BAGHDAD, IRAQ: The U.S. military announced on Sunday that they captured a bearded Saddam Hussein, hiding in a hole in a farmhouse cellar near his hometown of Tikrit.  The arrest was carried out without a shot fired.

U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer told a news conference that Saddam was captured Saturday at 8:30 p.m. local time in a cellar in the town of Adwar, ten miles from Tikrit. U.S. forces aired a video showing a bearded Saddam being examined by a doctor holding his mouth open with a tongue depressor, apparently to get a DNA sample. Then a video was shown of Saddam after he was shaved.
           
Saddam was being held at an undisclosed location. Forces from the1st Brigade Combat team of the 4th Infantry Division, the Raider Brigade, along with Special Forces, captured Saddam in the raid called "Operation Red Dawn."
           
Trapped in the cellar, Saddam was in a six-to-eight-foot-deep "spider hole" that had been camouflaged with bricks and dirt. The soldiers saw the hole, investigated and found him inside. The video showed an air vent and fan inside the hole to allow Saddam to remain hidden for an extended period.

14 Dec 2003 - FLASH REPORT - 05:15CST/06:15EST

Saddam Captured??

From the ERRI/EmergencyNet News World Watchdesk
By C. L. Staten

NEAR TIKRIT, IRAQ: According to at least two different U.S. military sources, a person who appears to be Saddam Hussein has been captured in a basement in Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. The evidence continues to mount, in advance of a formal U.S. confirmation, that former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has been captured in his hometown of Tikrit.

The capture reportedly took place within the past 12 hours, as members of the elite Task Force 121 acted on a local intelligence tip and raided a basement hideout. The process of confirming the captured persons identity continues at the time of this report. EmergencyNet News is monitoring this case closely and we will bring you other official details when a CentCom news conference is held at approximately 07:00EST...

Attack on Iraqi Police Station

 KHALIDIYAH, IRAQ: Several people have been killed and many more wounded in a car bomb attack on a police station. The incident happened at about 08:40hrs. local time (05:40 GMT) on Sunday morning.  Several ambulance were sent to the scene to treat and transport the victims. U.S. and Coalition military personnel were also dispatched to investigate the blast and provide a security cordon around the blast site. No U.S. military personnel were reported injured or killed.  It was not immediately clear whether the attack was a suicide/homicide bombing. EmergencyNet News will bring you additional official details if/when they are made available...

30 Nov 2003 - Midnight Baghdad time

Major Firefight Reported Near Samarra

SAMARRA, IRAQ: According to U.S. military sources, a major firefight has occurred in the vicinity of the Sunni Triangle area of Samarra. Witnesses to the incident said that there were multiple fatalities among the attackers, who were described as being dressed like members of the "Saddam Fedayeen," and attempting to ambush one or more U.S. convoys.

The attackers used improvised explosive devices (IED), rocket-propelled grenades, mortars, and small arms fire in their assault. One unconfirmed report suggests that as many as 45 Iraqi insurgents were killed, several wounded, and a number captured in the protracted clash. ERRI military analysts said that this was the largest opposition attack force engaged so far in the 'post-war' environment.

Several American troops were reportedly to be wounded in the battle, though no U.S. deaths were immediately reported. EmergencyNet News will bring you additional official details as they are released by CentCom...

RPG 'Probably' Caused Helicopter Mid-Air Collision, U.S. Deaths

MOSUL, IRAQ: The U.S. military told the Associated Press on Sunday for the first time that the collision of two Black Hawk helicopters in Mosul -- the single deadliest incident of the war for American forces -- may have been caused by enemy fire. Until now, the military had not publicly disclosed a possible cause of the Nov. 15 collision, which killed 17 soldiers.

"It appears to be that one helicopter was hit by a (rocket-propelled grenade)," Col. Joe Anderson, a commander with the 101st Airborne Division, told The Associated Press. The soldiers who died were from the 101st, based at Fort Campbell, KY.  The ground fire apparently caused one Black Hawk to slam into the other, although the incident is still under investigation, said Anderson, whose brigade controls Mosul.

ERRI military analysts said that the use of Rocket-Propelled Grenades (RPG) to bring down rotary-wing aircraft is a tactic that was developed by the Mujihadeen in Afghanistan and used to devastating effect on U.S. Blackhawk helicopters in Somali. 

INSTANT UPDATE - 14:00CDT - 12 Nov 2003

02 Nov 2003

Fifteen U.S. Troops Killed, 21 Wounded in Helicopter Attack

By C. L. Staten, ERRI Sr. National Security Analyst

FALLUJAH, IRAQ: Using tactics all too similar to those used by the mujahideen in their battle with the former Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980's, a Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter has been shot down near the embattled town of Fallujah. Reports from the scene suggest that the troop transport was struck by a shoulder-fired Surface to Air missile (below).  It was the deadliest single attack on American forces since the start of the war in Iraq in March.

The exact type of missile that was used in the helicopter attack is not presently known, and is being thoroughly investigated by U.S. troops at the scene at the time of this report. Pictured is Soviet SA-7 Grail (above), a missile that is commonly available in the the Middle and Far East.

The aircraft was hit at about 09:00 (local time) and crashed amid cornfields near the village of Hasi, about 40 miles southwest of Baghdad and just south of Fallujah, a center of Sunni Muslim resistance to the U.S. occupation. 

A U.S. military spokesman, Col. William Darley, confirmed the casualty count of 15 but said the cause of the crash was under investigation. He said witnesses reported seeing what they believed were missile trails.  An Iraqi witness further reinforced the theory that the copter was struck by a missile, "There were two American helicopters. They fired a missile at one and missed, and then they hit the other, which crashed and caught fire."

US military officials and ERRI counter-terrorism analysts have previously warned that hundreds of surface-to-air missiles remain unaccounted for in Iraq and could be used in such an attack. EmergencyNet News will bring you additional facts as they are ascertained by U.S. and coalition investigators...

ERRI Special Report

27 Oct 2003 - 08:00CDT/17:00 Baghdad time

Multiple Homicide/Suicide bombings Reported in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, IRAQ: At least four blasts rocked Baghdad on Monday morning, killing more than 30 people (numbers vary according to source, between 34 and 40), including two American soldiers, and wounding more than 200 others, U.S.-led coalition and Iraqi hospital officials said.
Throughout the morning, four other vehicles exploded at police stations in the Baghdad area. Police said 27 were killed in the police station bombings, most of them Iraqis; 15 of whom were killed at the ad-Doura station in southern Baghdad. At a fifth police station in central Baghdad, officers stopped a suicide bomber before he could detonate his Land Cruiser. Teams of U.S. military police have been stationed at Baghdad police stations in recent months.

