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U.S. probes killing of pregnant IraqiAttacks kill at least 22, including mayor and TV reporter
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSBAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. military is investigating reports its soldiers killed two women, one of whom was pregnant, in Samarra, according to the U.S. military and an official with the Joint Coordination Center in Salaheddin province. Elsewhere Wednesday, insurgent attacks across Iraq killed 22 people, including an Iraqi journalist and a mayor, according to police reports. Another 52 people were injured. Witnesses of the Samarra shooting said the women were killed when their vehicle drove through a checkpoint around 3 p.m., but that information has not yet been verified, the Joint Coordination Center official said. The official said 35-year-old Nahiba Husayif Jassim and Faliha Mohammed Hassan, 55, were headed for the hospital Tuesday for the delivery of Nahiba's baby. The Associated Press identified the driver as Jassim's brother, Khalid Nisaif Jassim, who is quoted as saying he drove "at full speed because I did not see any sign or warning from the Americans." "It was not until they shot the two bullets that killed my sister and cousin that I stopped," the AP quoted him as saying. "God take revenge on the Americans and those who brought them here. They have no regard for our lives." He said that the baby also died, according to the AP. The U.S. military said the vehicle had entered a "clearly marked prohibited area near coalition troops at an observation post in Samarra." "Shots were fired to disable the vehicle" only after the vehicle "failed to stop despite repeated visual and auditory signals. The vehicle stopped, changed directions and quickly departed the area," the U.S. military said. "Coalition forces later received reports from Iraqi police that two women died from gunshot wounds at the Samarra hospital; and one of the females may have been pregnant. "The loss of life is regrettable and coalition forces go to great lengths to prevent them." The incident came at a time when Iraqis are already outraged over reports that U.S. Marines allegedly killed 24 civilians in Haditha in November. On Wednesday, President Bush promised punishment for November's Haditha incident, "if in fact the laws were broken," and said he was "mindful that there's a thorough investigation going on." The White House also said the results of the Haditha investigation would be made public. (Full story) State of emergency in BasraPrime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Wednesday declared a monthlong state of emergency in Basra. Violence in the southern Iraqi city has erupted in recent weeks among rival Shiite factions fighting for control of its rich oil resources, and sectarian tensions remain high. (Full story) And in the capital, police said they found the bodies of at least 40 people in eastern and western Baghdad over a 24-hour period. All were shot in the head and some showed signs of torture. The victims could not immediately be identified. In southern Baghdad's Dora neighborhood, six mortar rounds hit a residential area about 9 p.m. (1 p.m. ET), killing seven people and wounding 16. A drive-by shooting about 10 p.m. in southwest Baghdad's Saydiya neighborhood killed four people, including two school guards, and wounded three. Gunmen fired on a minibus near Baquba around 5:30 p.m., killing five people and injuring three, according to a police official. A bomb ripped through the office of the mayor of Muqdadiya, killing Mayor Elaiwi Farhan and wounding four employees, said police in Baquba, the Diyala provincial capital. In southwestern Baghdad, gunmen shot and killed Ali Jaaraf, a sports anchor for Iraqi state satellite television, as he drove his car in the Shurta Raba neighborhood around 10 a.m., a Baghdad emergency police official said. In north-central Baghdad, at least 15 gunmen attacked police around 11 a.m., touching off a gunbattle that left four dead, including police and civilians, and seven wounded. A car bomb targeting a police patrol in Mosul wounded 19 people -- including five police officers -- in the southern part of the city, police said. The bomb exploded around noon in the city about 350 miles (560 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad. Report: Past three months deadly for IraqisWednesday's attacks underscored a Pentagon report, released Tuesday, that said the U.S. military command in Iraq expects hard-core Sunni insurgent strength to remain steady through this year and that a union with al Qaeda in Iraq could increase their attack options. The report said attacks on coalition troops and Iraqi civilians have increased since February, though overall security around the country has improved. The mandatory report, delivered to Congress four times a year, looks at Iraq's stability and security through military, political and economic lenses. The past three months, according to the report, were the deadliest for Iraqis in two years. The report examined Iraq's stability between February 11 and May 15. It highlighted improvements in Iraq's security forces with significant increases in both military and police strength since the last report in early February. But two Pentagon officials who briefed reporters on the report were unable to say how many Iraqi army units were fully capable of operating independently. Other developmentsCNN's Jennifer Deaton, Mike Mount and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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