Two car bombs shook the capital in quick succession yesterday, killing at least 11 people, including a US soldier, and wounding 16, US and Iraqi officials said. A Marine was reported killed in action west of the capital.
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the violence was expected to increase in the run-up to next year's elections and it was unlikely the US would pull out any troops before then.
A suicide attacker detonated a minibus packed with explosives near an east Baghdad police academy, police Captain Ali Ayez said at the scene.
At least four mangled bodies were strewn in the street amid scattered shoes, papers and a handbag. Police collected body parts on stretchers.
The dead included three police academy students and a female officer, Ayez said.
US forces assisted the wounded, including a police recruit who received stitches in his abdomen at the scene. Police recruiting centers have been frequently targeted in an attempt to undercut support for Iraq's security services.
The nearby Kindi Hospital received 10 bodies and treated five wounded from the blast, said Dr. Ali Ghazi. Police said 15 people were injured in all.
At least eight cars were damaged and shards of glass covered the street.
Another car bomb exploded as US military convoy was passing near a small market in east Baghdad, police Lieutenant Ahmed Hussein said at the scene. One American soldier was wounded in the attack, said Captain Mitchell Zornes of the US 1st Cavalry Division. The soldier was evacuated for treatment but died at a nearby military medical facility, a military statement said.
The blast also wounded at least one Iraqi bystander and left a gaping crater in the road.
Iraq's most feared terror group, Tawhid and Jihad, claimed responsibility for both attacks in a statement posted on an Internet site known for its Islamic content. The claim could not be verified.
Improvised bombs have become insurgents' weapon of choice in turbulent Iraq. US officials are struggling to build up Iraq's own security resources to cope with the threat.
"Our hope is that as we build up Iraqi forces we will be able to relieve the stress on our forces and see a reduction in coalition forces over some period of time, probably post-Iraqi election." Rumsfeld told Marines at Al Asad air field in Iraq's western desert yesterday morning. "But again, it will depend entirely on the security situation here in this country."
It was Rumsfeld's first visit here since the US handed over authority to an interim Iraqi government June 28.
With US troops getting killed at a rate of more than one per day in Iraq, Rumsfeld's trip was not announced in advance.
Another Marine was killed in action Saturday in Anbar province, where the air field is located, the military said in a statement. No details were released.
Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's government hopes to suppress insurgents and take control of rebel enclaves before the legislative elections planned for January.
Shiite militiamen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr agreed Saturday to begin handing in weapons, a significant step toward restoring order in Baghdad's sprawling Sadr City slum, a center of Shiite militant resistance.
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
US President Donald Trump on Friday said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) told him China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in office. Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News, ahead of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “I will tell you, you know, you have a very similar thing with President Xi of China and Taiwan, but I don’t believe there’s any way it’s going to happen as long as I’m here. We’ll see,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ Special Report. “He told me: ‘I will never do
RSS