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Sunday, June 10

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Editor's Note: The CNN Wire is a running log of the latest news from CNN World Headquarters, reported by CNN's correspondents and producers, and The CNN Wire editors. "Posted" times are Eastern Time.

Sources: Hamas throws Palestinian officer from 15th floor

GAZA CITY (CNN) -- Members of Hamas on Sunday kidnapped a member of a Fatah security team and threw him off the top floor of a 15-story building in Gaza City, killing him, officials with the Fatah-affiliated National Guard said.

The officer, with the Fatah-affilliated "Force 17" presidential guard, was 20 years old, Palestinian sources said.

Also Sunday, the National Guard surrounded the home of a Hamas operative in Gaza City, engaging in clashes. Gunfire continued overnight between Hamas and Fatah militants. Some shooting occurred near the al-Ramal neighborhood of Gaza City, close to the residence of Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya. But Palestinian security sources said there was no direct fire on the residence itself, described as highly secure and located in the Shati refugee camp.

Hospital sources said at least three people were killed Sunday in ongoing clashes between Hamas and Fatah. Several attempts to broker a cease-fire in recent months have failed to end the raging violence between the two factions. (Posted 8:55 p.m.)

First lady condemns killing of Afghan journalist

(CNN) -- Laura Bush on Sunday issued a statement condemning the killing of Zakia Zaki, director of Afghan Radio Peace, in Afghanistan's Parwan province, north of the capital. "Zaki was murdered last week by gunmen reported to be supporters of the Taliban insurgency," said Mrs. Bush, who has only rarely issued public statements.

"Zaki's brutal killing is a reminder of the threat terrorism poses to the most fundamental individual rights -- including the rights to free speech, to a free press and to equal dignity for women," added Mrs. Bush, who had met Zaki.

The 35-year-old journalist, who worked at the private station in Jabal-us-Siraj, was killed Wednesday, leaving a husband and six children, including an infant son. (Posted: 4:46 p.m.)

Wisconsin authorities investigate shootings that leave 6 dead

(CNN) -- Authorities searched Sunday for clues as to who shot and killed six people -- including two children -- and wounded a 2-year-old girl in the southern Wisconsin town of Delavan.

Responding late Saturday to reports of gunshots, police said they initially found the toddler -- who had been shot several times -- in a vehicle outside a house. Inside the house, the Walworth County SWAT team found the bodies of four adults and two children, police said.

"I want to assure the citizens of Delevan that I have no reason to believe that any of the members of the community are at risk at this time," Police Chief Tim O'Neill said Sunday. (Posted: 4:36 p.m.)

U.S. military: Soldiers killed in Diyala, Baghdad

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- A U.S. soldier was killed Sunday during combat operations in southern Baghdad, the U.S. military said in a statement.

The soldier was assigned to Multi-National Division - Baghdad, the military said. Another soldier was wounded in the incident. The unit was working with the Iraqi Security Force to conduct clearing operations and remove insurgent and militia forces from the area, the military said.

Another soldier died Saturday from wounds sustained from small arms fire in Iraq's Diyala province, the military said Sunday. (Posted: 3:40 p.m.)

Suicide car bomber strikes police checkpoint south of Baghdad

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- A suicide car bomber detonated Sunday evening near a police checkpoint south of Baghdad, partially collapsing a nearby highway overpass, a U.S. military spokesman told CNN.

At least two U.S. soldiers were wounded either in the bombing or the clean-up effort, and had to be evacuated for medical treatment, the spokesman said.

Hilla police said the bombing happened around 7:30 p.m. (11:30 a.m. ET) in Iskandariya, a town about 25 miles (40 km) south of Baghdad, police said.-- From CNN's Cal Perry and Mohammed Tawfeeq (Posted 3:25 p.m.)

Survey: Gas prices post first drop since January

(CNN) -- The average price of gasoline dropped more than 7 cents over the past three weeks, to $3.11 per gallon of self-serve regular, the first price drop since January, a national survey said Sunday.

The "Lundberg Survey" of about 5,000 gas stations was carried out June 8 and May 18.

The 7.37-cent drop comes nowhere near offsetting the $1.00 rise in the price of gas that occurred between January 19 and May 18, said survey publisher Trilby Lundberg.

"It's unlikely we can see the other 93 cents any time soon," she told CNN in a telephone interview. (Posted, 3 p.m.)

