Last week in Iraq(click here)
By Times Wires
Published August 26, 2007

Attacks

- Twelve people were killed by a barrage in east Baghdad on Aug. 19, police said. Homes were destroyed, and at least 32 people were injured in the Shiite neighborhood of Obeidi.
- A roadside bomb killed a governor in southern Iraq on Monday, the second provincial boss assassinated in nine days as rival Shiite militias battle for control of key oil regions.
- The toll from a series of truck bombings in northern Iraq on Aug. 14 has soared to more than 500 dead and 1,500 wounded, the Iraqi Red Crescent Society said Tuesday, making it the bloodiest coordinated attack since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
- A suicide truck bomber killed at least 45 people and wounded 80 Wednesday in Beiji. The death toll included 25 Iraqi policemen. At least 29 people were killed or found dead around the country.
- At least 32 people died in a gunfight between villagers and militants belonging to al-Qaida in Iraq on Thursday near Baqubah.

Military

- A senior U.S. general said Aug. 19 that about 50 members of an elite Iranian military unit are training Shiite militias south of Baghdad, the first time the U.S. military has alleged that Iranians are aiding insurgents from inside Iraq.
- Fourteen U.S. service members died Wednesday when a Black Hawk helicopter went down in northern Iraq. The military's initial estimate was that the craft had a mechanical failure.
- Army Secretary Pete Geren on Thursday said he saw no possibility of extending soldiers' tours of duty beyond the current 15 months.
- The number of detainees held by the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq has swelled by 50 percent under the troop increase ordered by President Bush, from 16,000 in February to 24,500 today, according to American military officers in Iraq.

Rebuilding

- French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner arrived in Baghdad Aug. 19 on invitation from President Jalal Talabani. Kouchner said he came to listen. "This is an Iraqi problem and it must be solved by the Iraqis," he said.
- Sen. Carl Lavin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Monday that the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki should be voted from office because it has proved incapable of reaching the political compromises required to end violence.
- Bush and his top envoy in Baghdad offered tepid endorsements of Maliki on Tuesday in comments suggesting a new distancing from the beleaguered Shiite political leader.
- On Wednesday, Bush renewed his support of Maliki in a speech to veterans in which he also likened the conflict in Iraq to wars the United States fought in Asia, particularly Vietnam, where he said a withdrawal of U.S. troops led to the deaths of thousands of people at the hands of the Khmer Rouge.
- Sen. John Warner, R-Va., said Thursday that Bush should start bringing home some troops by Christmas to show the Baghdad government that the U.S. commitment in Iraq is not open-ended.
- Iraq's Sunni vice president, Tariq al-Hashemi, said Friday that it was "out of the question" that Sunnis would rejoin the Shiite-led government of Maliki.

Deaths

As of Saturday, 3,728 U.S. troops have died in Iraq. Identifications as reported by the U.S. military and not previously published:

- Army Spc. Rickey L. Bell, 21, Caruthersville, Mo.; helicopter crash Wednesday; Multaka.
- Army Spc. Kamisha J. Block, 20, Vidor, Texas; noncombat Aug. 16; Balad.
- Army Cpl. Jeremy P. Bouffard, 21, Middlefield, Mass.; helicopter crash Wednesday; Multaka.
- Army Cpl. Phillip J. Brodnick, 25, New Lenox, Ill.; helicopter crash Wednesday; Multaka.
- Army Pfc. Edgar E. Cardenas, 34, Lilburn, Ga., explosion Wednesday; Abu Ghraib.
- Army Capt. Derek A. Dobogai, 26, Fond du Lac, Wis.; helicopter crash Wednesday; Multaka.
- Army 1st Lt. Jonathan W. Edds, 24, White Pigeon, Mich.; explosion and small-arms fire Aug. 17; Baghdad.
- Army Sgt. 1st Class Adrian M. Elizalde, 30, North Bend, Ind.; explosion Thursday; Baghdad.
- Army Capt. Michael S. Fielder, 35, Holly Springs, N.C.; noncombat Aug. 19; Baghdad.
- Army Chief Warrant Officer Paul J. Flynn, 28, Whitsett, N.C.; helicopter crash Wednesday; Multaka.
- Army Cpl. Joshua S. Harmon, 20, Ohio; helicopter crash Wednesday; Multaka.
- Army Spc. Michael A. Hook, 25, Altoona, Pa.; helicopter crash Wednesday; Multaka.
- Army Cpl. Nathan C. Hubbard, 21, Clovis, Calif.; helicopter crash Wednesday; Multaka.
- Army Sgt. Garrett I. McLead, 23, Rockport, Texas; helicopter crash Wednesday; Multaka.
- Army Staff Sgt. Paul B. Norris, 30, Cullman, Ala.; noncombat Aug. 16; Balad.
- Army Staff Sgt. Jason L. Paton, 25, Poway, Calif.; helicopter crash Wednesday; Multaka.
- Army Spc. Jessy G. Pollard, 22, Springfield, Mo.; helicopter crash Wednesday; Multaka.
- Army Cpl. Willard M. Powell, 21, Evansville, Ind.; small arms fire Aug. 16; Balad.
- Army Sgt. Princess C. Samuels, 22, Mitchellville, Md.; enemy fire Aug. 15; Taji.
- Army Spc. Tyler R. Seideman, 20, Lincoln, Ark.; helicopter crash Wednesday; Multaka.
- Army Sgt. Matthew L. Tallman, 30, Groveland, Calif.; helicopter crash Wednesday; Multaka.
- Army Pfc. Omar E. Torres, 20, Chicago; explosion Wednesday; Baghdad.
- Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Tully, 33, Falls Creek, Pa.; explosion on Thursday; Baghdad.
- Army Capt. Corry P. Tyler, 29, Georgia; helicopter crash Wednesday; Multaka.
- Army Spc. Zandra T. Walker, 28, Greenville, S.C.; enemy fire Aug. 15; Taji.
- Army Pfc. Donovan D. Witham, 20, Malvern, Ark.; explosion Tuesday; Baghdad.
[Last modified August 26, 2007, 00:46:09]