The Toll Grows Higher

[MrsSpringsteen]

An ambush in Iraq has taken the life of a Rhode Island minister.

The Rev. John Kelley, pastor of a church in Wakefield, R.I. for the past 18 years, was shot to death near Baghdad. A minister from Massachusetts was also injured in the attack.

Seven ministers, mostly from New England, went to Iraq as part of a mission to establish a Baptist church. Four or the seven decided to go to Babylon Saturday afternoon. On their way back from the sightseeing trip, their van was ambushed by gunmen.

Kate Pettit's father, the Rev. Kirk DeVito, head of the Grace Baptist Church in Franklin, was one of three ministers wounded during the attack. Pettit said she spoke with him shortly after the attack.

"(He was) definitely shaken. When I to talked with him today, he was still shaken, " said Pettit.

Kelley, 48, pastor at the Curtis Corner Baptist Church of Wakefield, R.I., was killed. Two ministers injured suffered minor injuries.

Pettit said her father told her what happened during the attack.

"Suddenly this car pulled up next to them and began firing AK-47s, which we had talked about before -- that there are AK-47s all over the place. He was in the backseat and he was OK, but he had taken some shrapnel in the back of the neck, on the back of his head and his hand. The driver of the car saved their lives. He hit the gas and just got them out of there as fast as possible and took them right to the hospital," said Pettit.

The ministers' goal is to establish a Baptist church in Iraq. Pettit said she does not believe that was the reason for the attack.

There was no problem with what they were doing. They feel it is because they were Americans more than anything.

Kelley leaves behind a wife and four children.

All of the ministers are scheduled to return to the United States Friday.

Reverend Kelley and his wife..

[verte76]

[STING2]

Roadside bomb kills 2 soldiers, one Iraqi
Coalition repulses attack on prison
Thursday, February 19, 2004 Posted: 7:06 AM EST (1206 GMT)


BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A roadside bomb Thursday morning killed two U.S. soldiers and one Iraqi near Khaldiya, west of Baghdad, a coalition military spokesman said.

The attack happened at 10:30 a.m. (2:30 a.m. ET), the spokesman said.

On Wednesday night, coalition soldiers repulsed an attack on the Abu Ghraib prison near the Iraqi capital, killing one of the attackers and arresting 55 others, a military spokesman said.

A U.S. soldier was treated for minor wounds and released, the spokesman said.

The prison sustained indirect hits from 33 mortar shells and five rockets. The attack happened around 6:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. ET) and was over 20 minutes later, according to initial reports.

The prison is located 20 miles (30 kilometers) west of Baghdad.

Earlier in the day, two suicide car bombers killed eight Iraqis at Camp Charlie outside Hilla in southern Iraq. Five of those killed were children.

The assault followed deadly bombings last week in Iskandariyah and Baghdad targeting Iraqi police and Army recruits and a well-coordinated attack in Fallujah on the police station and the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps. More than 125 Iraqis died in those strikes.

Also on Wednesday, the U.S. military said U.S. forces and Iraqi police detained 22 people who were part of a group of anti-coalition insurgents. The detainees were picked up in an overnight raid in Baqubah, U.S. Army Col. William Adamson said.

Adamson said the military suspects that seven of the detainees have ties to al Qaeda and helped coordinate a mid-January suicide car bombing in Baqubah.

Wednesday's assault in Hilla follows insurgent attacks last week in Iskandariyah, Baghdad and Fallujah. Those strikes killed more than 125 people.

Elections report to be reviewed
The violence comes at a critical phase, as plans are negotiated for the U.S.-led coalition to turn political power over to the Iraqis at the end of June. The Iraq Governing Council and the Coalition Provisional Authority are awaiting a United Nations report on whether direct elections before June 30 are possible.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan will meet with his special envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, on Thursday morning.

Brahimi just returned from Iraq and will discuss its future with more than 40 countries who are considered "friends of Iraq."

Brahimi is expected to say that direct elections are not possible by the planned June 30 transfer of power from the U.S.-led coalition to Iraqis. Diplomats and U.N. officials say Brahimi made that clear while touring Iraq. The bigger question, the diplomats said, is what alternatives there are to direct elections.