U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Mark Hertling said that "foreign fighters" appear to be behind the wave of bombings. He said that they were all suicide attacks and that the coordination appeared "amateurish." All the bombings took place between 08:30 and 10:15 (local time). The blasts come at the start of the Muslim religious month of Ramadan.

The string of bombings, was the bloodiest set of attacks yet in the city of 5 million by insurgents targeting the American-led occupation and those perceived as working with it. It also appeared like a dramatic escalation in tactics — in past weeks, bombers have carried out heavy suicide bombings, but only in single strikes.

The Red Cross said 12 Iraqis were killed at its office, including two of its own employees. Police said 27 were killed in the police station bombings, most of them Iraqis. Witnesses said a homicide bomber drove what appeared to be an explosives-packed ambulance up to the ICRC building's security barriers around 08:30 a.m. and detonated it, blowing down the front wall, devastating the interior and blowing shrapnel and debris over a wide area. One witness said that security personnel stopped the vehicle from actually entering the compound, thus preventing even heavier carnage.

EmergencyNet News is still gathering facts concerning the series of deadly explosions and we will bring you additional official inforamtion as it becomes available...

07:00CDT - 02 Sep 2003

One Dead, 15 Wounded in Attack on Baghdad Police HQ

BAGHDAD, IRAQ: An explosion, believed cause by a remote control or time-delay car bomb, badly damaged Baghdad's police headquarters on Tuesday. The blast also killed one Iraqi policeman and wounded about 15 other people. The bomb, thought to be hidden in a car parked in a garage adjacent to the office of city police chief Hassan Ali, reportedly detonated at about 11:15 local time. Ali was not in his office at the time of the explosion. The detonation also starting a fire and sent a plume of black smoke high into the Baghdad sky. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, nor did police have any suspects in the attack. EmergencyNet News will bring you more official details as they become available...

INSTANT UPDATE - 31 Aug 2003 - 08:30CDT

Iraqi Police Arrest 19 Alleged Plotters in Najaf Blast

NAJAF, IRAQ: According to the Associated Press and the Washington Times newspaper, Iraqi police have arrested 19 men -- many of them foreigners and all with admitted links to al Qaeda -- in a car bombing of a mosque in the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf that killed at least 85 (death toll still varies according to source), a senior Iraqi investigator said yesterday.

Two Iraqis and two Saudis grabbed shortly after Friday's attack on the Imam Ali shrine reportedly gave information leading to the arrest of the several others, said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Those arrested include two Kuwaitis and six Palestinians with Jordanian passports. The remainder are Iraqis and Saudis, the official said, without giving a more specific breakdown. It should be noted that U.S. forces have NOT confirmed the identity of the suspects, nor any possible link to Al-Qaeda.

Initial information shows the foreigners entered Iraq from Kuwait, Syria and Jordan, the official said, adding that they belong to the fundamentalist Wahhabi sect of Sunni Islam.  "They are all connected to al Qaeda," the official said. Wahhabism is the strictist branch of Sunni Islam from which al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden reportedly draws spiritual direction, several experts added. EmergencyNet News will bring you additional details as more official facts become available...

30 Aug 2003 - 08:00CDT

"Ideological Mercenaries" Behind Najaf Bombing??

BAGHDAD, IRAQ (EmergencyNet News) -- EmergencyNet News has learned that at least three people are now said to be in custody following Friday's bombing at the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf.  In that blast, an important Shi'ite cleric, Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, was killed...along with at least 100 other people. Reports coming from military and police sources say that three people were arrested following the mosque blast and that they are now being questioned by Iraqi police and U.S. authorities.

An unidentified senior police official is being quoted by the Associated Press and CBS news as saying that two of the suspects are believed to be Saudi Arabian nationals, allegedly with ties to the Al-Qaeda network. ERRI analyst and spokesman, Clark Staten, said that given the arrests of "ideological mercenaries from other countries," and a preliminary examination of the available bombing evidence...it is increasingly probable that former Saddam loyalists have "hired," facilitated, or are actually working with "foreign terrorist elements" to sew unrest and attempt to destabilize Iraq. 

Staten said that it appears more and more likely that a "on-the-ground" alliance is emerging between Saddam Hussein loyalists and Islamic extremists who have infiltrated into Iraq.  Furthermore, Staten said that the Modus Operandi (M.O.) and weapons used in the Najaf bombing and those at the U.N. headquarters may be very similar in nature. "There is much investigation to be done to confirm our theory, but we continue to look for linkage between the Najaf and U.N. terror events...and maybe even the bombing at the Jordanian embassy," Staten said. 

12:00CDT - 29 Aug 2003

As Many as 75 Dead in Najaf Blast...

 "We have at least 75 dead and that could go up to 80 because of severe injuries. There are 142 wounded," Dr. Safaa al-Aneedi, director of the Najaf teaching hospital, told the Reuters News service.

08:45CDT - 29 Aug 2003

 IRAQ: A Shi'ite leader was among at least four, and as many as 17, killed after a car bomb exploded in front of a Mosque in Najaf, 110 miles southwest of Baghdad, according to Reuters and other Arab news services. The leader was identified as Ayatollah Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim, a senior official for the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), based in Tehran.

The Al-Jazeera network says that up to 100 people were wounded in the explosion, which occurred shortly after the conclusion of Friday prayers. Fox News reported that a gas cylinder located near a wall of the mosque also exploded, most likely detonated by the car bomb explosion. The Imam Ali mosque, which is highly revered by Shi'ite Muslims, was damaged by the blast. The cause and effect of the explosion has not been thoroughly assessed at the time of this report. L. Paul Bremer, Iraqi civilian administrator, immediately condemned the attack and offered assistance to the Iraq police in investigating the incident.

The Emergency Response and Research Institute had previously warned that continuing tensions within the Muslim people of Iraq is causing sporadic violence, especially in areas outside of Baghdad. Today's attack could be an attempt to discredit coalition forces and further incite the Shi'ite masses, ERRI analysts said. Shi'ites make up about 60-65 percent of the 24 million people living in Iraq.

