http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/28/world/middleeast/28iraq.html?hp At Least 35 Dead in Iraq Violence <javascript:articleShare('permalink');> By <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/damien_cave/in dex.html?inline=nyt-per> DAMIEN CAVE Published: November 28, 2007
BAGHDAD, Nov. 27 - American troops killed at least five people, including a child, when they fired on vehicles trying to drive through roadblocks in two separate incidents, military officials and witnesses said today. Across <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/ir aq/index.html?inline=nyt-geo> Iraq, at least 30 other people were killed or found dead. In one incident, a suicide bomber in Baquba claimed the lives of three women and three policemen. One of the shootings involving American soldiers occurred this morning on a main road in Shaab, a neighborhood of northern Baghdad dominated by the Mahdi Army, the Shiite militia loyal to the cleric <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/moktada_al_sad r/index.html?inline=nyt-per> Moktada al-Sadr. American soldiers fired on a minibus that was traveling on a street where only cars were allowed to pass, a military spokesman, Lt. Justin Cole, said. In an e-mail message, Lieutenant Cole said that the driver had failed to heed a warning shot, and that two passengers in the minibus were killed and four wounded. An Interior Ministry official said that four people were killed. A witness said three of them were women. Witnesses said that the bus was filled with workers on their way to a local branch of al-Rasheed bank. One witness, who declined to give his name, said the driver may not have realized that buses were not allowed on the street, since it was rush hour, around 8:30 a.m., and several cars could be seen on the street. The second shooting occurred Monday, during a military operation near Baiji, north of Baghdad. In a statement, the American military said two men in a vehicle approached a blocked road "at a high rate of speed" and did not stop when requested, or when soldiers fired warning shots. "The ground force engaged," the statement said, "killing both men." The soldiers later discovered that they had wounded a child, who was a passenger and who died after being transferred to an American military hospital. The latest shootings come amid a storm of criticism about private security contractors who have recently fired on and killed Iraqi civilians in a series of high-profile cases. A common situation involves Iraqis shot in their cars after they approach armed convoys, and episodes of a similar nature involving American soldiers are not uncommon. The shootings by soldiers appear to receive less attention from Iraqi officials because unlike contractors, whose legal situation remains murky, American soldiers are subject to military law. The military also often issues public apologies and pays compensation. Most of Iraq's more typical violence today occurred north and west of the capital. In Baquba, the capital of Diyala Province to the north, a suicide bomber blew himself up near a police command center downtown, security officials said, killing six and wounding 10. A second suicide bomber, identified by the police as a woman, blew herself up near an American military patrol, wounding five Iraqis, including two children. No American casualties were reported. Four other attacks - three involving gunfire, the fourth a roadside bomb - killed four people in the province. Farther north, near Tikrit, the police found four bodies. In and around Kirkuk, a policeman was shot and killed, and the authorities found two unidentified bodies. To the west, in Anbar Province, a rocket hit a crowded market in Haditha, killing at least five people and wounding 30 more. Lt. Mohammad al-Nimrawi, of Haditha police force, said the rocket appeared to have been aimed at a joint base of Iraqi and American forces nearby. In Baghdad, the police found three bodies across the city. A grenade killed a woman in the southern neighborhood of Dora, while two roadside bombs and a gun battle in Saydia left at least 10 people wounded. Also today, Falah Shanshal, a lawmaker with the bloc loyal to Mr. Sadr, said that Iraqis victimized by <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/saddam_hussein /index.html?inline=nyt-per> Saddam Hussein must be paid compensation before Parliament approved a proposed law allowing some former Baath Party members to return to government jobs. He said that Iraqis whose relatives were killed by the regime should receive about $40,000 and a small monthly pension. Political prisoners, he said, should receive $24,000. It remains unclear whether the Sadrists' demands will be enough to derail the law, which has received support from Iraq's main party leaders. A similar proposal reached Parliament earlier this year, but was never subjected to a vote because of last-minute opposition from Shiites in southern Iraq. The Iraqi government on Monday, in a separate effort to broaden its support among Sunnis, said that it would start paying the salaries of tens of thousands of unofficial security forces, who act as neighborhood watchdogs. The work of these so-called concerned local citizens, who number 77,000 nationwide, has been credited with helping drive down violence levels throughout Iraq. Their salaries, $300 a month, are currently paid by American forces. "It is an Iraqi responsibility, this is the right thing to do, it is not an American responsibility," said Ali al-Dabbagh, the government spokesman. "And at the same time, the loyalty of these people should be to Iraq." The Iraqi government has hinted before that it would assume full responsibility of the program, though stopped short of confirming a takeover before now. And the American military has said that the citizen security units were meant to be a temporary measure to bridge security gaps, and that its intention was for Iraq's government to assume control. The exact timeline of the transfer, however, remains unclear. The vast majority of the security groups are Sunnis, and the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/nuri_kamal_al- maliki/index.html?inline=nyt-per> Nuri Kamal al-Maliki has repeatedly voiced concerns that many are former terrorists. American military officials said they hoped the Iraqi payments would begin in the next few months. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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