The CNN Wire: Sunday, July 22

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.

Roadside bomb kills U.S. soldier in Baghdad

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- A U.S. soldier was killed Saturday when a roadside bomb exploded next to his vehicle, during combat operations, a U.S. military statement released Monday said.

The soldier was a member of the Army's Multi-National Corps - Iraq.

Since the start of the war, 3,633 member of the U.S. military have died in Iraq. For July, the toll stands at 54. (Posted 1:40a.m.)

Erdogan claims new mandate in Turkish vote

ISTANBUL, Turkey (CNN) -- Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Islamist party claimed a new five-year mandate from Turkish voters in Sunday's elections after results showed it winning a slightly reduced majority in parliament.

With nearly 100 percent of the vote counted, Erdogan's Justice and Development party, or AKP, won 46.6 percent of the vote, Turkish electoral officials reported Monday. Though its share of the vote was larger than it was in 2002, when it was voted into power, Turkey's system for apportioning parliamentary seats means it will hold 342 seats in the country's 550-seat parliament, down from the 363 it now holds.

The party's Islamic roots and its appeal to religious voters has unnerved many voters in a nation that has followed a strict code of secularism since it was founded in 1923. In addition, renewed fighting with Kurdish guerrillas along the mountainous southeastern border with Iraq led to widespread criticism from opposition parties.

But the country has been prosperous since Erdogan (prono: ER-du-wan) took office in 2003, promising to pursue pro-business policies and to push for Turkey's entry into the European Union. He urged his followers to accept the election results "with maturity." (Posted 1:30 a.m.)

GOP hopeful Huckabee vows no 'YouTube moments'

(CNN) -- Taking on top GOP challengers, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said in Texas this weekend that "people aren't going to find me in a YouTube moment" showing changes in key positions.

The comment was an apparent shot at GOP candidate Mitt Romney, R-Mass., and possible entrant to the race Fred Thompson, R-Tenn. Both have been the subjects of clips posted on YouTube in recent weeks showing different stands on abortion they took in previous statewide races.

In Amarillo on Saturday night, the former Arkansas governor -- an ordained Baptist minister -- said one of the reasons he considers himself most qualified to be president is because he holds "convictions that are consistent."

"People aren't going to find me in a YouTube moment from 10 years ago saying something substantially different than I'm saying today," he said. (Posted 7:33 p.m.)

Erdogan claims new mandate in Turkish vote

ISTANBUL, Turkey (CNN) -- Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Islamist party claimed a new five-year mandate from Turkish voters in Sunday's elections after results showed it winning a slightly reduced majority in parliament.

With 99 percent of the vote reported in, Erdogan's Justice and Development party, or AKP, was poised to win nearly 47 percent of the vote, according to Turkish electoral officials. Though its share of the vote was larger than it was in 2002, when it was voted into power, Turkey's system for apportioning parliamentary seats means it will hold 342 seats in the country's 550-seat parliament, down from the 363 it now holds.

The party's Islamic roots and its appeal to religious voters has unnerved many voters in a nation that has followed a strict code of secularism since it was founded in 1923. In addition, renewed fighting with Kurdish guerrillas along the mountainous southeastern border with Iraq led to widespread criticism from opposition parties.

But the country has been prosperous since Erdogan (prono: ER-du-wan) took office in 2003, promising to pursue pro-business policies and to push for Turkey's entry into the European Union. He urged his followers to accept the election results "with maturity." "The elections are over, but the test continues for us," he said. He added, "We practice unity politics, and we will continue doing that." (Posted: 6:34 p.m.)

Colorado rains trigger mudslides, evacuations

(CNN) -- About 75 residents of Chaffee County in south-central Colorado remained shut out of their homes Sunday, a day after heavy rains caused mudslides that led to their evacuation, a Colorado Red Cross spokesman said.

The town of Alpine, about 110 miles west of Colorado Springs, was inundated by water and mud as deep as six feet, Red Cross spokesman Dennis Burdick told CNN.

A representative from the sheriff's department said the mudslides began Saturday around 7 p.m. (9 p.m. ET) after 1-1/2 inches of rain fell in three hours. A few homes were damaged, and falling boulders destroyed some trees and cars, but a patrolman in the nearby town of Buena Vista said there had been no reports of anyone hurt. (Posted: 5:55 p.m.)

