Twenty two die in central Baghdad

BAGHDAD – Strong explosions shook central Baghdad at dawn yesterday and heavy fighting erupted in a street notorious as a rebel stronghold, in violence that killed at least 22 Iraqis, the United States army and witnesses said.

The interim Iraqi government and US forces are battling to quell an insurgency which has escalated in recent months as numerous groups have taken hostages. A previously unknown group threatened to kill two Italian women captives unless Italy began withdrawing from the US-led force in Iraq.One of those killed during the fighting was a Palestinian who worked as a producer for Dubai-based Arabic channel Arabiya and for Saudi Arabian channel Ikhbariya, Arabiya and friends said.Witnesses said he was hit by US helicopter fire as his crew filmed.A Iraqi Reuters cameraman was also wounded in the incident.The Baghdad clashes flared as the US military pressed on with new offensives aimed at retaking control of guerrilla-held areas ahead of national elections due to be held in January.Insurgents fired more than a dozen mortars or rockets around the Green Zone compound housing the US and other embassies and Iraq’s interim government, in one of the heaviest barrages in the capital for months.Black smoke billowed into the sky.The US military said some rounds landed inside the Green Zone, but there were no reports of casualties.In other attacks, a car bomb killed a senior police officer, another policeman and a 12-year-old boy on a highway west of Baghdad.A suspected suicide car bomber tried to force his way through the gates of Abu Ghraib prison but US troops shot and killed him, the military said.Three people were wounded and explosives were found in the car.Officials had earlier said the car had exploded.Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib told reporters that much of yesterday’s violence was related to a series of raids by Iraqi security forces trying to capture 21 fugitives.Sixteen of them were seized, he said, adding: “They were all Iraqis, all of them.They are Sunnis.This a war, so we have to get them.”A statement purportedly from the Islamic Jihad Organisation threatened yesterday that Italian aid workers Simona Pari and Simona Torretta would be killed unless Italian troops withdrew.The two were seized at gunpoint in Baghdad on Tuesday along with two Iraqi colleagues.”We will extend our deadline 24 hours from the issue of this statement after that if we don’t see Italian soldiers withdrawing from Iraq we will implement execution,” said the statement on a Web site often used by militant groups.- Nampa-ReutersA previously unknown group threatened to kill two Italian women captives unless Italy began withdrawing from the US-led force in Iraq.One of those killed during the fighting was a Palestinian who worked as a producer for Dubai-based Arabic channel Arabiya and for Saudi Arabian channel Ikhbariya, Arabiya and friends said.Witnesses said he was hit by US helicopter fire as his crew filmed.A Iraqi Reuters cameraman was also wounded in the incident.The Baghdad clashes flared as the US military pressed on with new offensives aimed at retaking control of guerrilla-held areas ahead of national elections due to be held in January.Insurgents fired more than a dozen mortars or rockets around the Green Zone compound housing the US and other embassies and Iraq’s interim government, in one of the heaviest barrages in the capital for months.Black smoke billowed into the sky.The US military said some rounds landed inside the Green Zone, but there were no reports of casualties.In other attacks, a car bomb killed a senior police officer, another policeman and a 12-year-old boy on a highway west of Baghdad.A suspected suicide car bomber tried to force his way through the gates of Abu Ghraib prison but US troops shot and killed him, the military said.Three people were wounded and explosives were found in the car.Officials had earlier said the car had exploded.Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib told reporters that much of yesterday’s violence was related to a series of raids by Iraqi security forces trying to capture 21 fugitives.Sixteen of them were seized, he said, adding: “They were all Iraqis, all of them.They are Sunnis.This a war, so we have to get them.”A statement purportedly from the Islamic Jihad Organisation threatened yesterday that Italian aid workers Simona Pari and Simona Torretta would be killed unless Italian troops withdrew.The two were seized at gunpoint in Baghdad on Tuesday along with two Iraqi colleagues.”We will extend our deadline 24 hours from the issue of this statement after that if we don’t see Italian soldiers withdrawing from Iraq we will implement execution,” said the statement on a Web site often used by militant groups.- Nampa-Reuters