Iraq 'more deadly' than year ago

30 July 2011 Last updated at 15:18 GMT Nearly a dozen civilians die violent deaths in Iraq every day A top US adviser on Iraq has accused the US military of glossing over an upsurge in violence, just months before its troops are due to be withdrawn.

Iraq is more dangerous now than a year ago, said a report issued by the US Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Stuart W Bowen Junior.

He said the killing of US soldiers and senior Iraqi figures, had risen, along with attacks in Baghdad .

The report contradicts usually upbeat assessments from the US military.

It comes as Washington is preparing to withdraw its remaining 47,000 troops from Iraq by the end of the year, despite fears that the Iraqi security forces might not be ready to take over fully.

Assassinations

"Iraq remains an extraordinarily dangerous place to work," Mr Bowen concluded in his quarterly report to Congress. "It is less safe, in my judgment, than 12 months ago."

The report cited the deaths of 15 US soldiers in June - the bloodiest month for the American military in two years - but also said more Iraqi officials had been assassinated in the past few months than in any other recent period.

While the efforts of Iraqi and American forces may have reduced the threat from the Sunni-based insurgency, Shia militias are believed to have become more active, it said.

Responsibility for training Iraqi forces will fall to the US State Department after the pullout

They are being blamed for the deaths of American soldiers, and for an increase in rocket attacks on the Baghdad international zone and the US embassy compound.

Additionally, the report called the north-eastern province of Diyala, which borders Iran, "very unstable" with frequent bombings that bring double-digit death tolls.

Mr Bowen accused the US military of glossing over the instability, noting an army statement in late May that described Iraq's security trends as "very, very positive" - but only when compared to 2007, when the country was on the brink of civil war.

A spokesman for the US army in Iraq declined to respond.

Stay or go?

The findings come in the middle of what the inspector called a "summer of uncertainty" in Baghdad over whether American forces will stay past a year-end withdrawal deadline and continue military aid for the unstable nation.

Although the US is preparing to withdraw all its remaining troops by the end of the year, in line with mutual agreements, the Obama administration has offered to leave 10,000 to help train the Iraqi forces.

That is politically highly controversial in Baghdad, where Nouri al-Maliki's Shia-dominated government, dependent on support from strongly anti-American elements, has not been able to produce a clear answer, says the BBC's Jim Muir from Beirut.

The situation is clearly very much better than it was at the height of the violence in 2006-7, our correspondent says.

In fact, the overall figures for Iraqi civilian deaths in the first six months of this year, collated by Iraqi Body Count, show a very slight improvement over last year.

But patterns of violence have changed, he adds. There are fewer big bomb explosions, but more targeted killings of Iraqi officials or security forces.

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Deadly prison breakout in Mexico

16 July 2011 Last updated at 02:09 GMT More than 400 inmates have escaped from jails in northern Mexico since January 2010 Seven prisoners have been killed and 59 others have escaped after a riot at a jail in northern Mexico near the US border, officials say.

Five guards are also missing and are believed to have aided the mass prison breakout in Nuevo Laredo town.

Mexican police say the majority of those on the run are drug traffickers and members of armed gangs.

The prison system is struggling to cope with an influx of offenders arrested in a campaign against drugs cartels.

Correspondents say prison breakouts are not uncommon in northern Mexico, where more than 400 inmates have escaped since January 2010.

Nuevo Laredo, in Tamaulipas state, lies just across the border from Laredo, Texas.

The largest jail break so far was last December when more than 140 prisoners escaped from the same prison.

According to a statement from the Tamaulipas state government, the riot began on Friday morning in Nuevo Laredo's Sanctions Enforcement Centre, which houses an estimated 1,200 prisoners.

After the breakout, soldiers surrounded the jail and calm was restored, the authorities said.

The northern border region is the scene of rising lawlessness as the cartels fight the security forces and each other for control of smuggling routes into the US.

The main battle in Tamaulipas is between the Zetas and the Gulf cartels, the AFP news agency reports.

Their capacity for violence and ability to pay huge bribes gives them considerable power to subvert the prison system and get their people out.

President Felipe Calderon came to power in 2006 promising a war on drugs.

More than 35,000 people have died in drug violence since he began his campaign, which has involved launching an army assault on drug gangs.

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Deadly clashes over Peru college

22 June 2011 Last updated at 14:44 GMT Three people have died in clashes between students and police over plans for a new university in central Peru, officials say.

