3 US Airmen, 16 Iraqis Killed, Including 10 Killed by US Forces, 6 Executed by Death Squads, According to a November 2, 2007 Report

Three U.S. airmen killed north of Baghdad

Baghdad - Voices of Iraq Friday , 02 /11 /2007 Time 10:45:05

Baghdad, Nov 2, (VOI)-

Three U.S. airmen have been killed during combat operations near an air base north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said on Friday.

"Three Airmen were killed on Nov. 1 while performing combat operations in the vicinity of Balad Air Base, Iraq," the U.S. army said in a statement received by the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). "All three were assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations at Balad AB," it added. The deaths bring the number of the U.S. service members killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion of the country in March 2003 to 3,848.

They are the first U.S. losses in November. Of this number, 39 U.S. troops were killed in October, the smallest number of U.S. fatalities since March 2006. 66 servicemen were killed last September. November 2004, which witnessed fierce battles between U.S. forces and armed groups in Falluja city, Anbar province, remains the month that saw the highest U.S. death toll with 137. April 2004 comes second with 135, followed by May 2007 during which 126 U.S. soldiers were killed.

Repression against Sadrists leads to upheaval - Sadr's office

Basra - Voices of Iraq Friday , 02 /11 /2007 Time 10:45:05

Basra, Nov 2, (VOI)-

Hundreds of Sadrists staged a massive demonstration in the city of Basra after the Friday prayers, calling for stopping the arresting campaign and repression against elements of the Sadrists bloc, asserting that this could lead to an upheaval.

"The demonstration staged to support the innocent Sadrists in the cities of Al-Sadr, Karbala and Diwaniya, who are subjected to repression and arresting campaigns by forces of the Baghdad law-imposing plan," A leading Sadrist figure and the leader of the protest Ali al-Saaidi said during the demonstration. The protest started from al-Sadr's office till al-Arousa square in central Basra. "The outcome of such acts could lead to an upheaval and no one could know its consequences," he noted. "Iraqis and Sadrists will not give up freedom and will not accept lowness and shame," al-Saaidi underlined.

The Sadr bloc's political board last week urged its followers to abandon all arms throughout Iraq. The Sadrists announced also they are resolved to leaving no stone unturned to stop Iraqi bloodshed. Scores of Sadrists' followers were arrested after confrontations that lasted for three days in Karbala, 100 km south of Baghdad, between gunmen and police forces during the rituals of a Shiite pilgrimage called al-Ziyara al-Shaabaniya, or the mid-Shaaban visit, to celebrate the birth anniversary of the Messiah-like Imam al-Mahdi, the 12th holiest figure for Shiite Muslims.

The Iraqi defense ministry said 35 people were killed and 130 others wounded during the incidents, but medics in the city spoke of 48 fatalities and 300 injuries. A few days later Sadr announced the freeze of his Mahdi Army militias and called for "fair and neutral investigations" into these incidents. The Sadrist bloc, which held 30 out of a total 275 seats in the Iraqi parliament, is a Shiite Islamist religious political party in Iraq. It is named after its leader Muqtada al-Sadr.

3 policemen arrested for facilitating armed attack in Babel

Babel - Voices of Iraq Friday , 02 /11 /2007 Time 10:45:05

Hilla, Nov 2, (VOI)-

A joint force of Iraqi police-army personnel on Friday arrested three policemen, northeast of Hilla, for suspected involvement in facilitating armed attacks in Babel, a police source said.

"Joint Iraqi police and army forces launched a crackdown operation on Friday in Agrash region in Jablah district, northeast of Hilla, where they arrested three policemen, suspected of facilitating armed attacks in Babel," the source, who asked not to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). "The arrested men were working as a garrison for the headquarters of a religious party in the region," he noted. Hilla, capital city of Babel province, lies 100 km southwest of Baghdad.

U.S. army says killed 10 Iraqi fighters

Baghdad - Voices of Iraq Friday , 02 /11 /2007 Time 10:45:05

Baghdad, Nov 2, (VOI) –

The U.S. army said its troops killed 10 (Iraqi fighters) and captured three others during operations in central and northern Iraq on Friday. "Coalition forces killed 10 terrorists and detained three suspects during operations Friday targeting (Iraqi fighters) in central and northern Iraq," the U.S. army said in a statement received by the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

"Southeast of Baghdad in Salman Pak, Coalition forces conducted an operation targeting (Iraqi fighters) operating in the Arab Jabour area.

***

AP Headline: Friday's Iraqi Death Toll Was the Second Lowest This Year

By STEVEN R. HURST Associated Press Writer

Nov 2, 2007, 3:20 PM EDT

BAGHDAD (AP) --

Police found the bodies of six victims dumped in three Iraqi cities Friday. There were no reported shootings or bombings, and it was only the second day this year that the sectarian death toll fell below 10, according to an Associated Press count.

Both days were Fridays, the Muslim day of rest and prayer. The last was Feb. 23, when AP records show five Iraqis were found dead in Baghdad. No one died in shootings or bombings on that day either.

On average, 56 Iraqis - civilians and security forces - have died each day so far in this very bloody year.

And three U.S. airmen were killed in combat operations north of Baghdad, the military said in a separate statement.

All three, assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, died Thursday near Balad Air Base, some 50 miles north of Baghdad, the military said.

The statement did not give details on how the airmen died, nor whether they died in aircraft or on the ground. No air crashes, emergency landings or shootings were reported Thursday or Friday.

(The Voice of Iraq news agency reported them yesterday).

In a second statement, the U.S. military said Apache helicopters shot a Hellfire missile and destroyed an anti-aircraft weapon Thursday south of Baghdad.

At least 3,848 U.S. military personnel have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an AP count.

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