21 Iraqis Killed in War Attacks, Including 7 Executed by Death Squads, According to August 23, 2008 News Reports

Editor's Note:

Only God knows how many Iraqis are killed everyday. The following represents part of the reporting but readers are advised that the actual number of deaths should very much exceed what's reported.

Concerning deaths of US soldiers, only those US citizens who die in Iraq are included in the statistics. There are no published statistics about US soldiers who die of their injuries after that. There are no published statistics about the deaths or injuries of the private army soldiers (security contractors), or about those without US citizenship.

It is noteworthy that May 20, 2008 news reports showed that death squads which execute Iraqis on daily basis are no longer hiding themselves. Previously, Sunni leaders pointed to Mahdi Army and Badr militiamen as the perpetrators. Now, death squads are composed of the US-recruited Sahwa fighters and policemen (which is an opportunity for US forces command to sever relations with these fighters).

Despite the fact that there are scores of organizations involved in the Iraq war, the Iraqi government officials prefer to refer to them as Alqaeda gunmen for propaganda purposes, as mentioned in the June 4, 2008 news report. For accuracy purposes, the term "Alqaeda gunmen" may be replaced with "Iraqi fighters."

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yaqen.net reported the following news:

- 2 brothers working for the Iraqi army were killed east of Mosul.

- 2 persons were killed while trying to plant a roadside bomb in Mosul.

- The Kirkuk explosion resulted in killing five people (four below) and injuring seven.

- Four US-recruited Sahwa fighters were killed in an attack by gunmen near Biji.

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News Summary

National - Voices of Iraq
Saturday , 23 /08 /2008 Time 10:00:23
BAGHDAD, Aug. 23 (VOI) –

Following is a summary of news reports posted until 10:00 p.m. Baghdad local time Saturday:

Politics & Security:

AMMAN, Negotiations over the long-term security agreement that is scheduled to take place between Iraq and the United States are once again in the headlines of Arab press.

BAGHDAD, The Iraqi government will not turn its back on the (US-recruited) Sahwa tribal fighters, according to the official spokesman for the Baghdad Operations Command (BOC), adding applicable Sahwa fighters are still being incorporated into the Iraqi security agencies.

BAGHDAD, Unidentified gunmen assassinated a culture ministry advisor after they intercepted his vehicle on a road in central Baghdad, according to an Iraqi police source on Saturday.

DIALA, Police forces on Saturday arrested seven of al-Qaeda organization's fighters in Diala, in addition to the co-founder of the so-called Al-Awda (The Return) party in the province, in raid operations northeast of Ba'aqouba city, said a source from Diala police.

BAGHDAD, Head of the Iraqi Authors' Union on Saturday condemned the assassination of Kamil Shiya'a, the culture ministry adviser, calling on the Iraqi government to find the assassins.

KIRKUK, Four people on Saturday were killed, and seven others were wounded in an unknown explosion that took place in an automobile showroom, southwestern Kirkuk, said a source from Kirkuk emergency police.

MH (R)/SR

News Summary

Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Saturday , 23 /08 /2008 Time 10:00:23
BAGHDAD, Aug. 23 (VOI) –

Following is a summary of news reports posted until 04:00 p.m. Baghdad local time Saturday:

Politics & Security:

DIALA, Unknown gunmen on Saturday kidnapped the general coordinator between the so-called Salah al-Din armed factions and the U.S. forces near Ba'aqouba city, a security source said.

BAGHDAD, U.S. President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki spoke by secure video and discussed a plan to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq by 2011, the Star Tribune wrote in a report.

BAGHDAD, The leader of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), Abdul Aziz al-Hakeem, discussed with Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi the security agreement that is scheduled to take place between Iraq and the United States.

WASSIT, A local morgue in Kut city on Saturday received three unknown bodies that were pulled out of a river in the north of the city, an official source from the morgue said.

BAGHDAD, The al-Karkh Central Criminal Court handed down a death sentence in absentia against the former minister of culture, Asaad Kamal al-Hashimi, after he was found guilty of murdering the son of Mathal al-Alusi, the leader of the Umma Party, a judicial source said on Saturday.

BAGHDAD, Seven bodies of people killed in acts of violence in different areas of Iraq were found during the past 24 hours, security source said on Saturday.

DIALA, Eight civilians were kidnapped by an armed group believed to belong to al-Qaeda network south of Baaquba city on Saturday, according to a security source in Diala province.

DHI-QAR, Joint army and police forces arrested 25 wanted and suspected men in northern and western Dhi-Qar province on Saturday, an official security source said.

AmR (S)

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