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Picture, if you will, a tree-lined plaza in Baghdad's International Village, flanked by fashion boutiques, swanky cafes, and shiny glass office towers. Nearby a golf course nestles agreeably, where a chip over the water to the final green is but a prelude to cocktails in the club house and a soothing massage in a luxury hotel, which would not look out of place in Sydney harbour. Then, as twilight falls, a pre-prandial stroll, perhaps, amid the cool of the Tigris Riverfront Park, where the peace is broken only by the soulful cries of egrets fishing. Improbable though it all may...

BAGHDAD - Bombardments by suspected militants killed four U.S. soldiers Monday as troops tried to push Shiite fighters farther from the U.S.-protected Green Zone and out of range of their rockets and mortars. At least 44 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq in April, making it the deadliest month for U.S. forces since September. The U.S. military said three soldiers were killed in eastern Baghdad by indirect fire, a reference to mortars or rockets. The statement did not give an exact location for the attack, but the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City has been the scene of intense fighting...

BBC News, Baghdad More than 400 people have died in Sadr City in recent weeks The radical Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr has rejected preconditions set by the government for talks to end Iraqi army attacks on his militia force. Prime Minister Nouri Maliki ordered a national crackdown on militias just over a month ago, including on fighters linked to Moqtada Sadr's Mehdi Army. Sporadic fighting between Shia militia and government troops has continued in Baghdad's Sadr City over the weekend. In the latest clashes at least eight people have been killed. This brings the total number of deaths...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A barrage of about a dozen rockets struck near Baghdad's fortified Green Zone diplomatic and government compound on Sunday evening in what appeared to be one of the biggest strikes in weeks. The rockets could be heard whistling past from the east of the Iraqi capital as they flew in the direction of the riverside compound and exploded, Reuters correspondents on the opposite river bank said. The strikes took place during a heavy sandstorm. U.S. forces normally use helicopters to retaliate against fighters who target the Green Zone, but sandstorms prevent the helicopters from flying, letting fighters...

U.S. Embassy in Baghdad Declared Ready, With Nudge by RocketsBy Glenn Kessler Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, April 18, 2008; Page A19 The troubled effort to build the giant U.S. Embassy in Baghdad seemed to be months away from completion when a team of top State Department officials flew to Iraq on March 20 to meet with senior staff from the prime contractor, First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting. But as insurgent rockets began to rain down on the flimsy trailers housing diplomats inside the Green Zone, the two sides suddenly found ways to settle many of the major issues...

WASHINGTON — A Kuwait contractor has concluded the construction of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. On April 14, the State Department issued a certificate of acceptance for the 104-acre, 27 building compound. The $474 million facility is the largest U.S. embassy in the world, with 619 apartments for staffers as well as restaurants, indoor and outdoor basketball courts, volleyball court, and indoor Olympic-size swimming pool. After years of delay, First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting completed the design and construction of the new U.S. embassy in Baghdad. The project, plagued by faulty construction and scandal, was certified by the State...

A St. Louis-born U.S. Army colonel was killed in Iraq Sunday, according to his sister, Kathleen King of O’Fallon. Col. Stephen K. Scott, 54, was serving at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad where he was working with Iraqi leaders on weapons intelligence and defense. Scott, who was an avid runner, was in the workout facilities in the green zone when he was killed during a mortar attack, King said. -snip- After basic training, Stephen Scott worked at the Army Aviation and Troop Command facility on Goodfellow Boulevard in St. Louis until it was closed in 1997. He then moved to...

BAGHDAD — Sharp fighting broke out in the Sadr City district of Baghdad on Sunday as American and Iraqi troops sought to control neighborhoods used by Shiite militias to fire rockets and mortars into the nearby Green Zone.But the operation failed to stop the attacks on the heavily fortified zone, headquarters for Iraq’s central government and the American Embassy here. By day’s end, at least two American soldiers had been killed and 17 wounded in the zone, one of the worst daily tolls for the American military in the most heavily protected part of Baghdad. Altogether, at least three American...

