Home>News Center>World
         
 

Car bomb kills at least 40 in Iraq
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-02-10 20:28

At least 40 people were killed and dozens more wounded late Tuesday morning in a car bomb attack near a police station and courthouse south of Baghdad, a senior Iraqi Interior Ministry official said.

The blast took place in Iskandariyah, about 25 miles south of Baghdad.

In separate attacks, two pairs of Iraqi police officers were shot as they drove to work in Baghdad Tuesday morning, Ministry of Interior sources said.

The four officers were killed, two in west Baghdad and two in east Baghdad, when gunmen sprayed their vehicles with bullets. In each case, the officers were traveling together.

The officers killed in west Baghdad were a major and a captain who were also cousins, the sources said. The officers killed in east Baghdad were two lieutenants who were brothers.

The officers were shot within blocks of their homes as they came upon traffic "choke points."

Document sought help in Iraq from al Qaeda
Meanwhile, a 17-page document seized at a suspected al Qaeda safe house in Baghdad appears to have requested the terror network's help in sparking a civil war in Iraq, setting Shiite Muslims against Sunni Muslims, U.S. officials have said.

Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said Monday officials believe the letter was written by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian believed connected to al Qaeda, and meant for Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

The document, first reported in The New York Times, takes credit for 25 suicide attacks in Iraq, and says U.S. troops make easy targets.

But the writer states that few Iraqis have been willing to support his fighters beyond offering them refuge and says they will "lose the pretext" for waging attacks if a new Iraqi government takes power as scheduled at the end of June.

Coalition Provisional Authority spokesman Dan Senor said the letter "was clearly intended to be read by senior leadership of al Qaeda outside Iraq." It asks the intended recipients' help "to bring the Shia into the battle," according to an excerpt published in the Times.

"It is the only way to prolong the duration of the fight between the infidels and us," it states. "If we succeed in dragging them into a sectarian war, this will awaken the sleepy Sunnis, who are fearful of destruction and death" in a potential civil war.

Dexter Filkins, a New York Times reporter who was given access to the document by the U.S. military, told CNN it was "sort of part business plan and part plea for help."

"Basically, they were saying, 'It's really hard here. We're not getting a lot of support. We think we're losing. Here is this sort of last-ditch plan that we can come up with. Can you help?' "

Further, Filkins said, the author of the document was "deferential" to the recipient, telling him: " 'We realize that you're the big fish, and we're not competing with you, but we are at your disposal. And you just tell us what you need to do, and here are our ideas.' "

Filkins, interviewed on CNN's "American Morning," said of the letter: "Assuming it was authentic ... it was a stark admission that things were not going very well for them."

In Washington, Secretary of State Colin Powell said the document provided a "very revealing" look at the strategy of at least one element of the opposition to the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq.

"They describe the weaknesses they have in their efforts to undercut the coalition's efforts, but at the same time it shows they haven't given up," Powell said.

Senor agreed, saying the letter "clearly outlines what has been working from our perspective."

"The document expresses great concern about our efforts to hand over sovereignty to the Iraqis," Senor said. "In fact, it explicitly says that once Iraqis are in control of their government, it will make it virtually impossible for the foreign terrorists to operate."

The letter was on a computer disk captured in January along with Hassan Ghul, a man identified as an al Qaeda courier, senior coalition officials said. Ghul identified Zarqawi as the letter's author, one official said.

In a speech to the United Nations February 5, 2003, Powell cited Zarqawi's presence in northern Iraq as evidence of a "sinister nexus between Iraq and the al Qaeda terrorist network."

On Monday, Powell said the Zarqawi document "certainly lends some credence" to those claims.

U.S. officials said last month that mounting evidence suggests Zarqawi was involved in some of last year's major attacks in Iraq -- against Italian forces, U.N. headquarters in Baghdad and the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf. (Full story)

The first attack killed 16 Italian soldiers, two Italian civilians and nine Iraqis in Nasiriya. More than 20 people, including United Nations envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello, were killed in the headquarters bombing. The mosque attack in Najaf killed 126 people, including a Shiite spiritual leader.

Zarqawi, who is suspected of masterminding the slaying of an American diplomat in Amman, Jordan, moved into Iraq to plan the attacks, officials believe. Although not a member of al Qaeda, he is affiliated with the terrorist organization, officials say.

