BAGHDAD — A wave of bombings and shootings swept Iraq on Wednesday, killing at least 50 people and raising fears that al-Qaida had launched a promised new offensive. The U.S. military acknowledged that violence was increasing and blamed it on terrorists.
Also Wednesday came the announcement that Iraqi and U.S. troops raided the Iraqi military academy the day before and arrested cadets and instructors allegedly linked to the kidnap-slaying of the former superintendent and the abduction of his replacement, later freed.
Also Wednesday, the U.S. command announced that an American soldier had been killed the day before by small-arms fire in eastern Baghdad.
Police reported at least six car bombings around the country Wednesday, an increase over the pattern of attacks in recent weeks, though U.S. officials insisted that violence was still below levels of last year.
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Wednesday's deadliest attack occurred when a suicide driver detonated an explosives-laden truck close to the home of a Sunni Arab leader near Sinjar, 240 miles northwest of Baghdad.
Sinjar hospital director Kifah Mohammed said 10 people were killed and nine wounded, including the sheik. The U.S. military said the sheik had spoken out against al-Qaida.
In a Web posting Sept. 15, the Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaida front, announced an offensive for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in memory of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the founder of al-Qaida in Iraq killed last year in a U.S. airstrike.
The statement said the Islamic State would hunt down tribal sheiks and officials who cooperate with the Americans. Nine days later, a suicide bomber struck a Shiite-Sunni reconciliation meeting in Baqouba, killing 24 people.
Maj. Gen. Hussein Ali Kamal, deputy interior minister, said security officials had warned the Iraqi government a few days ago "that there is a new plan by terrorist groups to target senior governmental officials. He said the threat came from al-Qaida and supporters of the late President Saddam Hussein.
A U.S. military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, confirmed the raid on the Iraqi military academy at Rustamiyah, saying it was carried out by Iraqi soldiers with American advisers. Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mohammed al-Askari said those detained faced charges of murder, kidnapping and corruption.
• Deaths: 3,797
• Wounded: 28,009
Latest identifications
•Army Cpl. Anthony K. Bento, 23, San Diego; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
•Army Staff Sgt. Kevin R. Brown, 38, Harrah, Okla.; assigned to the 6th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
•Army Staff Sgt. Zachary B. Tomczak, 24, Huron, S.D.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 325th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
Source: Department of Defense as of Wednesday