3 US troops killed, 31 wounded in Iraq By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer BAGHDAD - Rockets or mortars slammed into the U.S.-protected Green Zone and a military base elsewhere in Baghdad on Sunday, killing three American soldiers and wounding 31, an official said The attacks occurred as U.S. and Iraqi forces battled Shiite militants in Sadr City in some of the fiercest fighting since radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered a cease-fire a week ago. At least 16 Iraqi civilians were killed in the fighting, according to hospital officials. A military official said two U.S. troops died and 17 were...

British fear US commander is beating the drum for Iran strikes By Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent Last Updated: 1:53am BST 05/04/2008 British officials gave warning yesterday that America's commander in Iraq will declare that Iran is waging war against the US-backed Baghdad government. A strong statement from General David Petraeus about Iran's intervention in Iraq could set the stage for a US attack on Iranian military facilities, according to a Whitehall assessment. In closely watched testimony in Washington next week, Gen Petraeus will state that the Iranian threat has risen as Tehran has supplied and directed attacks by militia...

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2008 – Terrorists launched 11 indirect-fire attacks against civilians, Iraqi security forces and coalition forces in Baghdad today. Five indirect-fire attacks struck in the vicinity of the International Zone, killing one civilian and wounding 14. Three indirect-fire attacks struck two U.S. forward operating bases and one joint security station east of the Tigris River, injuring four U.S. soldiers. Five mortar rounds struck two joint security stations and a “Sons of Iraq” citizen security group checkpoint in West Rashid, wounding three Iraqi security volunteers. “These rogue elements are haphazardly firing rockets and mortars, killing and injuring innocent Iraqi...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department has instructed all personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad not to leave reinforced structures due to incoming insurgent rocket fire that has killed two American government workers this week. In a memo sent Thursday to embassy staff and obtained by The Associated Press, the department says employees are required to wear helmets, body armor and other protective gear if they must venture outside and strongly advises them to sleep in blast-resistant locations instead of the less secure trailers that most occupy. "Due to the continuing threat of indirect fire in the International Zone,...

Green Zone Hit for Fourth Day This Week 23 minutes ago BAGHDAD (AP) — Shiite militants are hammering the U.S.-protected Green Zone with rockets and mortars for the fourth day this week. Thick, black smoke is billowing from inside the heavily fortified home to the U.S. Embassy and Iraqi government. Embassy spokeswoman Mirembe Nantongo says no one has been injured in Thursday's attacks. American military officials say the attacks are coming from breakaway factions of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army. The groups are believed to be funded and trained by Iran. However, Iran has denied the allegations.

BAGHDAD - Warning sirens wail and within seconds rockets and mortars strike — sometimes one or two, other times 10 or more. The Green Zone is again a prime target as American and British diplomats, Iraqi politicians, contractors and others struggle to go about their business — always aware that any time they are outside the most fortified buildings there is a chance to be injured or killed. The danger has temporarily reshaped life: Green Zone traffic is minimal, few people venture out on the streets and security precautions — always high — have been boosted. Many diplomats and others...

Haider Al-Assadee / EPA Fighters loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr in Basra< The bold mid-afternoon kidnapping of Tahseen Sheikhly is a sign of the unrest spreading since Iraqi security forces started clamping down on Shiite militiamen in Basra. BAGHDAD -- Rockets and mortars rained down on Baghdad today, and a high-ranking Iraqi government spokesman was abducted from his home, as violence continued in the wake of a crackdown on Shiite Muslim militiamen. Scores of people have died since the fighting erupted early Tuesday, including at least 51 in the southern oil port city of Basra, where the Iraqi offensive...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Terrorists fired 16 rockets into the International Zone from surrounding Baghdad districts in four separate attacks during the morning and early afternoon of March 26. At approximately 5:30 a.m., five 107 mm rockets impacted the IZ, four more 107 mm rockets struck at approximately 9:15 a.m., three 107 mm rockets in the third attack, and four 107 mm rockets at approximately 2:50 p.m. One Coalition force Soldier, two U.S. civilians, and one Iraqi Army soldier were wounded in the attack. Several structures and one vehicle were also damaged. "These attacks are being conducted by rogue criminal elements,"...