Israel airstrikes hit Gaza after rockets hit Israeli territory

GAZA CITY (CNN) -- Israel carried out two airstrikes Sunday in Gaza, Palestinian sources and the Israeli military said. Palestinian security sources said the first strike, in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza, killed two Islamic Jihad militants and wounded two others.

Palestinian medical sources said the second strike, in Gaza City, targeted a car carrying an Islamic Jihad militant, who escaped unharmed. The Israeli military said the first strike targeted targeted two militants and their rocket launcher in Beit Hanoun after they fired two Qassam rockets into southern Israel. (Posted: 4:50 p.m.)

U.S. says Baghdad talks with Iran set for this week

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. and Iranian ambassadors to Iraq will meet this week to discuss security issues in the war-torn country, a senior Bush administration official said Sunday.

It would be the second meeting between U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and his Iranian counterpart, even though the United States and Iran have had no formal diplomatic relations since 1980.

U.S. officials have accused Iran of interfering in the U.S.-led war in Iraq by supplying Shiite Muslim militias with weaponry and training, fueling the sectarian warfare that U.S. and Iraqi troops are trying to tamp down.

Crocker first met with Ambassador Hassan Kazemi Qomi on May 28. (Posted: 4 p.m.)

U.S. intel chief: al Qaeda wants operative in U.S.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. intelligence chief said Sunday the United States knows what al Qaeda intends to do: plant an operative on U.S. soil.

There are currently people in the United States with ties to senior al Qaeda leadership, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell told NBC's "Meet the Press." He added, "The thing they're missing are operatives inside the United States."

In their "safe haven in Pakistan" -- the northwestern section that U.S. and Pakistani officials say contains hideouts for al Qaeda -- the United States is "watching them train and recruit," McConnell said. "But we do not have tactical warning currently... So we have the strategic warning, not the specific tactical warning, but we know their intent." (Posted: 3:50 p.m.)

Taliban extends deadline for South Korean hostages

KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Citing positive actions by South Korean negotiators, Taliban kidnappers believed to be holding a group of South Korean volunteer aid workers have extended until Monday the deadline for their demands to be met, a statement posted on their official Web site said Sunday.

"Since Korea has sent a delegation of eight people to negotiate for the release of their 23 nationals and has showed their readiness to solve the situation through local elders, the Taliban leadership council extended the deadline for another 24 hours," the statement said.

It warned the negotiators to accelerate their work or "they would be responsible for the bad consequences" for the volunteers, most of whom are women.

A Taliban spokesman had said members of the group would begin killing the hostages at 7 p.m. (10:30 a.m. EDT) Sunday unless the South Korean government agreed to withdraw its nearly 200 non-combat troops from Afghanistan.

The troops are in the last phase of a non-combat mission to provide medical help and rebuild the country. (Posted 3:30 p.m.)

Palestinian sources: Israeli airstrikes target Islamic Jihad militants, 2 killed

GAZA CITY, Gaza (CNN) -- Israel on Sunday carried out two airstrikes in Gaza targeting Islamic Jihad militants in northern Gaza, Palestinian sources said.

The Israeli military, which is still checking reports of a second strike, confirmed it targeted two militants and their rocket launcher in Beit Hanoun after they fired two Qassam rockets into southern Israel.

That strike killed two militants and wounded two others, Palestinian security sources said.

The Qassam rockets hit a college and a school in Sderot, Israel. One woman sustained minor injuries, the Israel Defense Forces said.

Later, Palestinian medical sources said a second Israeli airstrike targeted a car carrying an Islamic Jihad militant, but that he escaped unharmed.

The strike happened in Gaza City near the office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Fatah party, the sources said. (Posted 2 p.m.)

Pakistani FM: U.S. military strikes in Pakistan would be 'completely counterproductive'

(CNN) -- Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri denounced on Sunday the idea of U.S. military strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas as "completely counterproductive," saying his country's forces are capable of handling al Qaeda and Taliban militants who have set up a safe haven near the Afghan border.

"The Pakistani military is already there in the tribal area," Kasuri told CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer," noting that more than 85,000 Pakistan forces are in the region.

"Pakistan's commitment cannot be doubted by anybody."

He said that, if the United States were to take unilateral military action in Pakistan, "you will lose the war -- the battle for hearts and minds."

