107 Iraqis Killed, Including 16 Executed by Death Squads, 79 Killed by US-Led Forces on August 19, 2007

The Iraq News Agency (INA) reported the following news for August 20, 2007.

- 3 Iraqis were killed, 12 were injured in a motorbike bomb in Al-Russafi Square in Baghdad.

- Dr. Salim Al-Attar, the Deputy Minister of Science and Technology was abducted today.

- Four people were killed, three were injured in a car bomb explosion in Sadr city.

- On Sunday, 15 Iraqis were killed, 16 bodies were found, 56 were injured, 79 fighters were killed, 78 were injured in Ba'aqiouba.

***

AP Headline: Roadside Bomb Kills 2nd Governor of Southern Iraqi Provinces in Just Over 1 Week

By BUSHRA JUHI Associated Press Writer

Aug 20, 2007, 7:03 AM EDT

BAGHDAD (AP) --

A roadside bomb killed the governor of the southern Muthanna province on Monday, police said, the second assassination of a top provincial official in just over a week.

A bomb on a motorcycle also exploded in a busy market district in central Baghdad, killing at least three people and wounding 11, according to a police official in the capital.

The blast struck the SUV carrying Gov. Mohammed Ali al-Hassani about 9 a.m., shortly after his convoy departed from his home in Rumaitha en route to his office in the provincial capital of Samawah, about 230 miles southeast of Baghdad.

Al-Hassani, his driver and a guard were killed, while his office manager and two other guards were seriously wounded, police said.

A curfew was immediately clamped on Samawah and new checkpoints were erected.

On Aug. 11, the governor and police chief of another southern province, Qadasiyah, also were killed in a roadside bombing attack. Gov. Khalil Jalil Hamza and the police chief Maj. Gen. Khalid Hassan were killed as they returned to the provincial capital of Diwaniyah from a funeral for a tribal sheik.

Both governors were members of the influential Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, a group led by Shiite politician Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim whose loyalists have been fighting the Mahdi Army militia for control of the oil-rich south as British-led forces gradually withdraw from the area.

Al-Hassani, 52, was from a prominent clan in the area and had been governor for about two years despite several attempts by rivals in the provincial council to sack him.

SIIC dominates the Muthanna provincial capital with about half of the 40 seats, with the rest divided among other Shiite parties, including Fadhila and the Dawa party of al-Maliki.

Police quickly laid blame on the Mahdi Army, which is nominally loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and has been involved in several recent clashes with its rivals.

"There was nothing against the governor inside the province except the confrontations between Mahdi Army and SIIC, which have claimed the lives of dozens of people," an officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he feared retribution.

In another sign of growing discontent, thousands rallied against the U.S. in Sadr City, waving Iraqi flags and shouting "no, no to America." One group of men set an effigy of an American flag on fire, then stomped on it.

The protesters demanded an end to the raids that are often carried out by U.S. and Iraqi forces.

Fair Use Notice

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.