed a U.S. Apache helicopter and killed two soldiers. An al Qaeda group had claimed responsibility for downing the Apache and posted a gruesome video on the Internet showing men dragging the burning body of what appeared to be an American soldier across a field as they shouted "Allahu akbar!" or "God is great!" Also Monday, insurgents fired more than 30 mortar rounds at a British military camp in southern Iraq, wounding four soldiers. Six British soldiers have been killed and five wounded over the past nine days -- all in southern Iraq, an area that has traditionally been far more peaceful that central and northern Iraq where U.S. forces are based. Monday's violence came as Iraqi lawmakers alternately -- and with varying degrees of sincerity -- withdrew from the Cabinet negotiations or threatened to do so, and accused each other of greed, sectarianism and self-interest. Deputies said Prime Minister-designate Nouri al-Maliki could announce a partial Cabinet ahead of a constitutionally mandated May 22 deadline, taking for himself the disputed defense and interior ministry posts. President Jalal Talabani, however, rejected that option. "The presidency council does not want to see such key ministries excluded," Talabani said after meeting with his Shiite and Sunni Arab vice presidents. "We think the entire Cabinet should be announced." "The defense and interior ministries are important, and we have previously agreed that they should be taken by independents agreeable to all the main blocs in Iraq," he said. Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, a member of the Sunni Arab Accordance Front, said it had reached a deal with the main Shiite United Iraqi Alliance in which the Sunnis would nominate the defense minister. In return, the Shiite bloc would name the interior minister. Similar deals have unraveled over the past few days. Shiite lawmaker Ali al-Deeb, a member of al-Maliki's Dawa Party, told the AP that "the Defense Ministry is still a problem." Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's secular Iraqi List, favored to get the defense post, accused the Sunnis of delaying the process and of stoking violence as a pressure tactic. "The ceiling has been set too high by the Accordance Front who claim they represent the Sunnis. They still insist on the Defense Ministry," Wael Abdul-Latif, the bloc's spokesman, told the AP. "But the bombs are still playing a role in the negotiations." The violence underscored the pressure al-Maliki faces. In Balad Ruz, 50 miles northeast of Baghdad, gunmen pulled three teachers -- two brothers and a cousin -- and their driver from a minibus and killed them. The assault prompted a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew in nearby Baqouba, a mixed city where six Shiite shrines were bombed Saturday. In addition to the 20 Iraqis killed around Iraq Monday, five corpses were found in western Baghdad. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #2 They gave their lives to give the Iraqis freedom, and to protect our own. And an honour guard of their enemies preceded them. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-05-16 07:17 |
| #1 RIP, Warriors of America. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2006-05-16 02:49 |