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Security stepped up for Iraq referendum
(AP)
Updated: 2005-10-13 20:03
In the last 18 days, at least 438 people have been killed by militant
violence as the insurgents try to scare voters away from the polls Saturday.
Most of the fatalities have been caused by suicide car bombs, roadside bombs and
drive-by shootings. The bodies of other Iraqis who had been kidnapped have been
found in isolated areas.
"Our soldiers recognize that they are not here to influence the election, but
they are here to allow the Iraqi people the opportunity to vote," said U.S. Lt.
Col. Jeff Edge, as his battalion delivered barriers to a volatile, mostly Sunni
Arab area of southwest Baghdad.
During the first three days this week, Iraqi and U.S. forces in Baghdad,
backed by Black Hawk helicopters, reported capturing 75 suspected insurgents,
seizing three large weapons caches and rescuing an Iraqi man who had been
kidnapped by insurgents.
On Wednesday, for the second day in a row, a suicide attacker hit the
northwestern town of Tal Afar, killing at least 30 people and wounding 35. On
Tuesday a suicide bomber killed 30 civilians when he plowed his
explosives-packed vehicle into a crowded outdoor market in Tal Afar. Al-Qaida in
Iraq claimed responsibility for that attack.
Also Wednesday, the military announced that two U.S. soldiers died and one
was injured when their vehicle rolled over while on patrol during combat near
Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad. The crash brought to 1,962 the number of
members of the U.S. military who have died since the beginning of the Iraq war
in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
Iraqis watching state-owned Al-Iraqiya television on
Wednesday night saw legislators in the National Assembly approve a set of
last-minute amendments to the constitution without a vote, sealing a compromise
designed to win Sunni support and boost chances for the charter's approval in
Saturday's referendum.
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