Iraq Update
DEDEFINED MISSION American commanders said that in support of the transfer of power on June 30, they were shifting the focus of the military's mission from offensive combat operations to protecting a new Iraqi government and parts of the economy while building up Iraqi security forces. [A1]
DEATHS IN KUFA Two American soldiers died in fighting in Kufa as a truce with militiamen of a rebel cleric collapsed. The governor of nearby Najaf said Shiite leaders had persuaded the cleric, Moktada al-Sadr, to agree to a new cease-fire if Americans suspended patrols, but American commanders did not endorse the deal.
Separately, two American soldiers were killed by roadside bombs, one in southwest Baghdad and another south of the city. A soldier died of wounds from a mortar attack in Mosul. [A9]
BAGHDAD BOMBING A car bomb exploded on a busy street near American headquarters, killing at least 4 Iraqi civilians and injuring at least 25 other people, military officials and witnesses said. [A9]
LEADERSHIP IMPASSE L. Paul Bremer III, the chief American administrator, and Lakhdar Brahimi, the United Nations envoy, met with Iraqi leaders to try to break a deadlock over the section of a new Iraqi president. The squabble has delayed the formation of the interim government.
AP.
DEDEFINED MISSION American commanders said that in support of the transfer of power on June 30, they were shifting the focus of the military's mission from offensive combat operations to protecting a new Iraqi government and parts of the economy while building up Iraqi security forces. [A1]
DEATHS IN KUFA Two American soldiers died in fighting in Kufa as a truce with militiamen of a rebel cleric collapsed. The governor of nearby Najaf said Shiite leaders had persuaded the cleric, Moktada al-Sadr, to agree to a new cease-fire if Americans suspended patrols, but American commanders did not endorse the deal.
Separately, two American soldiers were killed by roadside bombs, one in southwest Baghdad and another south of the city. A soldier died of wounds from a mortar attack in Mosul. [A9]
BAGHDAD BOMBING A car bomb exploded on a busy street near American headquarters, killing at least 4 Iraqi civilians and injuring at least 25 other people, military officials and witnesses said. [A9]
LEADERSHIP IMPASSE L. Paul Bremer III, the chief American administrator, and Lakhdar Brahimi, the United Nations envoy, met with Iraqi leaders to try to break a deadlock over the section of a new Iraqi president. The squabble has delayed the formation of the interim government.
AP.