One diplomat indicated Brahimi will likely offer the most feasible date possible for direct elections, outlining the timing and different steps needed to get there. The diplomat said there are so many complex actions related to holding an election that it might take up to eight to 10 months to conduct a large-scale poll.

Brahimi's full set of written recommendations will be held for formal release pending Annan's approval, which is not expected to come before Friday.

U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said the United States will do its best to accommodate Brahimi's suggestions.

[MrsSpringsteen]

HADITHA, Iraq - An American military OH-58 Kiowa helicopter crashed Wednesday into a river west of Baghdad, killing the two crewmembers on board, the U.S. military and police said.

The helicopter, which carries a two-member crew, crashed about 1:50 p.m. near Haditha, 120 miles from the capital, Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said. A spokesman for the U.S. command said the two were killed.

Kimmitt also said the cause of the crash had not been determined.

In Haditha, witness Emad Rasheed, 45, said two U.S. helicopters were flying over the area when a missile hit one of them. However, Kimmitt said the second helicopter reported seeing no hostile fire.

With the latest crash, the U.S. military has lost 15 helicopters since the occupation began in May — most to hostile fire. At least 60 Americans have been killed in the crashes.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Coalition soldier killed north of Iraq's capital by while defusing roadside bomb

By Associated Press, 2/29/2004


BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) A coalition soldier trying to defuse a roadside bomb was shot and killed by insurgents, the U.S. military said Sunday.

The soldier, who wasn't a member of the U.S. Army, was shot late Saturday night in northwest Baghdad while on patrol with other coalition troops. He was the first coalition soldier killed by hostile fire in Iraq since Feb. 19 when two Americans died in a roadside bombing near Khaldiyah, 50 miles west of the capital.

The name of the soldier and his nationality were withheld pending notification of his family.

Of non-U.S. coalition members, Britain has had the most losses with 58 deaths. Italy has had 17 killed; Spain, eight; Bulgaria, five; Thailand, two; and Denmark, Ukraine and Poland have reported one each.

As of Sunday, 547 U.S. service members have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq, according to the Department of Defense. Of those, 378 died as a result of hostile action and 169 died of non-hostile causes, the department said.

[STING2]

Mar 2, 5:17 PM (ET)

By The Associated Press

As of Tuesday, March 2, 549 U.S. service members have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq, according to the Department of Defense. Of those, 378 died as a result of hostile action and 171 died of non-hostile causes, the department said.

The British military has reported 58 deaths; Italy, 17; Spain, eight; Bulgaria, five; Thailand, two; Denmark, Ukraine, Estonia and Poland have reported one each.

Since May 1, when President Bush declared that major combat operations in Iraq had ended, 411 U.S. soldiers have died - 263 as a result of hostile action and 148 of non-hostile causes, according to the military.

Since the start of military operations, 2,727 U.S. service members have been injured as a result of hostile action, according to the Defense Department's figures. Non-hostile injured numbered 419.

---

The latest deaths reported by the military:

- One 1st Armored Division soldier was killed and another wounded Tuesday after insurgents threw a grenade into a Humvee in Baghdad.

---

The latest identifications reported by the military:

- No new identifications reported.

[shari schultz]

I work with a woman whose husband was just shipped over to Baghdad. He will be there for a year. My heart skips a beat whenever their is Breaking News about a soldier being hurt or killed. I cannot even imagine what her heart does.

[STING2]

Mar 3, 5:13 PM (ET)

By The Associated Press

As of Wednesday, March 3, 550 U.S. service members have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq, according to the Department of Defense. Of those, 379 died as a result of hostile action and 171 died of non-hostile causes, the department said.

The British military has reported 58 deaths; Italy, 17; Spain, eight; Bulgaria, five; Thailand, two; Denmark, Ukraine, Estonia and Poland have reported one each.

Since May 1, when President Bush declared that major combat operations in Iraq had ended, 412 U.S. soldiers have died - 264 as a result of hostile action and 148 of non-hostile causes, according to the military.

Since the start of military operations, 2,731 U.S. service members have been injured as a result of hostile action, according to the Defense Department's figures. Non-hostile injured numbered 419.

