Rocket Blasts Baghdad Green Zone, One Killed

May 23, 2009

BAGHDAD — A Katyusha rocket blasted Baghdad’s fortified government and military Green Zone compound overnight, killing a civilian working for the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. military said on Saturday.

They gave no further details, except to say that the attack occurred at around 8.15 p.m. on Friday night.

Earlier, an Iraqi police official said the rocket had hit a munitions store in the compound, causing an explosion and a fire but no casualties. …

At the end of November, a rocket or mortar attack on the Green Zone killed at least two foreign workers and wounded many.

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2 Americans Die in Baghdad’s Green Zone

May 23, 2009

BAGHDAD — Two Americans have been killed in separate incidents inside Baghdad’s highly fortified Green Zone, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Saturday, raising concerns about its security as Iraq’s forces assume more control.

The body of an American civilian was found Friday in a vehicle in the Green Zone, and another contractor was killed by a rocket attack that night near the American Embassy, U.S. military officials said.

The body was believed to be that of a civilian working for the Department of Defense, said Lt. Col. Brian Maka, adding that the death was under investigation and no other details were immediately available.

An Iraqi police official, however, told The Associated Press that the American appeared to have been killed. …

The second American was killed when a rocket struck the Green Zone Friday night at 8:15 p.m. local time, said military spokesman Maj. Jose A. Lopez.

The rocket attack and discovery of the body come as the Iraqi government has begun tearing down blast walls surrounding the Green Zone, which houses a number of government ministries as well as the American Embassy. …

Since the Green Zone was established shortly after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, it has been repeatedly shelled or attacked by suicide and car bombers.

In 2005, Ronald Schulz of Anchorage, Alaska, was believed to have been kidnapped from the Green Zone where he was working as an electrician. His body and that of a woman believed to be his Iraqi fiancee were found by the U.S. military in a grave in September 2008.

The Islamic Army in Iraq claimed in December 2005 that it had killed the pair.

Also Saturday, the U.S. military said an American soldier died Friday in a noncombat incident in Baghdad province. …

At least 4,300 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

The figure includes eight military civilians killed in action. At least 3,443 military personnel died as a result of hostile action, according to the military’s numbers.

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6/8/09 Update

4 U.S. contractors detained in Green Zone stabbing death

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6/10/09 Update

U.S. Contractors to be Released in Baghdad

June 10, 2009

BAGHDAD — Five detained U.S. contractors will be freed after a week in Iraqi custody due to insufficient evidence against them, the Iraqi government said Wednesday.

U.S.-backed Iraqi forces detained the contractors June 3 in connection with an investigation into the stabbing death of another American contractor, Jim Kitterman. But there have been conflicting accounts about the specific allegations against them. …

The Iraqi government has said those detained were four Americans and an Iraqi, but the U.S. Embassy maintains that all five are Americans. …

Kitterman, a 60-year-old construction company owner from Houston, was found dead in his car on May 22 in Baghdad’s protected Green Zone. He had been blindfolded, bound and stabbed.

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6/11/09 Update

Iraq frees 3 of 5 arrested U.S. contractors

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6/14/09 Update

Contractors Moved into U.S. Custody

June 14, 2009

BAGHDAD — The U.S. Embassy says two American contractors have been transferred from Iraqi to U.S. custody at the request of the Iraqi government. …

The other three have been released on bond. But embassy spokesman James Fennell told The Associated Press that the two others were transferred Sunday to a U.S. military facility and “remain in custody pursuant to Iraqi judicial orders.”

Fennell says the five have been cleared of any link to James Kitterman’s killing but face an ongoing investigation into unrelated charges.

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Security Developments in Iraq

Following are security developments in Iraq on Saturday, May 23, 2009 as reported by Reuters.

MOSUL – A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol wounded three policemen in central Mosul, 240 miles north of Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD – A Katyusha rocket blasted Baghdad’s fortified government and military Green Zone compound overnight, killing a civilian working for the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. military said. An Iraqi police official had earlier said the rocket hit a munitions store, causing an explosion and a fire but no casualties.

BAGHDAD – The body of a U.S. civilian was found in the Green Zone on Friday, the U.S. military said, but gave no further details on the attack or a possible motive. A witness on the scene, which had been cordoned off, said the victim’s body bore stab wounds.

Following are security developments in Iraq on Friday, May 22, 2009 as reported by Reuters.

MOSUL – Gunmen stormed a family home and shot dead a woman and her daughter in northern Mosul, 240 miles north of Baghdad, on Thursday, police said.

KIRKUK – A raid by the Iraqi army and a Sunni Arab militia force freed a Christian teacher who had been held hostage for a week in southwest Kirkuk, 155 miles north of Baghdad, on Thursday, police said. The kidnappers had demanded a ransom.

MOSUL – A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol killed a policeman and wounded six others in central Mosul on Thursday night, police said.

MOSUL – A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol wounded a woman in western Mosul on Thursday night, police said.

MOSUL – Police found the body of a woman with bullet wounds to the head and chest in eastern Mosul on Thursday, Police said.

MOSUL – Police found the body of a man with bullet wounds to the head and chest in northern Mosul on Thursday, police said, adding that he had been kidnapped a day earlier.

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MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND: FALLEN BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

By John Rutherford
NBC Producer

Tribute to service members
killed in Iraq and Afghanistan

Producer John Rutherford
is a decorated Vietnam veteran.

Honoring the Fallen

Slide presentation