More than 50 killed in Iraq - The Orange Mane

L.A. BRONCOS FAN · 02-11-2008, 03:52 AM

By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer 3 minutes ago

BAGHDAD - Car bombs and gunmen struck new U.S. allies, police and civilians Sunday in northern Iraq, killing as many as 53 people. The spate of attacks came even as the American military released a captured diary and another document they say show al-Qaida in Iraq cracking under a Sunni revolt against its brutal tactics.

The violence coincided with a visit by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to Baghdad, where he warned that hard choices face Iraq's political leaders on how to stabilize the country despite promising new signs of progress toward reconciliation.

The deadliest bombing on Sunday was near Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad, against a checkpoint manned jointly by Iraqi police and members of an awakening group.

Iraqi police said a suicide truck bomber targeted a checkpoint manned by U.S.-allied fighters and Iraqi police at the entrance of a bridge in the district of Yathrib on the outskirts of Balad. Security forces opened fire on the driver, but he managed to detonate his payload, devastating a nearby car market and other stores.

Police in the joint coordination center of the surrounding Salahuddin province and hospital officials said 34 people were killed and 37 others were wounded. Capt. Kadim Hamid said many residents in the predominantly Sunni area had removed victims directly from the site because they feared going to the hospital in Balad's mostly Shiite center.

The U.S. military put the casualty toll at 23 killed, 25 wounded and said a car bomb exploded near an Iraqi checkpoint in a market in Balad, but it did not confirm it was a suicide attack. U.S. and Iraqi forces had secured the area and the wounded had been evacuated to hospitals, according to a statement.

It was one of the worst bombings this year amid a recent lull in violence and underscored U.S. warnings that al-Qaida in Iraq remains a serious threat despite military offensives that have severely curtailed its operations.

The explosion came hours after suspected al-Qaida-linked insurgents stormed two villages near the Syrian border but were repelled by U.S.-allied fighters and Iraqi security forces in clashes that left at least 22 people dead.

Sheik Fawaz al-Jarba, the head of the Mosul anti-al-Qaida group, and other officials said the 22 killed included 10 militants and six members of the so-called awakening group in the area, as well as four women and two children.

The U.S. military in northern Iraq confirmed an attack on compound housing its Sunni allies against al-Qaida in Iraq near Sinjar, about 60 miles west of Mosul, saying five U.S.-allied fighters were killed, five wounded and 10 insurgents were killed.

Insurgents also attacked a group of civilians elsewhere in the northern Ninevah province on Sunday, killing two men and one child and wounding two other men, two women and two infants, according to the military.

Iraqi police also said four civilians were killed Sunday when a tanker truck laden with explosives blew up near an Iraqi army checkpoint on Mosul's southern outskirts.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has promised a "decisive battle" against the terror network in Mosul but given no start date. The U.S. military has warned it will not be a swift strike, but rather a grinding campaign that will require more firepower.

An al-Qaida front group for northern Iraq warned last week in an Internet statement that it was launching its own campaign in Mosul and surrounding areas.

In all, 70 people were reported killed or found dead by police on Sunday, one of the highest nationwide death tolls in recent months. That figure included three policemen who perished in a suicide car bombing at a checkpoint in the Anbar city of Fallujah and 10 bullet-riddled bodies showing signs of torture.

Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, a U.S. military spokesman, said the documents released Sunday offered proof that al-Qaida in Iraq had been severely disrupted by the so-called awakening movement and changing U.S. tactics, but he stressed the terror network was by no means defeated.

The military said the two documents were discovered last year by American troops in November as the Sunni movement that began in Anbar province was spreading to Baghdad and surrounding areas.

One was a 39-page memo written by a mid- to high-level al-Qaida official with knowledge of the group's operations in Iraq's western Anbar province; the other a 16-page diary written by another group leader north of Baghdad.

The documents tell "narrow but compelling stories of the challenges al-Qaida in Iraq is facing," Smith told reporters in Baghdad. "This does not signal the end of al-Qaida in Iraq, but it is a contemporary account of the challenges posed to terrorists from the people of Iraq."

