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Suspected al-Qaida attackers hit neighboring villages in Iraq, killing 17

VIOLENCE: An insurgent attack on a Sunni sheik who has cooperated with U.S. forces escalated into an extended street battle involving the sheik's militiamen, local villagers and Iraqi forces, according to police and the U.S. military. Thirty-two people were killed and 15 kidnapped, police said.

Residents of a village near Baqubah, 35 miles north of Baghdad, apparently heard the initial commotion and took up their weapons to fight the attackers, who were members of the insurgent group al-Qaida in Iraq, the U.S. military said.

The sheik was killed and his mosque was destroyed. The dead also included village residents, insurgents and Iraqi security personnel, police said, while the 15 people kidnapped by the insurgents appeared to be women and children.

EXTENDED TOURS: Army Secretary Pete Geren, the Army's top civilian leader, said he sees "no possibility" of extending soldiers' 15-month Iraq tours, reflecting concern about mounting strains on soldiers and their families as well as an emerging expectation that the troop buildup in Iraq can be reversed next year.

HADITHA CASE: Marine Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum, 26, accused of murdering Iraqi civilians, including children, in Haditha on Nov. 19, 2005, should have all charges against him dropped because of weak evidence, an investigating officer recommended.

OIL: Jordan's energy minister said his country expects to resume Iraqi oil imports in the coming days, ending a four-year hiatus. Iraqi officials said they had awaited only the hiring of a security force to guard the trucks. Apparently until now they could find no one who would take the job.

[Last modified August 23, 2007, 23:23:09]