Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari
speaks about the latest situation in Iraq during a news conference at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Baghdad July 9, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters
Photo)
BAGHDAD,
July 9 (Xinhua) -- Insurgency and sectarian violence raged the Iraqi capital on
Monday while Iraqi foreign minister warned of a civil war if the U.S. troops
make a quick withdrawal from Iraq.
On the ground, a series of car bombs, roadside bombs
and gunfire killed 32 Iraqis and wounded 73 others, most of them in Baghdad on
Monday.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military said that one of its
soldiers was killed and three others wounded in a suicide car bomb attack in
west of Baghdad.
The attack took place on Sunday when the suicide car
bomber struck a U.S. patrol during combat operations in the area, a military
statement said.
The latest death brings the number of U.S. soldiers
killed in Iraq to more than 3,600 since the Iraq war broke out in March
2003,according to media count based on Pentagon figures.
Currently, there are over 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq
and the U.S. government was under continuous pressure since the war started in
March 2003.
The Congress approved a war spending bill in late
April which set a timetable to withdraw U.S. troops out of Iraq, but the bill
was vetoed by U.S. President George W. Bush on May 1, the fourth anniversary of
his "Mission Accomplished" speech, in which he declared on May 1 of 2003, that
major combat operations in Iraq had ended.
In late June, Democratic leaders of the U.S. Congress
said that they would keep pressuring President George W. Bush on a timetable for
withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at a news conference
that she would introduce legislation next month to authorize withdrawing
American troops from Iraq within 120 days and to complete the withdrawal by
April 1 of 2008.
However, the Iraqi government does not want to see
such a quick pullout considering the situation in Iraq.
Insurgency, sectarian violence and daily gruesome
finding of unidentified corpses which continued in the capital despite almost
five months of major security plan staged by thousands of U.S. and Iraqi
security forces in Baghdad and other Iraq cities.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari on Monday
warned that a rapid withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq would pull down the
government and leave the country in a civil war.
"The dangers could be a civil war, dividing the
country, regional wars and the collapse of the state," he told a news conference
in Baghdad.
Zebari said that the United States has a
responsibility to support the Iraqi government until its own forces are built.
He also said that some 140,000 Turkish soldiers are on Iraq-Turkish border in
northern Turkey.
"Turkey is building up forces on the border. There
are 140,000soldiers fully armed on the border. We are against any military
interference or violation of Iraqi sovereignty," Zebari said.
Zebari's comments came as Turkey was reportedly
massing its troops to carry out cross-border military operations in northern
Iraq to pursue the rebel Kurdish Workers Party (PKK).
He insisted that the problem with Turkey should be
solved through dialogue, saying that "Turkey's fears are legitimate but such
things can be discussed."
BAGHDAD, July 7 (Xinhua) -- A spate
of deadly bomb attacks since late Friday has left at least 179 Iraqis dead
and some 286 others injured, while the U.S. military reported nine
of its soldiers killed.
In a deadliest attack on Saturday morning, up to 156
civilians were killed and some 255 others wounded when a truck loaded with large
amount of explosives detonated at a crowded outdoor market in the village of
Amerli near the town of Tuz-Khurmato, a source from the U.S. and Iraqi Joint
Coordination Center of Salahudin province said. Full story
WASHINGTON, June 9 (Xinhua) -- White
House spokesman Tony Snow said Monday there was no debate within the
administration about setting up a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from
Iraq.
"Is there a debate about setting one? No," Snow said
at a news briefing. Full story
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