BeautifulDisaster - banned
10-22-2006, 01:04 PM
Story High(Low)lights.
• 78 U.S. troops killed in Iraq in October, highest death toll this year
• Average 43 Iraqis killed each day this month, up from 27 per day in other months
• U.S. downplays remarks by diplomat that U.S. has shown "stupidity" in Iraq
• Deadly bombs hit holiday shoppers in Iraq for a second day
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- October has been the deadliest month this year for U.S. forces in Iraq, and the death toll for Iraqi civilians also has risen.
Seventy-eight U.S. troops have died, surpassing the year's previous high figure of 76 in April.
October is on course to be the deadliest month for American service members in two years, a development U.S. officials have blamed in part on the increased vulnerability of American forces during a major two-month security sweep in Baghdad.
Bombs on Sunday ripped through crowds of Baghdad shoppers stocking up on sweets and other delicacies to celebrate the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, killing at least five people, police said.
The carnage in the Shurja wholesale market, Baghdad's oldest and largest, marked the second time in as many days that open-air shopping places have been targeted and adds to a surge in deaths during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, which ends on Sunday for Sunnis.
At least 19 people were killed and scores injured in a bomb and mortar attack Saturday on a market in Mahmoudiya, just south of the capital.
So far this month, an average of about 43 Iraqis have been killed each day, according to an Associated Press count. That compares to an average daily death toll of about 27 since April 2005. The AP count includes civilians, government officials and police and security forces, and is considered a minimum based on AP reporting.
The actual number is likely higher, as many killings go unreported, and the United Nations estimates about 100 Iraqi civilians are killed each day.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials sought to downplay an unusually candid assessment of the security situation made by a senior U.S. State Department official in an interview Saturday with Al-Jazeera television, a pan-Arab satellite channel.
Alberto Fernandez, director of public diplomacy in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, said the U.S. had shown "arrogance" and "stupidity" in Iraq, but added that Washington was ready to talk with any Iraqi group except al Qaeda in Iraq to facilitate national reconciliation.
State department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters Fernandez afterward said he didn't think the reports were an "accurate reflection of what he said." Asked whether the Bush administration believed that history will show a record of arrogance or stupidity in Iraq, McCormack replied "No."
A senior Bush administration official questioned whether the remarks had been translated correctly.
"Those comments obviously don't reflect our position," said the official, who asked not to be identified because a transcript was not then available for review.
President Bush reviewed Iraq strategy with top war commanders and national security advisers on Friday and Saturday, but indicated little inclination for major changes to an increasingly divisive policy.
"Our goal in Iraq is clear and unchanging: Our goal is victory," Bush said in his weekly radio address Saturday. "What is changing are the tactics we use to achieve that goal."
The White House is under heavy bipartisan, pre-election pressure for a significant re-examination of the president's war plan.
With Ramadan ending Sunday for Sunni Muslims, Baghdad's Shurja market was especially packed with families shopping for food, clothing and household items from among a warren of warehouses, stalls and shops.
Three people were killed and eight others injured in an initial bombing, while a second explosion half an hour later injured six more, police Lt. Ali Abbas said.
Another bomb hidden under a car killed two people and injured 10 others lined up outside a pastry and sweet shop in eastern Baghdad Sunday morning, police Capt. Mohammed Abdul-Ghani said. About five minutes later, a mortar round crashed into a restaurant about 200 yards away, injuring two civilians and causing extensive damage to the eatery and nearby shops, Abdul-Ghani said.
At least 10 people were killed in other violence around Iraq, including nine dead in clashes between rival Shiite and Sunni tribes south of the capital.
One person was killed and another injured by a roadside bomb in Mahaweel, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of Baghdad, police Capt. Muthana Khalid Ali said. The bomb appeared to have missed its intended target, a police patrol.
Two others were injured in a similar attack shortly afterward in east Baghdad, police said.
• 78 U.S. troops killed in Iraq in October, highest death toll this year
• Average 43 Iraqis killed each day this month, up from 27 per day in other months
• U.S. downplays remarks by diplomat that U.S. has shown "stupidity" in Iraq
• Deadly bombs hit holiday shoppers in Iraq for a second day
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- October has been the deadliest month this year for U.S. forces in Iraq, and the death toll for Iraqi civilians also has risen.
Seventy-eight U.S. troops have died, surpassing the year's previous high figure of 76 in April.
October is on course to be the deadliest month for American service members in two years, a development U.S. officials have blamed in part on the increased vulnerability of American forces during a major two-month security sweep in Baghdad.
Bombs on Sunday ripped through crowds of Baghdad shoppers stocking up on sweets and other delicacies to celebrate the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, killing at least five people, police said.
The carnage in the Shurja wholesale market, Baghdad's oldest and largest, marked the second time in as many days that open-air shopping places have been targeted and adds to a surge in deaths during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, which ends on Sunday for Sunnis.
At least 19 people were killed and scores injured in a bomb and mortar attack Saturday on a market in Mahmoudiya, just south of the capital.
So far this month, an average of about 43 Iraqis have been killed each day, according to an Associated Press count. That compares to an average daily death toll of about 27 since April 2005. The AP count includes civilians, government officials and police and security forces, and is considered a minimum based on AP reporting.
The actual number is likely higher, as many killings go unreported, and the United Nations estimates about 100 Iraqi civilians are killed each day.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials sought to downplay an unusually candid assessment of the security situation made by a senior U.S. State Department official in an interview Saturday with Al-Jazeera television, a pan-Arab satellite channel.
Alberto Fernandez, director of public diplomacy in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, said the U.S. had shown "arrogance" and "stupidity" in Iraq, but added that Washington was ready to talk with any Iraqi group except al Qaeda in Iraq to facilitate national reconciliation.
State department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters Fernandez afterward said he didn't think the reports were an "accurate reflection of what he said." Asked whether the Bush administration believed that history will show a record of arrogance or stupidity in Iraq, McCormack replied "No."
A senior Bush administration official questioned whether the remarks had been translated correctly.
"Those comments obviously don't reflect our position," said the official, who asked not to be identified because a transcript was not then available for review.
President Bush reviewed Iraq strategy with top war commanders and national security advisers on Friday and Saturday, but indicated little inclination for major changes to an increasingly divisive policy.
"Our goal in Iraq is clear and unchanging: Our goal is victory," Bush said in his weekly radio address Saturday. "What is changing are the tactics we use to achieve that goal."
The White House is under heavy bipartisan, pre-election pressure for a significant re-examination of the president's war plan.
With Ramadan ending Sunday for Sunni Muslims, Baghdad's Shurja market was especially packed with families shopping for food, clothing and household items from among a warren of warehouses, stalls and shops.
Three people were killed and eight others injured in an initial bombing, while a second explosion half an hour later injured six more, police Lt. Ali Abbas said.
Another bomb hidden under a car killed two people and injured 10 others lined up outside a pastry and sweet shop in eastern Baghdad Sunday morning, police Capt. Mohammed Abdul-Ghani said. About five minutes later, a mortar round crashed into a restaurant about 200 yards away, injuring two civilians and causing extensive damage to the eatery and nearby shops, Abdul-Ghani said.
At least 10 people were killed in other violence around Iraq, including nine dead in clashes between rival Shiite and Sunni tribes south of the capital.
One person was killed and another injured by a roadside bomb in Mahaweel, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of Baghdad, police Capt. Muthana Khalid Ali said. The bomb appeared to have missed its intended target, a police patrol.
Two others were injured in a similar attack shortly afterward in east Baghdad, police said.