North Korean Leader Reportedly Appears in Public

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il (Photo credit: AFP)

October 4, 2008

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has made his first public appearance in more than a month, a state-run news agency said from Pyongyang on Saturday amid speculation about his health.

Kim watched a university soccer game held to mark the 62nd anniversary of the founding of the university named after his late father, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung, the Korean Central News Agency reported.

The 66-year-old leader had not been seen in public since mid-August, missing two key occasions — the 60th anniversary of the founding of North Korea and Korean Thanksgiving.

U.S. and South Korean officials said Kim suffered a stroke, but North Korean officials steadfastly denied he was ill. …

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IRAQ UPDATE

Baghdad Bombing Mastermind Killed

October 4, 2008

BAGHDAD — The U.S. military said Saturday it killed a senior al-Qaida in Iraq leader suspected of masterminding one of the deadliest bombings in Baghdad as well as recent attacks and the 2006 videotaped execution of a kidnapped Russian official. …

Mahir Ahmad Mahmud al-Zubaydi, also known as Abu Assad or Abu Rami, allegedly directed the insurgent cell believed to be responsible for nearly simultaneous car bomb and suicide attacks Thursday, according to the statement.

Iraqi police and hospital officials have said some two dozen people were killed in Thursday’s attacks targeting two Shiite mosques in Baghdad. …

The military also blamed al-Zubaydi for responsible for several car bombings and mortar attacks in Baghdad’s main Shiite district of Sadr City in 2006 and 2007, including a series of blasts that killed more than 200 people on Nov. 23, 2006. …

The military also said al-Zubaydi also was reportedly responsible for a May 1 car bombing that killed a U.S. soldier in Baghdad, as well as attacks in Salahuddin and Diyala provinces to the north of the capital.

The military said al-Zubaydi was originally a member of the Sunni insurgent group Ansar al-Islam and joined al-Qaida in Iraq in 2004. …

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Poland Marks End of Military Mission in Iraq

October 4, 2008

DIWANIYAH, Iraq — Poland marked the end of its military mission to Iraq with a ceremony Saturday at its main base south of Baghdad, the latest in a string of countries to leave the U.S.-led coalition. …

Poland, the third largest force in the U.S.-led coalition after the United States and Britain, plans to send its 900 troops home by the end of this month. …

Poland initially had 2,500 soldiers in Iraq, but the numbers gradually fell to 900 over time.

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