.contact us |.about us
News > International News ... ...
Search:
    Advertisement
Iraqi guerrillas kill 9 in 'Sunni Triangle' attacks
( 2004-01-23 10:41) (Agencies)

A U.S. general said on Thursday guerrillas were only a "sporadic threat" in Iraq as a surge of violence by insurgents in the volatile Sunni triangle region around Baghdad killed nine people.

Iraqi guerrillas kill 9 in 'Sunni Triangle' attacks
The daughter and mother of Najia Adam Shabu, who was killed when unidentified assailants opened fire on a minibus in which she was traveling in Fallujah, Iraq , bury her at a cemetery in Baghdad Thursday, Jan. 22, 2004. [AP]
Two American soldiers were among those killed in three separate attacks, the most deadly of which was an ambush on a bus carrying Iraqi women home from work at a military base west of the capital.

Four women were killed and six hurt in the bus attack on Wednesday in Falluja, a hotbed of resistance 30 miles west of Baghdad. On Thursday two policeman and a civilian were killed in an attack on an Iraqi police post near the town.

The American soldiers were killed in a mortar attack on a military base near Baquba, north of Baghdad, late on Wednesday.

Army Major-General Raymond Odierno, who commands the 4th Infantry Division which is based in Tikrit in the heart of the Sunni triangle, said the Iraqi resistance forces have been "brought to their knees."

Odierno, speaking to reporters at the Pentagon by video conference, said they "are still a threat, but a fractured sporadic threat with the leadership destabilized, finances interdicted and no hope of the Baathists return to power."

"I believe within six months, I think you're going to see some normalcy," he added.

Odierno said the number of guerrilla attacks against U.S. forces have declined significantly since peaking in November.

But security in Iraq remains precarious. On Sunday, at least 25 people were killed in a suicide car bomb attack at the headquarters of the U.S.-led administration in Baghdad.

On Thursday, a Spanish Civil Guard police commander was shot in the head and seriously wounded in an operation against "members of a terrorist group," and two people were killed by rocket-propelled grenades at an office of the Iraqi Communist Party in Baghdad.

Since the United States invaded Iraq in March to topple Saddam Hussein, 505 U.S. soldiers have died in the country, 349 of them in combat.

IRAQI ANGER

The growing number of civilian deaths is stoking bitter resentment as U.S. troops struggle to improve security before an American plan to hand over power to Iraqis by July 1.

"Look what the Americans do. Look at all these bullet holes. All of this talk about elections and stability is empty," said Musa Ali, staring at the damage inflicted by U.S. troops after they shot dead two civilians in the flashpoint town of Falluja.

Facing a mounting death toll and spiralling financial costs of occupation, Washington wants to hand back sovereignty to an Iraqi government some four months before the U.S. presidential election.

But the U.S. plan has been criticized by Iraq's most revered Shi'ite Muslim cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, because it does not allow for direct elections until 2005.

The United Nations is considering sending a team to Iraq to investigate whether earlier elections are possible, a move Washington hopes will soothe anger over its political road map.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special adviser on Iraq, Lakhdar Brahimi, held talks with senior White House officials on Thursday. U.S. officials are pressing him to lead the U.N. team in Iraq, but so far he has resisted the role.

A spokesman for the U.S. administration in Iraq said there were doubts whether fair elections could be organized in the time available.

"It's difficult, based on the analysis we have received, that direct elections can be legitimate in such a short period of time," said Dan Senor, referring to the time left to appoint a transitional assembly that will name a government.

Allies of Sistani have said he would respect the U.N. recommendations, although near-daily demonstrations for direct elections by his followers might take on a life of their own.

A senior U.N. official said in New York the world body basically agreed with the Bush administration. "There is a perception that early elections tend to favor extremists rather than the moderates," he said.

DEBT LIFELINE

A financial wreck after three wars in 15 years and years of sanctions, Iraq was handed a financial lifeline on Thursday when the World Bank said indications were most of its foreign debt of US$120 billion would be written off.

The United States sees relieving Iraq of its debt as key to reviving the oil-rich country's economy and Washington's special envoy James Baker has visited Europe, Japan, China and the Middle East in search of ways to reduce the burden.

"I talked to him the other day. It looks as though most of the players are prepared to consider a write-off of 66 2/3 (per cent) of the debt," World Bank President James Wolfensohn told CNBC television in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, where the World Economic Forum is holding its annual meeting.

 
Close  
   
  Today's Top News   Top International News
   
+WHO: Bird flu death rises to 15; vaccination recommended
(2004-02-05)
+Solana: EU ready to lift China arms embargo
(2004-02-05)
+Nation tops TV, cell phone, monitor production
(2004-02-05)
+Absence ... still makes China hot
(2004-02-05)
+Hu: Developing world in key role
(2004-02-04)
+WHO: Bird flu death rises to 15; vaccination recommended
(2004-02-05)
+Solana: EU ready to lift China arms embargo
(2004-02-05)
+US court clears way for gay marriages
(2004-02-05)
+Pakistan nuke scientist asks forgiveness
(2004-02-05)
+Sharon ready for referendum on scrapping settlements
(2004-02-05)
   
  Go to Another Section  
     
 
 
     
  Article Tools  
     
 
 
     
   
        .contact us |.about us
  Copyright By chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved  
主站蜘蛛池模板: 就去吻亚洲精品欧美日韩在线| 欧美浓毛大泬视频| 国产人妖XXXX做受视频| 久久综合给合综合久久| 美女黄18以下禁止观看| 国产成人精品无码片区在线观看| 丁香六月婷婷在线| 日本精高清区一| 亚洲AV色香蕉一区二区三区蜜桃| 欧美日韩精品久久久久 | 99久久久精品免费观看国产| 婷婷久久五月天| 九九热视频精品| 精品久久久久久国产| 国产亚洲福利一区二区免费看| 国产亚洲sss在线播放| 国产精品亲子乱子伦xxxx裸 | 一本一道dvd在线播放器 | 野花香高清在线观看视频播放免费 | 特黄特色大片免费播放| 国产亚洲精品精品国产亚洲综合 | 亚洲一久久久久久久久| 男男(h)肉视频网站| 又粗又大又猛又爽免费视频| 亚洲精品二三区伊人久久| 好大好爽快点视频| 久久机热这里只有精品无需| 焰灵姬你下面好紧| 免费无码一区二区三区| 香港三级绝色杨贵妃电影| 国精品在亚洲_欧美| chinesespanking2实践| 孩交videos精品乱子豆奶视频| 三上悠亚大战黑人在线观看| 成人性一级视频在线观看| 五月天婷婷视频在线观看| 波多野结衣全部作品电影| 啊轻点灬大ji巴太粗小说太男| 免费观看黄色的网站| 国产精品久久久久网站| 884hutv四虎永久黄网|