Coalition finds terrorists, bombs Basra
BASRA, Iraq, March 28 (UPI) -- Coalition forces killed two terrorists and arrested 17 suspects Friday in an operation targeting al-Qaida in Iraq, the U.S. military said Friday.
The Multi-National Forces targeted an al-Qaida in Iraq financial manager in Tuz Khurmatu and a suspected leader of a suicide bombing cell, an MNF spokesman said in a release. One man died in an exchange of gunfire.
In Baghdad, coalition forces conducted two operations, capturing a suspected car bomber and an individual allegedly linked to al-Qaida in Iraq senior leaders.
Coalition forces bombed the southern Iraqi city of Basra, where government and Iraqi forces have been fighting Shiite militias since Tuesday, British military sources said.
Air strikes -- the first by U.S. warplanes in Basra -- were made at the request of the Iraqi Army, The New York Times reported.
In Washington, President George Bush said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's decision to move into Basra "shows even-handed justice, shows he's willing to go after those who believe they're outside the law."
The action is "a test and a moment" for the Iraqi government, Bush said during a joint news conference with Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
Haditha charges against Marine dropped
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., March 28 (UPI) -- The U.S. Marine Corps Friday dropped all charges against an enlisted man alleged to have been involved in the 2005 deaths of civilians in Haditha, Iraq.
The Corps said Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum had been facing court-martial on charges of manslaughter, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment stemming from the Nov. 19, 2005, incident that left 24 civilians dead.
A written statement issued at Camp Pendleton, Calif., said only that the charges against Tatum had been dropped "in order to continue to pursue the truth seeking process into the Haditha incident."
The Haditha "incident" occurred when an improvised explosive device detonated as Tatum's unit was patrolling the city. The Marines launched an immediate and counterattack against two homes; however the occupants turned out to be civilians rather than armed insurgents.
Eight Marines were charged in connection with the assault. The charges against five have since been dropped.
Sadr urges talks to end Iraq crisis
NAJAF, Iraq, March 28 (UPI) -- Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr has called for a political solution to the clashes between his Mehdi Army militia and Iraqi government forces.
Hazem al-Araji, an aide to Sadr, said Friday the cleric wants "everyone to pursue political solutions and peaceful protests and a stop to the shedding of Iraqi blood," reported Press TV, a television news channel funded by the Iranian government.
"We ask everyone to adopt the political resolution and peaceful protest. Do not shed Iraqi blood," al-Araji said in a statement.
Iraqi security forces and militias have been fighting in Basra and other southern Iraqi communities since Tuesday. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been in Basra to oversee the operation and has given Shia militiamen until April 8 to disarm.
Sen. Casey of Pa. backs Obama
PITTSBURGH, March 28 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, son of a popular former Pennsylvania governor, abandoned neutrality Friday and endorsed Sen, Barack Obama for president.
Casey, D-Pa., addressed an Obama rally in Pittsburgh, The New York Times reported. He had previously said he would endorse neither Obama nor Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., to help bring the two senators back together once the race for the Democratic nomination is over.
"I believe in my heart that there is one person who's uniquely qualified to lead us in that new direction and that is Barack Obama." Casey said.
Pennsylvania, with 188 delegates to be selected in its April 22 primary, is the largest prize remaining. Clinton is expected to win but Casey's backing could help Obama, D-Ill., with Roman Catholic voters.
Casey's father, the late Robert Casey, served as governor from 1987-95. He was best-known outside the state for his opposition to abortion.
Clinton has the backing of the current governor, Ed Rendell, and of Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, one of the state's most prominent black politicians.
NATO chief warns Putin over summit
BRUSSELS, March 28 (UPI) -- NATO's secretary-general has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin against "unhelpful rhetoric" against the West at next week's NATO summit.
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said he was looking forward to frank exchanges between Putin and alliance leaders at a session of the NATO-Russia Council, which he also said he hoped would also be constructive.
Tensions are running high between NATO and Russia as the NATO heads of government prepare to meet in Romania. That's reported to be because of Washington's insistence that Ukraine and Georgia be allowed to move closer to joining the organization.
"The volume of music we get next week will to a large extent depend on the tone that President Putin uses in the NRC," De Hoop Scheffer told the Financial Times in an interview. "I do not know what that tone will be."
Police arrest 1, wound 1 in I-64 case
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., March 28 (UPI) -- Police said they arrested one person and shot and wounded another when officers searched a house in connection with the I-64 sniper shootings in Virginia.
Authorities said Slade Woodson, 19, of Afton, Va., was arrested Friday and charged with two felonies related to shootings Thursday in Waynesboro, Va., but was not charged in the I-64 shootings in which two motorists were injured, Media General New Service reported.
Col. W. Steven Flaherty, Virginia State Police superintendent, said Woodson was being interviewed at the Albemarle County Sheriff's Department and "is considered a suspect in the Interstate 64 shootings."
Woodson was one of five people in a house where police executed the warrant, Flaherty said. Another person was armed and confronted police, who shot him, he said. The injured person was being treated at an area hospital.
Woodson was charged in connection with the shootings at a credit union and a private home in Waynesboro, Flaherty said.
Flaherty said Woodson is the owner of the vehicle police suspect was used in Thursday's I-64 shootings in which two people sustained minor injuries.
He said police believe others were involved in the I-64 shootings.
BASRA, Iraq, March 28 (UPI) -- Coalition forces killed two terrorists and arrested 17 suspects Friday in an operation targeting al-Qaida in Iraq, the U.S. military said Friday.