Wisconsin authorities investigate shootings that leave 6 dead, 2-year-old wounded

(CNN) -- Wisconsin authorities Sunday are searching for a suspect believed to have shot and killed six people -- including two children -- and wounded a 2-year-old girl who is hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds, Delavan police chief Timothy O'Neill said.

O'Neill told CNN this "does not appear to be random."

Police in the southern Wisconsin town of Delavan responded to reports of shots fired around 10:30 p.m. Saturday (11:30 p.m. ET), and found the wounded girl in a vehicle, according to a news release.

She was immediately transported to a hospital, and was upgraded from critical to serious condition at University of Wisconsin Medical Center in Madison, O'Neill said. (Posted 2:45 p.m.)

Despite setbacks, proponents say immigration bill is not dead

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Proponents of the bipartisan immigration bill supported by President Bush said Sunday that, despite last week's setback, it is not dead.

"This bill is alive and well and we are more determined than ever to get it through," said Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, a point man for the president on the immigration issue.

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow told CBS' "Face the Nation" that the bill has "pretty strong support, 60 votes or more, for all of the key components of this plan."

He called on Reid to allow further debate on more amendments. "It's my understanding that a day or two's worth of debate will wrap it up," he said. (Posted 2 p.m.)

U.S. military: Soldier killed in Diyala fighting on Saturday

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- A U.S. soldier died from wounds sustained from small arms fire in Iraq's Diyala province on Saturday, the U.S. military announced Sunday.

With the death, 27 U.S. troops have died in Iraq this month, and 3,506 U.S. military personnel have died since the war began in 2003.

In a separate incident in Diyala on Saturday, a Task Force Lightning soldier was killed as a result of wounds sustained from small arms fire, according to the U.S. military.

In an interview with CNN last week, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, said tough work remains to be done in Diyala, where al Qaeda is able to use neighborhoods around the capital as sanctuaries to build and dispatch car bombs.

U.S. military officials have said they believe many insurgents uprooted by the ongoing Baghdad security plan have fled to Diyala, north of Baghdad. (Posted 2 p.m.)

Iraq says U.S. military raids al-Sadr-linked office

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- U.S. troops raided an office loosely affiliated with anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's political movement in southeastern Baghdad late Saturday, sparking an overnight gunbattle that left at least three people dead and 19 others wounded, Iraq's Interior Ministry said Sunday.

The operation was launched in the Shiite district of al-Fudhailiya and lasted from 10 p.m. Saturday until 3 a.m. Sunday (2-7 p.m. Saturday ET), an official with the ministry told CNN.

The U.S. military official confirmed the raid and subsequent clashes took place.

Following the raid, at least seven people from Sadr's office were taken into U.S. military custody, the ministry official said. (Posted 1:45 p.m.)

Sources: Hamas throws Palestinian officer from 15th floor

GAZA CITY (CNN) -- Members of Hamas on Sunday kidnapped a member of a Fatah security team and threw him off the top floor of a 15-story building in Gaza City, killing him, officials with the Fatah-affiliated National Guard said.

The officer, with the Fatah-affilliated "Force 17" presidential guard, was 20 years old, Palestinian sources said.

Also Sunday, the National Guard surrounded the home of a Hamas operative in Gaza City, engaging in clashes.

Several attempts to broker a cease-fire in recent months have failed to end the raging violence between the two factions. (Posted 12:43 p.m.)

Suicide car bomber kills at least 15, wounds 45 near Tikrit

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- A suicide bomber behind the wheel of an explosives-laden truck slammed into an Iraqi police station near Tikrit Sunday morning, killing 15 people and wounding 45 others, a Tikrit police official said.

Both civilians and police were among the casualties.

The blast destroyed part of the police station, located in Albu Ajil, a town about 5 km (3 miles) east of Tikrit, the police official said.

Tikrit, which is about 100 miles (160 km) north of Baghdad, is the hometown of Iraq's late dictator, Saddam Hussein.

Separately, two separate car bombs killed three people in Baghdad. (Posted 12:24 p.m.)

White House vows to ignore Gonzales vote

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The White House on Sunday vowed to ignore Monday's Senate vote of no confidence in embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, calling it "purely symbolic."

Asked whether the vote will have any effect on President Bush, White House spokesman Tony Snow replied, "No."

Speaking to "Fox News Sunday," Snow said some lawmakers are looking for "political advantage."

