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Bomb hits Iraqi post; U.S. cites 'steady progress'

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published April 27, 2007

BAGHDAD - Bombers struck an Iraqi army post northeast of Baghdad and civilian targets in the city as violence across Iraq killed at least 72 people Thursday, including the bullet-riddled bodies of 27 men dumped in the capital - apparent victims of sectarian death squads.

Still, the top American military spokesman insisted the U.S. command felt "very comfortable" that it is making "steady progress" in restoring order in Baghdad.

"We are seeing those initial signs of progress being made," said Maj. Gen. William Caldwell.

The deadliest attack occurred about 9 a.m. when a suicide car bomber killed 10 Iraqi soldiers at a checkpoint in Khalis, a longtime flashpoint city about 50 miles northeast of Baghdad. Ten other soldiers and five civilians were wounded, police said.

The city is in Diyala province, the site of some of Iraq's worst violence recently.

In the capital, a car bomb exploded near Baghdad University, killing eight civilians and wounding 19, including some students, police said.

Four other civilians were killed and nine wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near a market in central Baghdad, police said. The blast missed its intended target - a passing police patrol.

Two suicide bombers attacked an office of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Massoud Barzani, leader of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq. The blasts killed three security guards and wounded five, police said.

In Tikrit, police said the wife and daughter of a Saddam Hussein cousin were found slain at their home. The wife of Hashim Hassan al-Majid had been shot and the daughter strangled, police Capt. Samir Mohammed said. Majid's brother is Ali Hassan "Chemical Ali" al-Majid, one of the most notorious figures of Saddam's regime, who is on trial for his alleged role in gassing Kurds and other abuses in the 1980s.

Other developments

- British military commanders are reportedly reconsidering a decision to allow Prince Harry to fight in Iraq for fear his presence could endanger other soldiers. Harry's regiment, the Blues and Royals, is to begin a six-month tour soon.

- Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh criticized the U.S. Senate vote on Iraq, saying that Oct. 1 is too soon for a withdrawal to start and that it "sends wrong signals" to armed militants.

- A day after receiving a subpoena from a House committee, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signaled that she will resist the order to appear to answer questions about how the White House handled prewar intelligence about Iraq. "I am more than happy to answer them again - in a letter."

[Last modified April 27, 2007, 01:37:40]