A suicide car bomber linked to al-Qaeda killed 13 people in Baghdad yesterday, the first anniversary of former Iraqi president Saddam Hus-sein's capture, and clashes resumed in Fallujah, a one-time insurgent stronghold that US forces believed they had conquered. Seven US Marines died in combat in western Iraq.
The violence underlines the difficulties US-led forces have encountered in the year since Sad-dam's ouster.
US military commanders ac-knowledge they initially underestimated the strength of the insurgent backlash and admit coalition-trained Iraqi security forces are not yet up to securing the country.
The fighting in Anbar, a vast province including Fallujah and Ramadi, was the deadliest for US forces since eight Marines were killed by a car bomb outside Fallujah on Oct. 30. The deaths brought to nearly 1,300 the number of US troops kil-led in Iraq since the US-led invasion in March last year.
In Baghdad, a man driving an explosives-laden car waiting in line to enter the western Harthiyah gate of the heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses the US embassy and Iraq's interim government, detonated the vehicle as he drove toward the checkpoint, Iraqi police said.
Dr. Mohammed Abdel Satar of Baghdad's Yarmouk Hospital said 13 people were killed and at least 15 wounded in the suicide blast.
The US military said there were no injuries among its troops.
Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al-Qaeda in Iraq group claimed responsibility for the bombing in a statement posted on an Islamic Internet site regularly used by militants.
"On this blessed day a lion from the [group's] Martyrs' Brigade has gone out to strike at a gathering of apostates and Americans in the Green Zone," the group said in a statement posted on the Web site.
Shortly afterward, three explosions were heard in central Baghdad, but it was unclear whether any damages or casualties were caused. US forces were investigating.
In the town of Mishahda, 40km north of Baghdad, gunmen attacked an Iraqi National Guard patrol, killing three soldiers and wounding three others. The attackers fled, witnesses said.
In other developments, Iraq's interim President Ghazi al-Yawer said in an interview broadcast yesterday that the US-led coalition was wrong to dismantle the Iraqi security forces. It would have been more effective to screen out former regime loyalists than to rebuild from scratch, he said.
"As soon as we have efficient security forces that we can depend on, we can see the beginning of the withdrawal of forces from our friends and partners and I think it doesn't take years, it will take months," al-Yawer said.
Meanwhile, in the southern city of Basra, insurgents fired mortar shells yesterday at the British consulate but caused no casualties.
Also see story:
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January last year have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
STREAMLINED: The dedicated funding would allow the US to transfer equipment to Taiwan when needed and order upgraded replacements for stockpiles, a source said The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a defense appropriations bill totaling US$838.7 billion, of which US$1 billion is to be allocated to reinforcing security cooperation with Taiwan and US$150 million to replace defense articles provided to the nation. These are part of the Consolidated Appropriation Act, which the US House yesterday passed with 341 votes in favor and 88 against. The act must be passed by the US Senate before Friday next week to avoid another government shutdown. The US House Committee on Appropriations on Monday unveiled the act, saying that it allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative
RSS