Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

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

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 31 Aug 2005 [PDF]
• Task Force Freedom Soldier killed in attack
• One Task Force Freedom Soldier killed when helicopter forced to land
• TASK FORCE LIBERTY SOLDIER KILLED BY IED NEAR SAMARRA
• II MEF SOLDIER KILLED IN ACTION
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty

• Four Soldiers Killed, Four Wounded in Five Days AFPS 31 Aug 2005 -- Four U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq in the past several days, U.S. officials there reported today.
• Iraqi-led review board recommends continued internment for Reuters journalist MNF-I 31 Aug 2005 -- The Iraqi - U.S. Combined Review and Release Board reviewed all available evidence of Ali Omar Ibrahem al-Mashdanni, a journalist working for Reuters, and recommended continued internment in the Theater Internment Facilities this week.
• Mosul citizen's tip leads to weapons cache discovery MNF-I 31 Aug 2005 -- Coalition forces from Task Force Freedom discovered a weapons cache in Tel Kheif Aug. 28.
• Update: Coalition Forces bomb terrorist safe houses MNF-I 31 Aug 2005 -- U.S. Marines have launched precision air strikes on several Al Qaeda in Iraq positions during the past five days. All of the coalition strikes were directed against targets that were confirmed to have armed Al Qaeda in Iraq members present.

Deployments

• ESG 1 Arrives in NAVCENT AOR Navy NewsStand 31 Aug 2005 -- Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 1, centered around the amphibious assault ship USS Tarawa (LHA 1), entered the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command's area of operations Aug. 30.

US Policy

• Stay Politically Engaged, Amb. Khalilzad Urges Iraq's Sunnis Washington File 31 Aug 2005 -- U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad has appealed to Iraq's Sunni Arabs not to abandon the political process in the national referendum debate over the draft constitution and the subsequent elections.
• Bush To Stay The Course In Iraq As Costs Mount RFE/RL 31 Aug 2005 -- U.S. President George W. Bush has appealed to Americans not to waver because of the rising death toll in Iraq.

United Nations

Reconstruction Issues

• Iraq: The Growing Sunni-Shi'a Divide RFE/RL 31 Aug 2005 -- As the debilitating security situation in Iraq threatens to widen the Sunni-Shi'ite rift, leaders on both sides are trying to allay fears of a sectarian war -- a tall order in an atmosphere charged with accusations, power struggles, and growing animosity.
• Iraq: Sunnis Weigh In On Draft Constitution RFE/RL 31 Aug 2005 -- Iraq's Sunni Arab leaders have expressed varying levels of opposition to the draft constitution since it was announced on 28 August.

Foreign Reactions

News Reports

• Iraq Reports Nearly 1,000 Pilgrims Killed in Baghdad Stampede VOA News 31 Aug 2005 -- Iraqi officials say 965 Shi'ite pilgrims were killed Wednesday in a stampede on a bridge leading to a Baghdad shrine.
• Baghdad Stampede Kills Some 840 RFE/RL 31 Aug 2005 -- More than 840 people are believed to have been killed and hundreds others injured in Baghdad when a stampede broke out during a Shi'a religious procession.
• Baghdad Stampede Kills Over 600 RFE/RL 31 Aug 2005 -- More than 600 people are believed to have been killed and hundreds others injured in Baghdad when a stampede broke out during a Shi'a religious procession.
• Iraqi Police Say More Than 600 Killed in Baghdad Stampede VOA News 31 Aug 2005 -- Iraqi police say more than 600 people have been killed in a stampede that broke out Wednesday, near a Shi'ite shrine in Baghdad.
• Iraq Reports Nearly 650 Pilgrims Killed in Baghdad Stampede VOA News 31 Aug 2005 -- Iraqi officials say nearly 650 Shi'ite pilgrims have been killed in a stampede as pilgrims crossed a Baghdad bridge to a shrine in the Iraqi capital.