Six British troops killed in Iraq
LONDON, June 24 (UPI) -- Six British soldiers have been killed and eight wounded in two separate incidents in southern Iraq, reports said Tuesday.
A statement from Prime Minister Tony Blair's office said both incidents happened near the town of al-Amara, 125 miles from Basra.
Details of the first attack in which the six died, are still unclear,
In the second incident, eight members of the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment were wounded, three seriously, when they came under fire while patrolling.
One soldier was injured and two vehicles destroyed, the Ministry of Defense said.
Then, a Royal Air Force Chinook helicopter came under fire as it landed. Seven personnel on board the helicopter were wounded, three of them seriously.
U.S. troops were also attacked Tuesday in Ramadi, west of Baghdad, the BBC reported.
Britain has 16,000 troops in Iraq, most of them assigned to the southern part of the country.
Israel indicts radical Moslem officials
HAIFA, Israel, June 24 (UPI) -- Five prominent members of the Islamic Movement in Israel were indicted Tuesday for belonging to or assisting terror groups.
The five, include the leader of the movement's hard-line faction, Sheikh Raed Salah, and Suleiman Agbaria, mayor of the Israeli-Arab town of Umm al-Fahem.
The accused allegedly received some $9 million from illegal organizations abroad and transferred part of it to Hamas institutions in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Part of the money was used to support the families of dead militants and prisoners as well as prisoners, the charge sheet said. The payments were designed "to encourage them to continue terrorist activity ... and convey a message that the Hamas movement continues to support them," the charge sheet added.
Sheikh Raed insisted his activities were legal.
Hundreds of supporters chanted and protested outside the courthouse as the charges were read, Ha'aretz reported.
Prosecutors requested all five be remanded until the conclusion of their trials.
Father, daughter swim for hours
MELBOURNE, Fla., June 24 (UPI) -- A father and daughter who swam through the Atlantic for several hours after their 8-foot sailboat capsized were hospitalized Tuesday in Melbourne, Fla.
The Melbourne Today reported the pair was found on the shore near Floridana Beach after a daylong search.
Benjamin Dilalla Jr., 42, of the DeLand area, and his 11-year-old daughter, Celeste, were found by Melbourne fireman Danny Willman and his son around 6:30 p.m. Monday, lying on the beach near Bon Steel Park, said Agent Gary Harrell of the Brevard County Sheriff's Office. Neither was wearing a life jacket.
Dilalla and his daughter were suffering from hypothermia. They were taken to Holmes Regional Medical Center, where Dilalla was unable to communicate with police late Monday. Harrell said the girl was able to talk.
The father is listed in fair condition while the daughter is in good condition, Holmes spokesman Chris McGahee said.
Baby survives seven-story fall
PEEKSKILL, N.Y., June 24 (UPI) -- A 29-year-old suburban New York man Tuesday faced multiple charges after tossing his 10-month-old daughter from a seventh-story window.
The baby survived the fall with only scrapes and bruises.
The weekend incident occurred after the man threatened to kill himself and the baby's mother during an argument.
Officials told the White Plains (N.Y.) Journal-News a large maple tree broke much of Meana Williams' 80-foot fall, which was further cushioned when she landed on a mulch bed at the eight-story Peekskill public housing complex where she lived.
Meana was admitted for observation at an area hospital.
The father, Willie Williams of Ossining, was charged with attempted murder and other felonies.
Detectives told the newspaper Williams allegedly abducted the child's mother, Jasmine Gilleo, 21, earlier Saturday evening and that she stabbed Williams in his hand after he flung their child from window.
'Exodus' author, Leon Uris, dead at 78
NEW YORK, June 24 (UPI) -- Leon Uris, the author of "Exodus," died in his New York home on Shelter Island during the weekend at age 78.
His best-known work was perhaps "Exodus," the story of the struggle to establish and defend the state of Israel.
He also wrote, "Mila 18," "QB VII," "Trinity," "The Haj," and "Topaz" -- the latter of which was adapted into a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Uris, who dropped out of school at 17 to join the U.S. Marines, served in the South Pacific 1942-45, an experience that provided the inspiration for his debut work in 1953, "Battle Cry," a novel about a battalion of Marines during World War II, the Aspen (Colo.) Times reported.
The Marine Corps will give him a traditional memorial service in Quantico, Va. His tombstone will read "American Marine Jewish Writer."
He is survived by five children and two grandchildren.
