Over 100 Dead in New Wave of Violence, etc (Juan Cole)

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Thursday, May 24, 2007

Guerrillas Kill 9 US GIs
Over 100 Dead in New Wave of Violence
Sectarian Killings at forefront Again



Sunni Arab guerrillas killed 9 US GIs in five separate attacks on Wednesday, bringing the death toll for May so far to 80. A tenth soldier was found floating in the Euphrates on Wednesday. He was one of three who had been captured the previous week.

Remember the Bush administration briefings in Iraq that touted a fall in "one type" of violence in Baghdad, sectarian killings? Alas, the bad news is that sectarian death squad attacks, which produce bodies in the street every morning, have crept back up. Sudarsan Raghavan of WaPo discovered that more people have been killed that way so far in May than had been in all of January, before the new security plan (the "surge") was implemented.

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McClatchy adds, "This morning gunmen wearing the ministry of interior forces uniforms raided the famous Sinak market (not far away from the Green Zone) and tried to kidnap the shops owners. The gunmen clashed with the gunmen and later with U.S. and Iraqi troops, eye witnesses said helicopters attacked the attackers and burned two cars. The gunmen fled and 5 citizens were killed and 17 were injured, ministry of interior officers said."

This newspaper estimates that over 100 Iraqis were killed on Wednesday in a new wave of violence.

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http://www.juancole.com/2007/05/guerrillas-kill-9-us-gis-over-100-dead.html