2A -The Michigan Daily -Thursday, November 3, 2005
NATION/WORLD
Roadside
IbombI kills
Si raq
BAGHDAD (AP) - A suicide bomber detonated a mini- ;
bus yesterday in an outdoor market packed with shoppers
ahead of a Muslim festival, killing about 20 people anda
wounding more than 60 in a Shiite town south of Baghdad.
Six U.S. troops were killed, two in a helicopter crash west
of the capital.
Also yesterday, the U.S. command confirmed moves
to step up training on how to combat roadside bombs:
- now the biggest killers of American troops in Iraq.
At least 2,034 U.S. military service members have died
since the Iraq conflict began in March 2003, according
to an A ssociated Press count. Y t
The suicide bombing occurred about 5 p.m. in the
center of Musayyib, a Euphrates River town 40 miles
from Baghdad. On July 16, nearly 100 people died
in a suicide bombing in front of a Shiite mosque in
Musayyib.
Witnesses said the latest attack took place as the
market was crowded in advance of the three-day Eid
al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of the Islamic holy
month of Ramadan. Many women and children were
feared among the dead and wounded.
"They want to kill people before the feast," said
Nagat Hassoun, 50, who lived a few hundred yards
from the blast site. "They want people to stay at home
and live in a tragedy. The aim is to cause sabotage.
They're targeting the Shiites."
The town police chief, Lt. Col. Ahmed Mijwil, said:
22 people were killed and 61 wounded. But officials
warned the figures could change as rescuers frantically
searched the area of meat and vegetable stalls, shops AP PHOTO
and cafes ge aPeople gather around the remains of a destroyed vehicle believed to be a U.S. humvee, in
"The insurgents wanted to cause as many casualties Ramadi, Iraq yesterday.
as possible," said police Capt. Muthanna Khalid.
Al-Qaida leader escaped from U.S. pnson
WASHINGTON
Flu pandemic discussed in report
A flu pandemic that hits the United States would force cities to ration scarce drugs
and vaccine and house the sick in hotels or schools when hospitals overflow, unprec-
edented federal plans say.
The Bush administration's long-awaited report yesterday on battling a worldwide
super-flu outbreak makes clear that old-fashioned infection-control will be key.
Signs that a super-flu is spreading among people anywhere in the world could
prompt U.S. travel restrictions or other steps to contain the illness before it hits Amer-
ica's shores.
If that fails, the Pandemic Influenza Plan offers specific instructions to local health
officials: The sick or the people caring for them should wear masks. People coughing
must stay three feet away from others in doctors' waiting rooms. People should cancel
nonessential doctor appointments and limit visits to the hospital.
A day after President Bush outlined his $7.1 billion strategy to prepare for the next
pandemic, the details released Wednesday stress major steps that state and local author-
ities must begin taking now: Update quarantine laws. Work with utilities to keep the
phones working and grocers to keep supplying food amid the certain panic. Determine
when to close schools and limit public gatherings such as movies or religious services.
WASHINGTON
Centrists may split on court nomination
The 14 centrists who averted a Senate breakdown over judicial nominees
last spring are showing signs of splintering on President Bush's latest nomi-
nee for the Supreme Court.
That is weakening the hand of Democrats opposed to conservative judge
Samuel Alito and enhancing his prospects for confirmation.
The unity of the seven Democrats and the seven Republicans in the
"Gang of 14" was all that halted a major filibuster fight between GOP
leader Bill Frist and Democratic leader Harry Reid earlier this year over
Bush's nominees.
The early defection of two of the group's Republicans, Mike DeWine of
Ohio and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, will give the GOP the upper
hand if Democrats decide to attempt a filibuster of Alito, the New Jersey
jurist nominated Monday to replace Sandra Day O'Connor.
If Democrats do filibuster, Frist wants to change the Senate rules to
eliminate the delaying tactic - something the centrist group blocked
in May.
0
0
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Security has been
tightened at the U.S. military prison in Afghanistan
following the escape of a suspected al-Qaida leader,
a U.S. official said yesterday. Indonesian anti-terror-
ism officials accused Washington of failing to tell
them of the breakout.
Omar al-Farouq, born in Kuwait to Iraqi parents,
was considered one of Osama bin Laden's top lieu-
tenants in Southeast Asia until Indonesian authori-
ties captured him in 2002 and turned him over to the
United States.