The State Department confirms that two U.S. citizens have died in Iraq this week from indirect fire by rocket and mortar attacks in the Green Zone. The first person, a contractor for the US Army, died on Monday, March 24, and this afternoon, we have confirmation that another U.S. citizen has died from the latest round of fire. The State Department says of this latest death "no further details, pending notification of next of kin."

Someone get Diane Sawyer a crash course in indirect fire. Discussing this morning the recent flurry of rocket and mortar attacks landing inside the Green Zone in Baghdad, Sawyer supposed that the insurgents had somehow breached the perimeter themselves and fired from inside the US embassy compound! Sawyer spoke with Jonathan Karl during the opening minutes of today’s Good Morning America. DIANE SAWYER: But let’s begin with this breaking news from Iraq, reports that mortars have landed inside the US Embassy compound in Baghdad. ABC national security correspondent Jonathan Karl has been working this story. Jonathan, good morning to you....

My window panes rattled again Wednesday morning. That told me two things: Another mortar attack was under way and the mood in the Green Zone was about to change quickly. ADVERTISEMENT Joggers disappear from the streets. People normally walking around in T-shirts and jeans toss on body armor and helmets. Any plans to leave your compound are abruptly canceled. Nerves become strained. E-mails zip between Green Zone pals, asking if anyone was hurt. The war — usually fought on the other side of the 15-foot concrete blast walls — is falling again on Baghdad's famous fortified oasis that includes the...

An American financial analyst working for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has died of his wounds from an Easter Day rocket attack against the heavily fortified Green Zone, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. ADVERTISEMENT Paul Converse, 56, was hit when rockets fired by suspected Shiite militia fighters rained down on the U.S.-protected area in central Baghdad Sunday. His parents, Dick and Leona Converse of Corvallis, Ore., told the Gazette-Times newspaper they learned Sunday that their son had been wounded and likely wouldn't survive. On Monday, two officers from the Oregon Army National Guard arrived at their door to inform them of...

BAGHDAD (AFP) — Insurgents on Tuesday slammed at least four rockets into the heavily-fortified Baghdad Green Zone, the seat of the Iraqi government and the US embassy, Iraqi and US officials said. At least four Katyusha rockets struck the Green Zone, an Iraqi security official said. The latest assault comes just two days after insurgents fired four waves of rockets and mortars into the area, which once served as Saddam Hussein's presidential compound, injuring six people and damaging buildings. (snip) The top US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, blamed neighbouring Iran for the weekend attacks, saying they were "Iranian-provided,...

THE top US commander in Iraq blamed neighbouring Iran for rocket attacks over the weekend on the heavily-fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, in an interview with the BBC. General David Petraeus said that the rockets "were Iranian-provided, Iranian-made rockets" and added that Iran's actions were "in complete violation of promises made by President (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad and the other most senior Iranian leaders to their Iraqi counterparts". Each of the four attacks on the Green Zone on Sunday, which in total injured at least four people and damaged buildings, sent staff of the US embassy scurrying for the shelter of nearby...

The most senior US general in Iraq has said he has evidence that Iran was behind Sunday's bombardment of Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. Gen David Petraeus told the BBC he thought Tehran had trained, equipped and funded insurgents who fired the barrage of mortars and rockets. He said Iran was adding what he described as "lethal accelerants" to a very combustible mix. ... In an interview with BBC world affairs editor John Simpson, Gen Petraeus said violence in Iraq was being perpetuated by Iran's Quds Force, a branch of the Revolutionary Guards. "The rockets that were launched at the...

