tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16711557.post7833605057460575452..comments2024-03-24T20:40:46.666-04:00Comments on Pan-African News Wire: US War Bulletin: More on Removal of Adm. Fallon; Al-Jazeera Interview;
Escalating Operations in Northern IraqPan-African News Wirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10958190577776906688noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16711557.post-73060499634165527752008-03-12T14:57:00.000-04:002008-03-12T14:57:00.000-04:00Wednesday, March 12, 2008 U.S. troops among 42 kil...Wednesday, March 12, 2008 <BR/><BR/>U.S. troops among 42 killed in Iraq<BR/><BR/>3 American soldiers, 16 bus passengers die in blasts on deadliest day in a half-year for military.<BR/><BR/>Bradley Brooks / Associated Press<BR/><BR/>BAGHDAD -- Violence killed at least 42 people Tuesday, including 16 bus passengers caught in a roadside bombing in southern Iraq, after the deadliest day for U.S. troops in precisely six months. <BR/><BR/>The U.S. military said three American soldiers were killed in a roadside bombing north of Baghdad on Monday, bringing to eight the number of troops who died that day. The last time so many U.S. military personnel were killed in Iraq was Sept. 10, when 10 died. <BR/><BR/>Bloodshed has increased recently, despite what the military said has been a 60 percent drop in attacks across Iraq since June. Last Thursday, two massive bombs killed 68 people in Baghdad's Karradah neighborhood. On March 3, two car bombings killed 24 people in the capital. <BR/><BR/>According to an Associated Press count, at the height of unrest from November 2006 to August 2007, on average approximately 65 Iraqis died each day as a result of violence. As conditions improved, the daily death toll steadily declined. It reached its lowest point in more than two years on January 2008, when on average 20 Iraqis died each day. <BR/><BR/>Those numbers have since jumped. In February, approximately 26 Iraqis died each day as a result of violence, and so far in March, that number is up to 39 daily. <BR/><BR/>These figures reflect the months in which people were found, and not necessarily -- in the case of mass graves -- the months in which they were killed. <BR/><BR/>Military spokesman Rear Adm. Gregory Smith said Sunday that recent violence should not be taken as evidence of "an increase or a trend of an increase." <BR/><BR/>"I think we need to continue to look at historically what has happened over the last year to really put in perspective a one-week or two-weeks' worth of activity inside Baghdad," Smith said. <BR/><BR/>While al-Qaida in Iraq is Sunni, Shiite extremists with alleged ties to Iran are also believed to have carried out attacks. <BR/><BR/>In an interview with CNN Tuesday, Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said he was in favor of substantive discussions with Iran about what the U.S. claims is Tehran's continued funding and training of extremists in Iraq. Petraeus said he did not meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his visit to Iraq last week.Pan-African News Wirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10958190577776906688noreply@blogger.com