Gunmen Friday attacked an Iraqi army checkpoint in the city of Adhaim,
in religiously and ethnically mixed Diyala province, killing eight
soldiers and wounding seventeen, an Iraqi army officer said on
condition he not be identified for fear of reprisal.
"There were too many to count," said Akid, a 20-year-old soldier from
Diwanayah being treated for gunshot wounds to both thighs.
"They tried to kill everybody."
Akid, who would only give his first name for fear of reprisal, said
his battalion of about 600 men had already suffered over 250
desertions after a Dec. 3 ambush in Adhaim killed 19 Iraqi soldiers.
"They gave up," he said.
"They said, 'The hell with this."’
From The Associated Press, 12/23/05:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10585658/
Major demonstrations protest Iraq elections
Huge marches allege vote fraud; Saddam lawyer claims proof of beating
BAGHDAD, Iraq -
Large demonstrations broke out across the country Friday to denounce
parliamentary elections that protesters called rigged in favor of the
main religious Shiite coalition.
Meanwhile, a lawyer for Saddam Hussein said he saw evidence his client
had been beaten.
Several hundred thousand people demonstrated after noon prayers in
southern Baghdad Friday, many carrying banners decrying last week’s
elections.
Many Iraqis outside the religious Shiite coalition allege that the
elections were unfair to smaller Sunni Arab and secular Shiite groups.
"We refuse the cheating and forgery in the elections," one banner
read.
During Friday prayers at Baghdad’s Umm al-Qura mosque, the
headquarters of the Association of Muslim Scholars, a major Sunni
clerical group, Sheik Mahmoud al-Sumaidaei told followers they were
"living a conspiracy built on lies and forgery."
"You have to be ready during these hard times and combat forgeries and
lies for the sake of Islam," he said.
Sunni Arab and secular Shiite factions demanded Thursday that an
international body review election fraud complaints, and threatened to
boycott the new legislature.
The United Nations rejected the idea.
Their demand came two days after preliminary returns indicated that
the current governing group, the religious Shiite United Iraqi
Alliance, was getting bigger-than-expected majorities in Baghdad,
which has large numbers of Shiites and Sunnis.
Demonstrations in the north
On Friday, more than 2,000 people demonstrated in Mosul, where some
accused Iran of having a hand in election fraud.
About 1,000 people demonstrated in Tikrit, Saddam’s hometown.
The former leader claimed at his trial this week that he had been
beaten by his American captors.
Defense lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi said Friday that he had seen marks on
his client’s body.
Speaking in Amman, Jordan, Dulaimi said that he had filed a compliant
Thursday with the court hearing Saddam’s case.
The chief prosecutor, Jaafar al-Mousawi, told The Associated Press on
Friday that he hadn’t seen a complaint but planned to visit Saddam and
his seven co-defendants to review their health and "listen to their
demands and supply them with everything they need."
Meanwhile, gunmen Friday attacked an Iraqi army checkpoint in the city
of Adhaim, in religiously and ethnically mixed Diyala province,
killing eight soldiers and wounding seventeen, an Iraqi army officer
said on condition he not be identified for fear of reprisal.
"There were too many to count," said Akid, a 20-year-old soldier from
Diwanayah being treated for gunshot wounds to both thighs.
"They tried to kill everybody."
Akid, who would only give his first name for fear of reprisal, said
his battalion of about 600 men had already suffered over 250
desertions after a Dec. 3 ambush in Adhaim killed 19 Iraqi soldiers.
"They gave up," he said.
"They said, 'The hell with this."’
Suicide bombing near Baghdad
In Balad Ruz, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad, a suicide bomber
detonated his explosives belt outside a Shiite mosque, killing four
people and wounding eight, Diyala police said.
Among the dead was a policeman guarding the mosque.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Friday that President Bush
had authorized new cuts in U.S. combat troops in Iraq, below the
138,000 level that prevailed for most of this year.
Rumsfeld did not reveal the exact size of the troop cut, but Pentagon
officials have said as many as 7,000 combat troops could be leaving.
Criticisms of last week’s elections are seen by some as jockeying for
position by both Sunnis and former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a
secular Shiite, before negotiations on forming a new coalition
government begin.
No group is expected to win a majority of the legislature’s 275 seats.
The formerly dominant Sunni minority fears being marginalized by the
Shiite majority, which was oppressed during Saddam’s reign.
_____________________________________________________
"Mission accomplished"
Georgie Bush
Harry
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