"What we'll end up having is people burning off a day expressing their opinions, and then we'll have an opportunity to move on," he added.

But Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate's number two Democrat, criticized the White House for supporting the embattled attorney general -- despite calls even from many Republicans for his ouster -- while replacing Gen. Peter Pace as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (Posted 12noon)

Karzai appears unfazed by rocket fire during speech

(CNN) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai appeared unfazed Sunday when several rockets struck less than half a mile from where he was delivering a speech in Ghazni province, Karzai's spokesman told CNN.

The three rockets landed about 300 meters from Karzai as he spoke in Andar district, spokesman Khaleeq Ahmed said.

Karzai was unharmed.

The blasts rattled the audience, and Karzai asked them to calm down, even joking about the incident to calm frayed nerves, the spokesman said.

Moments before his speech, two other rockets had landed in the area. (Posted 11:40 a.m.)

Explosion rocks crowded Istanbul district; 6 wounded

ISTANBUL, Turkey (CNN) -- Turkish authorities Sunday are investigating what caused an explosion in a crowded Istanbul district that injured six people, according to local firefighters.

The blast happened in Bakirkoy, a mixed shopping and residential area located on the European side of the Turkish city, which straddles both Europe and Asia.

It comes amid heightened tensions in Turkey.

Less than three weeks ago, a suicide bomber detonated at an Ankara shopping district, killing five people and wounding dozens of others.

Turkish authorities blamed the May 22 attack on the radical, separatist Kurdistan Workers Party -- known by its acronym PKK. Its fighters have been staging attacks against Turkey in the country's southeast and from the Kurdish region of neighboring Iraq. (Posted 9:12 a.m.)

Iraqi court to issue verdict in Anfal trial in 2 weeks

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- After a month-long adjournment, an Iraqi court briefly convened Sunday and set June 24 as the date it will deliver a verdict in the Anfal trial, chief prosecutor Munqith al-Faroon told CNN.

The Iraqi High Tribunal in Baghdad is hearing the Anfal case against six former aides to former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein who are accused of war crimes stemming from an Iraqi Army offensive in the 1980s that killed up to 100,000 people in the country's Kurdish region.

Hussein was also a defendant in the Anfal trial, but was hanged late last year after being convicted in a separate trial. -- CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report. (Posted 8:54 a.m.)

Bush: 'We'll push the process' on Kosovo independence, despite Russia's opposition

TIRANA, Albania (CNN) -- Setting up possibly another showdown with Russia, President Bush Sunday said "the time is now" to grant independence to the Serbian province of Kosovo and called on Moscow not to slow down the process.

"I happen to believe it's important to push the process along," Bush said at a joint news conference with Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha.

"The question is whether or not there's going to be endless dialogue on a subject that we have made up our mind about. We believe Kosovo ought to be independent."

Bush is the first sitting president to visit Albania, where he enjoys widespread popularity. A street in front of Albania's parliament is named after Bush, several postal stamps bear his image and many Albanians donned red, white, and blue hats and waved American flags during Bush's visit. (Posted 8:54 a.m.)

British NATO soldier killed in southern Afghanistan

(CNN) -- A NATO soldier of British nationality was killed Saturday during a gunbattle with Taliban militants in southern Afghanistan, a British Ministry of Defence statement said Sunday.

This brings the toll of British troop deaths in the Afghan conflict to 60.

Four other NATO soldiers were wounded in the engagement just outside Sangin in Helmand province, NATO and Defence statements said. Neither statement specified the soldiers' nationalities.

The soldiers were attacked while en route to backup an Afghan National Army patrol that had been ambushed in another location.

Fighting is ongoing between Taliban militants and NATO and Afghan forces in many sections of the country. (Posted 7:18 a.m.)

At least 6 Lebanese Army soldiers killed battling Islamic militants

BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- At least six Lebanese Army soldiers died Sunday in the effort to defeat Fatah Islam militants holed up inside the Nahr el-Bared Palestinian refugee camp just north of the port city of Tripoli, Lebanese Army sources told CNN.

Intermittent fighting over the weekend came after Lebanese government forces pushed deep inside the refugee camp Friday, in what Lebanese security forces said could be the final phase to defeat the group -- which is said to have ties with al Qaeda.

More than 50 soldiers have been killed in the nearly month-long battle -- considered the worst internal violence in over a decade.

