Unknown gunmen kill cop in Wassit  
Wassit - Voices of Iraq
Monday , 03 /03 /2008  Time 6:47:07  
Kut, Mar 3, (VOI)-

A policeman working as a bodyguard for top Shiite cleric Ali al-Sistani's representative in al-Nuaamaniya district was killed on Monday northwest of Kut, a police source said.
"Unknown gunmen opened fire on the cop while he was on his way home in al-Sharqiya region in al-Nuaamaniya, northwest of Kut, killing him instantly," the source, who wished to remain unnamed, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).
"He was a bodyguard of Habib al-Khatieb, representative of al-Sistani in the district," he also said.
Kut, the capital of Wassit, is 180 km southeast of Baghdad.

SH/SR
 
Baghdad bombing toll rises to 25 casualties  
Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Monday , 03 /03 /2008  Time 6:47:07  
Baghdad, March 3, (VOI) -

The toll from a car bomb explosion in Baghdad on Monday rose to nine deaths and 16 injuries, a security spokesman said.
"The death toll from Monday's bombing that targeted a joint checkpoint manned by police and Sahwa (Awakening) fighters in Maidan square, central Baghdad, rose to nine deaths and 16 injuries," Brig. Gen. Qassem Atta, the spokesman for Baghdad's operation command, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).
The spokesman did not provide further details about the dead and wounded
Earlier, Atta told VOI, "The attack left 14 people killed or wounded in an initial count."
The spokesman added, "The toll from the second suicide bombing near Iraqi army checkpoints in Ghadeer neighborhood, south-eastern Baghdad, remains the same claiming two civilians and wounding three others."
However, he noted "the blast left material damage to eight nearby houses in the neighborhood."
The two bombings came amid tightened security measures imposed across Baghdad areas due to a landmark visit of the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the first of its type since 1979.
AM/SR

British missiles kill 2, wound 4 in Basra  
Basra - Voices of Iraq
Monday , 03 /03 /2008  Time 6:47:07  
Basra, Mar 3, (VOI) –

A woman and a girl child were killed and four children others wounded when two British missiles fell on a residential area in western Basra, an official security source said on Monday.
"Two 150 mm. British-made missiles fell on al-Sho'la area, (9 km) western Basra, killing a woman and a girl child and injuring four children others," the source, who asked not to have his name mentioned, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).

The source did not reveal the source of the indirect fire.
Meanwhile, the media spokesman for the British forces in southern Iraq denied knowledge about details of the incident.
"The British forces started an investigation to detect details of the incident," Finn Aldridge told VOI over the phone, not giving more information.
British soldiers were stationed in one base - the Basra International Airport, 25 km northeast of the province - after handing over the former presidential palaces, which they took as a military base, to the Iraqi forces.
The British forces in Basra, 590 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, keep 5,250 troops within the MNF in Iraq after withdrawing 1,600 soldiers during the past months.
Britain was the United States' prime ally in the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Ceremonies to hand over security responsibilities in Basra province from the British forces to the Iraqi authorities took place at the Basra International Airport in December 2007.

AE

22 gunmen killed or captured in security raid in Diala  
Diala - Voices of Iraq
Monday , 03 /03 /2008  Time 6:47:07  
Diala, Mar 3, (VOI) –

A joint Iraqi army-police force killed 10 gunmen and captured 12 others suspected of links to al-Qaeda in a security raid on 20 villages in Diala as part of Operation Foxhunt, in effect for 48 hours now, a security official said on Monday.

"Forces from the Iraqi army's 5th Division and policemen killed 10 gunmen and arrested 12 others within a security crackdown that started on Saturday in 20 villages overlooking the river Diala, in the direction of the Kana'an-Nahrawan road, south of Baaquba city, considered to be one of the key strongholds of al-Qaeda," the commander of Diala operations, Maj. General Abdul-Kareem al-Rubaie, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).
"Thirty-seven improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and a large amount of arms and ammunition were seized in the raid," Rubaie said.