BAGHDAD - Rockets and mortars pounded Baghdad's U.S.-protected Green Zone Sunday and a suicide car bomber struck an Iraqi army post in the northern city of Mosul in a surge of attacks that killed at least 57 people nationwide. The latest violence underscored the fragile security situation and the resilience of both Sunni and Shiite extremist groups as the war enters its sixth year and the U.S. death toll in the conflict approaches 4,000. Attacks in Baghdad probably stemmed from rising tensions between rival Shiite groups — some of whom may have been behind the Green Zone blasts. It was...

Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone was hit by a sustained barrage of rocket or mortar bomb fire early on Sunday and emergency sirens could be heard in the Iraqi capital's government and diplomatic compound. It was not immediately clear where most of the missiles landed or if there were any casualties after an apparent attack lasting about 15 minutes, Reuters witnesses said. The U.S. military has blamed past missile attacks on the Green Zone on rogue elements of anti-U.S. cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia. Sadr last month renewed a seven-month old ceasefire for his militia. A large plume of...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A barrage of mortar bombs or rockets hit Baghdad's heavily protected Green Zone, home to the U.S. embassy and Iraqi government ministries, on Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. A siren wailed in the Green Zone warning people to take cover amid a series of at least 10 explosions, Reuters reporters said. "I can confirm that we did receive indirect fire and that it was multiple rounds," said U.S. military spokesman Major Brad Leighton, referring further queries to the U.S. embassy. U.S. embassy spokeswoman Mirembe Nantongo refused to say whether there had...

BAGHDAD - A series of explosions thundered in the Iraqi capital Saturday morning, police said, including one from a mortar round that hit the U.S.-controlled Green Zone. One of the explosions was a roadside bomb that targeted a U.S. patrol in eastern Baghdad. A police officer said the blast site was sealed by American forces and there was no immediate way to detail damage or casualties. There was no immediate report of the incident from the U.S. military. Another police officer confirmed a mortar round hit the heavily protected Green Zone. The Americans did not report damage or casualties from...

John Matel is a career Foreign Service Officer (FSO) who is currently serving as the team leader of the Provincial Reconstruction Team embedded in Al Asad, Al Anbar Province.I just finished reading a news article discussing some of my FSO colleagues' vehement and emotional response to the idea that a few of us might have directed assignments in Iraq . To my vexed and overwrought colleagues, I say take a deep breath and calm down. I have been here for a while now, and you may have been misinformed about life at a PRT. I personally dislike the whole idea...

Marine Brotherhood I saw something today that taught me volumes about the brotherhood of Marines. As I stood in line to grill my sandwich, I watched a young corporal preparing two meals to-go. There was nothing really special about the meals . . . except this. It was obvious to me that this Marine was carefully selecting different things for each tray. One was for him, the other was for his buddy who stood guard at the gate. He carefully selected meat and cheese, meticulously grilled and wrapped them, then chose sides. I was moved by the obvious care with...

BAGHDAD — The United States on Tuesday suspended all land travel by U.S. diplomats and other civilian officials in Iraq outside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, amid mounting public outrage over the alleged killing of civilians by the U.S. Embassy's security provider Blackwater USA. The move came even as the Iraqi government appeared to back down from statements Monday that it had permanently revoked Blackwater's license and would order its 1,000 personnel to leave the country — depriving American diplomats of security protection essential to operating in Baghdad. "We are not intending to stop them and revoke their license indefinitely...

The sheets of paper seemed to be everywhere the lawmakers went in the Green Zone, distributed to Iraqi officials, U.S. officials and uniformed military of no particular rank. So when Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.) asked a soldier last weekend just what he was holding, the congressman was taken aback to find out.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Militia crews firing mortars and rockets have been hitting Baghdad's heavily protected Green Zone with more accuracy in the past three months because of training from Iran, a top U.S. general said on Thursday. "In the last three months we have seen a significant improvement in the capability of mortarmen and rocketeers to provide accurate fire into the Green Zone and other places," Lieutenant-General Raymond Odierno told a news conference.