"It is much better to rely on Pakistan army," he said.

While praising Pakistan's role in fighting terrorism, White House Homeland Security Adviser Frances Townsend reiterated Sunday that President Bush will consider all means in his efforts to target al Qaeda leaders believed to be hiding in Pakistan's tribal region, known as the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA).

"We're working with (the Pakistani government), but the president has been clear," she said on "Fox News Sunday."

"Job number one is to protect the American people, and there are no options that are off the table." (Posted 2 p.m.)

Politicians differ on terrorism focus

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Nearly six years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, government officials differed Sunday on where the central front in the U.S.-led "war on terror" is located.

"Al Qaeda is the number one enemy," said Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., on "Fox News Sunday." Bond said the focus should be on both Pakistan, where al Qaeda redoubts exist in mountainous areas bordering Afghanistan, and Iraq, location of an al Qaeda offshoot that calls itself al Qaeda in Iraq. "This is the greatest threat to the United States," he said, referring to the two al Qaeda groups as one.

"We have a difference of opinion on this one," Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., told the Fox program. "Iraq is not the central front in the war on terror. As the National Intelligence Estimate indicates, it's Pakistan and Afghanistan," he said, citing last week's summary of U.S. intelligence agencies' takes on U.S. vulnerability to terrorism.

"We've got to finish the job in Afghanistan. We were attacked from there. And Pakistan is where the al Qaeda leadership is reconstituting itself today."

Bayh said many experts have concluded that the U.S. presence in Iraq is creating more terrorists, and that the insurgency is largely homegrown, not the result of al Qaeda forces from abroad.

Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., said the U.S. focus on Iraq has caused the United States to lose sight of its goal of capturing al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and shutting down the group. "We've turned Iraq into a training ground, unfortunately, for al Qaeda terrorists who are practicing on our soldiers," he told CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer." (Posted 2 p.m.)

Feingold to introduce censure resolution against Bush

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold announced Sunday he will introduce two censure resolutions to condemn President Bush and other top administration officials over the Iraq war and "repeated assaults on the rule of law."

In a written announcement, his office called the resolutions "appropriate and necessary steps for Congress to rebuke an administration that is responsible for some of the worst misconduct and the worst abuses of the law in American history."

Feingold told NBC's "Meet the Press" the censure resolutions have not yet been drafted, though he has discussed the idea with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called the move a "stunt." (Posted 11:45 a.m.)

Israeli airstrike targets Gaza rocket launchers; 2 reported dead

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- An Israeli airstrike Sunday targeted a group of Islamic Jihad militants in northern Gaza launching rockets into Israel, killing two and injuring two, Palestinian security sources said.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed it carried out an airstrike on two militants and their rocket launcher in Beit Hanoun after they fired two Qassam rockets into southern Israel.

The rockets hit a college and a school in Sderot. One woman sustained minor injuries, the IDF said.

Late Saturday, Israeli troops killed two armed Palestinians near the security fence that separates Israel from northern Gaza, an IDF official said. (Posted 10:55 a.m.)

Colorado rains trigger mudslides, evacuations

(CNN) -- About 75 residents in west-central Colorado were evacuated Saturday night after heavy rains prompted mudslides near Alpine in Chaffee County, according to a Colorado Red Cross spokesman.

The town, which consists of mostly second home owners, was steeped in flood waters and mud as deep as six feet, Red Cross spokesman Dennis Burdick told CNN.

The Chaffee County Sheriff's Department said the fire department is on the scene assessing damage, and a deputy officer is providing security to keep people from entering the area.

A few homes have been damaged, and boulders have destroyed some trees and cars, but a patrolman in the nearby town of Buena Vista said there have been no reported injuries or fatalities.

Alpine is about 110 miles west of Colorado Springs. (Posted 10:40 a.m.)

Violence in Baghdad, Kut claims 10 lives

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Iraqi police Sunday afternoon found two unidentified bodies in Kut, the capital of Wasit province about 100 miles (160) km south of Baghdad, an Interior Ministry official said.

Wasit, which lies along the Iran border, is part of Iraq's Shiite heartland, which is not as volatile as Baghdad and some northern hotspots but has been plagued by persistent violence involving rival Shiite militias.

