BAGHDAD - A suicide car bomber blasted an outdoor market Saturday in a northern Iraqi city, killing six people and wounding 54, police and hospital authorities said.


The attack in the mainly Turkomen city of Tal Afar took place one day after a suicide car bomber struck a convoy carrying ex-Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi in Baghdad. The former Pentagon favorite escaped injury but six people, including five of his bodyguards, were killed.

Saturday's attack occurred in the same Tal Afar market where a suicide truck bomber killed 28 people and injured 72 last month.

That raises questions about whether Iraqi police are capable of maintaining security in the strategic north — where al-Qaida in Iraq remains active — as the Americans hand over more responsibility for security to Iraqi soldiers and police.

Police said the bomber detonated his explosive-laden car near a crowd of people gathered around a traffic accident in the market, which was crowded with shoppers buying food for the traditional evening meal that breaks the daily fast in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

"I was walking through the street toward my work when I felt what seemed like a hurricane," said Asghar Saied, 52, from his hospital bed in Dahok where he was taken with shrapnel wounds and a broken leg.

"People were running in all directions," he said. "A woman was shouting about her missing child who was blown from her hand by the blast. Despite my injuries, I can't stop thinking about that woman. Is it a humanitarian or Islamic thing to do during the holy month of Ramadan?"


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080906/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq;_ylt=Al2YzJze.9hsQfZGwvybxpVvaA8F

Iraqi police have been and will probably always be crooked. As long as they are in charge of security you will have none. They need to increase the size of the Iraqi National Guard if they want things done. Or at least keep a sharp eye out for cops that are a threat.

Question... they mention Ramadan... does that mean this is last year's news? Cuz if i remember correctly, that doesn't start till november.

Ramadan has turned into an ugly time of year...

the article is from todays news, sept 6

when i google Ramadan dates
I find that that the dates are between sept 2 and october 1 for the year of 2008.

it seems it goes from a lunar calender and the dates change yearly..idk

K, that would explain it! I did not know the dates changed that drastically. When i was in Baghdad in 2004 Ramadan was in november. Things got pretty nuts around that time. Thanks for the info!

As of Saturday, Sept. 6, 2008, at least 4,155 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.


The figure includes eight military civilians killed in action. At least 3,375 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.

The AP count is the same as the Defense Department's tally, last updated Friday at 10 a.m. EDT.

The British military has reported 176 deaths; Italy, 33; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 21; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; Denmark, seven; El Salvador, five; Slovakia, four; Latvia and Georgia, three each; Estonia, Netherlands, Thailand, Romania, two each; and Australia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, South Korea, one death each.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080906/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_us_deaths_1

these "statistics" are much more than numbers.
these lives had meaning
and should not be forgotten.

and they never will be...

Im sure the family members of the suicide bombers feel the same way...
you can not fight a "war" against terrorism..these folks are not afraid of dying, they actually welcome it...
Force is not the answer, it will only lead to more and more deaths of innocent people..regardless of their nationalities...

They fear death just like you and i

There isn't much that can be done about terrorists. The most you can do is try not to piss them off. If they kill a bunch of innocents find out why, retaliate with an overwhelming force, and try to fix the problem. They fear power. Take a look at Iraq before we invaded. Saddam was ruthless with any terrorism that was brought against him. He managed to keep it more or less controlled. They look at any act of mercy as weakness. Seriously. I have friends that were killed for being to lenient. We need to stop medling in the business of foriegn countries, i will agree with that. But if we are ever attacked like on 911 the sad truth is you can't just say "we're sorry for upseting you." This will encourage further behavior. There is a reason most countries never negociate with terrorists my friend. Force is the answer, only in retaliation. But, Once again, i will admit it would be less of a problem if we just let other countries destroy eachother over their own debates, and started concentrating on things like being self sufficient.

Drivin..you make a fine point..its like the Crusades all over again...ideologies clashing, only today more powerful weapons exists...terrorism has been around as long as religious fanatics have.
I dont believe its about "not upsetting them"..the fanatic will find fault in a drop of water if he is so inclined...but certainly using gasoline to put out the fire is clearly not the answer...
If you want peace, you dont talk to your friends..you talk with your enemies. Currently I dont believe peace is on the agenda of any major world power, only domination and control, and people will resist that, even at the cost of their own lives..

