US Soldier, 15 Iraqis Killed, Petraeus Hands Command to Odierno, Sahwa Fighters Threaten to Resume Resistance, According to September 16, 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.

On September 6, 2008, news reports mentioned the killing of nine Iraqis who were arrested by Al-Muthanna Brigade of the Iraqi Army stationed in the city of Al-Falloujah. There corpses were found with bullets shot on their heads and chests. This incident is evidence that the sectarian-based Iraqi forces have been functioning also as death squads, which killed Iraqis for suspicion of belonging to resistance organizations, without any legal procedures or trials.

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:

- US-recruited Sahwa fighters threatened that they would go back to resistance against US-backed government if they are not absorbed in the government army and police forces. The announcement came as the Maliki government has demonstrated reluctance to implement recommendations of the outgoing US forces commander, Petraeus, to absorb them as a reward to them for stopping their resistance to US forces.

- Two policemen were killed, three were injured by a roadside bomb east of Baghdad.

- US-UK military airbase in Al-Bateera, Missan Province, was attacked with rockets.

- Policemen killed a man in Basra accusing him of belonging to Al-Qaeda.

amsi.org reported the following news:

- Three corpses of Iraqis executed by death squads were found in Baghdad, a fourth was found in Mosul.

- A US forces convoy was targeted by a roadside bomb in Mosul.

- A US soldier was killed in Balad military base, in "non-combat conditions," as the tenth death in September, increasing the official death count of US soldiers in Iraq to 4,158 (which does not include those who die of their wounds later).

- An Iraqi soldier was killed, three were injured in an attack south of Ba'aqouba.

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News Summary

National - Voices of Iraq
Tuesday , 16 /09 /2008 Time 10:42:12
BAGHDAD, Sept. 16 (VOI) –

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

* Politics & Security:

DIALA, Four policemen were killed and three others were injured on Tuesday when an improvised explosive device went off targeting their vehicle patrols in Khaniqeen, northeast of Ba'aqouba, a security source said.

BAGHDAD, Before Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Nawaf Abboud al-Shaikh Faris took the oath as Syria's ambassador to Iraq at al-Rawda palace on Tuesday.

NINEWA, Iraqi army forces on Tuesday arrested a leader of what is called the Islamic State in Iraq armed group in Talafar in Ninewa, a security source said.

NINEWA, A policeman was injured on Tuesday in a bomb explosion in the city of Mosul, a police source said.

SH (I)/SR

News Summary

Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Tuesday , 16 /09 /2008 Time 10:42:12
BAGHDAD, Sept. 16 (VOI) –

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

* Politics & Security:

KIRKUK, Six people, including five policemen, were wounded when an improvised explosive device went off in Touz Khormato, 85 km southwest of Kirkuk, on Tuesday, police said.

DIALA, Twenty-two people, including 11 policemen, were killed and 33 others wounded on Tuesday when a female suicide bomber attacked a gathering in Baladruz, 45 km east of Baaquba, a police source said, adding an indefinite curfew was imposed in the district and eight suspected of involvement were captured.

BAGHDAD, The ceremonies to transfer the U.S. military command in Iraq from General David Petraeus to General Raymond Odierno started in western Baghdad on Tuesday amidst tight security measures with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates attending, an Iraqi military source said.

DIALA, A tribal chief of al-Izza clan was killed by a pillaging gang near al-Adhim area, al-Khalis district, 15 km north of the city of Ba'aqouba, on Tuesday, a security source in Diala province said.

BAGHDAD, The final casualties of Monday's double car bomb attack in al-Karada area, central Baghdad, reached six deaths and 34 wounded, according to the Iraqi health ministry on Tuesday.

BAGHDAD, The number of assassinations that followed Operation Umm al-Rabiain in the province of Ninewa ranged between 20 and 45, according to the Iraqi Constitutional Rights & Freedoms Observatory on Tuesday.

NINEWA, A civilian man was killed in an armed attack by two unidentified gunmen in eastern Mosul, while two policemen were wounded in an improvised explosive device blast in the western part of the city, a security source in Ninewa province said on Tuesday.

NINEWA, Three civilians were wounded when an improvised explosive device went off near an Iraqi army patrol in northeastern Mosul city on Tuesday, a security source said.

KIRKUK, A civilian man was killed and another wounded in an attack by unidentified gunmen southwest of Kirkuk city on Tuesday, an official security source said.

BAGHDAD, Two policemen were killed and three others wounded on Tuesday when an improvised explosive device went off in Ur neighborhood, eastern Baghdad, the Iraqi police said.

ARBIL, Two civilians were wounded when an improvised explosive device went off near their vehicle close to the district of Makhmour on Tuesday, an Iraqi army source said.

AmR (I)

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