More than 30 people were said to have been injured in the violence in the city of Huancavelica.

Students are protesting over plans for a new university which they say will harm the viability of an existing one.

Regional President Maciste Diaz Abad has urged calm and called a meeting of senior ministers.

Authorities said the clashes erupted late on Tuesday and went on into the night.

Students had earlier set light to three regional government offices, officials said.

The students say the creation of a new university in Tayacaja - part of the central region of Huancavelica - will divert resources from the National University of Huancavelica in the regional capital.

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Deadly bombings hit central Iraq

21 June 2011 Last updated at 09:52 GMT Footage shows the wreckage caused by the car bomb

At least 22 people have been killed in two car bomb attacks in Diwaniya in central Iraq, officials say.

The attacks targeted police barriers outside the compound of provincial governor Salim Hussein Alwan, who was unharmed.

Diwaniya is about 80 miles (130km) south of the capital, Baghdad.

Violence in Iraq has fallen sharply from its peak in 2006, although deadly bombings and shootings still occur on a daily basis.

Most of the victims of the attacks in Diwaniya are reported to be policemen. Dozens more were reported to have been wounded.

A police official said it appeared the plan was for the bombs to explode as the governor left for work in his convoy of vehicles, but he had been delayed inside the compound.

Mr Alwan told the Associated Press news agency: "I was in the garage preparing to leave when the attacker hit the police barrier outside."

The second blast took place seconds later, officials said.

Images from the scene showed widespread damage to nearby buildings.

It was not immediately clear if the explosions took place at the same checkpoint or if both attackers died in the blasts.

Diwaniya is in a mainly Shia region and several of Iraq's armed groups are said to be active in the area.

Last week, gunmen and suicide bombers stormed a provincial council building in the city of Baquba, killing at least eight people.

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US to ease deadly Vietnam legacy

17 June 2011 Last updated at 12:44 GMT Millions suffered deformities as a result of the herbicide sprayed over Vietnam Vietnam and the United States have taken the first step towards cleaning up Agent Orange contamination.

The US sprayed 12 million gallons of the defoliant over jungles between 1961 and 1971 during the Vietnam war.

Vietnamese experts say more than three million people have suffered the effects of the herbicide, of which some 400,000 died.

The development is being hailed as one of the most significant in relations between Washington and Hanoi.

A ceremony to launch the programme was held at the Danang airport where the defoliant was stored before being sprayed over forests hiding fighters from the Viet Cong, guerrillas backed by the Communist government of North Vietnam.

US-Vietnam ties have blossomed since diplomatic relations were established 16 years ago and steps to resolve issues left over from the war have formed a cornerstone of progress, say correspondents.

"I think it's fair to say that dioxin contamination and Agent Orange was one of the single most neuralgic issues in the US-Vietnam relationship," said US charge d'affaires Virginia Palmer.

The US sprayed Vietnam's jungles to deprive the enemy of places to hide

For years, Hanoi and Washington argued about questions of compensation for victims of the defoliant.

But now the US recognises that dioxin, found in Agent Orange, is a highly toxic substance.

"Studies suggest that this chemical may be related to a number of cancers and other health effects in humans", says the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

Five years ago the embassy began to shift the focus to cleaning up dioxin hot spots, clearing the path for swift progress on what had become the biggest remaining war-era issue.

The US Congress appropriated an initial $3m (?1.8m) in 2007 for the effort and the figure has since risen to $32m.

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Deadly blasts at Pakistan market

11 June 2011 Last updated at 22:34 GMT Local journalist Rahimullah Yusufzai says the blasts happened in a busy market area late at night

At least 34 people have been killed and 90 wounded after two explosions ripped through a market in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar, police say.

The blasts occurred just after midnight in an area of the city that is home to political offices and army housing.

The number of attacks by militants in Pakistan has risen sharply since al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was killed in a US commando raid last month.

On Thursday, a bombing on the outskirts of Peshawar left four people dead.

An explosive device was planted in a pile of rubbish by the roadside in the Matani area, police said. The victims included a woman and a child.

Remote

A senior police official in Peshawar, Dost Mohammed, told the Associated Press that the first explosion on Sunday had been relatively small, and had drawn rescue workers, police and several journalists to the scene.

Minutes later, a large explosion rocked the area, causing the fatalities and most of the injuries. Eighteen people were said to be in a serious condition in hospital.

