US soldier killed in Iraqi attacks; demonstration of protest against al- Mansour operation

One American soldier was killed in al-Falouja following an attack carried out by Iraqi resistance men at an American military convoy and resulted in setting fire in one of its vehicles. Other three soldiers were wounded in an attack by RPJ over-the-shoulder anti tank missiles in Sameraa city while the American forces arrested 559 Iraqi citizens during 51 breaking in operations in various areas in 24 hours. Large amounts of weapons and explosives were confiscated.

Hundreds of Iraqis demonstrated in protest of the military operation carried out by the US forces in al-Mansour quarters in Baghdad last Sunday that resulted in killing five Iraqi citizens. The demonstrators raised a banner saying "we condemn this cowardly act against the Iraqi people."

Meantime, the chairman of the Islamic al-Daawa ( call) party, Ibrahim al-Jafaari, was chosen as the chairman of the transitional Governing Council, just one day after the council had chosen a periodical presidential commission of nine members.

News reports said that choosing al-Jafaari came according to a decision by the council to embark on alphabetical order of the presidency within the nine members of the presidency commission.

On the other hand, the President of the World Bank, James D. Wolfensohn, said that the Bank will give Iraq a donation to help revive the economy in future but a constitution needs to be laid first.

The World Bank chief said following a meeting with the United Nations envoy in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, that there is a need first for a constitution and a government in Iraq, according to the hopes of the Iraqi people, noting that one of the main obstacles facing Iraq is that of security.

Meanwhile, sources at the Iraqi oil industry said that Iraq is preparing to resume exports of oil from the northern oil fields of Karkouk through a pipeline extends to Turkey in the few coming days, for the first time since the war.

These sources added that the pipelines will be ready for exports in the first of August and expects to pass through it as a beginning 200,000 to 300,000 barrels of oil daily.

However, Karkouk oil fields can pump 900,000 barrels of oil per day, but the damage inflicted in the pipelines in the war will minimize the exports more expectedly to 500,000 barrels daily.