Saddam lawyer seeks mercy
(AP)Updated: 2006-12-29 09:10
"America is using him to increase sedition among Iraqis, but we are thinking only of how Iraq can get rid of its problems and achieve security," said Hussein Abases, a Shiite farmer.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman acknowledged there was concern about a possible surge of violence after the execution. "I'm sure the Iraqi government is thinking through that and working with the coalition in terms of the impact that could have," he said in Washington.
At least 30 Iraqis died Thursday in bombings and shootings, including a suicide bombing in a crowd of people waiting to buy kerosene near a stadium in Baghdad that killed 10, according to police. Police also said 42 bodies of tortured men were found dumped in the Iraqi capital Thursday.
The U.S. military announced five more American troop deaths: four soldiers hit by roadside bombs on patrol and a Marine killed in combat in volatile western Iraq. That raises U.S. troop deaths this month to 100, second only to the 105 service members who died in October.
At least 2,988 members of the U.S. military have been killed since the Iraq war began in March 2003, according to an AP count.
The al-Qaida in Iraq cell leader allegedly responsible for the deaths of two of the servicemen was arrested Tuesday in a raid south of Baghdad, the military said. Al-Qaida in Iraq had claimed it killed the two U.S. soldiers found dead in June — Pfc. Kristian Menchaca of Houston and Pfc. Thomas Tucker of Madras, Ore. Their bodies were recovered after a search by 8,000 U.S. and Iraqi soldiers, dubbed Operation Fallen Eagle.
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