THE UNIVERSITY & DARY KANSAN
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2006
NEWS
3A
IRAQ
Al-Qaida leader captured, but violence continues
Death toll includes 33 men whose bodies were found tortured and riddled with bullets and seven servicemen
BY ELENA BECATOROS ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Police found the tortured, blindfolded bodies of 33 men scattered across the capital Monday and the U.S.-led coalition reported combat deaths of seven servicemen, a day after Iraqi leaders said the capture of a top terror suspect would reduce violence.
Iraqi soldiers also clashed with gunmen near the holy city of Karbala during an operation to secure the area ahead of a religious festival on Saturday, leaving 14 gunmen and one soldier dead, the prime minister's office said.
Kidnappers also dragged off a popular soccer star in Baghdad, while a security crackdown in the city expanded into the upscale Mansour neighborhood.
An al-Qaida-affiliated group dismissed the Iraqi government's claim that the organization's second most important leader had been arrested, suggesting the man was not a senior figure and denying the terror group had suffered a significant blow.
On Sunday, Iraq's national security adviser announced the arrest of Hamed Jumaa Farid al-Saeedi, also known as Abu Humam or Abu Rana, and said that had left al-Qaida in Iraq suffering a "serious leadership crisis."
But the Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella organization of Sunni Arab extremist groups that includes al-Qaida in Iraq, issued a statement Monday saying its "leadership was in the best condition."
The statement did not directly deny the arrest, or say what position al-Saeedi held, although it suggested he was not the No.2 leader.
The security adviser, Mouwafak al-Rubaie, described al-Saeedi as the second most important al-Qalda in Iraq figure behind Abu Ayyub al-Masri, who is believed to have taken over the group after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed by a U.S. airstrike in June.
Al-Saeedi was involved in the Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra, al-Rubaie said. The attack inflamed tensions between Shiite and Sunni Muslims and set off reprisal killings that have killed hundreds of Iraqis, like those found
in Baghdad on Monday.
Police said they the 33 bullet-riddled bodies all showed signs of torture and had their hands and feet bound. The men had been dumped around several neighborhoods, police said.
Two other bodies were found dumped on a highway in Kut, 100 miles southeast of Baghdad. Both had been shot in the head and chest, said Maamoun Ajil al-Robaiei at Kut hospital's morgue.
The Mujahdeen Shura Council's statement also said insurgents have been inflicting heavy losses on U.S. troops in western Anbar province and in Baghdad.
The U.S.-led coalition said seven of its personnel had been killed the past two days _ five Americans and two Britons.
On Sunday, two U.S. Marines were killed in Anbar and two Army soldiers died from roadside bombs in Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, and near Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of the capital. Another soldier was killed Monday by a roadside bomb. A sixth American died of non-combat injuries, the military said.
In the south, a roadside bomb killed two British soldiers and seriously wounded a third north of the southern city of Basra, a British military spokesman, Maj. Charlie Burbridge, said.
British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett arrived in the capital Monday on an unannounced visit her first to Iraq since taking up the post in May.
"We do not underestimate the challenges ahead," Beckett said in a statement. "But we must not forget the progress made in the last twelve months in bringing the first democratically elected national unity government to the country, with a constitution voted for by the people."
South of the capital, Iraqi soldiers clashed with gunmen near the holy city of Karbala during an operation to secure the city ahead of a Shiite religious festival, the prime minister's office said. Tens of thousands of Shiite pilgrims are expected in Karbala, 50 miles south of the capital on Saturday to observe Shaaban, a mid-month religious celebration.
Fourteen gunmen were killed
and another 22 were arrested, while one Iraqi soldier was also killed and another was wounded, the statement said.
On Saturday, police said 13 Pakistani and Indian Shiite pilgrims and their Iraqi driver had been ambushed and killed on their way to Karbala.
Assailants abducted Ghanim Ghudayer, a soccer star and member of Iraq's Olympic team. Considered one of the best players on Baghdad's Air Force Club, the 22-year-old was taken Sunday evening by unknown assailants, some of whom were wearing military uniforms, police said.
The U.S.-led coalition said the Iraqi army had begun searching the capital's Mansour district as part of a crackdown aimed at tackling violence in Baghdad neighborhood by neighborhood. U.S. soldiers would "observe and advise" during the operation, the military said.
The coalition also said five suspected insurgents and a child were killed and a second child was wounded during a raid in Mudqadiyah, about 60 miles north of Baghdad. The raid targeted "an individual with ties to movement of terrorist finances and foreign fighters into Iraq," the military said in a statement.
