Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Operations
Deployments
US Policy
United Nations
Reconstruction Issues
Foreign Reactions
News Reports

Current Operations

• IRAQ/WRAP VOA 04 Apr 2004 -- U-S forces in Iraq say seven American soldiers have been killed and more than two dozen wounded in clashes with Shi'ite Muslim militiamen in Baghdad. In a statement, the U-S military said soldiers fought off militiamen loyal to radical Muslim Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The latest report comes hours after at least 20 Iraqis and two coalition soldiers were killed near the holy city of Najaf, in southern Iraq.
• 3rd CAG: boots on deck, running in Iraq Marine Corps News 04 Apr 2004-- Marines from the 1st Marine Division aren't the only ones getting their boots dirty these days in Iraq.
• Gunmen Attack Spanish, Salvadoran Troops in Najaf AFPS 04 Apr 2004 -- Spanish and Salvadoran troops in Najaf came under attack from gunmen hiding in a crowd of protesters, coalition officials said in Baghdad today.
• At Least 20 Killed After Clashes In Al-Najaf RFE/RL 04 Apr 2004 -- Some 20 people died and more than 100 were injured in clashes between Iraqi protesters and Spanish-led coalition troops in the holy Shi'a city of Al-Najaf today.
• IRAQ/UNREST VOA 04 Apr 2004 -- Coalition forces and Iraqi police clashed with Shiite protesters near the city of Najaf, and hospital officials say at least 19 people were killed and scores injured in the fighting. Supporters of the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have been staging protests in Shiite areas of central and southern Iraq for the past several days.

Deployments

US Policy

• U-S / IRAQ VOA 04 Apr 2004 -- The chairman of the U-S Senate Foreign Relations Committee says recent violence in Iraq throws into question the viability of Bush Administration's planned June 30th deadline for transferring power to an Iraqi-led administration.

United Nations

• Brahimi arrives in Iraq for talks on political transition UN News Centre 04 Apr 2004 -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Adviser, Lakhdar Brahimi, arrived in Iraq this evening at the invitation of the parties to help them with the transitional process, a United Nations spokesman announced.

Reconstruction Issues

• Bremer Announces Iraqi National Security Structure AFPS 04 Apr 2004 -- Coalition Administrator Paul Bremer announced the men who will head Iraq's national defense structure and announced the formation of a new Iraqi intelligence agency during a Baghdad press conference today.
• IRAQ/DEFENSE VOA 04 Apr 2004 -- The top U-S official in Baghdad has announced the appointment of a new Iraqi defense minister and chief of intelligence.

Foreign Reactions

• Interior minister urges UN to play greater role in Iraq IRNA 04 Apr 2004 -- Iranian Interior Minister Abdolvahed Moussav Lari here Sunday called on the United Nations to play a greater role in Iraq.

News Reports