---

The latest deaths reported by the military:

- No new deaths reported.

---

The latest identifications reported by the military:

- No new identifications reported.

[deep]

i believe there is under-couinting

particularly in the injured.

[STING2]

Roadside Bomb Kills U.S. Soldier in Iraq


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Mar 9, 7:12 AM (ET)

TIKRIT, Iraq (AP) - An American soldier was killed Tuesday morning after a roadside bomb exploded while his convoy was passing by, the U.S. military said.

The soldier was the first member of the 1st Infantry Division, which is replacing the 4th Infantry Division, to die in Iraq, said Maj. Debra Stewart.

The soldier was killed after the Humvee he was riding in was hit by the bomb in Balad Ruz, just east of Baqouba in the Sunni Triangle. A second soldier was wounded in the explosion and airlifted the 31st Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad and was listed in stable condition.

The names of both soldiers were withheld pending notification of their families.

"It is a very sad day for the division, we have lost a very valuable team member," said Stewart, a Division spokeswoman.

The latest death brings to 553 the number of American service members who have died since the Iraq conflict began March 20. Most of those deaths occurred after President Bush declared an end to major combat May 1.

[STING2]

March 11, 2004

Soldier dies, two wounded in Baqouba bomb attack

Associated Press


TIKRIT, Iraq — A soldier was killed, and two others injured, when a homemade bomb went off in Baqouba, the military said Thursday.
The attack Wednesday injured the three soldiers, two of whom were taken to the 31st Combat Support Hospital in Balad, where one of them died. The second soldier was in stable condition and will be sent to a military hospital in the United States. The third soldier was treated at the scene and returned to duty.

None of the soldiers were identified, but all were part of the 652nd Engineering Battalion and based in Baqouba.

Soldiers arrested two Iraqis in the blast, but they were later released, the military said.

The latest death brings to 554 the number of U.S. service members who have died since the United States launched the Iraq war in March. Most have died since President Bush declared an end to active combat May 1.

[STING2]

Two U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iraq


Mar 11, 10:52 PM (ET)


BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Two American soldiers were killed when the Humvee they were riding in struck a homemade bomb, the military said early Friday.

The soldiers were part of an escort for a military convoy northeast of Habbiniyah in the Sunni Triangle when the incident happened Thursday.

A third soldier was injured in the blast and taken to a military hospital and was listed in stable condition.

None of the soldiers were identified, but all were part of the 1st Brigade Combat Team of Task Force All American.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Oklahoma attorney killed in attack in Iraq was advocate for women's rights

KELLY KURT, Associated Press Writer
Thursday, March 11, 2004

Lawyer Fern Holland went to Iraq to help that nation's women: She investigated human-rights violations, set up conferences and assisted in writing the women's rights section of the new constitution.

"I love the work and if I die, know that I'm doing precisely what I want to be doing," she wrote in an e-mail to a friend Jan. 21.

Holland was one of three civilians killed Tuesday after several gunmen posing as Iraqi police officers stopped her vehicle at a makeshift checkpoint near the town of Hillah, about 35 miles south of Baghdad.

Holland and a second victim, Robert J. Zangas, were the first U.S. civilians working for the U.S. occupation authority to be killed in Iraq. Their translator, who was not identified, was also killed.

Zangas, 44, of suburban Pittsburgh, joined the coalition after serving nine months in Iraq as reserve lieutenant colonel with the Marine Corps 4th Civil Affairs Group.

He is listed on the coalition's Web site as a regional press officer.

Holland's family believes she was targeted by assassins because of her work, which included opening women's centers around Iraq.

"She was a lover of democracy," said her sister, Vi Holland. "She was a humanitarian. She believed our greatest chance for democracy (in Iraq) was through people who were most oppressed."

Zangas' wife, Brenda, said Thursday that the "act of terrorism killed a very special person."

She described her husband as "very giving."

Robert Zangas wrote in a journal entry on his Web site dated last week that he had hope for Iraq.

"This is a society that is in desperate need of everything," the entry reads.

"... I don't mean to sound depressed because I am not. I am enjoying this work immensely. It is very gratifying."

