Near Mosul, in the north, five more Awakening members were killed Sunday in an attack, in which 10 insurgents also died, the United States military said.
At least 100 Awakening members have been killed in the last few weeks.
The American military sought to bolster its case on Sunday that the Awakening groups, with the increased United States military presence north and west of the capital, were weakening Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the homegrown Sunni Arab extremist group that American intelligence agencies have concluded is foreign led.
Officials released two seized documents they said had been hand-written by members of the group, in despair about defections and decreasing popular support.
But, as Fischer goes on to point out, not two complete documents, excerpts only -- for 'security reasons.' 'Security reasons' might include the big spin prepared for David Petreaus' upcoming report to Congress.
CNN reports that Gates has held a press conference this morning in Baghdad and declared it "makes sense" to halt the return of US troops from Iraq and "A senior U.S. military official in Baghdad told CNN recently that Petraeus feels strongly there should be a period of review before he makes any decisions about additional troop withdrawals." Yes, Lie-apalooza 2008 is coming up this spring, have you purchased your tickets? Polly notes this from BBC:
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said he favours a "pause" in troop reductions in Iraq after up to 30,000 US soldiers are sent home this summer.
The Pentagon aims to decrease troop numbers in Iraq from 20 to 15 brigades. One brigade has already left, the last of the five is due to leave by July.
The Los Angeles Times covers some of yesterday's reported violence (and only some) here and we'll note the Balad bombing section (which claimed at least 21 lives):
The bomber targeted an Iraqi police checkpoint at the entrance of a large open-air market in Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad. Thirty-two people were injured, the U.S. military said.
The bomber targeted an Iraqi police checkpoint at the entrance of a large open-air market in Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad. Thirty-two people were injured, the U.S. military said.
"There were many bodies scattered, the smoke was dark, it was hard to see and it was dreadful," said Ali Jassim, a 34-year-old auto mechanic whose uncle was badly injured. "In my whole life, I haven't seen something like this."
Already today, Reuters notes: "Two car bombs exploded in southern Baghdad within a few minutes of each other on Monday killing at least five people and wounding 13 others, Iraqi police said." The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
steve lannen
mcclatchy newspapers
the new york times
ian fisher
the los angeles times
