U.S. army says 5 servicemen killed in Baghdad
 
Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Monday , 10 /03 /2008  Time 11:43:55
 
 
Baghdad, Mar 10, (VOI) -

Five U.S. soldiers were killed and four others were injured in a roadside bomb blast in western Baghdad, the media advisor for the Multi-National Force (MNF) in Iraq said on Monday.

“An improvised explosive device went off targeting a U.S. vehicle patrol in al-Mansour region in western Baghdad, killing three soldiers and injuring four, including an Iraqi interpreter,” Abdul-Latif Rayan said in exclusive statements to Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).
“The incident is under investigation,” he added.
Al-Rayan gave no more details.

SH/SR

British base in Basra attacked
 
Basra - Voices of Iraq
Monday , 10 /03 /2008  Time 11:43:55 
 
Basra, Mar 10, (VOI) – The British base at the Basra International Airport came under attack with indirect fire during the early hours of Monday but caused no casualties or damage, the Multi-National Force (MNF) in southern Iraq said. 

"The base came under attack with Katyusha rockets but left no casualties or damage," Cap. Finn Aldridge, the spokesman for the MNF in Basra, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).
"This is yet another proof that those firing rockets randomly at the British base pose threats to Iraqis more than to the coalition forces," Aldridge said.

On Saturday, the Basra police chief, Maj. General Abdul-Jalil Khalaf, told VOI over the phone that "these attacks do not harm the British forces because their outposts are fortified."
British soldiers were stationed in one base - the Basra International Airport, 25 km northeast of the province - after handing over the former presidential palaces, which they took as a military base, to the Iraqi forces.

The British forces in the oil-rich port city of Basra, 590 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, keep 5,250 troops within the MNF in Iraq after withdrawing 1,600 soldiers during the past months.
Britain was the United States' prime ally in the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Ceremonies to hand over security responsibilities in Basra province from the British forces to the Iraqi authorities took place at the Basra International Airport in December 2007.

AE

2nd suicide bombing in Diala leaves 23 casualties
 
Diala - Voices of Iraq
Monday , 10 /03 /2008  Time 11:43:55 
 
Diala, Mar 10, (VOI) –

Three civilians were killed and 20 others, including women and children, wounded when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive belt near a police checkpoint in al-Muqdadiya district, 45 km southeast of Ba'aqouba, on Monday, a security source said.

The suicide bombing is the second in the province of Diala in a matter of hours.
Earlier on Monday a spokesman for the Sahwa (Awakening) councils in Diala
said four people were killed and two others wounded in a suicide attack on the Kana'an Sahwa Council leader's home in Ba'aqouba.

"The attack that targeted the house of Shaikh Thaer Taaban al-Karkhi, the chief of the Kana'an Sahwa Council, left Karkhi, his son and daughter and one of his bodyguards killed and two other escorts wounded," Sheikh Sabah al-Shimari told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).
Ba'aqouba, the capital of Diala, lies 57 km north of Baghdad.

AE
 
Police forces find 3 bodies in Ninewa
 
Ninewa - Voices of Iraq
Monday , 10 /03 /2008  Time 11:43:55 
 
Ninewa, March 9, (VOI)-

The bodies of three civilians including a woman and her son were found in Talafar district, northern Iraq , Ninewa security source said on Sunday.

“Police forces found two bodies of a woman and her son dumped on the main road leading to Talafar district, west of Mosul”, a security source, who requested anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq-Voices of Iraq(VOI).

The source did not identify the woman and her son, but said “they were from Talafar”.
Elsewhere, the source added “police forces found a civilian’s body dumped in Mulawatha district, western Mosul ”.

He identified the body as “a shop owner kidnapped five days ago”.
The source pointed out “the bodies were riddled with gunshot mainly to the head and chest”.
Mosul , the capital of the multi-religious and multi-ethnic province of Ninewa , lies 405 km north Baghdad.
AM/SK

Police kill two gunmen west of Mosul
 
Ninewa - Voices of Iraq
Monday , 10 /03 /2008  Time 11:43:55  
 
Mosul, Mar 10, (VOI) -

Police forces on Monday killed two gunmen, one of them holding an Arab passport, west of Mosul, the spokesman for the Ninewa operations command said.
“Fierce clashes flared up between gunmen and policemen in Jlimin village in al-Bea'aj district, west of Mosul, killing two gunmen, one of them holding an Arab nationality,” Brig. Khaled Abdul Sattar told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).
Mosul, the capital of Ninewa, is 405 km north of Baghdad.

SH/SR

Suicide bombing leaves 12 casualties southwest of Baghdad
 
Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Monday , 10 /03 /2008  Time 11:43:55
 
 
Baghdad, Mar 10, (VOI) -

A suicide bomber blew himself up on Monday targeting an Iraqi vehicle patrol southwest of Baghdad, killing one and injuring 11, a police source said.

