Two U.S. troops killed in attacks
BAGHDAD, July 8 (UPI) -- Gunmen attacked a Humvee on the highway to Baghdad's international airport Tuesday, killing two U.S. soldiers.
Witnesses said the U.S. military vehicle was attacked with anti-armor rockets, and U.S. helicopters were seen evacuating the wounded and combing the area in search of attackers.
U.S. Central Command said one soldier was killed in the ensuing firefight. One gunman was killed another wounded.
The airport highway was the scene of several attacks against U.S. forces which gained momentum in the past few weeks.
A second soldier was killed when an explosive device struck his vehicle during a routine patrol in the Kadhimyah neighborhood of Baghdad early Tuesday.
Also Tuesday, the acting governor of Iraq's Central Bank, Daoud Salman, escaped an assassination attempt by gunmen who showered his car with bullets.
Salman was wounded in the legs and rushed to hospital.
Antiquities returned to Baghdad museum
BAGHDAD, July 8 (UPI) -- Some 1200 ancient arts items stolen from the Baghdad museum have been returned.
Officials estimate at least 3,000 pieces were stolen in looting after Baghdad fell to U.S. forces April 9.
The highest advisor at the ministry of culture, Petro Cordoni of Italy, said the looters who returned the stolen pieces voluntarily were not questioned in line with a decision taken by the U.S. civil administration to encourage thieves to hand over their possessions.
He said a joint U.S.-Italian committee was following up efforts to recover Iraq's stolen heritage and was devising means to facilitate its mission, including an Internet Web site carrying details of each ancient piece stolen from the museum.
Israel disheartened by bombing
JERUSALEM, July 8 (UPI) -- An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Tuesday a suicide bombing makes the ceasefire with militants worthless.
Leaders of the Islamic Jihad denied complicity in the Monday bombing, which killed an elderly Israeli woman and injured three of her grandchildren. The remains of the suspected bomber were also found at the scene.
Sharon spokesman Ra'anan Gissin denounced the Palestinians for not cracking down on terrorists, saying the ceasefire is "not worth the paper it's written on."
"The ceasefire is no substitute for relentless real action to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure," Gissin said.
Meanwhile, Israeli troops shot and wounded a Palestinian youth in the West Bank city of Tul Karm Monday. Security sources told Ha'aretz the man behaved suspiciously and ignored orders to stop.
Earlier, Israeli soldiers on a foray into the border town of Rafah in the Gaza Strip came under a barrage of pipe-bombs and shot back, wounding a youth.
Freddie Mac investigation expands
WASHINGTON, July 8 (UPI) -- The Securites and Exchange Commission has expanded its investigation into mortgage giant Freddie Mac to include its reserve accounts.
The Wall Street Journal quoted sources Tuesday saying the accounting inquiry will examine the use of some $246 million in funds from Freddie Mac's loan loss reserve accounts. How the accounts are recorded can be used to effect the profit position of the company.
The SEC began cracking down on using reserves as "cookie-jar accounts" at companies nationwide in the late 1990s.
The SEC's accounting investigation had focused on Freddie Mac's accounting for hedge instruments, specifically, into when Freddie Mac booked income for certain derivatives transactions.
Freddie Mac announced June 9 that it had fired its president and forced the resignation of its chairman and chief financial officer after a new auditor discovered accounting problems over the past three years.