L. Paul Bremer, the top administrator in Iraq, has requested that the FBI investigate the slayings. It was not yet known whether the gunmen were specifically targeting coalition officials.

Holland, a 1996 graduate of the University of Tulsa College of Law, worked at two law firms in Tulsa before joining the Peace Corps and traveling to Namibia.

She returned to the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but did not stay long.

Tulsa attorney Stephen Rodolf, who kept in touch with Holland through e-mail, said she seemed to be aware of growing threats to her safety.

"We stand out, and those who dislike us know precisely when we come to town," she wrote to him.

Her job required her to travel almost every day on highways where snipers and roadside bombs lurked. And yet, she asked to travel with an unarmed escort because she felt the high security around her was a barrier to her work with Iraqi women, he said.

"She would not take foolish risks," Rodolf said. "But a big part of her commitment was that there are risks in the world, and if you are to accomplish good, you accept them."

[STING2]

Blast in Tikrit Kills 2 U.S. Soldiers

Mar 12, 10:34 PM (ET)

TIKRIT, Iraq (AP) - An explosion early Saturday in Saddam Hussein's hometown killed two American soldiers and wounded four, the U.S. military said.

The soldiers were on patrol in downtown Tikrit, north of Baghdad, when a roadside bomb exploded, said Capt. Tim Crowe of the U.S. Army.

Small arms fire erupted after the explosion.

Initial reports said six soldiers were wounded. But the military later said two of the wounded had died. The four other soldiers were evacuated to a military hospital north of Tikrit. It was not immediately unclear how serious the wounded soldiers' injuries were.

The soldiers were from the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division, which is taking over security in the Tikrit area on Saturday.

[MrsSpringsteen]

By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Four American soldiers died in two bomb explosions in Baghdad, the coalition said Sunday, raising to six the number of U.S. forces killed in roadside bombs this week.
Hundreds of Iraqis, meanwhile, mourned the death of a Shiite politician's relative in a bomb blast in his shop the previous day.

A roadside bomb killed three soldiers from the 1st Armored Division and wounded another during a patrol Saturday night in southeastern Baghdad, a spokeswoman for the U.S.-led coalition spokeswoman said.

That followed a similar attack in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit that killed two American soldiers and wounded three others.

U.S. forces responded by making several arrests and dispatching troops into the streets in a show of force on the same day that the 1st Infantry Division's 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, took control of the restive Sunni Triangle town in a troop rotation.

Soldiers who have been on the front line facing the anti-U.S. insurgency — believed led by Saddam loyalists and Islamic militants — have been carrying out joint patrols with the newcomers. Saturday was only the second day that troops from the German-based 18th Regiment patrolled alone.

A sixth soldier died at a combat hospital from injuries suffered in a blast in the Iraqi capital Sunday morning, the spokeswoman said.

[STING2]

Bombs Kill Six U.S. Soldiers in Iraq


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Mar 14, 12:58 PM (ET)


By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA


Roadside bombs killed four American soldiers in Baghdad, raising to six the number of U.S. troops who have died in attacks in Iraq this weekend, the coalition said Sunday.

Hundreds of Iraqis, meanwhile, mourned a Shiite politician's relative who died in a bomb blast in his shop Saturday.

A roadside bomb killed three soldiers from the 1st Armored Division and wounded another during a patrol Saturday night in southeastern Baghdad, a spokeswoman for the U.S.-led coalition said.

That followed a similar attack in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit that killed two American soldiers and wounded three others.

U.S. forces responded by making several arrests and dispatching troops into the streets in a show of force Saturday, the same day that the 1st Infantry Division's 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, took control of the restive Sunni Triangle town in a troop rotation.

Soldiers who have been on the front line facing the anti-U.S. insurgency - believed to be led by Saddam loyalists and Islamic militants - have been carrying out joint patrols with the newcomers. Saturday was only the second day that troops from the Germany-based 18th Regiment patrolled alone.

A sixth soldier died at a combat hospital from injuries suffered in a blast in the Iraqi capital Sunday morning, the spokeswoman said.