“A suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt blew himself up targeting an Iraqi army vehicle patrol in al-Mansour region, southwest of Baghdad, leaving deaths and injuries,” the source, who preferred anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).
“The Yarmouk hospital received the body of one civilian and 11 wounded, including five soldiers and six civilians,” a medic said.
A police source had said earlier that three civilians were killed and 20 others, including women and children, wounded when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive belt near a police checkpoint in al-Muqdadiya district, 45 km southeast of Baaquba.
 
SH/SR

2 gunmen killed, 54 suspects detained throughout Iraq
 
Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Monday , 10 /03 /2008  Time 11:43:55 
 
Baghdad, Mar 10, (VOI) -

Iraqi Defense Ministry said on Monday that Iraqi army forces killed two gunmen and arrested 54 suspects during operations in the past 24 hours.

“Iraqi army forces shot and killed two armed men in Salah el-Din, Kirkuk and detained 54 suspected gunmen in Baghdad, Mosul, Ramadi, Salah el-Din, Diala, and Kirkuk,” the ministry said in a statement received by Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq (VOI).
The statement provided no further details.

SH/SR

Bomb blast leaves 4 casualties in Baghdad
 
Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Monday , 10 /03 /2008  Time 11:43:55 
 
Baghdad, Mar 10, (VOI) –

One civilian was killed and three others injured when a bomb planted inside a vehicle went off in northeastern Baghdad on Monday, police said. 

"A bomb inside a vehicle left by unidentified gunmen on the main road in al-Sha'ab neighborhood, northeastern Baghdad, went off on Monday, killing one civilian and wounding three others who happened to be nearby the scene," the source, who did not want his name mentioned, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).

"Security forces sealed off the area and rushed the wounded to a nearby hospital for treatment," the source added.

Earlier an official security source said a force from the Iraqi army seized two missile launching pads in eastern Baghdad.

"A force from the Iraqi army's 11th Division in the al-Rasafa intersection seized two missile launching pads near Sahat al-Hamza area in al-Hubaybiya district, eastern Baghdad, on Sunday evening," Maj. General Qassem Atta, the spokesman for the Baghdad security plan Operation Fardh al-Qanoon (law imposing), told VOI.

The Iraqi and U.S. forces have been carrying out a wide-scale security plan codenamed Fardh al-Qanoon for more than a year now with the objective of flushing armed groups out of Baghdad and its environs.

AE

Casualties rise in eastern Baghdad explosion
 
Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Monday , 10 /03 /2008  Time 10:48:16
 
 
Baghdad, Mar 10, (VOI) –

One person has been killed, while four others were wounded in an increase in casualties caused by eastern Baghdad car explosion on Monday.

A source at the Iraqi Ministry of Interior (MOI), who spoke to Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI) on condition of anonymity, said, "One civilian has been killed, and four others were wounded, when a car that was parked behind Al-Habebiya Hospital exploded."

"Security forces sealed the area off immediately after the explosion," the source added.
Earlier on Monday, the official spokesperson of Baghdad Operations Command said that two civilians were wounded when a device cohered to their car exploded, east of Baghdad.
"The two civilians were inside the car when the device exploded near to Al-Hamza square, in Al-Habebiya neighborhood, east of Baghdad," General Qassim Atta told VOI. He added, "Security forces sealed off the area, and transferred the two civilians to a nearby hospital."
MH/SR

Car bomb leaves 35 casualties in Sulaimaniya
 
Sulaimaniya - Voices of Iraq
Monday , 10 /03 /2008  Time 10:48:16 
 
Sulaimaniya, Mar 10, (VOI) -

A suicide bomber detonated a booby-trapped car on Monday targeting Sulaimaniya Plaza hotel, the Sulaimaniya security chief said, while a medical source said that the explosion killed one security guard and injured 34 persons.

“A car rigged with explosives exploded targeting Sulaimaniya Plaza hotel in Salem street in central Sulaimaniya,” Brig. Hassan Nouri, the city’s security chief, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).

For his part, Sulaimaniya hospital’s director Shiriko Abdullah said that the hospital has received so far 34 wounded persons, including two in critical condition.
Local residents said the explosion jolted the city and several ambulances were seen rushing to the scene.

VOI correspondent said that the explosion set a number of nearby vehicles ablaze.
Security forces sealed off the region around the hotel.
The city is the safest area in Iraq and the last blast occurred in the city was in 2005, when three car bombs were detonated, killing 13 and wounding 26.
Sulaimaniya, in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, is 375 km north of Baghdad.

SH/SR

Three bodies found in Baghdad
 
Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Monday , 10 /03 /2008  Time 10:48:16 
 
Baghdad, Mar 10, (VOI) -

Iraqi police patrols found on Monday three unidentified bodies dumped in different parts of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, an Interior ministry source said.

"Police patrols found three unknown corpses dumped in various parts of Baghdad," the source, who asked to remain unnamed, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).

The source added, "Two bodies were found in al-Ubeidi and al-Nahrawan neighborhoods in Baghdad's eastern side of Rasafa, while the third body was found in al-Baya'a neighborhood, western Baghdad."
"The bodies bore signs of gunshot wounds to different parts of the body, mainly to the head," he noted.

SH/SR