21 killed in bombings on eventful day in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A bomb exploded in the Kadhimiya district of northern Baghdad, killing seven people, according to emergency officials, hours after the announcement Thursday of the death of Iraqi terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The bomb, which wounded 26, exploded at 6:20 p.m. (10:20 a.m. ET) in a busy shopping square in a Shiite neighborhood close to a bus station and a Shiite shrine. Earlier Thursday, 12 people were killed and 28 were wounded in a roadside bombing at a crowded market in southeastern Baghdad's Jadida neighborhood, according to an official with Baghdad police. Another roadside bomb 30 minutes earlier in the same neighborhood targeted an Iraqi police patrol. Two civilians were killed and eight police were wounded in that incident, authorities said. In a significant announcement Thursday, U.S. and Iraqi authorities revealed that al-Zarqawi, the most wanted man in Iraq, had been killed in a coalition airstrike Wednesday evening. (Full story) The 3-year-old insurgency has "lost its leader," Gen. George Casey, the U.S. military commander in Iraq, told reporters. (Watch how al- Zarqawi's body was identified -- 2:28) On the same eventful day for Iraq, the Iraqi Parliament approved the prime minister's nominations for three key security posts in the new Cabinet, ending a stalemate among politicians. (Full story) On Wednesday, the Iraqi government had started releasing 592 detainees under an initiative by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to foster national reconciliation. They were the first group of 2,500 detainees to be released. The program is designed to placate Sunni factions and counter sectarian strife. Released inmates dropped off at a bus station in Baghdad kissed the ground and sat down and cheered, The Associated Press reported. One man used crutches for support. "I was arrested from my home on December 19, 2004, so I was accused of kidnapping people working for Iraqna mobile [telephone] company," one released prisoner, Mohammed Jassim, told AP. Many of those in prison -- estimated at more than 28,000 -- are believed to be held on suspicion of involvement in a Sunni-Arab rebellion against the U.S.-backed, Shiite-led government, according to Reuters. The prime minister, under intense pressure to end violence, said Tuesday that the prisoner release would free those who had no clear evidence against them or had been detained mistakenly. The government has said the detainees will have their cases reviewed and will be released over the coming days in batches of about 500, according to AP. Iraqi officials have said there is an agreement to eventually release up to 14,000 detainees once their cases have been reviewed, the agency reported. Other developments Six police officers were among eight people killed in attacks on Wednesday in Baghdad, and five bodies were found slain in Iraq's volatile capital, an Interior Ministry official told CNN. CBS Correspondent Kimberly Dozier, wounded more than a week ago in a Baghdad car bombing, heaaded back to the United States Wednesday where she will receive further treatment. Shortly after noon (6 a.m. ET), Dozier and several U.S. soldiers were loaded onto a military transport plane at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where she was being treated. (Full story) -- CNN's Chris Burns and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/06/08/iraq.main/index.html SAVE THIS | EMAIL THIS | Close Check the box to include the list of links referenced in the article. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> You can search right from your browser? It's easy and it's free. See how. http://us.click.yahoo.com/_7bhrC/NGxNAA/yQLSAA/uTGrlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