"The Diala operations command managed to clean the main road that links Kanaan district of Ba'aqouba to al-Nahrawan city in the direction of Baghdad," Rubaie added.
"This is one of the most important battles fought by the Iraqi forces in Diala and would by synonymous with the actual end of al-Qaeda inside the province," Rubai'e explained.
Ba'aqouba, the capital of Diala, lies 47 km northeast of Baghdad.

AE

Car bomb kills 2 policemen, wounds 4 in Shurqat  
Salah al-Din - Voices of Iraq
Monday , 03 /03 /2008  Time 6:47:07  
Salah al-Din, Mar 3, (VOI) –

Two policemen were killed and four others, including two civilians, wounded in a car bomb attack near a police station in al-Shurqat district, 80 km south of Mosul, a police source said on Monday.
"A pickup truck rigged with explosives, parked near a police station in Sedeira, on the left coast of Shurqat district, was blown up by means of remote control on Monday morning upon arrival of the station chief, who survived unscathed," the source, who asked for anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).

"The blast left two policemen killed and four others, including two civilians, one of them a child, wounded," the source added.
Earlier in Salah al-Din a police source said seven civilians were killed and nine others, including women and children, wounded in a truck bomb attack in western Samarra, 120 km north of Baghdad.

AE

Nassiriya inspector general, 3 escorts killed in Basra  
Basra - Voices of Iraq
Monday , 03 /03 /2008  Time 6:47:07  
Basra, Mar 3, (VOI) –

Unidentified gunmen killed the inspector general of al-Nassiriya province and three policemen escorting him in central Basra on Monday, a security source said.

"Gunmen in three pickup trucks opened fire at Col. Qassem Abad Feleih and three policemen escorting him in a marketplace in central Basra, killing them instantly," the source, who declined to have his name mentioned, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).

The source did not say why Feleih and his escorts were in Basra.
The oil-rich port city of Basra lies 590 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

AE

Truck bomb attack leaves 16 casualties in Samarra  
Salah al-Din - Voices of Iraq
Monday , 03 /03 /2008  Time 6:47:07  
Salah al-Din, Mar 3, (VOI) –

Seven civilians were killed and nine others, including women and children, wounded in a truck bomb attack in western Samarra, 120 km north of Baghdad, a police source said on Monday. 

"A truck bomb blast ripped through al-Huweish neighborhood in western Samarra, Salah al-Din province, killing seven civilians and wounding nine others, including women and children," the source, who preferred not to be named, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).
"The powerful explosion destroyed four houses," the source added.
Salah al-Din lies 175 km north of the Iraqi capital.

AE

At Least 24 People Killed, Dozens Injured in 2 Baghdad Suicide Bombings
By PATRICK QUINN
Associated Press Writer

Mar 3, 2008, 11:19 AM EST

BAGHDAD (AP) --

At least 24 people were killed and dozens were wounded Monday when two suicide car bombs exploded in different parts of Baghdad, police said.

Neither of the attacks took place in the areas of the sprawling city where Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was visiting.

Also Monday, the U.S. military reported finding a grave with 14 bodies, believed to be members of the Iraqi security forces executed by al-Qaida in Iraq.

In Baghdad's deadliest attack, a suicide car bomber killed at least 22 people and wounded 43 in central Baghdad's Bab al-Mu'adham neighborhood on the eastern bank of the Tigris. Associated Press Television News footage showed a 6.5-foot crater blown into the street by the explosion, which destroyed numerous cars and trucks and littered the area with shrapnel and debris.

The figures provided by police and hospital officials differed significantly from those given by the U.S. military, which reported that nine people had died and seven were wounded from what it described as bomb in a vehicle. It was not immediately clear why the numbers were so different.

The bomber apparently was targeting a checkpoint manned by a neighborhood protection group. One police officer was among those killed and four were among the wounded.

There were initial reports that the bomb had been in a parked car, but Iraqi police later said it was a suicide attack.