Iraq Watch: January 13, 2006

Helicopter Crashes in Mosul; Chief Judge to Step Down

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military announced on Friday that an OH-58D Kiowa helicopter crashed near the northern city of Mosul killing the two crewmembers aboard. The cause of the crash is still under investigation although hostile fire is believed to have played a role in the aircraft's downing. The Kiowa is primarily used for reconnaissance and surveillance purposes.

Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting that the chief judge presiding over the landmark trial of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein plans to resign from his post following the court's next session scheduled for January 24. Judge Rizgar Amin, a Kurd based out of Sulaymaniyah, has become one of the most recognizable faces in Iraqi society for his part in the monumental but often chaotic judicial process. When asked by Reuters why Amin is choosing to step down a source close to the judge would only state because "It [the trial] is too difficult."

In further violence Friday, two Iraqi policemen were killed and five wounded in a car bombing in Baqouba while the executed body of another Iraqi policeman was discovered south of Baghdad on the outskirts of Iskandariya.