25 Aug 2003

Allegations That Iraqi WMD Were Moved to Lebanon

Monday's edition of the WorldTribune.com is reporting that the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) that U.S. and coalition forces have been searching for in Iraq aren't there...because they were moved out of the country to Lebanon.  Quoting sources from Geostrategy-Direct.com, the WorldTribune is reporting that the CIA now believes a multi-million dollar deal between Iraq and Syria provided for the hiding and safekeeping of Saddam's strategic weapons. The weapons and equipment are reportedly being protected by heavily fortified terrorist organizations in Bekka Valley strongholds. Still developing...watch this page for additional reports...

22 Aug 2003

Gen. Abizaid Says Terrorism Becoming Major Security Threat In Iraq

WASHINGTON: Terrorism is becoming the principal threat facing coalition forces in Iraq and the Iraqi people, the commander of the U.S. Central Command said August 21. "Clearly, it is emerging as the No. 1 security threat, and we are applying a lot of time, energy and resources to identify it, understand it, and deal with it," Army General John Abizaid said at a Pentagon briefing. His remarks came in the aftermath of a suicide bombing August 19 of the U.N. field mission headquarters at the Canal Hotel in Baghdad that has killed at least 23 people and injured an estimated 100 people.

Abizaid said he believes the terrorist group Ansar al-Islam has increased its operations and migrated from the northern part of Iraq to an area near Baghdad "and we think that they're established there. It's not good for us when they get established in an urban area."

"And we know that there are other foreign fighters, and we've captured many of them, that have come across from Syria. The lines of the infiltration are difficult to stop because of the wide expanse of the border. But we're working very hard at getting a handle on what we need to do to stop infiltration there in conjunction with Iraqis," he said. Abizaid said the terrorist cells operating in Iraq are established primarily in the Baghdad area but are "operating through some of the western areas, and the threat from the terrorists is increasing. And we will counter their actions appropriately."

Abizaid also said that, despite the security threats that have arisen in recent weeks, there is no need to expand the number of U.S. military personnel in Iraq, currently about 140,000. "It's not the lone American rifleman out there defending Iraq," he said. "We're working in conjunction with Iraqis to make the place a better place to live. That having been said, there's a hell of a lot more work that has to be done to secure Iraq in terms of building their capacity..."  -- Source: Washington File

  Reference/Real-Video^(tm):
 http://www.cbsnews.com/media/2003/08/23/video569812.rm  (requires Real-Video Player - Caution, large file - may take extended period to download on slow internet connection. 9. MB)

Two U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iraq

IRAQ: The U.S. military said on Friday that two more U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq, bringing the number of American combat deaths to 179. One soldier was killed in action on Thursday near the Iraqi town of al Hilla, 35 miles south of Baghdad. The second, also on Thursday, was from the 1st Armored Division based in Baghdad. A military spokesman could not provide any further details of the deaths.

Allegations That U.N. Bombing is "Inside Job"

IRAQ: A U.S. official said investigators probing the bombing of the United Nations' Baghdad headquarters focused Friday on a possibility that guards in the compound may have assisted the attackers. Allegations have arisen that security personnel at the U.N. mission may be former members of Iraqi intelligence services. U.N. officials denied the allegations.

21 Aug 2003

Terrorists Said To Join Saddam Allies Against U.S. In Iraq

IRAQ: According to a report in Thursday's edition of the Washington Times, U.S. officials say that they are now fighting a two-front war in Iraq, one against Saddam Hussein loyalists who target American troops, the other against terrorists who are killing civilians. L. Paul Bremer III, the top U.S. administrator for Iraq, told CBS on Wednesday: "We have a security problem here. The security problem now has got a terrorist dimension, which is new." U.S. officials said the Middle East and Afghanistan have become a battleground between crazed fundamentalist extremists and the United States and its moderate-Muslim allies.

Sources told the Times that about 2,000 foreign fighters, some of whom could be considered international terrorists, are in Iraq, with more on the way. Until now, the terror attacks have been limited to Baghdad and the so-called Sunni Triangle north of the capital. But intelligence reports say Iranian agents are trying to convince the Shi'ites in the south, a relatively peaceful area, to rebel and begin attacking coalition forces.

Bremer said: "It is a very difficult country to guard the borders. If you look at the map you can see why. They have desert in the south and southwest, marshes to the southeast and mountains around the rest of the country." While terror attacks occur, Saddam loyalists have targeted vital oil and water lines to disrupt the U.S.-led reconstruction and make life for the average Iraqi as difficult as possible. Small bands of guerrillas also are continuing to plant explosives in the path of U.S. military convoys and take potshots with rocket-propelled grenades.

FBI agents who on Wednesday took charge of the investigation into a massive truck bombing outside the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad said the bomb was made with "old munitions looted from Iraqi military facilities after the war." While the agents refused to speculate, the finding suggests that the attack had been carried out by holdovers from the ousted regime of Saddam Hussein, rather than foreign extremists who have reportedly been filtering into the country in recent weeks and months.

IRAQ: The U.S. military said on Thursday that Ali Hassan al-Majid, No. 5 on the list of most-wanted Iraqis, has been captured. Meanwhile, searchers pulled three more bodies from the rubble of the bombed U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, raising the death toll to 23. Later, the United Nations announced it was with- drawing one-third of its staff from Iraq.

INSTANT UPDATE -  08:00CDT - 20 Aug 2003

Bombing At United Nations HQ In Baghdad

IRAQ: A deadly explosion that tore through the United Nations headquarters in Iraq raised concerns Islamic militant groups were infiltrating the postwar country. A U.N. spokesman said Tuesday's explosion, if confirmed to be the work of a homicide bomber, would be the first attack of its kind on a U.N. facility.

Occupying U.S. forces have come under attack almost daily from suspected Saddam loyalists since POTUS declared the end of major combat on 1 May. But, the target and method of these latest bombings raised concerns that Saddam loyalists were no longer restricting attacks to troops -- dozens of Iraqis worked in the U.N. mission -- and that outside Islamic militant groups may have moved in to take advantage of the postwar nation's fragile and potentially vulnerable state.

The blast, which the U.N. Security Council called a "terrorist attack," killed 20 people and injured at least 100 others. Workers dug through the rubble of Baghdad's Canal Hotel, which housed the U.N. offices, searching for survivors. A U.N. spokesman expressed fears that there may be more bodies trapped under the rubble.

At around 16:30 hours local time, a large truck packed with explosives detonated at the concrete wall outside the three-story Canal Hotel while a news conference was under way in the building, where 300 U.N. employees work. The blast caused a partial building collapse, trapping a large number of people in the rubble.