The Multi-National Forces targeted an al-Qaida in Iraq financial manager in Tuz Khurmatu and a suspected leader of a suicide bombing cell, an MNF spokesman said in a release. One man died in an exchange of gunfire.
In Baghdad, coalition forces conducted two operations, capturing a suspected car bomber and an individual allegedly linked to al-Qaida in Iraq senior leaders.
Coalition forces bombed the southern Iraqi city of Basra, where government and Iraqi forces have been fighting Shiite militias since Tuesday, British military sources said.
Air strikes -- the first by U.S. warplanes in Basra -- were made at the request of the Iraqi Army, The New York Times reported.
In Washington, President George Bush said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's decision to move into Basra "shows even-handed justice, shows he's willing to go after those who believe they're outside the law."
The action is "a test and a moment" for the Iraqi government, Bush said during a joint news conference with Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
Haditha charges against Marine dropped
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., March 28 (UPI) -- The U.S. Marine Corps Friday dropped all charges against an enlisted man alleged to have been involved in the 2005 deaths of civilians in Haditha, Iraq.
The Corps said Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum had been facing court-martial on charges of manslaughter, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment stemming from the Nov. 19, 2005, incident that left 24 civilians dead.
A written statement issued at Camp Pendleton, Calif., said only that the charges against Tatum had been dropped "in order to continue to pursue the truth seeking process into the Haditha incident."
The Haditha "incident" occurred when an improvised explosive device detonated as Tatum's unit was patrolling the city. The Marines launched an immediate and counterattack against two homes; however the occupants turned out to be civilians rather than armed insurgents.
Eight Marines were charged in connection with the assault. The charges against five have since been dropped.
Sadr urges talks to end Iraq crisis
NAJAF, Iraq, March 28 (UPI) -- Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr has called for a political solution to the clashes between his Mehdi Army militia and Iraqi government forces.
Hazem al-Araji, an aide to Sadr, said Friday the cleric wants "everyone to pursue political solutions and peaceful protests and a stop to the shedding of Iraqi blood," reported Press TV, a television news channel funded by the Iranian government.
"We ask everyone to adopt the political resolution and peaceful protest. Do not shed Iraqi blood," al-Araji said in a statement.
Iraqi security forces and militias have been fighting in Basra and other southern Iraqi communities since Tuesday. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been in Basra to oversee the operation and has given Shia militiamen until April 8 to disarm.
Sen. Casey of Pa. backs Obama
PITTSBURGH, March 28 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, son of a popular former Pennsylvania governor, abandoned neutrality Friday and endorsed Sen, Barack Obama for president.
Casey, D-Pa., addressed an Obama rally in Pittsburgh, The New York Times reported. He had previously said he would endorse neither Obama nor Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., to help bring the two senators back together once the race for the Democratic nomination is over.
"I believe in my heart that there is one person who's uniquely qualified to lead us in that new direction and that is Barack Obama." Casey said.
Pennsylvania, with 188 delegates to be selected in its April 22 primary, is the largest prize remaining. Clinton is expected to win but Casey's backing could help Obama, D-Ill., with Roman Catholic voters.
Casey's father, the late Robert Casey, served as governor from 1987-95. He was best-known outside the state for his opposition to abortion.
Clinton has the backing of the current governor, Ed Rendell, and of Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, one of the state's most prominent black politicians.
NATO chief warns Putin over summit
BRUSSELS, March 28 (UPI) -- NATO's secretary-general has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin against "unhelpful rhetoric" against the West at next week's NATO summit.
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said he was looking forward to frank exchanges between Putin and alliance leaders at a session of the NATO-Russia Council, which he also said he hoped would also be constructive.
Tensions are running high between NATO and Russia as the NATO heads of government prepare to meet in Romania. That's reported to be because of Washington's insistence that Ukraine and Georgia be allowed to move closer to joining the organization.
"The volume of music we get next week will to a large extent depend on the tone that President Putin uses in the NRC," De Hoop Scheffer told the Financial Times in an interview. "I do not know what that tone will be."
Police arrest 1, wound 1 in I-64 case
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., March 28 (UPI) -- Police said they arrested one person and shot and wounded another when officers searched a house in connection with the I-64 sniper shootings in Virginia.
Authorities said Slade Woodson, 19, of Afton, Va., was arrested Friday and charged with two felonies related to shootings Thursday in Waynesboro, Va., but was not charged in the I-64 shootings in which two motorists were injured, Media General New Service reported.
Col. W. Steven Flaherty, Virginia State Police superintendent, said Woodson was being interviewed at the Albemarle County Sheriff's Department and "is considered a suspect in the Interstate 64 shootings."
Woodson was one of five people in a house where police executed the warrant, Flaherty said. Another person was armed and confronted police, who shot him, he said. The injured person was being treated at an area hospital.
Woodson was charged in connection with the shootings at a credit union and a private home in Waynesboro, Flaherty said.
Flaherty said Woodson is the owner of the vehicle police suspect was used in Thursday's I-64 shootings in which two people sustained minor injuries.
He said police believe others were involved in the I-64 shootings.
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This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
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Family not told for year of woman's death
Relatives mourn the death of Ziad Ghalayini during his funeral in Beirut on 11 May 2008. Ghalayini, a Sunni Moslem and government supporter was killed during bloody clashes with Moslem Shiite Hezbollah fighters. Clashes continued throughout the country on Sunday and the country’s only international airport remained closed. (UPI Photo)
FUNERAL FOR PRO GOVERNMENT SUPPORTER
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