[ppi] [ppiindia] Dozens of Iraqis Killed by Rockets, Bomb

** Mailing List|Milis Nasional Indonesia PPI-India **


Besides the deaths in the Sadr City rocket strikes, at least 26=20
Iraqis were reported killed in a bombing at Tikrit, clashes between=20
Polish troops and Shiite militiamen in Karbala, U.S. raids overnight=20
in Sadr City, and a roadside bombing south of Baghdad.=20

Five American solders were killed around dawn when two rockets fired=20
from a truck hit the U.S. base at Taji, 12 miles north of Baghdad,=20
Air Force Lt. Col. Sam Hudspath said. U.S. helicopter gunships then=20
destroyed the truck, the military said.=20

Six soldiers were wounded in the attack, three of them critically,=20
the military said.=20

The deaths, along with the combat death of a Marine announced=20
Saturday, brought to 107 the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq=20
(news - web sites) since the beginning of April. Since the U.S.-led=20
invasion last year, 715 American military personnel have died in=20
Iraq.=20

The pre-dawn fighting in Sadr City, in eastern Baghdad, came when=20
U.S. troops sought to capture suspected Shiite militiamen, sparking a=20
battle that the military said killed one or two Iraqis. During the=20
fighting, three Iraqi girls were badly burned when a shell exploded=20
in their bedroom where they slept.=20

Hours later, a volley of three rockets was fired into Sadr City, a=20
slum of more than 1 million people. One hit the neighborhood's=20
crowded souk, known as Chicken Market, where hundreds had gathered=20
for morning shopping. Human flesh could be seen among scattered=20
merchandise and burned cars.=20

At least six Iraqis were killed and 38 wounded, said Yassin Abdel-
Qader, a doctor with the area's Health Directorate.=20

A few hours later, a rocket struck a two-story house in Sadr City,=20
smashing through the roof and down to the ground floor, killing a=20
woman as she took an afternoon nap and wounding her daughter. At=20
least two more rockets exploded later on a main street on the edge of=20
Sadr City, breaking windows but causing no casualties.=20

It was not immediately known who was behind the rocket assault on the=20
predominantly Shiite district, which is a stronghold of the al-Mahdi=20
Army militia of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The neighborhood is=20
named for al-Sadr's father, a cleric who was murdered by Saddam=20
Hussein (news - web sites)'s agents.=20

U.S. commanders have blamed Sunni Muslim insurgents for military-
style rocket attacks on U.S. bases in the past. But people in the=20
neighborhood blamed the Americans for Saturday's rocket barrages,=20
which came after the overnight clash.=20

After the rocket strike, residents chanted: "Long live al-Sadr!=20
America and the Governing Council are infidels!"=20

In other violence Saturday:=20

_A roadside bomb exploded near a bus in Haswa, 30 miles south of=20
Baghdad on Saturday, killing 13 Iraqis, including at least one child,=20
and wounding 17 people, a hospital official said. The bomb was=20
planted in the ground and went off as a bus carrying 21 people was=20
passing, said police officer Ali Mahmoud.=20

_Polish troops clashed overnight with Shiite militiamen in the city=20
of Karbala, killing five, a spokesman for the multinational=20
peacekeeping force in south-central Iraq said. A day earlier, an=20
attack on Bulgarian troops in the city killed one soldier.=20

_A roadside bomb destroyed a car carrying Iraqis near a U.S. base on=20
a downtown street in the northern city of Tikrit, the hometown of=20
Saddam and a center for anti-U.S. resistance. Four Iraqis =97 two=20
policemen and two civilians =97 were killed and 16 people were wounded,=20
the U.S. military said.=20

_An Iraqi woman working as a translator for the U.S. military and her=20
husband were fatally shot as they drove to a U.S. base, a hospital=20
official said.=20

_ In Haswa, 30 miles south of Baghdad, a roadside bomb struck a U.S.=20
military convoy, setting off shooting that caused civilian=20
casualties, witnesses said. U.S. helicopters were seen taking=20
American casualties away, the witnesses said. There was no immediate=20
comment from the military.=20

_Gunmen attacked a U.S. convoy near the city of Kut, and an armored=20
vehicle was reported burned. Witnesses also said they saw American=20
casualties.=20

The Pentagon (news - web sites) announced Friday that 595 U.S.=20
soldiers have been wounded in the past two weeks, raising the total=20
number of wounded in combat to 3,864 since the start of the conflict.=20

Also on Friday, the United Nations (news - web sites)' envoy said the=20
25 members of Iraq's U.S.-picked Governing Council should be excluded=20
from a planned caretaker government that is supposed to take nominal=20
sovereignty from the U.S.-led occupation on June 30.=20

While a group of "technocrats" runs the interim government, the=20
council members should spend the next nine months campaigning for=20
elections due by the end of January, said the envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi.=20

Washington has thrown its backing behind Brahimi's proposal,=20
suggesting the United States is prepared to allow the removal of=20
Iraqis it had put forward to run the country.=20




***************************************************************************
Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg=
 Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. www.arsip.da.ru
***************************************************************************
__________________________________________________________________________
Mohon Perhatian:

1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik)
2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari.
3. Lihat arsip sebelumnya, www.ppi-india.da.ru;=20
4. Posting: ppiindia@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
5. Satu email perhari: ppiindia-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
6. No-email/web only: ppiindia-nomail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
7. kembali menerima email: ppiindia-normal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
=20
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
     ppiindia-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
     http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
=20

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bagi Anda yang ingin berdiskusi tentang apa saja dg akrab, santai tapi serius 
dan penuh persahabatan dg seluruh masyarakat/mahasiswa Indonesia di luar negeri 
serta tokoh-tokoh intelektual dan pejabat Tanah Air, silahkan bergabung dg 
milis ppiindia@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Kirim email kosong ke: 
ppiindia-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx atau kunjungi 
www.geocities.com/arsip_nasional/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Other related posts: