Two suicide car bombs kill 20 near Iraq's Ramadi

[maddezmom]

Source: Reuters

BAGHDAD, May 7 (Reuters) - Two suicide car bombers killed 20 people and wounded more than 40 in separate attacks near Iraq's city of Ramadi on Monday, police said.

The first car bomb went off in a busy market in a town called Albu-Thiyab, east of Ramadi, said Tareq al-Thiyab, a police colonel and a government security adviser in western Anbar province.

The second car bomb targeted a police checkpoint in a town called al-Jazeera, he said.

Sunni Islamist al Qaeda is engaged in a fierce power struggle with local Sunni Arab tribesmen in Anbar province, who oppose the group's campaign of indiscriminate attacks and its efforts to impose a harsh interpretation of Islam.

Recent big suicide attacks in Anbar, an overwhelmingly Sunni province west of Baghdad, have been blamed on al Qaeda.


Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L07166243.htm

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and from today's LAT
In Ramadi, a ragtag solution with real results
Adapting to changing conditions, the U.S. trains and arms an auxiliary police unit, which has helped turn the tide against violence.
By Chris Kraul, Times Staff Writer
May 7, 2007

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-kidcops7may07,1,217642.story?track=rss

and from AP:
Ramadi no longer the mess it was, and providing military blueprint
http://www.wane.com/global/story.asp?s=6477150

[maddezmom]

1. Iraq: Explosives found under pipeline

BAGHDAD - Four Iraqis were arrested early Monday after soldiers found a load of explosives planted under an oil pipeline in northern Iraq that carries crude oil to Turkey, the Iraqi Army said.

About 330 pounds of TNT were discovered under a stretch of the pipeline in the al-Kisk area, about 50 miles west of Mosul, said Col. Mohammed Ahmed, a spokesman for the 3rd Iraqi Army division. The explosives were removed and safely destroyed without injuries, he said.

Four suspects — all Iraqis — were arrested nearby, Ahmed said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070507/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_pipeline;_ylt=AlW_4IPlVDNui3HDdIj4VGgLewgF

[maddezmom]

2. update on U.S. commander shot, evacuated from Iraq

Senior U.S. commander shot, evacuated from Iraq
BAGHDAD (CNN) -- A senior U.S. commander has been wounded in Iraq and was evacuated from the country for further treatment, two military sources told CNN Sunday.

The sources identified him as Col. Billy Don Farris -- the commander of the 2nd Brigade of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division.

CNN was was told that Farris was "shot in the leg and will recover," and was awarded a Purple Heart by Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, before he left Iraq. (Posted 11:30 p.m.)


http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/05/06/sunday/index.html?section=cnn_latest

[maddezmom]

3. FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, May 7

More May 7 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq at 1000 GMT on Monday:

NEAR RAMADI - Two suicide car bombs killed 20 people and wounded more than 40 around the town of al-Jazeera, home of tribal leaders fighting al-Qaeda, near Ramadi, 110 km (70 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - Five people were killed and two wounded by a mortar attack on the al-Saidiya district of southern Baghdad, police said.

ISKANDARIYA - Two people were killed and 10 wounded by a mortar attack on the town of Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

more:http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/KAM731691.htm

[maddezmom]

4. car bombings on the outskirts of Ramadi Monday strike a blow at recent US statements of success....

Two suicide car bombings on the outskirts of Ramadi Monday strike a blow at recent US statements of success in reclaiming the Sunni city from insurgents.

At least 20 people were killed and 40 wounded in separate attacks on a market and a police post.

The US military has struggled for years to secure Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province. The city has shown recent signs of calming.

Also MOnday, a bombing and an ambush in the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Baqouba killed two soldiers and two policemen.

And an al-Qaida front group has claimed responsibility for a suicide car bombing Saturday against an Iraqi army recruiting center west of Baghdad that killed ten recruits and five soldiers.

more:http://www.wcsh6.com/news/national/article.aspx?storyid=59780

[babylonsister]

5. Double suicide bombings in Iraq kill 20

Source: AP

Double suicide bombings in Iraq kill 20

By HAMID AHMED, Associated Press Writer 30 minutes ago

BAGHDAD - Two suicide car bombers attacked a market and a police checkpoint on the outskirts of Ramadi on Monday, killing at least 20 people and dealing a blow to recent U.S. success in reclaiming the Sunni city from insurgents.

A mortar attack also killed five people and wounded two others in Baiyaa, a religiously mixed neighborhood in western Baghdad that has seen a recent rise in sectarian tension. Four Iraqi troops were killed in separate attacks in Baqouba, northeast of the capital.

The violence came a day after roadside bombs killed eight American soldiers, including six who died in a single blast in the surrounding province of Diyala. The mounting U.S. casualty toll highlights the dangers facing troops as they take to the streets more as part of a security crackdown in the Baghdad area.

The Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaida front group, on Monday claimed responsibility for the attack that killed the soldiers and a Russian photographer in Diyala. It also said it was behind a suicide car bombing against Iraqi police in the northern city of Samarra.

The first attack Monday targeted a public market about noon northwest of Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, killing 10 civilians and wounding about 30, police said.

About 15 minutes later, another bomber detonated his vehicle at a nearby police checkpoint, killing five police officers and five bystanders and wounding 10 others, police said.

The U.S. military has struggled for years to secure Ramadi, the capital of the insurgent stronghold of Anbar province.

more...

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070507/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

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So much for the security of Ramadi...

[Eugene]

6. 68 Killed or Found Dead in Iraq

Source: Associated Press

68 Killed or Found Dead in Iraq

Monday May 7, 2007 10:46 PM

AP Photo BAG124, BAG125, BAG123

By RAVI NESSMAN

Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD (AP) - Suicide bombers killed 13 people in a pair of
attacks Monday around the Sunni city of Ramadi in what local
officials said was part of a power struggle between al-Qaida
and tribes that have broken with the terror network.

In all, at least 68 people were killed or found dead nationwide
Monday, police said. They included the bullet-riddled bodies of
30 men found in Baghdad - the apparent victims of sectarian
death squads.

All but two were found in west Baghdad, including 17 in the
Amil neighborhood where Sunni politicians have complained
of renewed attacks by Shiite militiamen, according to a
police official who spoke on condition of anonymity because
he was not supposed to release those details.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6615401,00.html