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Letter to the editor

Last week in Iraq

By TIMES WIRES
Published June 17, 2007

Attacks

- A suicide bomber in a vehicle brought down a section of highway bridge south of Baghdad on June 10 as U.S. soldiers guarded the crossing. The explosion also killed three U.S. soldiers who were nearby, U.S. and Iraqi security officials said. In a separate attack, a suicide truck bomber struck an Iraqi police agency in Tikrit in northern Iraq, killing at least 15 people.

- Explosives tore at another Iraqi bridge Tuesday, at least the 12th in the last three months in what appears to be an effort to cut off the traffic arteries that allow Iraqis and U.S. troops to move about the country.

- Suspected al-Qaida bombers toppled the towering minarets of Samara's revered Askariya Shiite shrine on Wednesday, dealing a blow to Iraqi hopes for peace and reopening old wounds a year after the mosque's golden dome was destroyed.

- Police said bombers posing as TV cameramen destroyed an important Sunni shrine, the Talha Bin al-Zubair, outside Basra in south Iraq on Friday. The bombing appeared to be the work of Shiite militants seeking revenge for the Askariya attack.

Military

- Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, said June 10 that the United States should consider a military strike against Iran because of Tehran's involvement in Iraq. Lieberman said much of the action could probably be done by air, adding, "I want to make clear I'm not talking about a massive ground invasion of Iran."

- Iraq's army must expand its rolls by at least 20, 000 more soldiers next year than Washington had anticipated to help free U.S. troops from conducting daily patrols, checkpoints and other critical yet dangerous missions, Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey told a House Armed Services subcommittee on Tuesday. Dempsey, who until recently led the U.S. military's training program in Iraq, said the government will remain incapable of taking full responsibility for its security for years.

- Violence in Iraq, as measured by casualties among troops and civilians, has edged higher despite the U.S.-led security push in Baghdad, the Pentagon told Congress on Wednesday. Overall, the report said, it was too soon to judge whether the security crackdown was working.

- All of the U.S. troops deployed as part of President Bush's military surge are now in Iraq, the military said Friday.

Rebuilding

- The Iraqi court trying Saddam Hussein's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali, " and other former regime officials for their roles in a 1980s military campaign against the Kurds said on June 10 that it would issue a verdict June 24.

- Adm. William Fallon, top U.S. military commander for the Middle East, on June 10 told Iraq's prime minister that the government needs to make clear political progress by next month to counter the growing opposition to the war in Congress.

- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki compared the fight for order in Iraq to the U.S. Civil War almost 150 years ago, saying the current struggle "is perhaps even more complicated." His comments came in an opinion piece in Wednesday's editions of the Wall Street Journal.

- Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Iraq Friday and expressed disappointment with the pace of reconciliation.

Deaths

As of Saturday, 3, 522 U.S. troops have died in Iraq. Identifications as reported by the U.S. military and not previously published:

- Air Force Airman 1st Class Eric M. Barnes, 20, Lorain, Ohio; explosion June 10; south of Baghdad.

- Army Pfc. Casey S. Carriker, 20, Hoquiam, Wash.; noncombat-related incident Wednesday; Kirkuk.

- Army Sgt. Dariek E. Dehn, 32, Spangle, Wash.; explosion June 2; Sharqat.

- Army Sgt. Cory M. Endlich, 23, Massillon, Ohio; small-arms fire June 9; Taji.

- Air Force Lt. Col. Glade L. Felix, 52, Lake Park, Ga.; unknown cause Monday; Qatar.

- Army Cpl. Llythaniele Fender, 21, Medical Lake, Wash.; explosion June 10; Karbala.

- Army Spc. Adam G. Herold, 23, Omaha, Neb.; explosion June 10; Karbala.

- Army Spc. Josiah W. Hollopeter, 27, San Diego; small-arms fire Thursday; Muqdadiyah.

- Army Pvt. William C. Johnson, 22, Oxford, N.C.; explosion Tuesday; Baghdad.

- Army Spc. Damon G. Legrand, 27, Lakeside, Calif.; small-arms fire Tuesday; Baghdad.

- Army Staff Sgt. Brian M. Long, 32, Burns, Wyo.; explosion June 10; Baghdad.

- Army Pvt. Scott A. Miller, 20, Casper, Wyo.; small-arms fire June 9; Baqubah.

- Army Cpl. Meresebang Ngiraked, 21, Koror, Republic of Palau; explosion June 10; Karbala.

- Army Pfc. Cameron K. Payne, 22, Corona, Calif.; combat wounds Monday; Balad.

- Air Force Major Kevin Sonnenberg, 42, Napoleon, Ohio; F-16 crash Friday; Balad Air Base.

- Marine Lance Cpl. Johnny R. Strong, 21, Waco, Texas; combat Tuesday; Anbar province.

[Last modified June 17, 2007, 00:36:47]