Insurgents stage more attacks on Iraqi officials
Two more U.S. troops killed, bringing death toll to 1,005
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Insurgents staged more assassination attempts Wednesday against Iraqi officials in Baghdad and in the northern city of Mosul -- killing one, wounding one, and missing another.
Attacks, clashes and ambushes also raged in Falluja, Baghdad's Sadr City and at other locations.
Two more U.S. troops were killed. Their deaths brought the total number of American troops killed since the war began to 1,005 -- 759 in hostile action and 246 in nonhostile incidents.
Meanwhile, a group that claims to have captured an Iranian consul to Iraq in August released a statement demanding the release of 500 Iraqi prisoners within 48 hours.
The Islamic Army in Iraq listed six names of those 500 Iraqi prisoners, according to a statement on its newly created Web site. The site also showed several identification cards for Faridoun Jihani, including one issued by Iran's Foreign Ministry.
The Iraqi official assassinated Wednesday was Col. Assmail Ayyal, an explosives expert and the deputy of Baghdad crime unit.
He was killed in a drive-by shooting in western Baghdad, near the highway road of al-Adil district, according to police and the Interior Ministry.
A deputy of internal affairs in the Ministry of Interior, Col Akrahm Nahi, eluded death in another assassination attempt, police and the ministry said, but his driver was critically injured. The incident occurred in central Baghdad in the al-Rasafa section of the city.
In Mosul, a member of the local council, Hisham al-Hamdani, was wounded in his neighborhood Wednesday morning when gunmen fired on his car from another car. Two of his bodyguards were killed, an Iraqi security official said.
Wednesday's attacks followed similar incidents Tuesday in which officials were killed.
Masked insurgents gunned down the son of Nineveh provincial governor, Mosul police said. Laith Duraid Kashmoula was an employee in the Iraqi government's anti-corruption office in Mosul.
Insurgents also assassinated the deputy director of Baghdad's Al-Karama Hospital, Abbas al-Husseiny, Iraqi and hospital officials said.
Insurgents tried but failed to kill Baghdad's governor, Ali Al-Haidary. His convoy was attacked in a western district of the capital.
In another development Wednesday, the kidnapping of an Iraqi provincial official was reported a day after two Italian aid workers were abducted.
Fighting rages in Falluja
Clashes and airstrikes raged in Falluja for another day. Six Iraqis were killed and 15 wounded in fighting overnight and into the morning, according to Dr. Rafi Al-Isawi from the city's general hospital.
The heaviest fighting occurred in eastern Falluja's Al-Askhri district, which has been hit hard in recent weeks.
Marines and Iraqi security forces in Falluja used tanks, artillery and aircraft to pound insurgent targets Tuesday. The military estimated that as many as 100 militants might have been killed.
The fighting started around 6:30 p.m. local time after insurgents fired at Marines and Iraqi security forces on the edge of the city, according to the military, which reported no U.S. or Iraqi casualties.
The Marines fired artillery from their positions outside the city at buildings believed to be housing the insurgents and did not enter the city, the military said.
Falluja is a Sunni Muslim insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad and the scene of repeated flare-ups. On Monday, seven U.S. Marines and three Iraqi guardsmen were killed in a car bombing there.
A Ministry of Interior official said Jasim Mohammed Al-Nachid, deputy governor of Al Anbar province, was kidnapped from his house after clashes between the kidnappers and his bodyguards in al-Rumadi city, where he lives.
The incident happened Wednesday around noon. The son of the deputy was injured, along with one of his bodyguards during the clashes. Falluja is in the Al Anbar province.
In Sadr City, in the eastern part of Baghdad, more clashes broke out between U.S. and Iraqi forces and fighters loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Both of the American troops killed Wednesday died in roadside bomb attacks -- one near Balad north of Baghdad and the other in eastern Baghdad.
Other developments
Iraqi and U.S. authorities in Najaf have recovered large numbers of weapons and munitions in the Wadi al-Salem cemetery and buildings near the Imam Ali Mosque since fighting ended August 28, the U.S. military said. So far, 1,258 weapons have been found and 10,596 munitions recovered, the military said.A government committee met Wednesday to discuss reconstruction in Kufa and Najaf -- the southern Shiite cities rocked by fighting last month between U.S. troops and al-Sadr's Mehdi militia. The committee is proposing an initial allocation of $50 million to start rebuilding the cities. Another committee is being formed to probe shootings during the latest demonstrations in Najaf and Kufa.CNN's Diana Muriel, Kevin Flower, Mike Mount, Cal Perry and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.
