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Iraqi Gov't Gives Amnesty for Minor Crimes
Iraqi interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi signed an amnesty Saturday intended
to persuade militants fighting a 15-month-old insurgency to put down their
weapons and join government efforts to rebuild the country.
But the law pardons only minor criminals, not killers or terrorists, and
appeared unlikely to dampen the violence, as some insurgent leaders called it
"insignificant." On Saturday night, at least 12 explosions rocked central Baghdad, apparently targeting the fortified Green Zone enclave housing the U.S. Embassy and Iraqi interim government buildings. The military said some of the explosions appeared to be mortars. The Najaf fighting has threatened to revive a Shiite insurrection that broke out in April and was calmed only in a series of truces in June. Five U.S. servicemembers have been killed in Najaf, including two Marines who died Friday, the military announced. The military says hundreds of militants have been killed, though the militiamen put the number far lower. Also Friday, an insurgent fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a U.S. vehicle in Baghdad, killing one soldier. At least 925 U.S. service members have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq in March 2003. The Iraqi government also ordered the offices of the pan-Arab television station Al-Jazeera closed for 30 days, accusing it of inciting violence. |
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