U.S. military: Iraqi soldier killed U.S. troops

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Two U.S. soldiers who died last month in Iraq were apparently shot to death by an Iraqi soldier during a combined U.S. and Iraqi Army operation, the U.S. military said.

A man receives treatment at a hospital in Baquba on Saturday after being injured by a roadside bomb.

"For reasons that are as yet unknown, at least one Iraqi Army soldier allegedly opened fire killing Capt. Rowdy Inman and Sgt. Benjamin Portell, both of whom were assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment," the military said in a statement released Saturday.

Three other U.S. soldiers and a civilian interpreter were wounded in the attack, the military said.

The incident happened on December 26 in northern Iraq's Ninewah province as the U.S. Army and the Iraqi Army were working together "to establish a combat outpost," the military said.

"The Iraqi soldier who allegedly opened fire, fled the scene but was identified by other Iraqi Army personnel and was then apprehended," the military said.

When the deaths of Cpt. Inman and Sgt. Portell were announced last month, the military made no mention of how they were killed other than that they died "from wounds received from small-arms fire during operations."

Several roadside bombs killed at least seven and wounded 12 people in Iraq, while five bullet-riddled bodies were found in Baghdad Saturday morning, according to Iraqi officials.

The deadliest attack happened about 50 miles northeast of Baquba in the town of Saadiya when a roadside bomb destroyed a minibus loaded with men, women and children, according to Baquba police. Six people on the bus died and three were hurt, police said.

One civilian died and three were wounded by a roadside bombing in the Othmaniya neighborhood in southwestern Baquba Saturday, police said.

A second bomb exploded nearby just minutes later, wounding two members of Baquba's Awakening Council who arrived to help the first bombing victims, police said.

Awakening Councils predominantly comprise Sunni Muslims and some former militants. Many of the councils have been recruited by the U.S. military's "Concerned Local Citizen's Program" to work against al Qaeda in Iraq.

In recent weeks, al Qaeda in Iraq has launched an aggressive attack campaign against Awakening Councils.

Members of a local Awakening Council found the bodies of five people who were shot to death in southern Baghdad's Dora district Saturday morning, the official said. Their identities were not immediately known, he said.

Website to carry new bin Laden tape on Iraq

Dubai, December 28: An Islamist Web site said on Friday it would carry a new recording from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden about "foiling plots" in Iraq.

The Web site said the 56-minute recording would also be about the Islamic State in Iraq, an al Qaeda-linked group in the country.

It did not say when the video or audio recording, produced by al Qaeda's media arm As-Sahab and entitled "The Path to Foiling Plots in Iraq", would be posted.

Al Qaeda messages have been often released within three days of their announcement on Web sites.

"May God expose the cover-up by Al Jazeera, the channel of the infidels," said the Web site, which is often used to issue messages from al Qaeda.

It was not clear whether this meant bin Laden would speak about a controversy in which his supporters have accused the popular news channel of misrepresenting his comments on Iraq.

Some Islamists have said Al Jazeera misrepresented bin Laden's views by airing excerpts of comments he made in October that insurgents had made mistakes in Iraq because of fanaticism.

While the Iraqi wing of al Qaeda remains at the forefront of many groups fighting U.S. forces and the Shi'ite-led government supported by Washington, its fighters have faced growing opposition in the Sunni areas of Iraq where they operate.

Angered by deadly attacks against Iraqis who fail to follow their hardline interpretation of Islam, Sunni tribes have begun to turn against the al Qaeda militants they once backed.

An increase in U.S. troops, more efficient Iraqi security forces and new neighbourhood patrols organised by mainly Sunni Arab tribes have been credited with a decline in violence and a fall in civilian and U.S. military casualties in the past two months.

My body is torn, like my country: an Iraqi prostitute

The road up to Sednaya in the Damascus countryside is well lit at night. However, they are not the lights of the municipality, streetlights or illuminated civic buildings.

They are the lights of cabarets and nightclubs, which stay open till late in the morning. They are teeming with prostitutes.

In the Al Carawan Cabaret, Layal, a 22-year-old Iraqi, speaks about how she had gradually joined the oldest profession in history. While she recounts her story, her tone is indifferent. As she puts it,"She has nothing to lose."

In spite of recent reports about hundreds of Iraqis returning to their country, Layal says she will not return to a country that 'has no jobs.'

"People there are concerned about surviving, not about pleasure," says Layal, who lives with her mother in the Barzeh quarter in western Damascus.

She adds, not without a sense of sorrow, "Prostitution exposed us to life in the underworld and also to life in the upper world."

Layal does not like Americans. She is fond of asking God to destroy them because they invaded her country. However, no sooner has she stopped cursing America, then she starts to remember the dark era of Saddam's tyranny. She finally curses all Arabs.

She would not hesitate to wear revealing clothing at home, even when she has guests, she says. But in the street, she is keen on putting a scarf to cover her hair and a long brown coat.

She justifies this by saying, "people here care only about appearances. It's better like this."

Unable to speak about her profession in the presence of her mother, she asks her to go out shopping. She says, her profession brought her money and headache but left with no choice.

Narrating her incidence into this trade, she recounts how her father was killed in the war in Iraq, which left them penniless. It was then that she and her mother left in search of greener pastures Damascus.They lived in a small rented house in Jaraman, near Damascus, but they quickly ran out of money.

Her mere salary could not meet their ends. This was when her landlord convinced her into the trade. Though she was reluctant initially, gave in when she found it difficult to live without money.

