Mortar rounds strike central Baghdad

Fri., Dec. 3, 2004

Nick Wadhams Associated Press

Washington death toll rises

» The death toll among Washington residents from the war in Iraq has climbed to 28, while another 255 have been wounded, according to new figures from the Department of Defense.

» As of Nov. 27, 20 Washington residents have died from hostile action and eight from non-hostile action in Iraq, the Defense Department said.

» The toll increased by five dead and 69 wounded from the update on Sept. 25.

» Besides the 255 known Washington residents who have been wounded in Iraq, another 78 people from the state are estimated to have been wounded in Iraq. That is a statistical projection, because not all records indicate the home states of wounded service members, the agency said.

» Washington ranks eighth among all states in the number wounded. California is first with 810, then Texas with 805, Florida 364, New York 330, Ohio 324, Illinois 301, and Pennsylvania 279.

» Nationally, 7,326 people have been wounded in Iraq, 967 killed by hostile action and 278 from non-hostile action, the Defense Department said.

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Insurgents killed an American soldier in the restive city of Mosul and mortar strikes pummeled central Baghdad on Thursday, while the U.S. Embassy barred employees from the dangerous highway leading to the airport.

The American soldier who was killed Thursday was on a U.S.-Iraqi patrol in Mosul when the attack occurred, Lt. Col. Paul Hastings said. He said two Iraqi commandos were also wounded.

Hastings also said Iraqi and U.S. forces discovered 14 unidentified bodies in Mosul on Thursday. He said there were also reports of five more bodies picked up by family members. That brings to at least 66 the number of bodies – many of them believed members of the Iraqi security forces – found there since Nov. 18.

Mosul’s police force disintegrated during an insurgent uprising last month, forcing the U.S. command to divert troops from the offensive in Fallujah.

Also Thursday, attackers launched at least five mortars in central Baghdad, including two that crashed into the Green Zone, the compound that houses Iraq’s interim administration and U.S. diplomatic missions.

One round struck near a mobile phone office in the Arasat neighborhood, killing two civilians and wounding five, U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. James Hutton said.

U.S. forces have been helpless to stop insurgents from firing mortars into the heavily fortified area, a sharp reminder of how efforts to calm to the country ahead of the elections have been frustrated.

A symbol of the Americans’ struggle to restore security has been the airport highway.

Attackers using car bombs and explosives have stymied U.S. efforts to protect the road, one of the country’s most crucial yet also one of its most perilous.