"The explosion was caused by a massive truck bomb," said Bernard Kerik, the senior U.S. law enforcement official in Baghdad. "We have evidence to suggest it could have been a suicide attack." Kerik also cautioned it was "much too early" to say if al-Qaeda was behind the attack. The FBI will be leading the investigation into the blast. Rescue, search and recovery operations continue at the time of this report...

Australian Foreign Minister Warns of Foreign Militias in Iraq

By Jeremy Zakis, ERRI Analyst in Australia

AUSTRALIA: Australian Federal Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has warned that foreign militias may be operating alongside local Iraqi groups, following last night's bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Iraq.

"There's no doubt about it, there are some terrorists who have gone across the border to attack the Americans," Mr. Downer said during a doorstop interview in Canberra Wednesday morning. Mr. Downer also expressed a personal surprise that the UN was even considered a target by Al-Qaeda.

"I would have thought that was kind of unlikely that Al-Qaeda would attack the United Nations, which is an organization made up of all of the nations of the world, including Muslims," he said.

The Foreign Minister expressed sadness for the loss of personal friend UN envoy Sergio de Mello, who died from injuries after being trapped in the rubble of his office following the bombing. He said Mello was also a good friend to Australia and would be sadly missed by Prime Minister John Howard.

Former Iraqi Vice President Arrested

IRAQ: Taha Yassin Ramadan, a former Iraqi vice president known as "Saddam's knuckles" for his ruthlessness against regime enemies, was captured by Kurdish fighters Tuesday in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and turned over to U.S. forces. Ramadan, who was reportedly disguised in peasant clothing when he was caught, once was considered Iraq's second-most powerful man, but his influence declined in the later years of Saddam Hussein's regime. He was No. 20 on the U.S. list of most-wanted former regime figures. Ramadan was turned over to the U.S. Army on Tuesday. Fighters from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan captured Ramadan, 65.

INSTANT UPDATE - 14:00CDT/23:00 Baghdad time - 19 Aug 2003

At Least Eleven Dead, 150 Wounded in U.N. Blast

BAGHDAD, IRAQ (EmergencyNet News) -- According to military sources, at least eleven people are confirmed dead and 140-150 wounded in today's explosion in Baghdad. Among the dead was  U.N. special envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello, who was in charge of U.N. humanitarian assistance to Iraq. No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, which occurred only one day after the top U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, said guerillas from Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda organization were operating in Iraq. Watch this page for continuing updates as circumstances warrant...  

INSTANT UPDATE - 10:00CDT/19:00 Baghdad time - 19 Aug 2003

At Least Two Dead, 40 Wounded in Baghdad Blast

BAGHDAD, IRAQ (EmergencyNet News) -- As yet preliminary reports suggest that the blast in Baghdad today was the result of a homicide/suicide truck bomb. According to witnesses, several United Nations officials, including special representative Sergio Vieira de Mello, were wounded and trapped in the blast. U.S. military personnel said that rescue operations continue at this hour.

According to reports coming from Iraq, a large truck crashed into/through a wall surrounding the mission and then exploded. A large "pancake-type building collapse" was created as a result. An ERRI counter-terrorism analyst said that  it would appear that U.N. officials may have been targeted in the attack.  If that is true, it may be an effort on the part of guerillas to coerce the U.N. to discontinue their humanitarian assistance in Iraq.

Medical sources say that the death and injury toll is likely to rise as search and rescue operations continue in Baghdad. There have been no claims of responsibility for the detonation, nor have the motive or perpetrators been identified. 

08:00CDT/17:00 Baghdad Time - 19 Aug 2003 - *FLASH* Report

BAGHDAD, IRAQ (EmergencyNet News) -- According to both press and military sources, a major explosion has occurred at the Canal hotel, which houses the United Nations mission to Iraq. Witnesses said that the explosion happened about 15-20 minutes ago and that rescue operations are currently underway. The cause of the explosion is currently not known, but one source in the country told EmergencyNet News that it may have been a car/truck bomb that detonated. Unofficial reports suggest that there are fatalities at the scene of the blast, and many wounded. Some victims may be trapped in the rubble, witnesses said. Few official details are currently available, but we will bring them to you as they are released.

Rescue Reference: BUILDING COLLAPSE RESCUE, By ERRI's C. L. Staten

Baghdad Blast Kills U.S. Soldier

IRAQ: A U.S. soldier was killed by an explosive device in Baghdad on Monday. The soldier, from the Army's 1st Armored Division, was fatally wounded when the device detonated. He was rushed to a combat hospital where he was pronounced dead. The military didn't release any other details until the next of kin can be notified, and it wasn't clear if the blast was the result of a hostile act.

Two soldiers were wounded in a separate incident, after guerrillas attacked their convoy with rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire about eight miles east of Tikrit. The soldiers were in stable condition.

Also on Monday, huge fires burned in warehouses in northeast Baghdad where a guard said that 50 gunmen had charged past him, looting spare parts from buses and other state vehicles and setting fires in old tires and buses. U.S. troops killed two Iraqis in two separate incidents late Sunday. In the first, soldiers shot dead a looter southeast of Tikrit after he disregarded warning shots. Another Iraqi was shot and died when his car ran a checkpoint north of Baghdad.

17 Aug 2003

Danish Soldier Killed In Battle With Iraqi Looters

IRAQ: A British army spokesman said on Sunday that a Danish soldier and two Iraqis were killed in southern Iraq in a gun- battle between troops and a group of looters stealing power cables. A routine Danish patrol west of Basra on Saturday evening had tried to arrest eight people said to had been looting copper cables. Shots were fired and in the ensuing gunbattle one soldier and two of the Iraqis were killed. The six other Iraqis were detained.

The Danish death was the first fatality of a coalition soldier from a country other than the United States or Britain since the start of the U.S.-led war that toppled Saddam Hussein. Around 400 Danish troops are stationed in southern Iraq, part of a multinational force in the area. British soldiers are responsible for policing Basra and surrounding towns.

A major water pipeline in northern Baghdad was breached on Sunday, flooding nearby streets and cutting off the supply to parts of the Iraqi capital, after what locals said was a bomb attack. Sabotage of fuel pipelines, power cables and water pipes has dogged attempts by the U.S.-led administration to rebuild Iraq's decrepit oil industry and restore basic services. Washington blames die-hard supporters of deposed leader Saddam Hussein and foreign militant groups for sabotage of infrastructure and attacks on U.S. forces...