-- CNN's Nada Husseini and Brent Sadler contributed to this report (Posted 6:45 a.m.)

Suicide car bomber kills at least 7, wounds 52 in northern Iraq

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Scores of people were wounded and at least seven were killed when a suicide bomber behind the wheel of an explosives-laden truck slammed into an Iraqi police station near the northern Iraqi town of Tikrit Sunday morning, a Tikrit police official said.

The blast killed at least seven police officers and wounded a mix of about 52 police officers and civilians. Tikrit hospital officials said some of the wounded were listed in critical condition and the death toll could rise.

In addition, the blast destroyed part of the targeted police station, located in Albu Ajil, a town about 5 km (3 miles) east of Tikrit, the police official said.

Tikrit is the hometown of Iraq's former dictator, Saddam Hussein.

--From CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq

Bombs blast Baghdad fuel stations

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Bombs blasted two separate fuel stations in the Iraqi capital city Sunday, killing at least three civilians and wounding 12 others, an Iraqi interior ministry official said.

A parked car bomb exploded outside a fuel station in southwestern Baghdad killed at least one civilian and wounded five others Sunday, the official said.

The station was in Saydiya, a mixed Sunni-Shiite neighborhood.

About fifteen minutes later, a car bomb exploded at another fuel station in southwestern Baghdad, killing at least two civilians and wounding seven others, the official said.

That attack targeted cars queuing at the station, located in the Shiite neighborhood of Bayaa.

--From CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq (Posted 6:32 a.m.)

Officials: Gaza hit by Israeli airstrikes, infighting

(CNN) -- Violence flared Sunday in Gaza, with fresh airstrikes launched by Israeli aircraft and continued rival fighting, according to officials.

Israeli aircraft launched three strikes in Gaza City early Sunday, according to Palestinian security sources and media reports. Although the Israel Defense Forces would only confirm two.

Palestinian source said two of the airstrikes occurred at about midnight Saturday. The first targeted the home or office of Mohammed al-Hindi, an Islamic Jihad leader, in western Gaza City. The second struck a dairy warehouse in northern Gaza City, and the third, a bit later, targeted a workshop in Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan neighborhood.

Israel Defense Forces said it had targeted an Islamic Jihad building in Gaza City and a weapons warehouse belonging to Fatah in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood. (Posted 6:36 a.m.)

Iraqi Gov.: Violence escalates during 5-hour U.S. military raid

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- U.S. troops raided an office loosely affiliated with anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's political movement in southeastern Baghdad late Saturday, killing at least three people and wounding 19 others, Iraq's Interior Ministry said Sunday.

The operation was launched in al-Fudhailiya, a Shiite district in the capital, and lasted from 10 p.m. Saturday (2 p.m. Saturday ET) until 3 a.m. Sunday (7 p.m. Saturday ET), an official within the ministry told CNN.

As the raid was underway, the official said U.S. forces opened fire on a civilian car that was approaching the office. One person was killed and four others were wounded.

Violence escalated when area residents began firing on U.S. soldiers, which sparked clashes between the military and unknown assailants, the official said.

The U.S. military told CNN clashes between gunmen and U.S. soldiers ensued.

In addition, one U.S. military humvee was burned during the clashes, the ministry official said.

Al-Sadr is a prominent Shiite cleric whose political movement has 30 parliamnet seats and is a major part of the government.

-- From CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq and Cal Perry (Posted 5:02 a.m.)

14 dead, 20,000 displaced by rain-triggered floods, landslides in Chinese province

(CNN) -- Fourteen people have been killed and more than 20,000 displaced by flooding and landslides that followed heavy rainfall in south China's Guangdong Province, according to Xinhua, China's state-run news agency.

Four people are missing, Xinhua reported Saturday, citing local government. More than 3,000 homes have collapsed, and some 26,000 hectares (64,247 acres) of cropland has been damaged, authorities told Xinhua. Twenty-nine people were injured by the storms, which affected 1.2 million people, the news agency reported. The hardest-hit areas were Heyuan, Shaoguan, Meizhou, Shanwei and Qingyan, Xinhua said.

The rainstorm caused an economic loss of about 266 million yuan, or $35 million. Rescue efforts continued for stranded residents, Xinhua said. The province's flood control headquarters has dispatched work teams and allotted 6.5 million yuan for relief efforts. (Posted 10:05 p.m.)

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