iraq Developments

Last update: September 10, 2007 - 11:26 PM

The U.S. command reported the deaths of nine soldiers Monday, including seven killed in a vehicle accident in western Baghdad that also killed two detainees. A spokesman, Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl, said all the victims were traveling in the same vehicle. Another U.S. soldier was killed when their vehicle overturned east of the capital, and a soldier died Sunday of wounds suffered in fighting near Kirkuk in northern Iraq. At least 3,772 military members have died from all causes.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told parliament that Iraq's armed forces were not ready to fight without American help. He said the U.S. military is still needed despite a 75 percent drop in violence in the Baghdad area since President Bush ordered nearly 30,000 extra troops to Iraq this year. Al-Maliki said his Cabinet had finished a draft bill to allow thousands of former Saddam Hussein supporters to serve in government posts -- a major demand of the Sunnis and one of the 18 benchmarks demanded by Washington.

The executions of three officials in Saddam's regime can be carried out without presidential decrees because of the scale of their crimes, said Judge Munir Hadad of the Iraqi High Tribunal. The statement paved the way for the hanging of former defense minister Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai, Ali Hassan al-Majid -- widely hated as "Chemical Ali" and a cousin of Saddam's -- and Hussein Rashid Mohammed, a high official in the armed forces. They were convicted of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Seven out of 10 Iraqis believe the U.S. troop buildup in Baghdad and Anbar Province has made security worse in those areas, and nearly as many say their own lives are going badly, according to a new poll conducted by ABC News, the BBC and the Japanese broadcaster NHK. In November 2005, shortly before Iraq's historic elections, 69 percent of residents said they believed life would be better in a year. That number decreased to 40 percent last March and 23 percent in the new poll.

NEWS SERVICES

Recent World stories

US joint chiefs chairman Mullen heads US delegation for START talks with Russia in Geneva - September 10, 2007

US joint chiefs chairman Mullen heads US delegation for START talks with Russia in Geneva - President Barack Obama's top military adviser attended the latest talks with Russia to replace an expiring Cold War-era arms control agreement, the U.S. said Tuesday. More