14 Aug 2003

Protester Killed By U.S. Troops In Baghdad

IRAQ: One protester was reportedly killed as U.S. troops fired into a crowd after thousands of Shi'ite Muslims gathered around a tele-communications tower where they said American forces in a helicopter tried to tear down an Islamic banner. The Americans said they opened fire after a rocket-propelled grenade was launched at them. A U.S. military spokesman said the banner was apparently blown down by rotor wash from a Black Hawk helicopter.

Four other people were wounded by American troops after a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at them during the protest in Sadr City, a Shiite Muslim slum in Baghdad. Sadr City, formerly known as Saddam City, is a Shiite stronghold in the otherwise Sunni Muslim-dominated capital. Shi'ite demonstrators have become more active and also engaged in rioting in Basra in recent days.

13 Aug 2003

Another U.S. Soldier Killed In Iraq

IRAQ: The military reported that a U.S. soldier was killed and another was wounded when their convoy hit a roadside bomb 15 miles south of Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit on Wednesday. The victims were riding in an armored personnel carrier, second in a four-vehicle convoy.

U.S. troops identified Saddam Hussein loyalists in custody Wednesday as two key members of the ousted dictator's Republican Guard and a paymaster for his Fedayeen Saddam militia. The military also reported killing two Iraqis in separate incidents in the Baqouba region, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad. The two were killed after opening fire on U.S. troops.

Meanwhile, about 12 miles north of the capital, in an area called al-Taji, a burst pipeline shot flames 200 feet into the air. The fire sent a massive black cloud drifting over Baghdad for several hours Tuesday. Iraqi firefighters eventually put out the blaze with flame- retardant chemicals.

In related news, U.S. administrator to Iraq Paul Bremer told the Reuters news service on Wednesday that American troops were "not sitting ducks" in Iraq, where they have seemingly come under almost daily attack from opponents of U.S. occupation.

12 Aug 2003

U.S. Soldier Killed in Bomb Attack In Iraq

IRAQ: The U.S. military said an American soldier was killed and two others were wounded on Tuesday in a bomb attack in the restive Sunni Muslim town of Ramadi, 60 miles west of Baghdad. Three synchronized bombs blew up near a convoy in the outskirts of the town at about 10:30 hours local time.

In other related news, flames shot 200 feet into the air from a burst oil pipe-line north of Baghdad on Tuesday, and U.S. forces fired warning shots to keep people from approaching the scene. The blaze was reported near Taji.

Three U.S. Soldiers Wounded In Northern Iraq

IRAQ: Three U.S. soldiers were wounded in northern Iraq and a U.S. forces raid on a remote village near the Iranian border failed to capture a top fugitive suspected of plotting attacks on coalition forces. In central Baghdad, two grenades were thrown from a car at a U.S. military checkpoint. Soldiers returned fire, killing one Iraqi. In al-Shumayt, just north of Tikrit, guerrillas fired rocket-propelled grenades and detonated at least one bomb, wounding three American soldiers. All three were in stable condition. Monday's morning raid missed its main target, a former member of Saddam Hussein's regime who is on the U.S. list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis. Seventy suspects were taken into custody. The raids occurred in Ain Lalin, which is about 60 miles northeast of Baghdad.

11 Aug 2003

U.S. Soldier Killed, Two Wounded In Iraq Bomb Attack

IRAQ: A U.S. soldier was killed and two others were wounded in a northern Iraq bomb attack. The soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division came under attack with a bomb in front of the police station they were guarding in Baqouba, 45 miles north of Baghdad, late Sunday.

In Basra, a British patrol returned fire after it came under attack late Sunday, wounding two assailants. Two others escaped. There were no British casualties.

Basra had been one of the quietest cities in the country. But, on the second day of protests Sunday, an Iraqi protester and a Nepalese security guard were shot to death. The protester was killed after an angry crowd tried to block four four-wheel drive vehicles crossing the main bridge leading to the airport and the British military headquarters. It was not clear who shot the demonstrator.

The dead guard worked for Global Security, a private company hired to provide security and other services for coalition bases throughout the country. The guard was bringing mail from Kuwait to United Nations staff in Basra. He was shot by an unknown assailant as a two-car convoy neared an intersection in the center of the city.

Late Sunday, two bombs exploded about 60-70 yards from the British office in central Baghdad. There was no visible damage to the office, but a Syrian national who was part of a convoy of trucks taking supplies to the office was injured. There was no indication whether the British office was the target.

10 Aug 2003

Warning Shots Fire As Riots Erupt In Basra; The Long, Hot Summer in Iraq

IRAQ: In an apparent protest over power and fuel shortages, British troops fired warning shots in the Iraqi city of Basra on Sunday as hundreds of locals rioted for a second day. British armored vehicles patrolled the streets, with troops in body armor, as crowds barricaded roads with burning tires and threw chunks of concrete at passing cars. At least one Iraqi was injured in the violence. People who brought him to a hospital said he had been shot in the shoulder by someone among the rioters.

A British military spokesman said troops were equipped and ready to deal with the rioting. On Saturday, they fired in the air, donned riot gear and touched off baton rounds at crowds who torched a Kuwaiti tanker truck and Kuwait-registered cars. There was a heavy military presence around the city.

Local people accuse Kuwaitis of conniving at smuggling out cheap Iraqi oil and also vented their anger at what they feel is the British failure to improve basic services four months after they and the Americans toppled Saddam Hussein. Like most of Iraq, Basra has been plagued by power cuts that have crippled air conditioning and refrigeration during the hottest part of the summer, with temperatures over 120 Fahrenheit.

09 Aug 2003

Four U.S. Troops Wounded In New Attacks In Iraq

IRAQ: At least four soldiers were wounded when U.S. troops came under renewed attacks on Saturday. It was also announced that a team of FBI special agents were preparing to take control of the investigation into the car bombing of the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad this week. This as an apparent divergence of opinion emerges within the U.S. government about the identity and motives of the perpetrators in the Jordanian embassy bombing.

Soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade on patrol in the northern city of Kirkuk were fired on with a rocket-propelled grenade and small arms early Saturday. Two soldiers were wounded in the explosion and were said to be in stable condition. The troops returned fire.

Also on Saturday, soldiers west of Kirkuk opened fire on a car that ran a military checkpoint, wounding two Iraqis. The victims were evacuated to a Kirkuk hospital in stable condition. In south-central Baghdad, two soldiers were wounded in a roadside bomb attack on their armored Humvee vehicle.

08 Aug 2003

Al-Qaeda Link Seen In Jordanian Embassy Blast

IRAQ: U.S. officials said on Friday that a group linked to Usama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network, Ansar al-Islam, may have been behind the car bombing of Jordan's embassy in Baghdad, which killed 19 people. Also, In the latest attack on American forces, a U.S. soldier was shot and killed in western Baghdad. The military also reported that U.S. snipers killed two men unloading weapons for sale in a market in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit.

