U.S. forces say kill 14 militants in Baghdad

Source: Reuters

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces have killed 14 militants in the Baghdad slum of Sadr City, a stronghold of gunmen loyal to anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, the military said on Friday.

The gunmen were killed in several clashes on Thursday, the military said in a statement.

It said air strikes and tanks were used to attack militiamen attempting to launch rockets from the slum or shoot at U.S. troops on patrol. Hospitals in Sadr City said they had received four bodies and 51 wounded. Among the wounded were children.

Fighting has raged in Baghdad since Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered a crackdown on militias in late March.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080509/wl_nm/iraq_violence_dc

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A rocket hit the BBC office in Baghdad on Friday but no one was wounded in the attack, the British broadcaster said.

Patrick Howse, the BBC bureau chief in the Iraqi capital, said the rocket left a hole around 1 meter by 1.5 meters in the roof of the office.

"At 14:45 local time (7:45 a.m. EDT), a rocket struck the roof of the BBC Baghdad bureau. It caused structural damage but no one was injured," Howse said.

Militants have stepped up rocket and mortar attacks in Baghdad in the past month since the government launched a crackdown on Shi'ite militias. Many are aimed at the Green Zone government and diplomatic compound but often miss.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080509/wl_nm/iraq_bbc_rocket_dc_1

Associated Press - May 9, 2008 4:23 PM ET

BAGHDAD (AP) - U.S. authorities are not confirming any strikes inside Baghdad's Green Zone despite Shiite militants launching rockets at the fortified area.

At least eight rocket explosions were heard. Some rockets fell short, including one that damaged the BBC's bureau.

The attacks from Sadr City have come in response to a U.S.-led push into the Baghdad stronghold of the powerful Mahdi Army led by cleric Muqtada al-Sadr (mook-TAH'-duh al SAH'-dur). 1 of the American objectives is to push militants deeper into the district and put their rockets and mortars out of range from the Green Zone.

more:http://www.kron4.com/Global/story.asp?S=8301831

Oh yeah, that other war we lost.

Iraqi officials ban pedestrians, vehicles in Mosul
Posted: 05:53 PM ET
(CNN) — Iraqi officials imposed a ban on all pedestrian and vehicular traffic in the northern city of Mosul beginning at 9 p.m. Friday evening and lasting until further notice, but the reason behind the ban was unclear.

The curfew precedes a large-scale military operation, Nineveh province’s Deputy Gov. Khasro Goran told CNN. Goran said the operation, which he said would include at least 3,000 Iraqi police, 1,000 Iraqi special forces and 10,000 Iraqi soldiers backed by U.S. troops, would begin “soon.”

But two Nineveh security officials said the ban was a precautionary move after authorities received intelligence indicating “a large number of car bombs” had entered the city and could be targeting government offices.

more:http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2008/05/09/iraqi-officials-ban-pedestrians-vehicles-in-mosul/