By LEE KEATH, Associated Press Writer Fri Oct 6, 4:55 PM ET
About 4,000 Iraqi police have been killed and more than 8,000 wounded in the past two years, the U.S. commander in charge of police training said Friday, but he said the force's performance was improving and officials are working to weed out militiamen.
Beefing up Iraq's security forces is a cornerstone of efforts to stop the violence that has torn the country since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Police have been a prime target for attacks by Sunni insurgents.
Sunnis accuse the Shiite-led police of helping fuel sectarian violence that has killed thousands this year. They say the police have been infiltrated by Shiite militias and turn a blind eye to death squads who kidnap and kill Sunnis.
On Friday, a Sunni Kurdish party accused Shiite militias of killing a Kurdish lawmaker, Mohammed Ridha Mohammed, who was kidnapped in Baghdad the night before and whose body was found dumped along with that of his driver.
Members of parliament have fallen victim in the past to Sunni insurgents, who have often targeted Kurds. But Mohammed's slaying was the first blamed on Shiite militias. He was a member of a religious conservative Kurdish party, the Islamic Group, a small faction in the Kurdish coalition that is part of the Shiite-led government.
More victims were found Friday in the spiral of slayings between Shiite and Sunni groups. Nine bodies were discovered in the southern Shiite city of Kut and the nearby town of Suwayrah. Among them was that of a Suwayrah city councilman.
During Friday prayers at the Imam al-Hussein shrine in the southern city of Karbala, the representative of Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, urged militias to put down their arms.
"The weapons should be in the hands of the government only," Ahmed al-Safi told worshippers. "No other group should be allowed to carry weapons, so that the state would be able to provide the appropriate security conditions to the Iraqi people."
Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Peterson said it is hard to tell how many militia members have infiltrated the police forces.
"I have no idea what the number is," said Peterson, speaking from Baghdad to reporters at the Pentagon. "Certainly if we ask the question, they won't respond that they are associated with any militia. ... It's something we continue to look for. We do ask the question."
He said that any Iraqi police who are identified with a militia or who commit crimes are arrested, and others who have affiliations that cannot be tied directly to a crime are released from duty.
Iraqi authorities on Wednesday pulled a brigade of about 700 policemen out of service in their biggest move ever to uproot troops linked to death squads. The brigade is suspected of allowing gunmen to kidnap 24 workers from a frozen food factory in a district of Baghdad where the Shiite Mahdi Army militia is known to have considerable power.
The brigade commander was relieved of his duties, and a battalion commander was arrested, Peterson said, adding that officials had identified problems with the brigade during an inspection in August. He said the brigade "demonstrated very poor performance" in their missions.
Still, he said he believes the matter, which included the deaths of seven workers, was "an isolated incident."
"We have not seen other actions of late tied to sectarianism," he said. He added that Iraqi officials realize there are "individuals who joined the legitimate security forces of Iraq but yet still maintain loyalties to militias. So that is an issue."
Peterson said there are many police who are loyal to the country and "they've paid a great price" — putting the toll since September 2004 at 4,000 policemen killed and 8,000 wounded in attacks.
Altogether about 186,000 Iraqi police have been trained, and officials expect to exceed the goal of 188,000 by 10,000 by year's end, he said.
Currently there are 6,000 coalition forces embedded with the Iraqi police units as training teams, and Peterson said the Iraqis are improving.
"A year ago we had a situation where a police station was attacked and policemen would run out the back door, leaving all the equipment," he said. "That does not occur anymore."
The United States has put increasing pressure on the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to take action to stop sectarian violence amid deep divisions within his Cabinet between Shiite and Sunni parties. Sunnis complain al-Maliki is hesitant to take tough action against Shiite militias because many of them are linked to parties he relies on.
Associated Press correspondent Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.
them road side bombs are getting old. wonder when they are gonna catch another mossad or agent planting that stuff.. humm and they killed the journalist what did he know?
Leigh Holmwood Friday October 6, 2006 MediaGuardian.co.uk
ITN reporter Terry Lloyd was shot in the head by American troops as he was being driven to hospital, the inquest into his death was told today. An account by an Iraqi witness that was read out at the inquest in Oxford claimed Lloyd was still alive after the original attack on his car but was killed by US troops as he was driven from the scene.
The unnamed driver's account, which was read out by the deputy assistant coroner for Oxfordshire, Andrew Walker, gave new details of the last moments of Lloyd's life.
The witness's account was described as "very credible" by ITN's Nicholas Walshe, who led the news broadcaster's investigation into the journalist's death.
Before the account was read out, Mr Walker warned Lloyd's family, represented in court by his daughter, Chelsey, that the account could be distressing. He was told by the family's counsel, Anthony Hudson, that the family wanted to hear as much detail as possible.
"Terry was shot in the shoulder and had been lying in the sand," the Iraqi recounted. "He managed to walk to the car but was too weak to get in without help."
Mr Walker said the witness also said he had seen Lloyd's press pass and described a white Kuwaiti pass clipped on a yellow short-sleeved shirt.
"This witness said Mr Lloyd was then shot by US shots. The witness said Mr Lloyd was shot by US troops in the head while the vehicle was leaving the scene. Two Ba'ath party members were also shot. Three pieces of wood that had Mr Lloyd's blood on were also present. Mr Lloyd lay on the pieces of wood while the minibus took him to hospital."
A British soldier who was present at the incident later told the inquest he saw a 30-second barrage of gunfire.
The unnamed soldier, who gave evidence from behind a screen, said he had not seen the attack on Lloyd's car directly but that his attention was drawn to the incident when gunfire had started.
The soldier, known as Soldier B, said the incident took place between the Iraqi and American front lines. He said he couldn't say for sure whether American or Iraqi forces had engaged first but that there was gunfire that lasted for a maximum of 30 seconds.
He said there had been a lot of civilian traffic on the road at the time of the incident which stopped when the gunfire began.
The soldier said he had seen two people leave what is thought to have been Lloyd's vehicle when the firing began.
"During the engagement two people got out of the rear vehicle, one from the passenger side and one from the driver's side. They dashed about 20 metres and took cover.
"There was an exchange of fire between the tank and the second vehicle. It was only a few seconds, 30 seconds maximum, before the vehicle set on fire."
After the firefight, Soldier B said civilian vehicles moved in to help.
"It looked as if there was a green people carrier or minibus-type vehicle that appeared," he said.
"It was difficult to see because of the thick black smoke. It appeared the people had been brought into the vehicle and that vehicle headed back in to Basra."
The soldier was asked if there was any gunfire when the people were getting into the vehicle. He replied: "Not that I remember."
The soldier said he had not seen Lloyd's two-vehicle convoy before the incident.
The inquest is due to continue with evidence from ITN's Gary Powell.
· To contact the MediaGuardian newsdesk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 7239 9857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 7278 2332.
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