04:00CDT/13:00 Baghdad time - 07 Aug 2003

Explosion Reported Outside Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad; Multiple Fatalities Reported

BAGHDAD, IRAQ (EmergencyNet News) -- According to military sources, an explosion near the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad today has killed at least eight (8) people. Medical officials said another 25 people were wounded in the detonation, some critically. The blast reportedly occurred at approximately 11:00 local time (03:00EDT).

Although details are still sketchy,  what was believed to be a car/truck bomb went off outside the compound occupied by the Jordanian diplomats. Initial and as yet unconfirmed reports suggest that the explosion was a bomb was planted in a van-type vehicle and detonated remotely.  At least one wall of the compound was collapsed in the attack.

Eyewitnesses said that after the explosion that part of the embassy compound was stormed and looted by a crowd of protestors. The protestors were dispersed and the scene brought under control by responding U.S. military forces and Iraqi police.  No motive or identity of perpetrators has been established. No claim of responsibility has been received.

ERRI analysts said that their very early assessment suggests that the embassy bombing may have some of the "earmarks of an terror attack by foreign operatives." That hypothesis, however, has not been confirmed by U.S. military investigators. EmergencyNet News is monitoring events in Baghdad and will bring you other official details as they become available...

04 Aug 2003

Suspected Saddam Loyalists Raided By U.S. Forces In Iraq

IRAQ: U.S. soldiers raided homes and farmhouses in the hostile Sunni heartland around Baghdad on Sunday, detaining dozens of suspected Saddam Hussein loyalists. Soldiers from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, based in the restive towns of Falluja and Ramadi west of the capital in the "Sunni triangle," mounted a series of raids. Twenty former regime loyalists, including a targeted leader, were captured.

The military said the 4th Infantry Division, which polices a tense region north of Baghdad including Saddam's home town of Tikrit, also staged several raids, capturing 26 detainees including two suspected mid-level former regime loyalists. About 300 soldiers of the 1st battalion 22nd Infantry Regiment, based in Tikrit, fanned out under cover of helicopters and using armored vehicles to villages north and east of the city on a major manhunt for two suspected Saddam loyalists. One of those being sought was the brother of a suspected Fedayeen guerrilla organizer seized Friday.

03 Aug 2003

U.S. Troops Bombed In Iraq

IRAQ: Insurgents attacked U.S. troops with three remote controlled bombs on Saturday. At least two American soldiers were wounded in the remote-controlled explosions in Tikrit. Also Saturday, the military said a U.S. soldier was killed and three were wounded Friday in a rocket- propelled grenade attack on their convoy east of Baghdad.

Insurgents have increasingly turned to attacking passing American convoys with remote-controlled bombs -- as they did Saturday in Tikrit. The U.S. military also announced Saturday that U.S. soldiers firing in self-defense had killed a woman Friday who was standing near where attackers dropped an explosive from an overpass onto a U.S. convoy below.

On Sunday, a civilian car hit a suspected land mine on the road to the U.S. base at Baghdad International Airport, leaving its Iraqi driver badly wounded by the explosion. Asked whether the explosive device had been intended for the U.S. convoys that use the road regularly, Sergeant Brent Williams of the 1st Armored Division said: "That's a possibility." On Thursday, a U.S. soldier was killed and three were wounded when their vehicle hit a land mine on the airport road.

02 Aug 2003

U.S. Soldier Killed, Three Wounded In Attack Near Baghdad

IRAQ: The military reported on Saturday that a U.S. soldier was killed and three were wounded in a rocket-propelled grenade attack on their convoy east of Baghdad. The soldier, killed late Friday, was the 52nd to die in combat in Iraq since POTUS declared major fighting over on 1 May. So far 167 soldiers have died in the Iraq War. The military also announced Saturday that U.S. soldiers, firing in self-defense Friday, had killed a woman who was standing near where attackers dropped an explosive from an overpass onto the U.S. convoy below.

U.S. Central Military Command released on Friday altered images of Saddam Hussein to assist coalition forces that are hunting the ousted Iraqi dictator, and who may have changed his appearance to allude capture. The digitally enhanced images can be viewed on Central Command's Web site.

30 July 2003

US Military Targeted In More Guerrilla Attacks In Iraq

IRAQ: A US tank was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade on the western outskirts of Fallujah, the latest in a string of attacks in the flashpoint town located 30 miles west of Baghdad. The ambush just west of the Tigris River appeared to cause little damage, but it was not clear if there were any casualties.

Meanwhile in Baquba, 40 miles northeast of Baghdad, US troops were pulled from guard duties outside the town's hospitals after a rash of attacks, most notably a grenade blast on Saturday that killed three soldiers posted by the children's hospital. The US military told the director of the general hospital that it was no longer safe for his soldiers to be on guard duty and he was replacing them with Iraqi police. A tank guarding a post by the general hospital was hit late Sunday by a rocket-propelled grenade. US troops also reportedly came under mortar fire overnight at their airbase on the town's perimeter, and responded with 15 to 20 rounds of ammunition.

Two mortar rounds were fired on a base near the northern city of Mosul at 16:00 hours Iraq time (12:00 GMT) Tuesday. Only an empty garbage truck was hit. The latest attacks came as an Arab satellite TV aired what it said was a Saddam tape mourning his "martyred" sons Uday and Qusay on Tuesday.

29 July 2003

Saddam Bodyguard Captured By U.S. Troops

IRAQ: U.S. troops captured a bodyguard who rarely left Saddam Hussein's side on Tuesday, and said they obtained documents and information that could help them close in on the former dictator. As one of Saddam's so-called "lifelong bodyguards," Adnan Abdullah Abid al-Musslit was believed to have detailed knowledge of the former president's hiding places. The stocky bodyguard struggled to break free as soldiers arrested him, and they had to wrestle him to the ground and drag him down the stairs, Russell said.

A military spokesman said: "Were we surprised? He's a bodyguard. That's why we went in with our steely knives and oily guns." A series of pre- dawn raids in the heart of the deposed dictator's hometown of Tikrit nabbed a total of 12 people, including Daher Ziana, the former head of security in Tikrit, and Rafa Idham Ibrahim al-Hassan, a leader of the Saddam Fedayeen militia. The raids began at 0400 hours Iraq time when soldiers fired three shotgun blasts into the locks of the house where bodyguard al-Musslit was living with his family.

