Iraq Watch: December 7, 2005
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The trial against Saddam Hussein and seven co-defendants continued Wednesday albeit without the presence of the deposed dictator who was irked over the treatment he has received calling the court "unjust."
Wednesday's session saw two witnesses testify against the defendants regarding the alleged massacre of over 140 Shiites after a failed 1982 assassination attempt against Hussein in Dujail, north of Baghdad.
The unprecedented court will now by adjourned until December 21 following Iraq's scheduled December 15 parliamentary elections.
In violence Wednesday, approximately 20 gunmen stormed a Kirkuk hospital killing three Iraqi police officers guarding the Al-Jumhuriya facility and subsequently freed a wanted militant recovering from a gunshot wound stemming from his November 26 arrest. At least six security forces were injured in Wednesday's early-morning clash.
In Baghdad, gunmen abducted the eight-year-old son of a bodyguard for one of the Hussein trial judges. Karim Salam was taken from in front of his eastern Baghdad home. West of the capital near the former rebel-stronghold of Fallujah, the bodies of three civilians were discovered. All three of the victims were bound and shot in the head.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military announced that a U.S. soldier, assigned to the II MEF, was killed by a mine yesterday while conducting a combat patrol near Habbaniyah.
As more people - including the Rev. Jesse Jackson and radical Islamic cleric Abu Qatada (Omar Abu Omar) - pleaded with the hostage-takers of four anti-war Christian peace activists, word came late Wednesday that the "Swords of Righteousness Brigade" had extended their execution deadline until Saturday. The previously unknown militant group issued a video, accompanied with a statement, announcing the extension.
Iraq has witnessed a recent uptick in abductions with at least seven westerners kidnapped in four separate incidents within the last 10 days.
Yesterday the Islamic Army in Iraq (IAI) announced that it had abducted U.S. citizen Ronald Alan Schulz, an industrial electrician and native of North Dakota. The insurgent group threatened to kill Schulz within 72 hours if its demands are not met.
Wednesday's session saw two witnesses testify against the defendants regarding the alleged massacre of over 140 Shiites after a failed 1982 assassination attempt against Hussein in Dujail, north of Baghdad.
The unprecedented court will now by adjourned until December 21 following Iraq's scheduled December 15 parliamentary elections.
In violence Wednesday, approximately 20 gunmen stormed a Kirkuk hospital killing three Iraqi police officers guarding the Al-Jumhuriya facility and subsequently freed a wanted militant recovering from a gunshot wound stemming from his November 26 arrest. At least six security forces were injured in Wednesday's early-morning clash.
In Baghdad, gunmen abducted the eight-year-old son of a bodyguard for one of the Hussein trial judges. Karim Salam was taken from in front of his eastern Baghdad home. West of the capital near the former rebel-stronghold of Fallujah, the bodies of three civilians were discovered. All three of the victims were bound and shot in the head.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military announced that a U.S. soldier, assigned to the II MEF, was killed by a mine yesterday while conducting a combat patrol near Habbaniyah.
As more people - including the Rev. Jesse Jackson and radical Islamic cleric Abu Qatada (Omar Abu Omar) - pleaded with the hostage-takers of four anti-war Christian peace activists, word came late Wednesday that the "Swords of Righteousness Brigade" had extended their execution deadline until Saturday. The previously unknown militant group issued a video, accompanied with a statement, announcing the extension.
Iraq has witnessed a recent uptick in abductions with at least seven westerners kidnapped in four separate incidents within the last 10 days.
Yesterday the Islamic Army in Iraq (IAI) announced that it had abducted U.S. citizen Ronald Alan Schulz, an industrial electrician and native of North Dakota. The insurgent group threatened to kill Schulz within 72 hours if its demands are not met.
posted by Todd @ 3:32 PM
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