He said the documents are believed to be authentic because they contain details that only al-Qaida in Iraq leaders could know about battlefield movements and tactics. The U.S. military gave reporters partially redacted copies of the full diary but only four pages of the Anbar document, citing security reasons. Both were provided in the original Arabic and an English translation.

In the Anbar document, the author acknowledges a growing weariness among Sunni citizens of militants' presence and the U.S.-led crackdowns against them. He also expresses frustration with foreign fighters too eager to participate in suicide missions rather than continuing to fight.

"The Islamic State of Iraq is faced with an extraordinary crisis, especially in al-Anbar," the author wrote, referring to an umbrella group of insurgents led by al-Qaida.

Smith also quoted the document as lamenting the loss of "cities and afterward, villages," adding "we find ourselves in a wasteland desert."

It said U.S.-led forces had learned from their mistakes and improved security had made it harder to transport weapons and suicide belts and forced foreign fighters to go underground because of their distinctive dialects.

The military said the memo was believed to have been written last summer and was intended for the author's superiors.

The diary, seized by U.S. troops south of Balad, was written in autumn 2007 by Abu Tariq, who refers to himself as sector leader for al-Qaida in Iraq. Tariq wrote that he was once in charge of 600 fighters, but only 20 were left "after the tribes changed course" — a reference to how many Sunni tribesmen have switched sides to fight alongside the Americans, Smith said.

The Sunni tribes' alliance with U.S. forces is credited with helping reduce violence across the country, along with an influx of some 30,000 American troops. A security crackdown that began in Baghdad and surrounding areas a year ago also has driven the militants north.

Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad and the capital of Ninevah province, is believed to be the last major urban stronghold for al-Qaida in Iraq.

"The diary shows that al-Qaida regards these volunteer citizen groups as a grave threat, and that terrorists are targeting them," Smith said.

In recent months, attacks on the Sunni volunteers have spiked while overall violence has steadily declined, he noted, adding that at least 77,500 volunteers have partnered with U.S. and Iraqi troops countrywide.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080211/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

TailgateNut · 02-11-2008, 10:28 AM

Glad to see the surge is working.

The Lone Bolt · 02-11-2008, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TailgateNut

Glad to see the surge is working.

Nobody said that attacks are down to zero.

L.A. BRONCOS FAN · 02-11-2008, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Lone Bolt

Nobody said that attacks are down to zero.

Says the board BushCo apologist.

ant1999e · 02-11-2008, 04:55 PM

How many were killed in one day on 9-11?

L.A. BRONCOS FAN · 02-11-2008, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ant1999e

How many were killed in one day on 9-11?

News flash:

Iraq wasn't responsible for 9/11 (no matter how many times you hear it on Faux News and Rush's show.)

Bronco Bob · 02-11-2008, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ant1999e

How many were killed in one day on 9-11?

Hard to say how many innocent Iraqis civilians were killed on 9-11-2001.
Most the major news organizations were busy talking about the innocent
Americans civilians that had been killed that day by terrorists who were
mostly from Saudi Arabia.

24champ · 02-11-2008, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L.A. BRONCOS FAN

Says the board BushCo apologist.

chimes in the defeatist...

Bronco_Beerslug · 02-11-2008, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ant1999e

How many were killed in one day on 9-11?

Are there really people here still that think Iraq attacked us on 9-11?

Bronco Bob · 02-11-2008, 10:12 PM

So no one has any statistics on how many Iraqis were killed 9-11-2001?

Isn't that what we are talking about, how many Iraqis are being
killed on any given day?

cutthemdown · 02-12-2008, 12:29 AM

Bummer.

L.A. BRONCOS FAN · 02-12-2008, 01:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 24champbailey

chimes in the defeatist...

...chimes in the guy who voted for the moron who got us into this mess in the first place.

24champ · 02-12-2008, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L.A. BRONCOS FAN

...chimes in the guy who voted for the moron who got us into this mess in the first place.

It was a better option than the guy that wanted the U.N to oversee our National Security and would be allowed to protect ourselves if we passed a "Global Test"...right.

L.A. BRONCOS FAN · 02-12-2008, 01:17 AM

Ha ha ha!

Gotta chuckle at some of the convoluted reasoning dubya supporters use to cover the frat boy's flank.

Anyone who points out the disastrous consequences of Bush's Iraq policy is a "defeatist."

(And this when the Bush apologists can't even offer more than the same old, already-discredited WH talking points to explain/justify why we are in Iraq.)

News flash: it's the policy that is "defeating" (and depleting) America.

L.A. BRONCOS FAN · 02-12-2008, 01:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 24champbailey

It was a better option than the guy that wanted the U.N to oversee our National Security and would be allowed to protect ourselves if we passed a "Global Test"...right.

Invading and occupying a sovereign nation on false pretenses and lies is a "better option?"

Maybe if you're Hitler.

Iraq was not a threat to our national security, and the liar in chief knew it.

24champ · 02-12-2008, 01:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L.A. BRONCOS FAN

Ha ha ha!

Anyone who points out the disastrous consequences of Bush's Iraq policy is a "defeatist."

(And this when the Bush apologists can't even offer more than the same old, already-discredited WH talking points to explain/justify why we are in Iraq.)

News flash: it's the policy that is "defeating" (and depleting) America.

Newsflash: We aren't getting out of Iraq.

L.A. BRONCOS FAN · 02-12-2008, 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 24champbailey

Newsflash: We aren't getting out of Iraq.

Are you pleased about this?

You must be, since you supported the invasion/occupation and the guy who got us into this mess in the first place.

24champ · 02-12-2008, 01:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L.A. BRONCOS FAN

Invading and occupying a sovereign nation on false pretenses and lies is a "better option?"

Yeah it was the better option than having a global poll about protecting the interests of the American people. Speaking of passing global tests...Kerry sure didnt win the look test...

L.A. BRONCOS FAN · 02-12-2008, 01:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 24champbailey

Yeah it was the better option than having a global poll about protecting the interests of the American people. Speaking of passing global tests...Kerry sure didnt win the look test...

Invading Iraq had nothing to do with "protecting the interests of the American people" and everything to do with protecting the interests of Smirk and Dick and Halliburton and all of the usual war profiteering cronies.

24champ · 02-12-2008, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L.A. BRONCOS FAN

Are you pleased about this?

You must be, since you supported the invasion/occupation and the guy who got us into this mess in the first place.

Pleased isn't the right word, optimistic I am. I have friends that are coming home in the spring/summer depending on the conditions on the ground. US are pulling out two Brigades is what I hear in the Media. So that is good news. I just hope the progress of the Iraqis continues when we draw down. You on the other hand think the complete opposite. Clearly Bad news is good news for you LABF...

24champ · 02-12-2008, 01:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L.A. BRONCOS FAN

Invading Iraq had nothing to do with "protecting the interests of the American people" and everything to do with protecting the interests of Smirk and Dick and Halliburton and all of the usual war profiteering cronies.

Yeah totally man, that was brought up when they were impeached...

oh wait.

L.A. BRONCOS FAN · 02-12-2008, 01:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 24champbailey

I just hope the progress of the Iraqis continues when we draw down.

"Progress?"

You call the pile of corpses Bush has stacked up over there "progress?"

You call the billions of dollars that have disappeared down the Iraq profiteering hole "progress?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by 24champbailey

Clearly Bad news is good news for you LABF...

You have it bass-ackwards, as usual:

I'm one of the people who opposed the bad idea of invading Iraq in the first place.

L.A. BRONCOS FAN · 02-12-2008, 01:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 24champbailey

Yeah totally man, that was brought up when they were impeached...

oh wait.

It's true whether they are ever impeached or not.

Anyone who can read a newspaper or search for "Halliburton" on the web already knows this.

L.A. BRONCOS FAN · 02-12-2008, 01:51 AM

I feel like Winston Smith having a conversation with O'Brian in the Ministry of Truth.