28 July 2003

New Baghdad Attack On U.S. Troops

IRAQ: In the latest in an increasingly bold and deadly guerrilla campaign, a grenade attack in downtown Baghdad on Monday wounded and may have killed two U.S. soldiers in broad daylight. The U.S. commander in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, warned the country was becoming a "terrorist magnet" for foreigners and said attacks were getting more sophisticated. Monday's attack was simple, but devastating -- someone dropped a grenade from a bridge onto a Humvee passing below.

Those behind the attacks remain largely unseen and U.S. commanders have been playing down the possibility that Saddam himself may be directing them or that the killing of his once powerful sons a week ago should slow the attrition rate. Saddam, they say, has little room for maneuver as troops hunt him down. Troops have been searching hard around Saddam's home town of Tikrit and raided three farms near there on Sunday.

27 Jul 2003

U.S. Marine Killed In Grenade Attack In Iraq

IRAQ: A U.S. Marine was killed and another was wounded in a grenade attack south of Baghdad. The military said it had no further information on the attack, which occurred at 0235 hours Baghada time. The death brought to 48 the number of Americans killed in combat in Iraq since 1 May. So far 163 U.S. soldiers have died in the war.

U.S. soldiers said they missed catching Saddam Hussein's security chief -- and possibly the former dictator himself -- by a mere 24 hours early Sunday. Troops stormed three farms in Tikrit, Saddam's hometown, in simultaneous pre-dawn raids after receiving a tip that Saddam's new security chief was staying at one of the farm houses.

Four U.S. soldiers were killed on Saturday, three in a grenade attack outside a children's hospital in Baqouba, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad, and one in a bomb and rocket-propelled grenade attack just west of the capital.

26 Jul 2003

Attack Near Baghdad Kills Three U.S. Soldiers

IRAQ: A U.S. military spokesman said three U.S. soldiers were killed and four others were wounded on Saturday in a grenade attack at a children's hospital in Baquba, 30 miles north of Baghdad. The attack on soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division, who the spokesman said were guarding the hospital, brings to 47 the number killed by hostile fire since Washington declared an end to major combat in Iraq on 1 May. Fourteen soldiers have been killed in the past eight days, including eight since Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay were killed by U.S. forces in the northern city of Mosul on Tuesday. Baquba has been the site of attacks on American forces in the past.

The US Army's 4th Infantry Division captured several of Saddam Hussein's bodyguards during a raid on a house south of Tikrit on Friday. Five to ten of the 13 people captured in the raid are believed to be Saddam Hussein's personal security detachment. The raid followed a tip from an Iraqi informant.

Military commanders say the United States is tightening the noose around Saddam. A series of raids in the last three weeks picked up his personal bodyguard and security adviser, and US forces recently spoke to one of his wives or ex-wives. The 4th Infantry Division operates in an area stretching just north of Baghdad to oil fields north of Kirkuk, and includes the cities of Kirkuk, Samarra and Tikrit, Saddam's home town.

24 July 2003

Three More U.S. Troops Killed In Iraq

IRAQ: A military spokesperson said three U.S. soldiers were killed on Thursday when their convoy was hit by gunfire and rocket- propelled grenades in northern Iraq. The soldiers, members of the 101st Airborne Division, were traveling in a convoy toward Qayyarah, 185 miles north of the capital, Baghdad, when they were at attacked. No soldiers were reported wounded and it wasn't known if any assailants were killed or wounded.

The latest deaths brought to 158 the number of U.S. servicemen killed in action since the war began on 20 March, Guerrilla holdouts loyal to the regime have attacked U.S. forces at a rate of about 12 times daily.

In Baghdad on Thursday, two Iraqi men were killed after the car they were in approached a U.S. checkpoint near the downtown al-Geilani mosque and American troops opened fire.

U.S. Releases Photos Of Saddam's Dead Sons

IRAQ: The U.S. military released pictures Thursday showing the bodies of Odai and Qusai Hussein, the deranged sons of Saddam Hussein, two days after they were killed in a shootoutin a villa in the northern city of Mosul. One of the photos showed Odai with a thick beard and severely bruised face. The military has said the brothers and a third man, believed to have been a bodyguard, were killed by U.S. TOW missiles fired into the villa where they were hiding out on Tuesday.

Click "View Pix" to View Pictures of Deceased Uday and Qusay Hussein
(Graphic Will Open in A Separate Window)

Caution: These are graphic pictures and should not be viewed by those who may be shocked or upset by actual pictures of death.  Please do not click on the link if you might be offended.

23 July 2003

Head Of Iraqi Republican Guard Arrested By Coalition Forces

IRAQ: U.S. Central Command reported on Wednesday that the head of Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard has been arrested. In other news, a U.S. soldier was killed in an attack on his convoy outside the town of Mosul. The soldier's death was one of two reported Wednesday by the U.S. military. Six soldiers were also injured in the attack in Mosul, 240 miles north of Baghdad.

In a separate incident on Tuesday night, a convoy was attacked in Ramadi, 60 miles west of the capital, killing one soldier and wounding two more. The two deaths brought to 155 the number of American soldiers killed since the war began on 20 March.

Also on Wednesday, a new tape aired by an Arab satellite broadcaster and purportedly made by Saddam on 20 July, called on fighters loyal to him to continue their uprising against the U.S.-led occupation force. The voice said to be Saddam said: "Yes, this war has not ended ...The will of the people will not be subdued by the enemy." There was no way to immediately and independently verify it was the former dictator, although some listeners said it sounded like him.

INSTANT - 16:00EDT  - 22 Jul 2003

It's Confirmed...Saddam Sons Reported Dead

Mosul, Iraq (EmergencyNet News) -- Military sources have confirmed for EmergencyNet News that the two infamous sons of Saddam Hussein have been killed today in a raid in Mosul.  "We're certain that Oday and Qusay were killed," Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez of U.S. Central Command told a news conference. "They died in a fierce gunbattle," Sanchez said. It is believed that the two Hussein sons were killed in as they resisted a raid by members of U.S. Special Operations and 101st Airborne Division.  General Sanchez promised a detailed briefing on the operation, now scheduled for 05:00EDT on Wednesday morning.  EmergencyNet News is monitoring events in Mosul and will bring you additional official facts as they emerge...