Fewer troops to patrol larger area starting in April
Also Monday, military officials said the U.S. Army division taking command of Baghdad in April will be a more mobile, less obtrusive force, tasked with patrolling a larger area with fewer troops.

The 1st Cavalry, which takes over authority of Baghdad from the 1st Armored Division on April 15, will rely on armored humvees rather than tanks and fighting vehicles, Col. Mike Formica said Monday.

The 1st Cavalry will have fewer troops but will be responsible for a wider area than the 1st Armored Division, said Brig. Gen. Mark Hertling. The new jurisdiction also covers Baghdad but extends west and north of the city as well, Hertling said.

"It was a conscious decision by the part of the Army to take what was an armored brigade combat team and transform us into a motorized brigade combat team," Formica said. "The difference is we will be much more mobile and less obtrusive in many cases."

U.S. officials have long talked of the need to make the Army less visible and less obtrusive, particularly in the capital.

Part of the aim is to cut down on what are seen as "attacks of opportunity" against U.S. soldiers and to allow the Iraqi police and security forces to fill the gap.

U.S. officials say Baghdad still needs about 10,000 more police officers. The city, which is the size of Los Angeles, California, has 9,000 trained police officers, Hertling said.

Despite regular attacks, the military has made significant gains against improvised explosive devices -- home-made bombs that have been the weapons of choice against U.S. soldiers. In January, troops found and defused more bombs than were detonated, Hertling said.

Other developments:

-- U.S. troops are holding number 48 on the Pentagon's top-55 most wanted list, according to Pentagon officials. Muhsin Khadr al-Khafaji, a Baath party regional chairman was taken into custody over this past weekend. Officials would not elaborate on the circumstances surrounding al-Khafaji's detention.

-- Two U.S. soldiers were killed and six others wounded while conducting ordnance disposal operations near the town of Sinjar, close to the Syria border, a U.S. military official said Monday. "It's our understanding the accident happened as part of ordnance disposal and not as part of a hostile attack," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said. The deaths bring the total of U.S. troops killed in Iraq since the war began in March to 535.

-- A United Nations team's study of whether elections in Iraq are possible this summer is "going extremely well," according to Secretary General Kofi Annan, who spoke with reporters Monday. The team is expected to meet with a broad range of Iraqis. Annan said he expects to have a recommendation by the end of the month.

 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

China, US open highest-level military talks in 14 months

 

   
 

Cockle picker tragedy stirs UK, China to action

 

   
 

Mystery surrounds missing Russian politician

 

   
 

How 'sea turtles' turned out to be 'seaweeds'?

 

   
 

'Chicken products safe for consumers'

 

   
  US: Al Qaeda operative sought civil war in Iraq
   
  Mystery surrounds missing Russian politician
   
  N.Korea says Pakistan nuclear confession a lie
   
  Haitian police take back rebel town
   
  Israel tells court W.Bank barrier route may change
   
  Bush firing shots at chief rival John Kerry
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  News Talk  
  The evil root of all instability in the world today  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 一本一道久久综合狠狠老| 五月综合色婷婷在线观看 | 天天狠天天透天干天天怕∴| 久久er国产精品免费观看2| 果冻传媒和91制片厂| 亚洲欧洲日产韩国在线| 狂野欧美性猛交xxxx| 动漫美女被到爽了流漫画| 色婷婷亚洲综合| 国产午夜鲁丝片AV无码免费| 日本丰满www色| 国产精品区一区二区三在线播放| 999福利视频| 天堂在线www天堂中文在线| 一本一本久久aa综合精品| 我和娇妻乱荡史| 久久久久亚洲av无码去区首| 日韩在线观看免费| 亚洲av人无码综合在线观看| 欧美亚洲国产精品久久高清| 亚洲日本久久一区二区va| 毛片一级在线观看| 亚洲视频天天射| 男人边吃奶边摸下边的视频| 免费无码又爽又高潮视频| 精品国产免费一区二区三区| 吃奶摸下激烈免费视频免费| 色噜噜噜噜亚洲第一| 国产乱人伦偷精品视频下| 风流艳妇在线观看| 国产在线国偷精品免费看| 91香蕉视频黄| 国产成人综合久久亚洲精品| 欧美激情videossex护士| 国产真人无码作爱视频免费| 福利视频网站导航| 国产精品va欧美精品| 亚洲丝袜第一页| 国产欧美日韩精品丝袜高跟鞋| 日本亚州视频在线八a| 国产欧美日韩一区二区三区在线|