24champ · 02-12-2008, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L.A. BRONCOS FAN

"Progress?"

Yup Progress...

02-11-2008, 03:52 AM	#1
L.A. BRONCOS FAN Mo' holla fo' yo' dolla! Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: In a bunker in an undisclosed location Posts: 52,697	More than 50 killed in Iraq By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer 3 minutes ago BAGHDAD - Car bombs and gunmen struck new U.S. allies, police and civilians Sunday in northern Iraq, killing as many as 53 people. The spate of attacks came even as the American military released a captured diary and another document they say show al-Qaida in Iraq cracking under a Sunni revolt against its brutal tactics. The violence coincided with a visit by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to Baghdad, where he warned that hard choices face Iraq's political leaders on how to stabilize the country despite promising new signs of progress toward reconciliation. The deadliest bombing on Sunday was near Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad, against a checkpoint manned jointly by Iraqi police and members of an awakening group. Iraqi police said a suicide truck bomber targeted a checkpoint manned by U.S.-allied fighters and Iraqi police at the entrance of a bridge in the district of Yathrib on the outskirts of Balad. Security forces opened fire on the driver, but he managed to detonate his payload, devastating a nearby car market and other stores. Police in the joint coordination center of the surrounding Salahuddin province and hospital officials said 34 people were killed and 37 others were wounded. Capt. Kadim Hamid said many residents in the predominantly Sunni area had removed victims directly from the site because they feared going to the hospital in Balad's mostly Shiite center. The U.S. military put the casualty toll at 23 killed, 25 wounded and said a car bomb exploded near an Iraqi checkpoint in a market in Balad, but it did not confirm it was a suicide attack. U.S. and Iraqi forces had secured the area and the wounded had been evacuated to hospitals, according to a statement. It was one of the worst bombings this year amid a recent lull in violence and underscored U.S. warnings that al-Qaida in Iraq remains a serious threat despite military offensives that have severely curtailed its operations. The explosion came hours after suspected al-Qaida-linked insurgents stormed two villages near the Syrian border but were repelled by U.S.-allied fighters and Iraqi security forces in clashes that left at least 22 people dead. Sheik Fawaz al-Jarba, the head of the Mosul anti-al-Qaida group, and other officials said the 22 killed included 10 militants and six members of the so-called awakening group in the area, as well as four women and two children. The U.S. military in northern Iraq confirmed an attack on compound housing its Sunni allies against al-Qaida in Iraq near Sinjar, about 60 miles west of Mosul, saying five U.S.-allied fighters were killed, five wounded and 10 insurgents were killed. Insurgents also attacked a group of civilians elsewhere in the northern Ninevah province on Sunday, killing two men and one child and wounding two other men, two women and two infants, according to the military. Iraqi police also said four civilians were killed Sunday when a tanker truck laden with explosives blew up near an Iraqi army checkpoint on Mosul's southern outskirts. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has promised a "decisive battle" against the terror network in Mosul but given no start date. The U.S. military has warned it will not be a swift strike, but rather a grinding campaign that will require more firepower. An al-Qaida front group for northern Iraq warned last week in an Internet statement that it was launching its own campaign in Mosul and surrounding areas. In all, 70 people were reported killed or found dead by police on Sunday, one of the highest nationwide death tolls in recent months. That figure included three policemen who perished in a suicide car bombing at a checkpoint in the Anbar city of Fallujah and 10 bullet-riddled bodies showing signs of torture. Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, a U.S. military spokesman, said the documents released Sunday offered proof that al-Qaida in Iraq had been severely disrupted by the so-called awakening movement and changing U.S. tactics, but he stressed the terror network was by no means defeated. The military said the two documents were discovered last year by American troops in November as the Sunni movement that began in Anbar province was spreading to Baghdad and surrounding areas. One was a 39-page memo written by a mid- to high-level al-Qaida official with knowledge of the group's operations in Iraq's western Anbar province; the other a 16-page diary written by another group leader north of Baghdad. The documents tell "narrow but compelling stories of the challenges al-Qaida in Iraq is facing," Smith told reporters in Baghdad. "This does not signal the end of al-Qaida in Iraq, but it is a contemporary account of the challenges posed to terrorists from the people of Iraq." He said the documents are believed to be authentic because they contain details that only al-Qaida in Iraq leaders could know about battlefield movements and tactics. The U.S. military gave reporters partially redacted copies of the full diary but only four pages of the Anbar document, citing security reasons. Both were provided in the original Arabic and an English translation. In the Anbar document, the author acknowledges a growing weariness among Sunni citizens of militants' presence and the U.S.-led crackdowns against them. He also expresses frustration with foreign fighters too eager to participate in suicide missions rather than continuing to fight. "The Islamic State of Iraq is faced with an extraordinary crisis, especially in al-Anbar," the author wrote, referring to an umbrella group of insurgents led by al-Qaida. Smith also quoted the document as lamenting the loss of "cities and afterward, villages," adding "we find ourselves in a wasteland desert." It said U.S.-led forces had learned from their mistakes and improved security had made it harder to transport weapons and suicide belts and forced foreign fighters to go underground because of their distinctive dialects. The military said the memo was believed to have been written last summer and was intended for the author's superiors. The diary, seized by U.S. troops south of Balad, was written in autumn 2007 by Abu Tariq, who refers to himself as sector leader for al-Qaida in Iraq. Tariq wrote that he was once in charge of 600 fighters, but only 20 were left "after the tribes changed course" — a reference to how many Sunni tribesmen have switched sides to fight alongside the Americans, Smith said. The Sunni tribes' alliance with U.S. forces is credited with helping reduce violence across the country, along with an influx of some 30,000 American troops. A security crackdown that began in Baghdad and surrounding areas a year ago also has driven the militants north. Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad and the capital of Ninevah province, is believed to be the last major urban stronghold for al-Qaida in Iraq. "The diary shows that al-Qaida regards these volunteer citizen groups as a grave threat, and that terrorists are targeting them," Smith said. In recent months, attacks on the Sunni volunteers have spiked while overall violence has steadily declined, he noted, adding that at least 77,500 volunteers have partnered with U.S. and Iraqi troops countrywide. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080211/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

