* US Military Fatalities: 03/23/2008
Period US UK Other* Total Avg Days
6<http://icasualties.org/oif/SumDetails.aspx?hndRef=6>
914 45 9 968 2.32 417 5<http://icasualties.org/oif/SumDetails.aspx?hndRef=5>
933 32 20 985 2.39 412 4<http://icasualties.org/oif/SumDetails.aspx?hndRef=4>
715 13 18 746 2.35 318 3<http://icasualties.org/oif/SumDetails.aspx?hndRef=3>
580 25 27 632 2.93 216 2<http://icasualties.org/oif/SumDetails.aspx?hndRef=2>
718 27 59 804 1.9 424 1<http://icasualties.org/oif/SumDetails.aspx?hndRef=1>
140 33 173 4.02 43 Total 4000 175 133 4308 2.35 1830 U.S. Wounded and
medical evacuations
As reported by the DoD as of 3/1/2008
MEDICAL AIR TRANSPORTS (HOSTILE AND NON-HOSTILE)
Total =
40,229
See datails at :
http://icasualties.org/oif/default.aspx
[image: AP]<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/brand/SIG=br2v03;_ylt=AvaC3HpB2g3Ge09nuOK8O5cUewgF/*http://www.ap.org>
A US soldier stands guard in the area where a suicide car bomber detonated
his load in Shula, Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, March 23, 2008. At least seven
died and 14 were wounded in the blast. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
US death toll in Iraq war hits 4,000
By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer 19 minutes ago
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb killed four U.S. soldiers in Baghdad on Sunday,
the military said, pushing the overall American death toll in the five-year
war to at least 4,000. The grim milestone came on a day when at least 61
people were killed across the country.
Rockets and mortars pounded the U.S.-protected Green Zone, underscoring the
fragile security situation and the resilience of both Sunni and Shiite
extremist groups despite an overall lull in violence.
The soldiers with Multi-National Division — Baghdad were on a patrol when
their vehicle was struck at about 10 p.m. in southern Baghdad, the military
said. Another soldier was wounded in the attack.
Identities of those killed were withheld pending notification of relatives.
Navy Lt. Patrick Evans, a military spokesman, expressed condolences to all
the families who have lost a loved one in Iraq, saying each death is
"equally tragic."
"There have been some significant gains. However, this enemy is resilient
and will not give up, nor will we," he said. "There's still a lot of work to
be done."
Attacks in Baghdad probably stemmed from rising tensions between rival
Shiite groups — some of whom may have been behind the Green Zone blasts. It
was the most sustained assault in months against the nerve center of the U.S.
mission.
The deadliest attack of the day was in Mosul when a suicide driver slammed
his vehicle through a security checkpoint in a hail of gunfire and detonated
his explosives in front of an Iraqi headquarters building, killing 13 Iraqi
soldiers and injuring 42 other people, police said.
Iraqi guards opened fire on the vehicle but couldn't stop it because the
windshield had been bulletproofed, said an Iraqi army officer. He spoke on
condition of anonymity because he was not supposed to release the
information.
Mosul, Iraq's third largest city about 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, has
been described as the last major urban area where the Sunni extremist
al-Qaida group maintains a significant presence.
In Baghdad, rockets and mortars began slamming into the Green Zone about
sunrise, and scattered attacks persisted throughout the day, sending plumes
of smoke rising over the heavily guarded district in the heart of the
capital.
A U.S. public address system in the Green Zone warned people to "duck and
cover" and to stay away from windows.
At least five people were injured in the Green Zone, a U.S. Embassy
statement said without specifying nationalities. The zone includes the U.S.
and British embassies as well as major Iraqi government offices.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official was
not authorized to release the information, said those injured included an
American and four third-country nationals, meaning they were not American,
British or Iraqi.
Iraqi police said 10 civilians were killed and more than 20 were injured in
rocket or mortar blasts in scattered areas of eastern Baghdad — some of them
probably due to misfired rounds.
Also in the capital, seven people were killed and 14 wounded in a suicide
car bombing Sunday in the Shiite area of Shula in the capital, police
reported. Such attacks are the hallmark of Sunni religious extremists.
Gunmen opened fire on passengers waiting for buses in a predominantly Shiite
area in southeastern Baghdad, killing at least seven men and wounding 16
people, including women and children, according to police.
Police also found the bullet-riddled bodies of 12 people — six in Baghdad,
four in Mosul and two in Kut, scene of clashes between government troops and
Shiite militiamen.
No group claimed responsibility for the Green Zone attacks, but suspicion
fell on Shiite extremists based on the areas from which the weapons were
fired.
The attacks followed a series of clashes last week between U.S. and Iraqi
forces and factions of the Mahdi Army, the biggest Shiite militia loyal to
radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Al-Sadr led two uprisings against U.S.-led coalition forces in 2004. Last
August he declared a six-month cease-fire to purge the militia of criminal
and dissident elements.
U.S. officials have cited the truce, which al-Sadr recently extended, among
the reasons behind a 60 percent drop in violence since President
Bushordered 30,000
U.S. reinforcements to Iraq early last year.
But the cease-fire has come under severe strains in recent weeks. Al-Sadr's
followers have accused the Shiite-dominated government of exploiting the
cease-fire to target the cleric's supporters in advance of provincial
elections expected this fall.
