18 Iraqis Killed, Including 6 Executed by Death Squads, According to a November 12, 2007

Traders of unknown bodies captured in Najaf

Najaf - Voices of Iraq Monday , 12 /11 /2007 Time 7:00:26

Najaf, Nov 12, (VOI) -

Police forces on Monday afternoon arrested two individuals at a checkpoint in northern Najaf, suspected of trading unknown bodies, a police source said. "Police forces captured two people in northern Najaf while trying to smuggle an unknown dead body," the source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) under condition of anonymity, noting that one of them was working for the forensic medicine department in Najaf.

"The body was found in their vehicle's trunk," he noted. "They were smuggling the bodies to Baghdad for armed groups, which use them as bombs in their attacks and to blackmail their families," the source also said. "Investigation is still underway into this incident," he added. Najaf is 160 km southwest of Baghdad.

SH/SR

Police chief escapes assassination attempt in Kirkuk

Kirkuk - Voices of Iraq Monday , 12 /11 /2007 Time 7:00:26

Kirkuk, Nov 12, (VOI) -

The chief of a police department south of Kirkuk survived an attempt on his life on Monday when an improvised explosive device went off targeting his motorcade while heading for his work, a police source said.

"An explosive charge went off this morning targeting the motorcade of the chief of al-Rashad police department Captain Abdullah al-Ubeidi, who survived the attack," the source, who asked not to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

"The explosion took place on the Kirkuk-al-Rashad road near the cars exhibitions compound, south of Kirkuk, while the captain was heading for his work," he also said. "A roadside bomb exploded on Monday afternoon near a power station, north of Kirkuk, without causing casualties," the same source said. Kirkuk is located 250 km northeast of Baghdad.

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8 gunmen killed, 60 suspects arrested- army chief

Baghdad - Voices of Iraq Monday , 12 /11 /2007 Time 7:00:26

Baghdad, Nov 12, (VOI) –

Eight gunmen were killed and 60 suspects were arrested in many parts of the country during the past 24 hours, the Iraqi chief of staff said on Monday. "Iraqi army forces killed eight terrorists, captured 60 suspects, and defused six explosive charges in different parts of the country during the past 24 hours," the chief of staff said in a statement received by the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). The statement did not provide further details.

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Talafar chieftain, 4 attackers killed

Ninewa - Voices of Iraq Monday , 12 /11 /2007 Time 7:00:26

Ninewa, Nov 12, (VOI) –

A tribal leader from Talafar was gunned down on Monday morning, while police forces killed four of his attackers and arrested two others, according to Talafar mayor. "Unknown gunmen opened fire on Ali Mubarak al-Gahishi, a chieftain in Talafar's Abu Maria village, killing him on the spot," Brigadier Najm Abdullah told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). Ninewa police forces chased the attackers, killing four of them and arresting two others during clashes that took place in al-Mazraa village in eastern Talafar. The police seized arms and ammunition that were in their possession, Abdullah indicated. Talafar is located 60 km west of Mosul, capital city of Ninewa, which lies 402 km north of Baghdad.

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U.S. armored vehicle destroyed in Baghdad blast

Baghdad - Voices of Iraq Monday , 12 /11 /2007 Time 7:00:26

Baghdad, Nov 12, (VOI) –

A U.S. army armored vehicle was completely destroyed when an explosive charge went off near a patrol vehicle in eastern Baghdad, Iraqi police said on Monday. "An explosive device planted by unknown gunmen in Falasteen Street blew up at a late hour on Sunday evening, totally destroying a U.S.

Hummer-modeled vehicle that was passing the location," an official security source, who requested anonymity, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). The source did not indicate whether any casualties were reported on the U.S. side, but said that U.S. forces sealed off the scene immediately after the blast. No comment was available from the U.S. army on the incident.

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Headless corpse found in Kirkuk

Kirkuk - Voices of Iraq Monday , 12 /11 /2007 Time 7:00:26

Kirkuk, Nov 12, (VOI) –

Policemen found an unidentified headless body near the district of al-Huweija, 30 km southwest of Kirkuk, where an explosive device detonated near a police patrol on Monday but caused no casualties, a security source said. The source did not give any further details about the unidentified body.

"An explosive charge targeted a Kirkuk police patrol in the al-Khadra neighborhood, southern Kirkuk. The blast caused severe damage to the patrol vehicle but left no casualties," the source, who refused to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). Kirkuk lies 250 km northeast of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

AE/SR

5 guards of contracting company wounded by IED in Touz Khormato

Kirkuk - Voices of Iraq Monday , 12 /11 /2007 Time 7:00:26

Kirkuk, Nov 12, (VOI) –

Five guards of the Dijla Construction Contracting Company were wounded when an improvised explosive device went off near their vehicle in Touz Khormato district, a police official said on Monday.

"An IED targeted the vehicle of workers for the Dijla Company, which carries concrete material to the U.S. and Iraqi forces in the district of Soliman Bek, Touz Khormato, wounding all five guards on board on Sunday midnight," the official, who refused to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

"The wounded were rushed to the Kirkuk public hospital," the source added. Touz Khormato district, inhabited by an ethnic Turcoman majority and belongs to the province of Salah al-Din, lies 110 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

5 al-Qaeda members killed in clashes in Diala

Diala - Voices of Iraq Monday , 12 /11 /2007 Time 7:00:26

Diala, Nov 12, (VOI) –

Five members of al-Qaeda Organization in Iraq, including an amir (leader), were killed in clashes that erupted on Monday morning with fighters of the popular committees tracking them down in the province, an official source from the committees said.

