Guerrilla bombings targeting US and Iraqi forces killed at least four people yesterday as insurgents appeared to rebound after a lull in violence.
A roadside bomb near the northern city of Samarra killed two Iraqi soldiers, an army source said.
Militants exploded three roadside bombs in Baghdad, killing at least one civilian and wounding eight others, officials said of the latest in a string of deadly attacks across the Iraqi capital.
One bomb exploded near a US convoy at 9:30am in the western Mansour district, witnesses said. One damaged Humvee could be scene in the area, which was sealed off by US forces.
At least five civilians were injured in the blast, said Ihssan Abdul Razaq, an official at the Yarmouk Hospital where rescue workers brought the wounded.
Another jerry-rigged device exploded in an eastern neighborhood where US forces were also on patrol, killing one civilian and wounding three others, said a police official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A third blast didn't appear to cause any injuries, said Captain Talib Thamir. The US military confirmed the trio of attacks, but had no further information.
Pakistan yesterday urged kidnappers in Iraq to release a Pakistani embassy official who disappeared outside his Baghdad home, as Al-Jazeera satellite TV aired a video that claimed to show the man.
Al-Jazeera did not air audio of the tape, but said the man identified himself as Malik Mohammed Javed, who was abducted last Saturday as he left his home to attend prayers at a mosque.
"We again appeal to Javed's kidnappers to free him in the name of Islam," Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Amhed said yesterday.
"We appeal to them not to harm him because his aged parents and other family members have already suffered a lot," the minister said.
A US Marine died when an insurgent mortar round landed inside a military base in western Iraq, the military said yesterday.
The Marine, assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, died after a Wednesday attack at Camp Hit, in Anbar province, the military said.
A main Baghdad market went up in flames late Thursday, but officials said yesterday they didn't believe foul play was behind the inferno that engulfed the market.
"Preliminary investigations indicate that the fire was not caused by arson," Interior Ministry Captain Ahmed Ismael said. "More investigations are underway.
Reports of daily gunbattles and explosions had died down in the middle of last month, and the Iraqi and US governments declared the lull a sign that their fighters were winning the battle against the insurgency. But this month militants have stepped up assaults.
The bloodshed increased pressure on Iraqi leaders, who have been squabbling over the formation of a new government during a lull in attacks since the Jan. 30 polls. The key interior, oil and defense ministers have yet to be chosen.
School bullies in Singapore are to face caning under new guidelines, but the education minister on Tuesday said it would be meted out only as a last resort with strict safeguards. Human rights groups regularly criticize Singapore for the use of corporal punishment, which remains part of the school and criminal justice systems, but authorities have defended it as a deterrent to crime and serious misconduct. Caning was discussed in the parliament after legislators asked how it would be used in relation to bullying in schools. The debate followed stricter guidelines on serious student misconduct, including bullying, unveiled by the Singaporean Ministry of
A MESSAGE: Japan’s participation in the Balikatan drills is a clear deterrence signal to China not to attack Taiwan while the US is busy in the Middle East, an analyst said The Japan Self-Defense Forces yesterday fired a Type 88 anti-ship missile during a joint maritime exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces, hitting a decommissioned Philippine Navy ship in waters facing the disputed South China Sea, in drills that underscore Tokyo’s rising willingness to project military power on China’s doorstep. The drill took place as Manila and Tokyo began talks on a potential defense equipment transfer, made possible by Japan’s decision to scrap restrictions on military exports. The discussions include the possible early transfer of Abukuma-class destroyers and TC-90 aircraft to the Philippines, Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. Philippine Secretary of
‘GROSS NEGLIGENCE?’ Despite a spleen typically being significantly smaller than a liver, the surgeon said he believed Bryan’s spleen was ‘double the size of what is normal’ A Florida surgeon who is facing criminal charges after allegedly removing a patient’s liver instead of his spleen has said he is “forever traumatized” by that person’s death. In a deposition from November last year that was recently obtained by NBC, 44-year-old Thomas Shaknovsky described the death of 70-year-old William Bryan as an “incredibly unfortunate event that I regret deeply.” Bryan died after the botched surgery; and last month, a grand jury in Tallahassee indicted Shaknovsky on a charge of manslaughter. “I’m forever traumatized by it and hurt by it,” Shaknovsky added, also saying that wrong-site surgeries can happen “during
A South Korean judge who last week more than doubled former South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee’s prison sentence was found dead yesterday, police said. Shin Jong-o was found unconscious at about 1am at the Seoul High Court building, an investigator at the Seocho District Police Station in Seoul said. Shin was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, he said. “There is no sign of foul play in the death,” the investigator added. Local media reported that Shin had left a suicide note, but the investigator said there was none. On Tuesday last week, Shin presided over 53-year-old Kim’s appeal trial, finding her guilty
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