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Threats on several sides

Iraq suffers political and security setbacks. Three U.S. troops are reported killed.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published April 16, 2007

Attacks

- Six bombs exploded from midday until after nightfall Sunday in mostly Shiite Muslim sections of Baghdad, killing at least 45 people in a renewal of sectarian carnage.

- Health officials raised the toll from a bombing Saturday in the holy Shiite city of Karbala, saying 47 people were killed and 224 wounded.

Political blow

Saleh al-Aujaili and Hassan al-Rubaie, members of the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's bloc in Parliament, said Sunday that Sadr's six followers in the Iraqi Cabinet would quit their posts today, raising a threat that the government could collapse. They said the cleric had ordered the action as a protest over arrests of leaders in his Shiite militia and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's failure to back a timetable for U.S. withdrawal. They said Sadr's 30 legislators would remain in Parliament.

At home

Vice President Dick Cheney told CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday that he is "willing to bet" that Democrats will back down and approve a war-spending bill that doesn't call for withdrawal. But Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said Democrats won't relent.

Military

- Two British helicopters crashed Sunday after an apparent midair collision near Taji, 12 miles north of Baghdad, killing two service members, British officials said. Four others were injured in the crash, one very seriously. Defense Secretary Des Browne said initial reports suggested the crash was an accident. British forces, headquartered in the southern city of Basra, rarely fly missions north of Baghdad. This mission was undisclosed.

- A U.S. Kiowa helicopter was hit Sunday by insurgent ground fire near Mosul but landed safely with no injuries.

- The U.S. military announced three U.S. deaths Sunday. One soldier was killed by small-arms fire Sunday in southern Baghdad. Another soldier died Saturday when a roadside bomb exploded south of Baghdad. And a Marine died the same day in combat in Anbar province.

- Dozens of Iraqi police officers demonstrated Sunday in front of their Baghdad station, accusing U.S. forces of treating them like "animals" and "slaves."Associated Press

[Last modified April 16, 2007, 02:00:11]