Late Saturday, gunmen in Kut shot and killed an Iraqi translator working with the U.S. military, the official said.

Attacks in Baghdad on Sunday left seven dead, most of the Iraqi police, the official said:

-- Gunmen shot and killed Gen. Falah Khalaf, an Interior Ministry official, as he drove to work Sunday morning in the northeastern Ur district.

-- A roadside bomb struck an Iraqi police patrol in the southeastern Zayouna district Sunday morning, killing three policemen.

-- A parked motorcycle rigged with explosives detonated on al-Jamhouri street in a central Baghdad commercial district, killing two and wounding 15 others. The attack happened around 3 p.m.

-- Gunmen shot and killed Iraqi police Capt. Ahmed Saadi as he drove near his house in southeastern Baghdad Sunday afternoon. (Posted 10:40 a.m.)

Suicide bomber strikes Sunni tribal leaders; 5 dead, 10 wounded

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- A suicide vehicle bomber Sunday struck a meeting of Sunni leaders allied with U.S. and Iraqi security forces, killing five and wounding 10 others north of Baghdad, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said.

Around 11 a.m., the bomber drove an explosives-packed minivan into a house in the Jurf al-Milih district near Taji, where the Taji Salvation Council was convened, the official said.

The council includes a number of Sunni tribal leaders who have allied themselves with Multi-National Forces and Iraqi security forces to fight al Qaeda militants in the region about 12 miles (20 km) north of Baghdad. (Posted 9:08 a.m.)

Insurgents suspected of Iranian connection captured near Iran border

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Two insurgents captured Sunday by U.S. troops east of Baghdad may be tied to Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps' Quds force, according to the U.S. military.

The U.S. has accused Iran of supporting insurgent attacks on coalition and Iraqi forces by smuggling in people, money and weapons, including the more powerful type of roadside bomb known as Explosively Formed Projectiles, or EFPs.

The two men were captured during a raid on a rural farm near the Iranian border just before dawn Sunday, the military said. The operation was aimed at capturing or killing senior leaders suspected of being affiliated to Iran's Quds force, the military said.

Although no shots were fired during the raid, a number of insurgent weapons were found at the farm, the military said. (Posted 5:49 a.m.)

Afghan soldiers surround Taliban hostage holders as S. Koreans arrive for talks

KABUL (CNN) -- Afghan soldiers and police have surrounded an area when Taliban militants are believed to be holding at least 18 South Koreans who they threaten to kill unless the South Korean government agrees to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, according to an Afghan military official.

A South Korean government delegation arrived in Kabul Sunday to begin efforts to gain the release of the South Korean church volunteer workers who were kidnapped from a bus in the Ghazni province Thursday.

Afghan National Army General Mohammad Zahir Azimi told CNN Sunday that Afghan Army and police are in position to launch an assault on the Taliban hostage holders if they begin to carry out their threat to kill the South Koreans. A Taliban spokesman has said the hostage killings would begin at 7 p.m. (10:30 a.m. EDT) Sunday unless their demands were met.

There is uncertainty surrounding the Taliban kidnapping of two German engineers, also in the Ghanzi province. An Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman told CNN on Saturday that one of the Taliban-held German hostages died of a heart attack but the other remains alive. This differs from an earlier Taliban account that both men had been executed.

--CNN's Atia Abawi in Baghdad and Journalist Thomas Coghlan in Kabul contributed to this report. (Posted 4:29 a.m.)

IDF: 2 armed Palestinians killed near Gaza fence

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops near the security fence that separates Israel from northern Gaza Saturday night, an Israel Defense Forces official said.

The Palestinians were armed, the IDF said. (Posted 3:53 a.m.)

Flooding halts train in its tracks in Texas

(CNN) -- Flooding halted an Amtrak train in its tracks Saturday west of San Antonio, Texas, stranding passengers for about eight hours before they were taken by bus to El Paso, an Amtrak spokeswoman said.

Vernae Graham told CNN Saturday night that about 176 passengers on the Sunset Limited train who had been stuck since 10:30 a.m. ET were to board another train for the remainder of their trip to Los Angeles.

The Sunset Limited was stopped near the tiny town of Knippa, 50 miles west of San Antonio. Many areas north and west of Knippa had received 12 to 15 inches of rain by Saturday night. (Posted 11:12 p.m.) E-mail to a friend