Majority of prostitutes in Syria are non-Syrians because it is difficult for Syrian girls to be prostitutes in their own country, Layal says.

"They have to leave for other countries to do so," she explains. In Baghdad and before the war, Layal had different ambitions. She wanted to become a beautician but life had it otherwise.

"We became prostitutes," Layal says, "We became like any other monument in the country, which young sightseers visit when they come to Syria," she adds ironically.

She says that many Iraqi families have left back to their country since its hard to have their residence visa renewed or simply because they are tired of living in a foreign country.

When questioned how Iraqi girls hide their profession, Layal explains that claim themselves as artists, while some pretend as dancers and some prefer to say that they work in a restaurant.

"Nowadays, the situation is getting more difficult, because of a sagging demand for Iraqi girls. Clients prefer Syrians if they can get them, or Lebanese and Moroccans," she said.

Regarding the prices she says that they vary, the location of the house plays a keen role here, she explains. Those who live and work in good neighbourhoods can ask for higher prices. Layal lives in a good neighbourhood, and she asks for 80 dollars to 100 dollars per hour. Sometimes, she even asks for 200 dollars. If she goes to the client's place the price is even higher.

But life is not easy, she says, as pimps take most of the money she makes.

Still, Layal and her mama lead a reasonably prosperous life. However, she says, she cannot go back to Iraq because she has 'lost herself.' She means her chastity. "Even if thousands of refugees return, I will stay," she says.

Layal does not want to get married or have a family. Her only wish is to convey people that Iraq is now a torn country, just like her body, and will never return to what it once was.

As talks fail, Turkey planes reconnoitre Iraq border

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Last Updated: October 27, 2007 08:20:04



Sirnak (Turkey), October 27: Turkish military planes scoured the Iraqi border for Kurdish rebel camps Saturday, army sources said, after diplomatic talks in Ankara to avert a major cross-border operation into northern Iraq failed.

Turkish-Iraqi talks collapsed late Friday after Ankara rejected a series of proposals by Iraqi Defence Minister General Abdel Qader Jassim to tackle Kurdish guerrillas based in northern Iraq as insufficient.

Officials told Reuters that no further talks were planned and the Iraqi delegation, which had aimed to dissuade NATO member Turkey from launching a major incursion against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas, was leaving Saturday.

Turkey has massed up to 100,000 troops, backed by fighter jets, helicopter gunships, tanks, and mortars, on the frontier before a possible offensive against about 3,000 PKK rebels using Iraq as a base from which to carry out deadly attacks in Turkey.

The United States, which was also represented at the talks, opposes a major incursion, fearing it could destabilise Iraq's relatively peaceful north and, potentially, the wider region.

The PKK took up arms against Turkey in 1984 with the aim of creating an ethnic homeland in the south-east. More than 30,000 people have been killed in the conflict. In recent years, the party has pushed for greater cultural and political rights.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan took a swipe at Western countries Saturday for not helping Turkey fight the PKK, criticising what he called an approach of "your terrorist is good, my terrorist is bad".

"We want to see our Western friends by our side in our fight against terror," he told a conference in Istanbul. "Those who overlook terrorism are in cooperation with terrorism."

Erdogan-Bush meeting

Erdogan, meanwhile, played down comments by Turkey's top general that the military was waiting for Erdogan to meet US President George W. Bush in Washington on November 5 before launching a major incursion.

General Yasar Buyukanit was quoted by Turkish media Friday as saying the meeting was very important and the military would hold off until Erdogan returned before making a potential move.

Senior Turkish diplomats say Erdogan has given Washington and Baghdad a limited time to show concrete results or witness steps being taken against the PKK. The meeting in Washington will be the last chance, they told Reuters.

Any major offensive, expected to involve ground and air forces, would first have to be approved by the government.

"I don't know what will happen before the American trip," Erdogan said Friday. "We are in a sensitive state all the time."

But under growing public pressure, Erdogan has repeatedly said Turkey will not tolerate any more attacks from the PKK, which has killed about 40 people in the last month.

Army sources told Reuters Saturday that military planes were running reconnaissance trips along the mountainous border to take photographs of PKK camps in northern Iraq. Helicopters were patrolling villages and soldiers were sweeping for mines.

In the south-eastern city of Sirnak Saturday, about 1,000 people demonstrated against the PKK, which in its latest major attack killed 12 soldiers and said it took eight prisoners. Security was tight, with sharp-shooters on rooftops and village guard militiamen present.

"For every 12 martyrs, 12,000 more Turkish martyrs are born," chanted the protesters, who came from all over the province.

The military has already carried out as many as 24 limited operations into northern Iraq against the PKK but no major land incursion, Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek said Friday. Turkish helicopter gunships and F-16 jets have attacked PKK positions inside Iraq in recent days.

Analysts doubtful

Analysts question whether a major military offensive into northern Iraq would be successful, as past ones have failed to dislodge the PKK, whose members are also in Turkey.

Ankara had given Iraq a list of leading PKK members based in northern Iraq and demanded that Baghdad hand them over and shut down their numerous camps.

But the central Iraqi government has little control over the semi-autonomous Kurdish northern Iraq, which is run by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

The KRG, run by Masoud Barzani, says it has no control over the PKK, considered a terrorist organisation in the United States, Turkey and the European Union.

Barzani has vowed to fight any Turkish incursion.
By Thomas Grove.