Remains Of Kidnapped Contractors Found In Iraq

From the AP

The remains of two U.S. contractors kidnapped in Iraq more than a year ago have been recovered, the FBI said Monday, weeks after families of several long-missing men gained hope that they might be found alive.

Ronald Withrow of Roaring Springs, Texas, and John Roy Young of Kansas City, Mo., were among six Western contractors kidnapped separately. The disappearances received new attention this month when the severed fingers of several men were sent to the U.S. military in Iraq.

Several relatives had taken the discovery of the fingers as a hopeful sign, including the father of Jonathon Cote, who remains missing.

“We feel very sad that this is how it turned out. We wish it turned out a better way,” Francis Cote said from his home in Getzville, N.Y., near Buffalo.

Cote said he had spoken to the families of Withrow and Young. He said that he was holding out hope his son is still alive but that the discovery of the bodies dampened those hopes.

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John McCain Declares That The US Is Succeeding In Iraq

From the AP

Fresh off his eighth Iraq visit, Sen. John McCain declared that “we are succeeding” and said he would not change course.

To underscore his view of the stakes in Iraq, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee twice referenced a recent audio tape from Usama bin Laden in which the Al Qaeda leader urged followers to join the Al Qaeda fight in Iraq and called the country “the greatest opportunity and the biggest task.”

“For the first time, I have seen Usama bin Laden and General (David) Petraeus in agreement, and, that is, a central battleground in the battle against Al Qaeda is in Iraq today. And that’s what bin Laden was saying and that’s what General Petraeus is saying and that’s what I’m saying, my friends,” McCain said. Petraeus is the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

“And my Democrat opponents who want to pull out of Iraq refuse to understand what’s being said and what’s happening — and that is the central battleground is Iraq in this struggle against radical Islamic extremism,” he added.

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Sadrists Call For Nationwide Civil Disobedience In Iraq

From the AP

Followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have called for a nationwide civil disobedience campaign to protest raids and detentions.

The head of the Sadrist parliamentary bloc says the move comes because of the continued U.S. and Iraqi actions against the movement’s Mahdi Army militia despite a cease-fire. Nassar al-Rubaie has demanded that the raids stop, Sadrist detainees be released and an official apology be issued.

Tuesday’s announcement comes as Shiite militia fighters clash with Iraqi security forces in the southern oil capital of Basra. The tensions threaten the cease-fire, which has been critical to an overall decline in violence in Iraq.

AP Television News video showed smoke from explosions rising over the city and Iraqi soldiers exchanging gunfire with militia members.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military said on Tuesday that five suspected militants were killed in Basra while attempting to place a roadside bomb. Ten others were injured after being spotted conducting suspicious activity, the statement said.

Security in the city had been steadily declining in Basra well before the British handed over responsibility to the Iraqis on Dec. 16. But the fierce street fighting was a steep escalation in tensions as rival Shiite factions battle for control of the area.

 

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US Protected Green Zone Under Fire-Dozens Killed

From the AP

Rockets and mortars pounded the U.S.-protected Green Zone on Sunday and a homicide car bomber struck an Iraqi army post in the northern city of Mosul in an upsurge of attacks that left nearly 50 people dead nationwide.

The latest violence underscored the fragile security situation and the resilience of both Sunni and Shiite extremist groups as the war enters its sixth year.

Attacks in Baghdad were probably due to rising tensions between rival Shiite groups — some of whom may have been behind the Green Zone blasts. It was the most sustained assault in months against the nerve center of the U.S. mission.

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