BAGHDAD, July 10 -- More than two dozen mortar shells pounded the Green Zone on Tuesday, killing three people, including a U.S. military member, and injuring 18, among them five Americans, U.S. officials said. The dead also included an Iraqi and a person of unknown nationality. Two of the wounded Americans were service members and three were contract employees, the U.S. Embassy said in a statement. The attack, around 4 p.m., was the latest in a series of mortar and rocket strikes in recent months against the Green Zone, which houses the U.S. Embassy and other Western missions along with...

BAGHDAD, July 10 (Reuters) - A major mortar and rocket attack on Baghdad's Green Zone compound on Tuesday killed at least three people, including one U.S. military service member, and wounded around 18 other people, the U.S. embassy said. The embassy said in a statement that five of the injured were U.S. citizens, including two service members and three contract employees. It was one of the biggest barrages against the heavily fortified zone.

When Spc. Matthew Curll left basic training for Iraq nearly a year ago, he traded a bland diet of MREs for burgers, pie and Fudgsicles. "You go from a lot of MREs and crappy stuff at the mess hall to prime rib on Sundays," said Curll, 21, of Lancaster, Mass., over a dinner of baked chicken followed by ice cream in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone. "I wasn't expecting it at all," added Spc. Joe Reen, 23, of Norwood, Mass., finishing a turkey wrap and green salad. "You wanted to try everything." The two indulged at first, but said they learned...

Excerpt - BAGHDAD, June 21 (Reuters) - A barrage of mortar bombs hit Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone on Thursday and several plumes of smoke could be seen rising near buildings housing the Iraqi parliament and government offices, Reuters reporters said. On the other side of the river Tigris, a thick plume of black smoke could be seen near the area where a suicide truck bomb partly demolished a Shi'ite mosque and killed 87 people on Tuesday. The origin of the smoke was not immediately known. At least seven mortar rounds could be heard slamming into the Green Zone, which...

AFP via translation - ALARM - Iraq: 4 Filipino employees of the US embassy killed in an attack BAGHDAD - Four Filipino employees of the American embassy were killed Wednesday in the explosion of a rocket in the strengthened green Zone of Baghdad, announced Thursday the embassy in an official statement.

AFP via translation - Three explosions close to the place of the international conference in Baghdad BAGHDAD - Three explosions resounded Saturday near the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Baghdad, where is taken place the international conference on Iraq, according to journalists of AFP on the spot. The blast of the explosions broke several panes of the ministry, where the representatives of 17 countries and international organizations are joined together, to try to put a term at violences. Iraqi soldiers present on the spot indicated that the explosions were caused by three mortar shells, which reached a building located at...

Deep inside the heart of the "Green Zone", the heavily fortified administrative compound in Baghdad, lies one of the most carefully guarded secrets of the war in Iraq. It is a cell from a small and anonymous British Army unit that goes by the deliberately meaningless name of the Joint Support Group (JSG), and it has proved to be one of the Coalition's most effective and deadly weapons in the fight against terror. Its members - servicemen and women of all ranks recruited from all three of the Armed Forces - are trained to turn hardened terrorists into coalition spies...

Excerpt - BAGHDAD, Jan 27 (Reuters) - A loud explosion rocked central Baghdad on Saturday, prompting sirens and loudspeaker warnings in the international Green Zone and sending up a large plume of white smoke inside the heavily fortified area. Loudspeaker warnings urged people to take cover. "This is not a drill," the warning said. Several people in the Green Zone said they had heard what may have been a mortar or rocket go past, but could not say where it landed. ~ snip ~

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A huge explosion rocked central Baghdad just be for sunset Thursday and a massive plume of black smoke was rising into the air along the east bank of the Tigris River. The blast occurred shortly after two heavy mortar shells slammed into the heavily fortified Green Zone. The public address system inside the zone, where the U.S. Embassy is located, could be heard warning in English that people should take cover, "this is not a drill." ~ snip ~

James Baker's "Iraq Study Group" seems to have been cast on the same basis as Liza Minnelli's last wedding. A stellar lineup: Donna Summer, Mickey Rooney, the Doobie Brothers, Gina Lollobrigida, Michael Jackson, Mia Farrow, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Jill St. John. That's Liza's wedding, not the Baker Commission. But at both gatherings everyone who was anyone was there, no matter how long ago it was they were anyone. So the fabulous Baker boy was accompanied by Clinton officials Leon Panetta and Bill Perry, Clinton golfing buddy Vernon Jordan, Clinton's fellow sex fiend Chuck Robb, the quintessential ''moderate'' Republican...