IED wounds 3 civilians in western Baghdad

Baghdad - Voices of Iraq Monday , 12 /11 /2007 Time 7:00:26

Baghdad, Nov 12, (VOI) –

Three civilians were wounded when an improvised explosive device went off near a cell phone company in the western Baghdad district of al-Mansour on Monday, a security source said.

"The three civilians sustained varied wounds from an IED planted by unidentified gunmen near the Iraqna cell phone company," the source, who declined having his name mentioned, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

"The blast caused severe material damage to a number of nearby buildings and stores," said the source, adding that all the wounded were rushed to hospitals in the area for treatment.

AE/SR

One killed, two houses burnt in Basra tribal clashes

Basra - Voices of Iraq Monday , 12 /11 /2007 Time 7:00:26

Basra, Nov 12, (VOI) –

Tribal clashes broke out after one individual was killed in western Basra, prompting tribesmen to set two houses adjacent to a Sunni mosque on fire, a source from Basra police said on Monday.

"Unknown gunmen shot down Ahmed Qasim al-Khiraz in front of his shop in al-Banat market in central al-Zubeir city, western Basra, and fled," the source, who requested anonymity, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). Al-Khiraz owns a real estate office and was in dispute with some of Tamim's tribesmen, according to the source.

"His tribe, al-Khiraz, believes that Tamim's tribesmen are behind his death. They attacked and set two houses ablaze, both houses belonging to Tamim tribe and adjacent to al-Majsa mosque in al-Zubeir," the source indicated. Meanwhile, a source from the Sunni Waqf (Endowment) told VOI that the mosque "was not the target of the attack, but the two adjacent houses were."

"No damage was reported to the mosque," the source explained, noting the attack was not sectarian-based, but a normal clash between two tribes. The Shiite city of Basra lies 590 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

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***

US Military Deaths in Iraq at 3,861

Sunday, According to Count by the Associated Press

Nov 11, 2007, 7:42 PM EST

As of Sunday, Nov. 11, 2007, at least 3,861 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes eight military civilians. At least 3,146 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.

***

AP Headline: Iraqi Taxi Driver Shot Dead by Private Security Guard Hired to Protect US Convoys

By SAMEER N. YACOUB Associated Press Writer

Nov 12, 2007, 1:37 PM EST

BAGHDAD (AP) --

A private security guard fatally shot an Iraqi taxi driver, Iraqi officials said Monday, in the latest incident involving what Iraqis believe are unprovoked killings by contractors hired to protect Americans.

The security guard worked for DynCorp International, a Falls Church, VA.-based company, U.S. Embassy spokesman Philip T. Reeker said. DynCorp International is among three firms - along with Blackwater Worldwide and Triple Canopy - under contract to protect American diplomats and other officials in Iraq.

"These are very upsetting incidents for everyone involved," Reeker told reporters.

The shooting took place Saturday at 12:45 p.m. across from a children's playground in Baghdad's Atafiyah neighborhood, when a taxi driver pulled up close to a convoy of seven U.S. vehicles driving through the area, according to Iraqi and U.S. officials.

Security personnel signaled for the taxi to pull away, and then one of the guards opened fire on the car, they said.

The driver was shot in the chest and head, but was still alive when local shopkeepers and police rushed to help him, witnesses and police said. He died in a police car on the way to the hospital, said Ahmed Adel, a barber who watched the events unfold outside his shop.

"The convoy stopped at an intersection where there was little traffic jam. ... Suddenly, guards from the last SUV opened fire on the taxi while it was totally motionless and no threat whatsoever to the convoy," Adel said. "We rushed to the car and helped the police pull him out."

He added that the taxi's gearshift was in neutral when they pulled the driver out, suggesting that his car was not moving when he was shot.

Afterward, police searched the taxi and found no weapons or other signs of threatening activity, police and the Interior Ministry said. The convoy did not stop for the investigation, an officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information.

Another witness said that after the shooting, a guard stepped out of the last vehicle in the convoy - from which the shots were fired - and walked over to the taxi to see what had happened, but then turned back quickly.

"They simply did not care about the shot taxi driver, and the convoy sped away," the man said, refusing to give his name because of the situation's sensitivity.

The shooting occurred on an exit ramp next to a bridge spanning the Tigris River. Atafiyah is a neighborhood that has not seen as much violence as other Baghdad enclaves. Piles of soft drink cans and other groceries line sidewalks outside dozens of retail shops.

It was the latest shooting by private security contractors perceived by many here as operating above the law. The U.S. government has offered some guards limited immunity under deals that have slowed prosecution of other shooting cases and angered Iraqis.

In September, another shooting left 17 Iraqis dead and prompted the Iraqi government to call for the expulsion of the firm involved, Blackwater Worldwide. The company has said its convoy was under attack before it opened fire, but initial investigations by Iraqi and U.S. authorities have concluded otherwise.

Iraq's Interior Ministry immediately opened an investigation into Saturday's shooting, said spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf.

The incident came just two days before the arrival of two top U.S. officials sent from Washington to investigate the role of private security companies in Iraq.

Last month, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ordered new measures to improve government oversight of bodyguards, including tighter rules of engagement and a board to investigate any future killings.

The steps would also require contractors to undergo training intended to make them more sensitive to Iraqi culture and language.

The changes to rules of engagement would bring the State Department closer to military rules, although the moves will not have much visible effect on the way private guards operate in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq.

Gregory Starr, acting assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security, and P. Jackson Bell, deputy under secretary of defense for logistics and materiel readiness, arrived in Baghdad on Monday to help implement the new rules, Reeker said.

At least 13 people were killed or found dead across Iraq, including five bodies found in Baghdad, police and morgue officials said.

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