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02-11-2008, 10:28 AM	#2
TailgateNut Bleedin' orange! .......as much as tebonites Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mile High Posts: 20,018 Adopt-a-Bronco: Howard Griffith	Glad to see the surge is working.

02-11-2008, 04:55 PM	#5
ant1999e Ring of Famer WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE??? Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: BFE Posts: 5,994 Adopt-a-Bronco: Money Ball	How many were killed in one day on 9-11?

02-11-2008, 10:12 PM	#10
Bronco Bob Tastee Freeze Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 9,464 Adopt-a-Bronco: Champ Bailey	So no one has any statistics on how many Iraqis were killed 9-11-2001? Isn't that what we are talking about, how many Iraqis are being killed on any given day?

02-12-2008, 12:29 AM	#11
cutthemdown A verbis ad verbera Zimm to HOF Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Long Beach Posts: 32,882	Bummer.

02-12-2008, 01:17 AM	#14
L.A. BRONCOS FAN Mo' holla fo' yo' dolla! Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: In a bunker in an undisclosed location Posts: 52,697	Ha ha ha! Gotta chuckle at some of the convoluted reasoning dubya supporters use to cover the frat boy's flank. Anyone who points out the disastrous consequences of Bush's Iraq policy is a "defeatist." (And this when the Bush apologists can't even offer more than the same old, already-discredited WH talking points to explain/justify why we are in Iraq.) News flash: it's the policy that is "defeating" (and depleting) America.

02-12-2008, 01:51 AM	#24
L.A. BRONCOS FAN Mo' holla fo' yo' dolla! Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: In a bunker in an undisclosed location Posts: 52,697	I feel like Winston Smith having a conversation with O'Brian in the Ministry of Truth.