BAGHDAD, Sept. 29 — American forces detained an Iraqi working for one of Iraq’s most prominent Sunni Arab political leaders on Friday on suspicion that the man was helping to plan a multiple-car suicide bombing inside the Green Zone, the military said. Shortly after Iraqi television channels began Friday night to broadcast news of the detention, the Iraqi prime minister’s office took the unusual step of banning all vehicle and pedestrian traffic in Baghdad until Sunday morning. The government declined to give a reason for the curfew and did not say whether it was linked to the detention. Authorities had...

On the west bank of the Tigris on the edge of Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone a forest of cranes marks the progress of Iraq's newest monument: a US embassy that will be the largest in the world. Once an army of more than 3,500 construction workers have completed it in June 2007, the vast complex will be the new hub of the American administration in Iraq. Protected by 15ft thick walls and ringed by military guards, it signals the seriousness of America's intentions to retain a large and long-term presence in the country. The £315 million building's existence is...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - About 11 mortar rounds exploded in central Baghdad on Sunday, including three that hit the heavily guarded Green Zone, killing at least six Iraqi civilians and wounding two, police said. The Iraqis were just entering the Green Zone at about 8 a.m. after making their way through several heavily guarded checkpoints when three mortars exploded just inside it, said police Lt. Maitham Abdul-Razzaq. He said it was hard to identify the six fatalities because the powerful explosions and shrapnel from the mortars severed their limbs and destroyed their identification cards. But he said one of the wounded...

U.S. Confirms Thwarted Al Qaeda Attack on Green Zone Wednesday, March 15, 2006 BAGHDAD, Iraq — Testifying on Capitol Hill today, General John Abizaid said claims by Iraq's Interior Ministry that Al Qaeda terrorists tried to storm the highly secured Green Zone in Baghdad where the U.S. and British embassies are located were true. Abizaid was asked about the reported plot that allegedly involved more than 400 Al Qaeda operatives infiltrating Iraqi Security Forces and taking over guard posts around the Green Zone which is also the seat of the Iraqi government. "I think you can look at it that...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Iraqi interior minister said Tuesday that authorities had foiled an al-Qaida plot that would have put hundreds of its men at critical guard posts around Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, home to the U.S. and other foreign embassies as well as the Iraqi government. A senior Defense Ministry official said the 421 al-Qaida fighters were actually recruited to storm the U.S. and British embassies and take hostages. Several ranking Defense Ministry officials have been jailed in the plot, the official said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information. Interior Minister Bayan Jabr,...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A large explosion rocked central Baghdad on Sunday and smoke was seen rising from inside the heavily fortified Green Zone, home to the U.S. Embassy and Iraqi government. The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear and sirens were heard wailing across the Green Zone area.

A large explosion was head in downtown Baghdad within minutes of the polls opening and sirens could be heard inside the heavily fortified Green Zone where the Iraqi government and the U.S. and British embassies are located. Police said the explosion apparently was caused by a mortar landing near the Green Zone.

American troops are developing a hate-hate relation with journalists. The basic problem is that soldiers and marines in Iraq have access, usually via the Internet, to what the mass media is saying about what they think is happening in Iraq. These news reports, all too often, do not reflect what the troops experience. It gets uglier when the troops realize that reporters are spending most of their time in the Green Zone or some well guarded hotel, leaving it to local Iraqi stringers to collect information and photos for the reporters stories. Relations are a bit better with the few...