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Four US troops die in separate Iraq attacks
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-11 10:49
Elsewhere, the body of an Egyptian engineer was found Saturday, a day after
he was seized by gunmen in Tikrit. Ibrahim Sayed Hilali had lived in Tikrit for
a long time, police said.
A French aid worker and a German citizen also are being held by kidnappers.
And there has been no further word on the fate of American hostage Ronald Allen
Schulz, after an Internet statement in the name of the Islamic Army in Iraq on
Thursday claimed his abductors had killed him.
Iraqi officials say the revival of foreigner kidnappings may be part of a bid
to undermine Thursday's elections to choose a parliament for the next four
years.
U.S. officials hope a big turnout among the Sunni Arab minority, the
foundation of the insurgency, will help quell the violence so American and other
foreign troops can begin withdrawing next year.
In an interview with AP, the top U.S. commander in Iraq said that based on
the assessment of provincial governors, he expected a turnout Thursday of
between 65 percent and 80 percent, "except in Anbar," the Sunni province most
affected by the insurgency.
"We have seen a history of an increase in attacks heading up to the
elections, leading into the referendums in an attempt to create the perception
of insecurity to keep the Iraqi people from the polls," Gen. George W. Casey Jr.
said. "They weren't able to do it in January ... and they're not going to be
able to do it again."
The election commission, meanwhile, said Iraqis living abroad can begin
voting Tuesday in the United States and 14 other countries. Officials estimate
that about 1.5 million Iraqis live outside the country, although turnout among
them was low in the January ballot.
Some insurgent groups, notably al-Qaida in Iraq, have warned voters not to
participate in the election, although other Sunni insurgent groups have
refrained from threats, raising hopes for a big turnout among the minority.
Elsewhere, a roadside bomb targeting a U.S. military patrol in Mosul killed
two Iraqi civilians and wounded another. No American casualties were reported,
said Bahaa al-Din al-Bakri, a doctor at Jumhouri hospital. Gunmen also killed a
local aid official heading to work, al-Bakri said.
A prominent Sunni Arab candidate accused the Shiite-led government of
withholding results of an investigation into torture allegations to avoid losing
votes in the election. Saleh al-Mutlaq was referring to the discovery by U.S.
troops last month of up to 173 malnourished Iraqi detainees at an Interior
Ministry building in Baghdad.
On Nov. 15, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari promised an investigation and
results within two weeks. No report has been released. Al-Mutlaq urged an
international investigation.
Al-Mutlaq also demanded that U.S. and Iraqi troops suspend raids and arrests
in Sunni Arab areas so that Sunnis can vote Thursday.
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