Al-Sadr recently told his followers that although the truce remains in
effect, they were free to defend themselves against attacks. Al-Sadr
followers have demanded the release of supporters rounded up in recent
weeks.
U.S. officials have insisted they are not going after Sadrists who respect
the cease-fire but are targeting renegade elements, known as special groups,
that the Americans believe have ties to Iran.
But the pattern of the attacks against the Green Zone could be a signal to
the Americans and their Iraqi partners to ease their pressure against
mainstream Sadrists or the special groups.
Elsewhere, 12 gunmen were killed Sunday in a raid against a suspected
suicide bombing network east of Baqouba, the U.S. military said.
Iraqi police reported a dozen civilians killed in an airstrike in the same
area. But the military said those killed in the raid were insurgents,
including six who had shaved their bodies apparently in preparation for
suicide operations.
A police commander was shot to death along with his driver in Balad Ruz, 45
miles northeast of Baghdad.
A roadside bomb near the northern city of Tuz Khormato killed four Iraqi
soldiers, including an officer.
The violence was reported by police officials who declined to be identified
because they weren't supposed to release the information.
Last year, the U.S. military deaths spiked as U.S. troops sought to regain
control of Baghdad and surrounding areas.
The death toll has seesawed since, with 2007 ending as the deadliest year
for American troops at 901 deaths. That was 51 more deaths than 2004, the
second deadliest year for U.S. soldiers.
The 4,000 figure is according to an Associated Press count that includes
eight civilians who worked for the Department of Defense.
____
Associated Press Writer Kim Gamel contributed to this report.
Four US soldiers killed in Iraq, death toll
4000<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/23/AR2008032302380.html>
Washington Post - 1 hour ago
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A roadside bomb killed four US soldiers in Baghdad on
Sunday, the military said, bringing the number of US military deaths to 4000
since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Iraq: US Death Toll in War Hits
4000<http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gkx-3oYeFwuWKCusr2jrojs98w8wD8VJIATO0>
The
Associated Press
13 Iraqis Killed by Shells Fired at the Green
Zone<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/24/world/middleeast/24iraq.html?bl&ex=1206417600&en=ee843edaa49474bc&ei=5087%0A>
New
York Times
Bloomberg<http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a5uDALSiduV4&refer=home>
-
International Herald
Tribune<http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/23/africa/iraq.php> -
Kansas City Star <http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/543823.html> - BBC
News <http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/click/rss/1.0/-/2/hi/middle_east/7310173.stm>
all 1,267 news articles
»<http://news.google.com/nwshp?hl=en&tab=wn&ncl=1144871919&topic=h>
Turkish Press <http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=221653>
Full Coverage: Iraq<http://news.yahoo.com/fc/World/Iraq;_ylt=AmkP0VWdQyxhd7iigh5GyCAUewgF>
Off the Wires
- US death toll in Iraq war hits
4,000<http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080324/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_78;_ylt=AjOTywTsCybAmaa.sOarbAwUewgF>
AP,
13 minutes ago
- Four U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, death toll
4,000<http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080324/ts_nm/iraq_soldiers_dc_4;_ylt=Akam2BP6h3savtIrtmtZnNYUewgF>
Reuters,
23 minutes ago
Feature Articles
- Same war. Same platoon. Two paths since leaving Iraq.
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/fc/World/iraq/feature_articles;_ylt=AqA97LeV171fgCDS1WiQBgUUewgF/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080321/ts_csm/atwovets>
The
Christian Science Monitor via Yahoo! News, Mar 21
- Hounded by Iraqi Musclemen, a Journalist Awaited His Own
Liberation <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/fc/World/iraq/feature_articles/SIG=14bncai1o;_ylt=AsB0V.ooC0AVaM1A4mQu2C4UewgF/*http://baghdadbureau.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/19/hounded-by-iraqi-musclemen-a-journalist-awaited-his-own-liberation/index.html?ref=world>
at
The New York Times, Mar 20
News Stories
- Pentagon divided on Iraq strategy
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/fc/World/iraq/news_stories/SIG=12mrtha60;_ylt=AiVGZ2c.4P8VF2C4YhxFmwUUewgF/*http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-na-milassess20mar20,0,2536700.story>
at
The Los Angeles Times, Mar 20
- Iraq leader sombre on anniversary
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/fc/World/iraq/news_stories/SIG=11h17k5ck;_ylt=AosI6XyihqzGcQ.XDh5MMTIUewgF/*http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7306093.stm>
at
BBC, Mar 20
Opinion & Editorials
- Iraq, five years later -- still too soon to judge
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/fc/World/iraq/opinion___editorials;_ylt=AjmWyFCBVLdfvWdMGYknRjcUewgF/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080320/cm_csm/ymoyar>
The
Christian Science Monitor via Yahoo! News, Mar 20
- Mission Still Not Accomplished
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/fc/World/iraq/opinion___editorials/SIG=123k6goc1;_ylt=AkVWMomx4A2MNWtQNlEZjR4UewgF/*http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/20/opinion/20thu1.html?ref=opinion>
at
The New York Times, Mar 20
US soldiers watch as a plume of smoke rises from an air-strike
Aljazeera.ne<http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/A5AEE6E2-D2CA-4F12-8680-458E6AFEDFEC.htm>
President George W. Bush poses with an injured soldier
*
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