The Iraqi Defense Ministry said that over the previous 24 hours, its troops had killed 15 people suspected of involvement of insurgent activities. Iraqi police said clashes between gunmen and Iraqi forces in Musayyib, 40 miles south of Baghdad, resulted in the death of an Iraqi soldier and the arrest of about 100 gunmen.
Disagreements continued over the handover of Iraq's armed forces command from the U.S.-led coalition to the Iraqi government, and the Defense Ministry said a ceremony to mark the transition had been postponed indefinitely.
The two sides still need "to complete some legal and protocol procedures that will lead to a complete understanding between the Iraqi government and the multinational troops," the ministry said.
Handing over control from the coalition to Iraqi authorities is a key part of any eventual drawdown of U.S. troops in the country.
TRAGEDY
Chicago's deadliest fire in years leaves six children dead, one baby in hospital
BY DEANNA BELLANDI ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO — Candles used for light in an apartment without electricity probably caused a fire that killed six children inside, a fire department official said Monday as fire investigators continued sifting through debris.
The fire, the city's deadliest in years, has been classified as accidental but the Chicago Police Department also was investigating, which is a standard when there are deaths, Officer Marcel Bright said.
death, Officer A preliminary investigation shows the Sunday morning blaze "was caused by candles" in the three-bedroom apartment on the city's North Side, Fire Cmdr. Will Knight said.
Knight said fire investigators have found no evidence of smoke detectors, although Chicago Alderman Joe Moore said Sunday that the landlord told him there were smoke detectors in the unit when the Ramirez family moved in.
The Cook County medical examiner's office identified the dead as Vanessa Ramirez, 14; Eric Ramirez, 12; Suzette Ramirez, 10; Idaly Ramirez, 6; Kevin Ramirez, 3; and Escarlet Ramirez. 3. Friends said the Ramirez family had been baby-sitting Escarlet.
were treated and released from a hospital. Two other injured children were taken to area hospitals, but information on their conditions was unavailable Monday.
All six victims died of inhalation injuries and Vanessa Ramirez was burned, the medical examiner's office said Monday.
A friend of one of the Ramirez children said their mother originally was from Mexico, but the family had been in the United States for at least 16 years. A call to the Mexican Consulate in Chicago was not immediately returned on Monday.
ComFd spokesman John Dewey has said the apartment had been without electricity since May but declined to say why it had been turned off, citing confidentiality issues.
Fire officials have said the family was relying on candles because they had been without power.
The Ramirez children's 40-year old mother and a 3-month-old girl
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Dobbins said that his longboard helped him get to class on time and that it was much easier than riding a bicycle, which he said he had never learned to ride.
Casey Millstein, Baldwin senior, Ashley Rinella Glenview, III., senior, and Eric Dobbins, Lawrence senior, are working to eliminate the ban that prevents people from longboarding on campus. The students believe that longboards are used as a mode of transportation — not for sport — and should be permitted.
"I'd do it topless," Dobbins said.
"I've got nothing to loose except my board."
a beautiful Sunday morning" said Millstein.
SKATERS (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
"It is a violation of city ordinance," said Bailey. "Based on the history, there has been damage and we've had people who have been injured."
Kansan staff writer Ben Smith can be contacted at bsmith@ kansan.com.
Public Safety Office said the current ordinance did not exempt longboards from the skateboarding ban. He said that any person on a skateboard or similar equipment could be stopped and given a citation.
if students wish to file a petition with the city council, Student Senate would be willing to support it" Topol said.
the skateboard ban was a city ordinance the issue couldn't be directly solved by Student Senate.
Millstein said she spoke with Casey Topol, student senator and Mamaroneck, N.Y., senior, about the issue. Topol said that because
— Edited by Nicole Kelley
Millstein and her friends remain undeterred and said they would continue working to raise awareness of the issue and to make longboarding as acceptable on campus as it was at other universities in California and Montana.
"All I want to be able to do is cruise down jayhawk Boulevard
TEXTBOOKS (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
tives.
"He really cares for his students," Thornburgh said. "This is something that other teachers should do."
This semester, Martin's "Principles of Biology" class fills the approximately 1,000 seat auditorium in 120 Budig. Martin said this large number of students guaranteed a large volume of sales once he chose a textbook. He said those guaranteed sales — combined with the wide variety of biology text-
money, the approach that he used was not feasible for most professors.
negotiated the price.
Thornbury and other students in Martin's class said they were grateful for his efforts. The class gave him a loud ovation after he explained that the book was a special edition for the University of Kansas with a much lower price than normal because of his dealings with the two textbook representa-
Kansan correspondent Kyle Carter can be contacted at editor@ kansan.com.
books available — allowed him to negotiate the price.
Edited by Dianne Smith
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