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2013 NCAA POD Record
8-3ATS +3.80 units
2013 NFL POD Record
1-2 ATS -4.50 units -
Civilian deaths in Iraq drop overnight By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer
51 minutes ago
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The number of Iraqi civilians killed in Baghdad's sectarian violence fell drastically overnight, an Iraqi military official said Friday, crediting the joint U.S.-Iraqi security operation that began in force just days ago.
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Iraqi army Brig. Gen. Qassim Moussawi, a spokesman for the Baghdad commander, said only 10 bodies had been reported by the morgue in the capital, compared to an average of 40 to 50 per day.
"This shows a big reduction in terror and killing operations in Baghdad," he said on Iraqi state television.
Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil, commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad, also reported a reduction in violence, attributing it to both the increased U.S. and Iraqi security presence and an apparent decision by the militias and insurgents to lay low.
"They're watching us carefully. There's an air of suspense throughout the city. We believe, there's no question about it, that many of these extremists are laying low and watching to see what it is we do and how we do it. How long that will last, we don't know," he said.
A U.S. military spokesman, meanwhile, said there were no indications that the al-Qaida in Iraq leader had been killed or wounded in a raid, contradicting reports from the Iraqi government. Further calling the reports into question, an Iraqi army officer said the al-Qaida leader's deputy — said to be killed in Thursday's raid north of Baghdad — has been jailed for a week south of the city.
Interior Ministry spokesman, Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said earlier Friday that terror leader Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was wounded and an aide killed Thursday in a clash with Iraqi forces near Balad, north of Baghdad.
Khalaf declined to say how Iraqi forces knew al-Masri had been injured, and deputy Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Hussein Ali Kamal later said he could not confirm the information.
But spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Garver said the U.S. military had no information to corroborate the account.
"We do not believe that he was either killed or wounded last night," Garver said of al-Masri. He said he also could not confirm any information about the aide.
An Iraqi army officer also said al-Masri's aide, identified as Abu Abdullah al-Majemaai, had been detained on Feb. 9 and remained in custody in a jail near Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad.
The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the information, said he could not comment on al-Masri's whereabouts.
The al-Qaida-affilated Islamic State of Iraq also denied al-Masri had come to harm.
The announcement, on a site frequently used by the terror group, carried the logo of The Islamic State of Iraq, a militant network that includes al-Qaida. Its authenticity could not be independently verified.
In the statement, the militant group said the Iraqi government was "making up such news, that have been denied even by their masters, the Americans."
Separately, the U.S. military said a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq cell leader accused in roadside bombs and rocket attacks was detained Thursday in Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles north of Baghdad.
Al-Masri took over the leadership of al-Qaida in Iraq after its charismatic leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in a U.S. airstrike last year in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad. In October, false reports surfaced that al-Masri was killed in a raid, and the U.S. military performed DNA tests on a slain militant to see if he was the al-Qaida leader.
Al-Zarqawi was widely believed to have fomented sectarian war through his campaign of brutal suicide attacks against Shiite civilians. The first steps of the security operation display the sectarian divides complicating any plan to calm Baghdad — which is key to begin stabilizing the rest of the country.
Moussawi, the Iraqi military spokesman, said the 107 displaced families had returned to their homes in the Sunni enclave of Salman Pak, as well as some other areas, although he did not give more details.
The U.S. military said that five suspected militants had been detained and numerous pistols, rifles, AK-47s and small arms munitions seized during searches of more than 3,000 structures since an operation began Tuesday in mainly Shiite northeastern Baghdad. It also said clearing operations were continuing in the predominantly Sunni northern neighborhood of Azamiyah.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has promised to target Shiite militia and Sunni violence equally as part of the neighborhood-to-neighborhood security sweep that he hopes will end the sectarian violence that has been on the rise since the Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite mosque in Samarra.
Sunni cleric Harith al-Obeidi warned the government not to target mosques as part of the military action.
"Harming mosques and innocents are red lines to us," he said. "Mosques are places for worship and are symbols of peace."
Iraqi security officials also said 34 armed men belonging to a messianic Shiite cult were detained near Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad.