The logic of expanding the war on terrorism appears sound at first glance. As senior Bush
administration officials repeatedly noted, after September 11, it seems foolish to wait for
a gun to be fired before looking for the smoke. Iran and Syria, like Iraq, have acquired
chemical weapons and are seeking biological and (in Iran’s case) nuclear weapons as well.
Indeed, Tehran may have accelerated its nuclear program in recent months. Both countries
have far stronger links to terrorist groups than did Iraq, and these links remain strong
today. Although Saddam Hussein was in a class of his own with regard to brutality and
repression, Bashar al-Asad’s government in Syria and the clerical regime in Iran are both
harsh and unrepresentative.

We need a fine-tuned policy that is sensitive
to local contexts. The Lebanese Hezbollah, until September 11, had killed more Americans than any terrorist group in history, and its rhetoric against the United States remains vehement while
it continues to foster attacks against Israel. Several media reports indicate the group may
be sending operatives to Iraq. Since the outbreak of the second intifada in September
2000, Hezbollah has trained and armed various Palestinian groups, making them more
lethal and better able to disrupt any moves toward peace

Perhaps most disturbingly, even friends of the United States are cause for grave concern.
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in the past promoted radical charities, educational institutions,
and political movements that nourish groups like al Qaeda. Both countries have
cooperated with the United States against terrorists since September 11, but these efforts
have been incomplete at best. Even today, these countries remain supportive of a range
of anti-U.S. causes. Pakistan represents a particularly terrifying concern, as its lethal mix
of domestic Islamic radicalism, political instability, and nuclear weapons raise the specter
of truly apocalyptic scenarios.

http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/sr111.pdf

Yeah, i would agree things need some fine tuning. Keep up the good articles Cat.

the most interesting fact that i can gather..is that since september 11th there has been no attack by a terrorist group on american soil.

al-Qaida
Description
Established by Usama Bin Ladin in the late 1980s to bring together Arabs who fought in Afghanistan against the Soviet invasion. Helped finance, recruit, transport, and train Sunni Islamic extremists for the Afghan resistance. Current goal is to establish a pan-Islamic Caliphate throughout the world by working with allied Islamic extremist groups to overthrow regimes it deems "non-Islamic" and expelling Westerners and non-Muslims from Muslim countries. Issued statement under banner of "the World Islamic Front for Jihad Against the Jews and Crusaders" in February 1998, saying it was the duty of all Muslims to kill US citizens--civilian or military--and their allies everywhere.

Activities
Plotted to carry out terrorist operations against US and Israeli tourists visiting Jordan for millennial celebrations. (Jordanian authorities thwarted the planned attacks and put 28 suspects on trial.) Conducted the bombings in August 1998 of the US Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, that killed at least 301 persons and injured more than 5,000 others. Claims to have shot down US helicopters and killed US servicemen in Somalia in 1993 and to have conducted three bombings that targeted US troops in Aden, Yemen, in December 1992. Linked to the following plans that were not carried out: to assassinate Pope John Paul II during his visit to Manila in late 1994, simultaneous bombings of the US and Israeli Embassies in Manila and other Asian capitals in late 1994, the midair bombing of a dozen US trans-Pacific flights in 1995, and to kill President Clinton during a visit to the Philippines in early 1995. Continues to train, finance, and provide logistic support to terrorist groups in support of these goals.

Strength
May have several hundred to several thousand members. Also serves as a focal point or umbrella organization for a worldwide network that includes many Sunni Islamic extremist groups such as Egyptian Islamic Jihad, some members of al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and the Harakat ul-Mujahidin.

Location/Area of Operation
Al-Qaida has a worldwide reach, has cells in a number of countries, and is reinforced by its ties to Sunni extremist networks. Bin Ladin and his key lieutenants reside in Afghanistan, and the group maintains terrorist training camps there.

External Aid
Bin Ladin, son of a billionaire Saudi family, is said to have inherited approximately $300 million that he uses to finance the group. Al-Qaida also maintains moneymaking front organizations, solicits donations from like-minded supporters, and illicitly siphons funds from donations to Muslim charitable organizations.

http://www.simplytaty.com/broadenpages/terroristgroups.htm#21

By PHILLIP ROBERTSON, For The Associated Press
Mon Sep 8, 2:45 PM ET



MOSUL, Iraq - Lt. Christopher Hanes knew something was wrong as soon as he stepped into the Friends bakery. The oven was unused, the water tank was empty and a large concrete bin was full of dirt that the two employees claimed was used to cool cakes.


