Surge in Iraq Violence Continues with 15 Killed in Baghdad
28 September 2006
Iraqi security officials say a string of attacks in Baghdad killed at least 15 people and wounded dozens of others Thursday.
Bombings and shootings in and around Baghdad targeted civilians, Iraqi soldiers and police. Officials also reported finding more apparent victims of sectarian death squads - some 40 bodies that all showed signs of torture.
U.S. military intelligence officials warned that illegal militias are returning to Baghdad neighborhoods recently cleared by American and Iraqi troops, and in some cases local police are cooperating with the militants.
On Wednesday, a U.S. military spokesman, Major General William Caldwell, in Baghdad said that suicide attacks this week are at their highest level in the war.
Separately, a poll conducted by an American university, the University of Maryland, indicates about three-quarters of Iraqis believe the U.S. military presence in Iraq is provoking more conflict than it is preventing.
The poll also reported a rise in Iraqi public confidence in the country's security forces.
Also Thursday, Iraq's Central Criminal Court announced convictions for 22 suspected insurgents, including some from Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and France, for a range of crimes. The men were given sentences of one to 15 years in prison.
Since its establishment in April 2004, the Central Criminal Court has reported holding more than 1,500 trials for suspected insurgents. The court has announced some 1,300 convictions with sentences ranging up to death.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
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