WORLD / Middle East
4 US Marines killed; Iraq official held
(AP)
Updated: 2007-02-08 19:35
AGHDAD, Iraq - Four US Marines were killed in fighting in Anbar province,
the military said Thursday. The Marines, who were assigned to
Multi-National Force - West, died Wednesday from wounds sustained due to
enemy action in two separate incidents in the insurgent stronghold west
of Baghdad, according to a statement.
An Iraqi army soldier oversees traffic at a vehicle checkpoint in
Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2007. US officials confirmed the new
security operation which will involve about 90,000 Iraqi and American
troops and is seen by many as a last chance to curb Iraq's sectarian war
was under way after a delayed start. [AP]
The deaths raised to at least 3,114 members of the US military who have
died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated
Press count.
Iraqi forces on Thursday detained a senior Health Ministry official
accused of corruption and helping to funnel millions of dollars to
Shi'ite militiamen blamed for much of the recent sectarian violence in
the capital, the US military said.
The raid was the latest action in a crackdown on radical Shi'ite cleric
Muqtada al-Sadr's militia, coming a day after the chief US military
spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said a security sweep to stop the
rampant attacks in the capital was under way.
Violence also was unrelenting Thursday, with car bombs striking Shi'ite
targets in Baghdad and south of the capital. At least 43 people were
killed or found dead in Iraq.
The US Embassy in Baghdad, meanwhile, said US officials were
investigating a Jan. 31 incident involving a civilian helicopter after
The New York times reported that insurgents had brought the chopper down
with ground fire during a flight between Hillah and Baghdad.
If confirmed, it would be the sixth helicopter to crash in Iraq since
Jan. 20, prompting the US military to review flight operations. The most
recent crash occurred Wednesday when a CH-46 Sea Knight went down
northwest of Baghdad, killing seven people.
The military statement did not name the official, but a ministry
spokesman said earlier that US and Iraqi forces had seized deputy Health
Minister Hakim al-Zamili, an al-Sadr supporter, from his first-floor
office in northern Baghdad.
The detainee was implicated in the deaths of several ministry officials,
including the director-general in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad,
the military said.
He reportedly orchestrated several kickback schemes related to inflated
contracts for equipment and services, with millions of dollars allegedly
funneled to the Mahdi Army militia that is loyal to al-Sadr, according to
the statement.
The official also was suspected of providing large-scale employment of
militia members who used Health Ministry facilities and services for
"sectarian kidnapping and murder," the military said.
Joint US-Iraqi forces stormed the Health Ministry compound early
Thursday, causing all the employees to flee, spokesman Qassim Yahya said.
One of al-Zamili's bodyguards said he heard gunshots, then the Americans
asked him to step aside and approached the deputy health minister, who
introduced himself by name and title. A US soldier told al-Zamili he was
on a list of wanted names and handcuffed him before leading him away, the
bodyguard said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of security
concerns.
In the deadliest attack Thursday, a parked car bomb exploded about 10:30
a.m. at a meat market in the predominantly Shi'ite town of Aziziyah, 56
miles south of Baghdad, killing 20 people and wounding 45, police said.
Another parked car bomb tore through a minibus nearly an hour earlier in
the mainly Shi'ite Amin neighborhood in southeastern Baghdad, killing
seven passengers and wounding 10, police said.
The blast blew out the windows of at least one car parked in a nearby
driveway and left piles of rubble and ashes that were being cleared away
by street sweepers as the burned out frame of the bus stood nearby.
Baghdad's streets have been electric with tension as US officials
confirmed the new security operation was under way. US armor rushed
through streets and Iraqi armored personnel carriers guarded bridges and
major intersections.
New coils of barbed-wire and blast barriers marked checkpoints that
caused traffic bottlenecks. US Apache helicopters were in the air over
parts of the city where they hadn't been seen before. Gunfire still rang
out across the city and some residents said they doubted life would get
better.
"Nothing will work; it's too late," said Hashem al-Moussawi, a resident
of the Sadr City Shi'ite enclave who was badly wounded in a bombing in
December.
Underlining the dangers ahead, a Sea Knight helicopter crashed Wednesday
northwest of Baghdad, killing all seven people on board, the US military
said.
A military statement did not give a cause for the crash, but a senior US
defense official in Washington said the CH-46 helicopter did not appear
to have been hit by hostile fire. An Iraqi air force officer said,
however, the helicopter was shot down with a missile. An al-Qaida-linked
Sunni group said in a Web statement it was responsible.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that insurgents attacked another
helicopter with ground fire in a previously undisclosed incident on Jan.
31, forcing it to land on a flight between Hillah and Baghdad in support
of State Department operations.
Another American helicopter rescued passengers and crew but a US military
quick reaction force suffered several casualties while responding to the
scene, the newspaper said, citing unnamed American officials. The US
military had no immediate comment.
The five confirmed helicopter downings include a chopper operated by the
private security group Blackwater USA, which provides guards for State
Department employees.
Caldwell said Wednesday that the much-awaited Baghdad security operation
was finally under way but would be implemented gradually. It is the third
attempt by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his US backers to pacify
Baghdad since the Shi'ite leader came to office in May. The operation,
which will involve about 90,000 Iraqi and American troops, was seen by
many as a last chance to curb Iraq's sectarian war.
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