11:00CDT - 22 July 2003

Four "High-Value Targets" Killed in Raid in Mosul

Mosul, Iraq (EmergencyNet News) -- Early and still largely unconfirmed reports are coming in with regard to the killing of four "high-value" persons in a four-hour firefight in the Northern Iraq town of Mosul.  Major Trey Cate, spokesman for the 101st Airborne Division, confirmed that four persons had been killed in the raid. The identity of the four combatants, however, has not been released by official military sources, despite unverified press speculation that Uday and Qusay Hussein were among those killed in the operation. Many of the details of the raid have not been released and some questions remain about the number of enemies and actions involved in the firefight. An announcement from the U.S. Dept of Defense and/or the White House is expected later today. 

U.S. Soldier Killed In Ambush Near Baghdad

IRAQ: The U.S. military reported that another U.S. soldier was killed and another wounded on Tuesday in an ambush along a dangerous road north of Baghdad in the infamous "Sunni Triangle." The soldier's death brought to 153 the number of U.S. troops killed in action since the 20 March start of the war -- six more than during the 1991 Gulf War. Central Command said the attackers used rocket-propelled grenades and small arms in the assault staged along the road between Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad, and Ramadi, 60 miles west of the capital. The military had no other details on the attack, many of which lately have been staged with remote-controlled roadside explosions.

21 Jul 2003

Another U.S. Soldier Killed In Iraq

IRAQ: A U.S. soldier and his Iraqi interpreter were reported killed on Monday in a grenade and gun attack in north Baghdad. The dead soldier was from the 1st Armored Division. It brought to 152 the number of U.S. troops killed in action since the 20 March start of war.

Two American soldiers and an Iraqi employee of a United Nations-affiliated relief agency were killed on Sunday. The soldiers died in an ambush by attackers using rocket-propelled grenades and small arms near Tal Afar, a town west of the northern city of Mosul.

Meanwhile, the new chief of American and allied forces in Iraq, General John Abizaid, visited the country for the first time since taking over the command from General Tommy Franks. Abizaid announced plans Monday to create a nearly 7,000-strong force of Iraqis to work with U.S. soldiers. It would consist of eight battalions of armed Iraqi militiamen, each with about 850 men.

20 Jul 2003

Two More U.S. Soldiers Killed In Iraq; Anti-U. S. Demonstrations in Najaf

IRAQ: The U.S. military said two soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division were killed and one was wounded in an ambush on Sunday when their convoy came under rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire in northern Iraq. The deaths brought to 151 the number of American soldiers killed in action since the 20 March start of the war, four more than the total killed in the 1991 Gulf war. Also on Sunday, a U.S. soldier was killed and two others injured in a non-combat incident a vehicle crash and roll-over over near Baghdad International Airport.

Meanwhile, an angry confrontation developed to the south of Baghdad. In the city of Najaf, 10,000 Shi'ite Muslim demonstrators were blocked by U.S. troops from entering the American headquarters. Soldiers used Humvees to barricade the building. There were no reports of shooting or other violence.

The demonstration began after followers of Shi'ite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr (see "19 Jul 2003: Shi'ite Cleric Calls For Competing Governing Body and "Islamic Army" below) set out from the Imam Ali shrine on a six-mile march to the U.S. headquarters, shouting slogans against the new Governing Council and the Americans. The Shi'ite demonstrators shouted: "Long live al-Sadr. America and the Council are infidels. Muqtada, go ahead. We are your soldiers of liberation."

Earlier, al-Sadr said in a statement read inside the shrine that he wanted coalition forces to leave the town and allow Iraqis to handle security for themselves. In his Friday sermon, the hard-line cleric said he was recruiting for a private army, but fell short of calling for armed struggle against the U.S. occupation. Al-Sadr, said to be only 30 years old, is not considered a high-ranking Shi'ite cleric, and most of his support is by virtue of his being the son of Imam Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, a top Shi'ite religious leader who was reportedly assassinated by Saddam's agents in 1999.

19 Jul 2003

Another U.S. Soldier Killed In Baghdad

IRAQ: The military said while U.S. forces concluded two separate sweeps in and around Baghdad -- arresting more than 1,200 people and seizing weapons, explosives and ammunition, a U.S. soldier was fatally shot guarding a bank on Saturday in the capital. The death came a day after two separate attacks on convoys in which one soldier was killed. It brought to 149 the number of U.S. personnel killed in combat since the 20 March start of the war -- two more than the 1991 Gulf War total for U.S. deaths in combat.

The soldier guarding the Baghdad bank was killed at about 0200 hours local time outside the Al-Rasheed Bank in western Baghdad. A U.S. serviceman was also injured Friday when the convoy he was in was attacked north of Baghdad with small arms fire, rocket propelled grenades and mortars. Three vehicles in the convoy were damaged in the attack in Muqdadiyah, 60 miles northwest of the capital.

In another convoy attack on Friday, a U.S. soldier was killed when a bomb was detonated by remote control at a traffic circle near the main bridge over the Euphrates River in Fallujah, a city west of Baghdad. The military also announced it had wrapped up two sweeps -- dubbed Operation Ivy Serpent and Operation Soda Mountain earlier in the week. Some 1,210 people were detained in the two operations, including 112 people suspected of close ties to the former Saddam Hussein regime.

Shi'ite Cleric Calls For Competing Governing Body and "Islamic Army"

BAGHDAD: According to a troubling New York Times report, a leading Iraqi cleric who has a wide following among poor and young Shi'ites called today for Iraqis to reject the country's newly formed Governing Council and replace it with a council that in his view better represents the interests of Iraqis. The cleric, Sayed Muktada al-Sadr, also called for the creation of an "Islamic army" that would answer to religious leaders. Get the whole story about this development from the New York Times, click here

According to several news sources, various rallies have been conducted in an attempt to demonstrate the political power of a coalition of clerics under the direction of the Hawza -- or religious school -- of the late Ayatollah Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr, who was assassinated in 1999. The organization today is under the control of his son, Sayed Muktada al-Sadr, who has taken a radical line in promoting Islamic government in Iraq, with the support of the younger and more radical clerics. The message of these groups is more anti-American and radical than that of the mainstream clerics of Najaf and Karbala, the Associated Press said. The more radical clerics say they support elections, but insist that Iraq's new democracy be supervised by the Hawza.

The clerics also insist that they have the right, as religious leaders, to disband any parliament or remove any president found wanting by them, an Associated Press report by Jim Krane previously reported. Their concept is strikingly similar to the theocracy model adopted during the Iranian revolution of 1979 by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who is one of their acknowledged role models. U.S. and coalition leaders reportedly are planning a non-religious government, with a clear separation between church and state.

17 July 2003