Iraq Update: Five US Soldiers Killed in Mosul;Offensive Launched in North

[XXPANTHAXX]

US troops killed in northern Iraq

Five US soldiers have been killed in a roadside bomb attack in the
northern Iraqi city of Mosul, the US military has said.

A patrol that was hit in the explosion then came under small arms fire
before US and Iraqi forces secured the area, Reuters news agency
reports.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki announced the start of a major
offensive in Mosul on Friday.

The ethnically mixed city has seen a rise in violence over the last
year.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/h...st/7213640.stm
Published: 2008/01/28 15:23:59 GMT


Iraq troops prepare for Mosul push

Al-Maliki said Iraqi forces will launch a final offensive against
al-Qaeda

Iraqi troop reinforcements are being sent to the northern city of Mosul
for an operation against al-Qaeda fighters, security officials have
said.

Major-General Riyadh Jalal Tawfiq, commander of military operations in
Ninawa province, said on Sunday that the extra Iraqi troops would arrive
from Baghdad within hours, without giving figures.

The reinforcements come two days after Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq's prime
minister, said that Iraqi forces were preparing for a final offensive
against al-Qaeda in Iraq to dislodge them from their last urban
stronghold.

US military commanders say the al-Qaeda group has regained power in
northern Iraq after being forced out of the western province of Anbar
and from around Baghdad last year.

The US military does not have a large presence in Ninawa, of which Mosul
is the capital.

It was unclear what role US forces would play in the offensive, which
appears to be an Iraqi-led operation.

Deadly bombing

Al-Maliki's announcement of a new offensive against al-Qaeda came after
a blast killed 40 people and wounded 220 in Mosul on Wednesday.

The explosion was in an unoccupied building that officials said was
being used by al-Qaeda to store weapons and explosives.

Mohammed al-Askari, defence ministry spokesman, said tanks, armoured
vehicles and helicopters were being sent to Iraq's third largest city,
390km north of Baghdad, for an offensive that he said would begin "very
soon".

"We will provide everything that is needed for a major operation," he
said.

Major-General Abdul-Kareem Khalaf, a spokesman for Iraq's interior
ministry, said the Mosul push would include 3,000 extra police.

US and Iraqi troops have launched a series of offensives in northern
provinces this year targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq.

The US military said last week that al-Qaeda fighters killed 3,870
civilians and wounded almost 18,000 last year, launching 4,500 attacks
in Iraq.

Despite frequent violence in northern Iraq, overall attacks across the
country have fallen by 60 per cent since last June.


Blackwater Sues Own Lawyers in Death Suit

January 28, 2008 10:17 AM
From The Blotter:

The Legal Times is reporting that Blackwater has filed a $30 million
malpractice suit against the law firm of Wiley Rien alleging that the
firm made costly errors during the time it represented the security firm
in a wrongful death suit that was filed by the family members of four
employees who were killed in Fallujah, Iraq.

In one of the most notorious incidents of the war, the bodies of the
four men were dragged through the streets of Fallujah and strung up from
a bridge.

The lawsuit is ongoing, and Blackwater is now represented by Greenberg
Traurig.


Top Iranian commander warns US

Jafari said Iran had the ability to hit US bases in the Gulf with
precision

The chief commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard or Pasdaran has said
it is his country's "natural right" to retaliate against any attack by
the United States.

However in an interview with Al Jazeera, General Mohammad Ali Jafari
sought to reassure Iran's Arab neighbours in the Gulf they would not be
targeted in any future conflict.

"We realise that there is worry among neighbouring countries - Muslim
countries whose lands host US military stations," Jafari said in an
interview broadcast on Saturday.

"However, if the US launches a war against us, and if it uses these
stations to attack Iran with missiles, then through the strength and
precision of our own missiles, we are capable of targeting only the US
military forces who attack us."

The US military has several bases in Arab countries including Saudi
Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Yemen.

Bush options

During a recent tour of the Gulf, George Bush, the US president, said
Iran is "the leading state sponsor of terror", and said "all options"
against Tehran remain on the table.

Many countries in the Gulf who maintain ties with both Washington and
Tehran are nervous about the impact of any military confrontation.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies