44 Iraqis, US Soldier Killed on July 21, 2007, Including 18 Civilians Killed in a Hussainiyah US Air Strike

 

AP Headline: U.S. airstrikes hit Shiite stronghold

By KIM GAMEL Associated Press Writer

Jul 21, 2007, 12:42 PM EDT

BAGHDAD (AP) -- 

US Aircraft fired missiles and dropped a bomb in a Shi'i stronghold in northeastern Baghdad, killing six Iraqis, the U.S. military said Saturday. Iraqi officials claimed a higher death toll, saying 18 civilians were killed.

In other violence, a minibus was struck in a mortar attack shortly after noon in the predominantly Shiite area of Baladiyat in eastern Baghdad, killing at least five people and wounding 11, police said. Mortar shells also slammed into the eastern outskirts of Baghdad, killing two people and wounding four, another officer said on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.

The U.S. military said that a roadside bomb killed a U.S. soldier in Diyala province on Friday, raising to at least 3,631 members of the U.S. military who have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

The Husseiniyah airstrikes began after American forces came under small-arms fire from a building just before midnight, prompting helicopters to fire missiles at the structure, the military said, adding that three of the gunmen fled into another building.

US Aircraft dropped a bomb that destroyed that house, setting off at least seven secondary explosions believed caused by explosives and munitions stored inside, according to the military statement.

Iraqi police inspected the site and reported six militants killed and five wounded, it said.

The military account contradicted reports from Iraqi police and hospital officials, who said 18 civilians had been killed and 21 wounded in the 2 a.m. attack in Hussainiyah, where Shi'i militias operate openly near the road leading to volatile Diyala province.

AP Television News videotape showed wounded women and children lying in hospital beds, and white pickup trucks carrying at least 11 bodies wrapped in blankets to the morgue. Men unloaded the bodies, including several that were small and apparently children, as women shrouded in black wailed in mourning.

Relatives said those killed had died in the airstrike. The conflicting accounts could not be reconciled.

The Iraqi officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared retribution, also said three houses were destroyed and five cars were damaged.

***

The Iraq News Agency (INA) reported the following news:

- One person was killed, five were injured in a Mahmoudiyah explosion.

AP Headline: Iraqi army detains 46 near Iran border

By KIM GAMEL Associated Press Writer

Jul 21, 2007, 11:36 AM EDT

BAGHDAD (AP) -- 

Iraqi troops killed five Iraqis (allegedly fighters) in a new operation in eastern Diyala, the army said Saturday, while a U.S. soldier was reported killed in an explosion in the volatile province.

In violence Saturday, a bomb left on a minibus also exploded shortly after noon in the area of Baladiyat in eastern Baghdad, killing at least five Iraqis and wounding 11, police said. A mortar attack also struck the eastern outskirts of Baghdad, killing two people and wounding four, another officer said. 

American and Iraqi forces were continuing operations to clear Baqouba as well. U.S. troops regained control of the western half of the city last month and launched operations into the rest of Ba'aqouba on Tuesday. The Iraqi army statement said 13 (alleged fighters) were killed and 16 detained in the city.

The Americans said earlier this week that they have killed at least 67 (Iraqi fighters) in Baqouba, arrested 253, seized 63 weapons caches and have destroyed 151 roadside bombs since last month.

A roadside bomb killed a U.S. soldier in Diyala province on Friday, the American military said in a separate statement that provided no details about where the attack occurred. The death raised to at least 3,631 members of the U.S. military who have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

 

---

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.