Hanes and his soldiers moved the water tank and found the entrance to a 50-foot tunnel heading straight for the nearby provincial government headquarters.

The U.S. military believes insurgents planned to tunnel underneath the compound's blast walls and blow up the headquarters building. With 250-300 Iraqis working in the governor's office and perhaps hundreds more there for business, casualties from such a blast could have been catastrophic.

Discovery of the tunnel Sept. 1, the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, drove home a message: Sunni militants have been battered but not defeated despite a monthslong operation by U.S. and Iraqi forces to clear Mosul, Iraq's third largest city, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad.

Al-Qaida in Iraq and other extremists are still thinking up ways to launch novel, complex attacks — sometimes working within earshot of Iraqi security forces.

Still, soldiers from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment didn't expect to find anything when they showed up at the bakery. They'd heard from Iraqi informants that the tunnel was there. But not every tip pans out.

"It is not the first time we have responded to tunnel stories," said Capt. Avery Barnett of Carthage, Mo. "And we thought this one would be ridiculous. But it wasn't."

It didn't take long for the troops to realize this time the tip might be right. Two Iraqi men were inside. They appeared calm. But something was wrong.

"As soon as we went inside, you could tell that they weren't baking bread," said Hanes of Grandview, Mo. "I started asking the two men questions, and they were calm, acting like nothing was wrong because the U.S. had been there a few times before."

The first clue was dirt in a bin that was attached to a wall. The soldiers' didn't buy the explanation that it was used to cool cakes.

Troops searched some more. Inside sacks of flour they discovered digging tools. The two Iraqis explained they were digging to install a water pipe.

"Next to the oven, which hadn't been used in a long time, there was a water pipe connected to a water tank that had been very recently painted," Hanes said, suspecting the pipe might be an air hose.

He moved the tank and discovered a pipe sticking out of the concrete. He pulled the pipe — and uncovered the opening to the tunnel.

Hanes and his soldiers descended into the darkened entrance. They found a laser level and a compass so the diggers could make sure they were moving in the right direction. They also found a plastic container that could be reeled back to the entrance to remove dirt.

"I am not a tunnel expert, but it was looking pretty good to me," he said. Every six feet, wooden arches shored up the wall to prevent cave-ins.

Inside the tunnel, troops found a map indicating the militants planned to dig two branch tunnels toward other buildings in the government compound.

"There was a map with targets on it. They were definitely going to drop the provincial hall." Hanes said. "We tested the hands of the two individuals for explosives and they came back positive for TNT."

The two Iraqis were promptly arrested. A U.S. military statement identified them as al-Qaida operatives. American soldiers ran their names through a database of detainees and found their pictures — indicating they had been arrested but released, possibly for lack of evidence or in an amnesty announced early this year.

"When I showed the man with glasses his picture and said `this is you,' he started crying," Hanes said.

Not surprisingly, people in the area claimed no knowledge of what was going on in the bakery.

"They were new guys who rented the bakery and they wouldn't let anyone inside the shop," said Mutab Ahmed Jumaa, who sells tombstones from a shop next door. "I don't know them."

Late that night, a team of Army engineers arrived at the bakery and filled the tunnel with concrete.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080908/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_terror_tunnel

thats a dangerous "head in the sand" approach, remember that september 11th took years to plan..there is NO guarantee that the US wont be hit again....

I do realize this. They want to hit the US again. OUR troops are being attacked daily...but no attacks at home. this has to be the longest stretch of time since before 1970.

April 19, 1995...Oklahoma City Bombing, Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was destroyed. Deadliest act of terrorism on US soil prior to the September 11th attack..the terrorist was Timothy McVeigh, an American...
Or does that not count in your book??

Timothy McVeigh was a terrorist. He killed 161 people, blew them up, because he was angry with the government. He was an EXTREME american conservative. He was rightfully put to death by lethal injection.

your right, he was a terrorist. Thinking he was trying to protect the constitution. I have no doubt in his mind he thought himself a hero. much like a suicide bomber does.

it is a horrible story. I am focusing on the events of 911 though and exactly what goes on in Iraq today.