Nearly 20 people were said to be in a serious condition in hospital

Jamal Khan, a 22-year-old student, was in his flat when the first blast happened. He was hit by flying debris by the second blast after rushing downstairs.

"The explosion was so huge I will never forget it all my life," he told AP. "It was deafening, and then there was a cloud of dust and smoke. When the dust settled, I saw people crying for help and body parts scattered everywhere."

Mr Mohammed said initial reports suggested the second blast was caused by explosives hidden in a vehicle and detonated by remote.

However, several police officials later said it might have been carried out by a suicide bomber on a motorbike.

The source of the first explosion is still unknown.

The AFP news agency said the apparent target was a supermarket. But the blasts also occurred close to a building containing the offices of several newspapers and across the road from those of the top political agent to Khyber, a volatile tribal region. There is also housing for soldiers nearby.

Rahimullah Yusfzai, editor of the News International newspaper, told the BBC he was in his office nearby when the blast went off.

He said the area had many shops and restaurants and was popular with families and students.

"First there was a small blast, we thought it was a gas cylinder which had exploded. Many people then ran towards the site of the blast and then the second big explosion took place which was heard far and wide," he said.

"This is how the militants operate - there is, in almost all cases, a smaller blast then a bigger one when the police and the media arrive."

The incident came as Afghan President Hamid Karzai visited the capital, Islamabad, for talks with senior Pakistani officials.

Speaking at a joint news conference, Pakistan's Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, said his country would give Afghanistan all the support it could, as Kabul pursued peace talks with the Taliban.

Mr Gilani said Pakistan's only aim was to support the peace process.

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'Deadly attack' on Syria's Rastan

2 June 2011 Last updated at 21:31 GMT Hillary Clinton: "If he's not going to lead the reform, he needs to get out of the way"

Syrian government troops have heavily bombarded Rastan, near Homs, in the centre of the country, killing at least 15 people, activists say.

More than 50 people have been killed in Rastan since a military operation there started at the weekend, reports say.

The offensive comes despite a government amnesty offer and the release of hundreds of detainees.

Opposition groups dismissed the moves and urged President Bashar al-Assad to resign and make way for democracy.

The groups, which comprise about 300 activists, are meeting in Antalya in neighbouring Turkey.

They said in a communique that Mr Assad should hand power to one of his two vice-presidents, without specifying which, and hold free elections within a year.

"The delegates have committed to the demands of the Syrian people to bring down the regime and support the people's revolution for freedom and dignity," the communique said.

The Local Co-ordinating Committee, which helps to organise and document the country's protests, gave the names of the people it said were killed in Rastan in the latest artillery and tank bombardments.

The committee said the offensive had hit at least two mosques and a bakery, as well as houses that collapsed, killing entire families.

Eyewitnesses told BBC Arabic that army and security forces are not able to take control the town, even though it has been surrounded by tanks over the past few days.

Detainees released

Following the announcement on Tuesday of a conditional amnesty, hundreds of detainees have been released.

More seem to be on the way, although it is not clear if the authorities intend to free all the 10,000 or more people believed to have been detained in the past 10 weeks and the thousands already in jail before that, says the BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut.

The authorities have announced the formation of a high-level commission to oversee a proposed national dialogue aimed at stabilising the situation.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in Syria since an uprising against President Assad began in March, activists say.

Reports from Syria are hard to verify independently, as foreign journalists are not allowed into the country.

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Deadly bomb attack at Iraq mosque

3 June 2011 Last updated at 13:40 GMT At least 16 people have been killed and dozens injured in a bomb attack aimed at worshippers at a mosque in the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit.

Reports say police and local officials were among the casualties.

It is not clear who carried out the attack or whether a suicide bomber was involved.

It is the second attack in Iraq in as many days, after bombings in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, killed at least six people on Thursday.

'Canister' bomb

The blast happened at about 1245 local time (0945 GMT) on Friday, officials said.

Medics said that 16 bodies were brought to the main hospital after the explosion.

Doctor Raeid Ibrahim was quoted by the AP news agency as saying that another 54 people had been wounded.

Among the injured was at least one member of the Salaheddin provincial council.

Some reports suggest the bomb was hidden inside a fuel canister at the entrance to the mosque.

Tikrit - about 130km (80 miles) north of Baghdad - is the home town of the deposed Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein.

Many of his relatives and former associates live there.

While violence has decreased in Iraq in the last few years, attacks are still frequent and government or security officials are often targets.

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