"We were woken up this morning by the blast. We saw an American military truck on fire," resident Saad Mohsen told Associated Press Television News. A second explosion set a nearby civilian truck on fire, he said.

In Washington on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell defended the decision to go to war with Iraq, saying intelligence before the U.S.-led invasion was not "cooked" even though inspectors have not found banned weapons.

"We may not find the stockpiles. They may not exist any longer, but let's not suggest that we knew this," Powell said on ABC's "This Week."

"We went to the United Nations, we went to the world, with the best information we had. Nothing that was cooked," he said.

Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the March 20 invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein, Powell and other Bush administration officials appeared on Sunday talk shows to defend the war and call attention to advances in rebuilding the country.

Powell had appeared before the United Nations one month before the war, laying out evidence that Saddam's government had stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons and an advanced nuclear weapons program.

But no weapons stockpiles have been found; and the former chief weapons inspector, David Kay, said he doubts they existed before the war. Intelligence on the nuclear weapons program has also been discredited.

In Baghdad, about 1,000 mourners attended the funeral on Sunday of Haidar al-Qazwini, the brother-in-law of Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a Shiite member of the Iraqi Governing Council.

"The aim of this criminal act is to ignite sectarian strife in the country," al-Jaafari's representative, Adnan al-Asadi, said at the funeral.

U.S. and Iraqi security officials suspect militants are trying to trigger conflict between Sunnis, who dominated Saddam's government, and the resurgent Shiite majority.

Iraqi police said al-Qazwini died after an unidentified man entered a shop and left a bag containing explosives, which later detonated.

Roadside bombs have become the main threat to U.S. soldiers on patrol in the Sunni Triangle, a region north and west of Baghdad that has seen some of the fiercest guerrilla attacks.

The latest deaths brought to 564 the number of U.S. service members who have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq. Of those, 385 died as a result of hostile action and 179 died of other causes.

[pax]

You may notice some changes in this thread...

1.) I split deep's article into its own thread ("Recent Protests"). I have been told that this thread has been reserved only for reporting casualties, not for political discussion. That's fine with me.

2.) I deleted two subsequent posts because they no longer made sense (one from deep, one from DreadSox).

Deep: Feel free to continue your discussion of the protests in a separate thread. You are not being silenced in any way. I feel, however, that the desire to keep one thread free of politics and partisanship is an admirable one. Please respect my decision and the feelings of other persons who have posted here.

Thanks.

[deep]

Pax,


I think you responded to quickly to a complaint.



This thread is full of "Politics"

In Washington on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell defended the decision to go to war with Iraq, saying intelligence before the U.S.-led invasion was not "cooked" even though inspectors have not found banned weapons.

"We may not find the stockpiles. They may not exist any longer, but let's not suggest that we knew this," Powell said on ABC's "This Week."

"We went to the United Nations, we went to the world, with the best information we had. Nothing that was cooked," he said.

If it is misinformation or lies that support the Bush Administration, then it is tolerable?


Statements from people that have lost loved ones are deleted.

People that said they support the troops?



I did not start a new thread with that article.

It is not a separate issue and if the sacrifices made by those people do not belong here, then please delete it.

[pax]

First I'm a tool of the liberal arm of FYM and now I'm a tool of the conservative one! Amazing how quickly things change.

I'm not saying it's a separate issue. In light of the intention of the thread, I split--rather than deleted--your article. I will not discuss this in public any further. PM me or Elvis if you want to talk about it more.

Thanks.

[MrsSpringsteen]

This is the only thread I even want to keep posting in in FYM, just my very small part in honoring those who have died. In the interest of keeping this thread what I feel it should be, I won't say anything else.

Thank you paxetaurora

Back to the topic, unfortunately..

MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Gunmen opened fire on a vehicle carrying U.S. civilians in the northern city of Mosul on Monday, killing three and wounding two in the latest deadly attack targeting foreigners in Iraq .

Witnesses said the victims had been driving through the city, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, in a civilian vehicle without a military escort when attackers raked their car with AK-47 assault rifles. Helicopters ferried the wounded to a U.S. army hospital, and police sealed off the area.

A military spokesman in Baghdad confirmed the attack but had no information on what organization the civilians worked for.