Bomb kills 2, wounds 10 in Iraqi market

[maddezmom]

Bomb kills 2, wounds 10 in Iraqi market
14 Mar 2007 09:13:43 GMT

MORE >>
BAGHDAD, March 14 (Reuters) - A bomb exploded in a market south of the northern city of Kirkuk on Wednesday, killing two people and wounding 10, police said.

The explosion took place in Tuz Khurmato, south of Kirkuk. No more information was immediately available.

more:http://mobile.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IBO431906.htm

FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, March 14
March 14 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq as of 0630 GMT on Wednesday:

NEAR FALLUJA - The bodies of two men were found, with gunshot wounds and signs of torture, near the Sunni Arab stronghold of Falluja, 50 km (35 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.

DIWANIYA - Gunmen killed two police officers and wounded another on Tuesday night in a drive-by shooting in the southern city of Diwaniya, 180 km (110 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

ISKANDARIYA - A Sunni mosque was badly damaged on Tuesday when gunmen planted bombs inside it in the town of Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

link: http://mobile.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L14253229.htm

[Eugene]

1. AP: 8 Killed in Suicide Bombing in Iraq

8 Killed in Suicide Bombing in Iraq


Wednesday March 14, 2007 10:16 AM

AP Photo BAG116

BAGHDAD (AP) - A suicide bomber struck a market in northern Iraq on Wednesday,
killing at least eight people and wounding 25, police said.

The explosion occurred just before noon as the market was crowded with shoppers
in Tuz Khormato, 130 miles north of Baghdad.

Northern Iraq has seen a recent rise in violence that many blame on insurgents
fleeing a security crackdown in the capital. The city, which is mixed but consists
mainly of Turkomen, is 88 miles south of oil-rich Kirkuk.

In western Baghdad, a suicide car bomber slammed into an Iraqi army checkpoint
in the Sunni neighborhood of Yarmouk, killing two civilians and wounding four
others, police said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6479370,00.html

[maddezmom]

2. Baghdad bombs claim more lives despite security drive

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Two civilians were killed in a suicide car bombing in Baghdad on Wednesday while two US soldiers were reported killed by roadside bombs, as violence continued in defiance of a security operation.

Meanwhile, a bomb in a market in a northern town killed one civilian and wounded 14, two abducted policemen were found dead while three other people were killed in bombings and attacks in other parts of the country.

Police also reported the discovery of eight corpses, two of them headless, in the restive city of Baquba city.

The Baghdad car bomber targeted a military checkpoint but those who died were civilians, a security official said. Four civilians were also injured.

A bomb in a marketplace in the northern town of Tuz, about 75 kilometres (48 miles) from Kirkuk, killed one civilian and injured 14, said police official Colonel Abbas Mohammed Amin.


more:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070314/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrest_070314103334

[Eugene]

3. Reuters: Iraq says violence down in month-old Baghdad plan

Iraq says violence down in month-old Baghdad plan
14 Mar 2007 11:23:11 GMT
Source: Reuters

BAGHDAD, March 14 (Reuters) - Civilian deaths and militant attacks in Baghdad
have fallen sharply since a U.S.-backed Baghdad security plan was launched a
month ago, an Iraqi military spokesman said on Wednesday.

Brigadier Qassim Moussawi said the number of Iraqis killed by violence in the
capital since Feb. 14 was 265 -- a sharp reduction from the 1,440 Iraqis
killed in the 30-day period before the plan went into effect.

The number of car bombings was down to 36 from 56, Moussawi told a news
conference. Roadside bombs, mortar attacks, kidnappings and assassinations
were also down.

Moussawi said the plan, seen as the last chance to stop Iraq from descending
into all-out sectarian civil war, had led to an increase in attacks in the area
surrounding Baghdad, but he vowed security forces would pursue the militants.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IBO438957.htm

[Eugene]

4. AP: U.S. says al-Sadr appears to still be in Iran (U.S. cautiously optimistic about surge)

U.S. says al-Sadr appears to still be in Iran

The Associated Press
Published: March 14, 2007

BAGHDAD: The U.S. military spokesman in Iraq said on Wednesday that all
indications showed that radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr remained
in Iranian exile as of 24 hours ago.

-snip-

The spokesman expressed particular concern about a spike last week in
the number of what he called "high-profile" car bombings.

"If the high-profile car bombs can be stopped or brought down to a much
lower level, we'll just see an incredible difference in the city overall.
Murders and executions have come down by over 50 percent. ... But the
high-profile car bombs is the one we're really focused on because that's
what will start that whole cycle of violence again," Caldwell said.

-snip-

That is part of a group of statistics that prompted Caldwell and U.S.
Chargé d'Affaires Daniel Speckhard to issue cautiously optimistic
evaluations of the first month of the crackdown.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/14/africa/ME-GEN-IRAQ-Al-Sadr.php

[maddezmom]

5. another AP headline: Iraqi, U.S. officials upbeat on security

Iraqi, U.S. officials upbeat on security By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 14 minutes ago



BAGHDAD - Key U.S. and Iraqi officials on Wednesday issued cautiously optimistic reports one month into the latest drive to curb sectarian bloodshed in Baghdad but warned that months would pass before the operation could be labeled a success.

Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell, the U.S. military spokesman, also said the level of sectarian killings had dropped significantly in the month since the operation began.

"By the indicators that the government of Iraq has, it has been extremely positive. But I would caution everybody about patience, about diligence. This is going to take many months, not weeks, but the indicators are all very positive right now," Caldwell said.

One possible reason for the lowered violence in the capital could be the continued absence of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who remained in Iran "as of 24 hours ago," Caldwell said. The anti-American chief of the Mahdi Army militia was reported to have taken refuge in the neighboring Shiite theocracy before the security operation.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070314/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_070313163754