The Soldiers of Heaven, or Jund al-Samaa, cult was involved in a gunbattle last month with Iraqi forces who accused the group of planning to kill Shiite clerics and others in a bid to force the return of the "Hidden Imam" — a descendant of Islam's Prophet Muhammad who disappeared as a child in the 9th century. Shiites believe that he will return one day to bring justice to each.
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Associated Press writer Robert Burns contributed to this report from Washington.2013 NCAA POD Record
8-3ATS +3.80 units
2013 NFL POD Record
1-2 ATS -4.50 units -
They are probably running out of explosives....Remember the three R's:
Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.Comment
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wait till the Demos read this one.......jordanrules..................Comment
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Sorry dimer but the general in command over there said it was only temporary. I guess you forgot to mention that
Comment
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actual fact to back up my statement which none of you can
REFILE-US general: Dip in Baghdad violence temporary
(Corrects paragraph 10 to read ...their... instead of ...they're...)
By Kristin Roberts
WASHINGTON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Violence in Baghdad has declined as thousands of U.S. and Iraqi forces flow into the city, but the dip is likely temporary while insurgents halt attacks to assess the situation, a U.S. commander said on Friday.
"They are watching us carefully," said Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil, commander of Multi-National Division Baghdad.
"There is an air of suspense throughout the city, expectation if you will, and we believe there's no question about it -- many of these extremists are laying low and watching to see what it is we do and how we do it."
"We do not believe that that is going to continue," Fil told reporters at the Pentagon by videoconference from Baghdad. "We do expect there are going to be some very rough, difficult days ahead. This enemy, they understand lethality and they have a thirst for blood like I have never seen anywhere before."
Fil said the number of attacks in Baghdad had declined significantly, and that none of the attacks in the past two days have been effective against U.S. and coalition forces.
He also noted the number of attacks conducted by the Mehdi Army militia had declined. But he said did not know if that was because its leader, Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, appears to have fled the area.
"Whether that's the result of strategy or a power vacuum, I can't say," Fil said.
Asked about reports that the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was injured, Fil would only say that al-Masri was being sought.
"He should know, he knows very well, that we are definitely after him and that he is a hunted man," Fil said.
"Whether or not his loss will mean anything to al Qaeda in Iraq, it certainly will but we have also seen that they're able to rejuvenate leadership very quickly," he said. "We are continuing to go after their entire architecture."
About 112,000 additional U.S. and Iraqi forces are now in Baghdad, including 35,000 U.S. troops, Fil said.
The Iraqi forces, a key part of U.S. President George W. Bush's security plan for Baghdad, have been streaming into the city as expected, he said. Four additional Iraqi battalions are headed to the capital as well, according to Fil.Comment
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that is great news. Only problem is that as soon as we leave it
will start up again. I do not think our military prowess is ever in question. but the iraqi's are terrible..Comment
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tell the american public ,once again ,,why the hell to bush start this war? since he keeps changing his reasonsComment
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BC
I feel it will increase also BUT...what gets me going about you is that you post it as FACT. Throughout the article words like we believe and likely are written. These words don't indicate ANYTHING as factual.
I'm going to listen to Gordon Lightfoot records and start the Whig party back up......Remember the three R's:
Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.Comment
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Hey TTT
I'm working at the hockey game tonight...You going?Remember the three R's:
Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.Comment
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Originally posted by rwall
Shit---i wish i had known...I have business in Coconut Grove tonight...I actually got hired by Shakira to find her new office space there....I am going Thursday and Saturday the 23rd....
keep me in touchComment
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I will....Originally posted by TwoTonTonyRemember the three R's:
Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.Comment
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We just need to get out of Iraq. Let the towel-heads all kill each other in the name of allahComment
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What do you think happens to the Middle East, terrorism as a whole, and our economy (due to oil dependence) if we pulled everyone out tomm?Originally posted by fuzzebearComment
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May not say fact, but I would take that guys word since he's on ground level more than I would an article that was just written for a very short case in point. My point was dimer left out my article which republicans tend to do.Originally posted by rwallComment
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