Some News From Iraq

Iraq Blasts Kill at Least 160, Wound 570 Wednesday September 14, 2005 9:46 PM AP Photo JLS103 By STEVEN R. HURST Associated Press Writer BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A spasm of retaliatory violence, claimed by al-Qaida in the name of Sunni insurgents, ripped through Baghdad on Wednesday. At least 160 people were killed and 570 wounded in more than a dozen highly coordinated bombings - the capital's bloodiest day since the end of major combat. The massive bombing campaign terrorized the capital for more than nine hours. The first attack, at 6:30 a.m., was the deadliest: a suicide car bombing which tore through assembled day laborers in the predominantly Shiite Muslim neighborhood of Kazimiyah. In what was believed to be a new tactic, the bomber set off the explosive after calling the laborers to his small van and enticing them with promises of work, a witness said. At least 112 people were killed and more than 200 were wounded, Iraqi Health Ministry officials said. Al-Qaida's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, purportedly declared "all-out war"' on Shiites, Iraqi troops and the government in an audiotape posted Wednesday on an Internet site known for carrying extremist Islamic content. Read more at: Guardian Unlimited Some Iraq Projects Running Out of Money, U.S. Says Work will be stopped on some utility plants, officials tell lawmakers, because security costs are depleting funds. By T. Christian Miller, Times Staff Writer WASHINGTON — The U.S. will halt construction work on some water and power plants in Iraq because it is running out of money for projects, officials said Wednesday. Security costs have cut into the money available to complete some major infrastructure projects that were started under the $18.4-billion U.S. plan to rebuild Iraq. As a result, the United States is funding only those projects deemed essential by the Iraqi government. Although no overall figures are available, one contractor has stopped work on six of eight water treatment plants to which it was assigned. "We have scaled back our projects in many areas," James Jeffrey, a senior advisor on Iraq for the State Department, told lawmakers at a hearing of the House Appropriations subcommittee on foreign operations. "We do not have the money." More than two years after Congress approved funding for the rebuilding effort, electricity and oil production in Iraq are at or below prewar levels; and unemployment remains high. Less than half of the U.S. reconstruction money has been spent, but in some sectors, such as electricity and water, security costs have eaten up much of the budget. The slow pace of progress appeared to exasperate both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, who compared the situation with the Bush administration's handling of damage from Hurricane Katrina. Read more at: L.A.Times