He was one of four suspected Arab terrorists to
escape in July from the detention facility at Bagram,
the main U.S. base in Afghanistan. It was not clear
how long he had been held in Afghanistan.
Although the escape was widely reported at the
time, al-Farouq was identified by an alias and the
U.S. military only confirmed Tuesday that he was
among those who fled.
A video the four men made of themselves after
they escaped from Bagram was broadcast on Dubai-
based television station Al-Arabiya on Oct. 18, the
broadcaster said.
In the video, the four men said they escaped on
a Sunday when many of the Americans on the base
were off duty, and one of the four - Muhammad
Hassan, said to be Libyan - said he picked the locks
of their cell, according to Al-Arabiya.
In the video, apparently shot in Afghanistan, they
show fellow militants a map of the base and the loca-
tion of their cell. Another shot in the video showed
Hassan leading the others in prayer. Editors at Al-
Arabiya would not say how they received the video.
An Indonesian anti-terrorism official, Maj. Gen.
Ansyaad Mbai, on Wednesday sharply criticized the
U.S. government for failing to inform him that al-
Farouq was no longer behind bars.
"We know nothing about the escape of Omar al-
Farouq," he said. "He is a dangerous terrorist for
us, his escape will increase the threat of terrorism
in Indonesia.
"We need to coordinate security here as soon
as possible to anticipate his return," he said. "The
escape of al-Farouq could bring fresh wind to the
operation of terrorism and could energize the new
movement of terrorist actors in Southeast Asia and
the world."
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, asked by
CNN about Mbai's comments to The Associated
Press that Indonesia was not told about the escape,
said: "I don't know all the facts of this particular
incident. Obviously, we consider this a very seri-
ous problem and one we'd have to look into the
details of."
Death toll
reaches
73,000
inPaitan
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -
Pakistan's official earthquake death
toll jumped by 16,000, and officials
warned yesterday that it is likely to
rise further as relief supplies fail to
reach thousands of victims stranded
- in remote parts of the Himalayas.
The announcement, which puts
the official toll at 73,000, brings
the central government figures
closer to the number reported by
local officials, who say the Oct. 8
quake killed at least 79,000 people
in Pakistan.
"Just imagine how many villages
i and towns became a heap of rubble
and how many people got buried,"
said Maj. Gen. Farooq Ahmed Khan
told reporters.
Khan said 73,276 people have
been confirmed dead in Pakistan
and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir,
up from the official count of 57,597.
In India's portion of Kashmir, an
additional 1,350 people died.
More than 69,000 people had
severe injuries, with the total num-
ber of injured much higher, the gen-
eral said.
Khan attributed the spike in
deaths to bodies being recovered
from the debris, and warned "there
is likelihood of further increase" in
the death toll.
The government has been cau-
tious about the official death count,
while regional officials from Paki-
stani Kashmir and the North West
Frontier Province issued their higher
tolls more than a week ago.
0F.1
TEHRAN, Iran
Iran's government will fire 40 ambassadors
Iran's government announced yesterday that 40 ambassadors and senior dip-
lomats, including supporters of warmer ties with the West, will be fired, con-
tinuing a purge of reformers as the regime takes an increasingly tough stance
at home and abroad.
The diplomatic changes are part of a government shake-up by ultraconservative
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that includes putting Islamic hard-liners in key
posts at security agencies. Some Iranians worry the president will bring back strict
social policies.
Ahmadinejad has steered the Persian state into a more confrontational stance in its
dealings with other nations, particularly in facing suspicions about whether Iran's nuclear
program is illicitly trying to develop nuclear weapons, a charge the regime denies.
The president also raised a storm of international criticism last week by calling
for Israel to be "wiped off the map."
- Compiled from Daily wire reports
CORRECTIONS
A story in yesterday's edition of the Daily (Lease-date ordinance
announced) incorrectly stated that the mayor's proposed housing ordinance
would require landlords to show an apartment or house before renting it.
The story should have said that the proposed ordinance will close a loop-
hole in similar ordinances by not allowing a landlord to lease a property to
a new tenant until one-fourth of the current leasing period is over.
Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@michigandaily.com.
J'he 3mkbiganuitg
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