One American soldier was killed' Beijing prepares to open its embassy in Baghdad
News reports in al-Ramadi said that two American soldiers and one Iraqi civilian were wounded after one American patrol was exposed to an attack by missile near the general hospital in the city.
In Baghdad, armed Iraqis attacked a joint American- Iraqi patrol, in al-Jihad quarters, to the west of the capital. However, no immediate reports arrived on casualties.
These two attacks come hours after the killing of one American soldier and wounding of another in a bomb explosion when their patrol was running near Talafar town, near Musil.
The American army said that soldiers of the patrol clashed with what it called the attackers after the explosion, but was not able to arrest any of them. Monday also witnessed the killing of two American soldiers and wounding of other five in a blowing up of two explosives in Baqouba and Baghdad.
Meantime, secretary of the Iraqi minister of the Interior lt. Gen. Ahmad Ibrahim Kazem disclosed that the killers of member of the Interim Council Aqeila al-Hashimi were planning to kill other members in the council, he alleged that those were members in Fedayee Saddam, and got their orders from a high ranking officials in the Baath party, adding that they were watching member of the governing council al-Hakam Abdul Karim Mahmadawi and planning to launch attacks against other Iraqi officials.
A spokesman for al-Amara police to the south east of Baghdad announced earlier that the five detainees were arrested in the city and admitted they took part in al-Hashimi assassination on September 20, 2003. The spokesman explained that four of them come from al-Najaf and stressed they received orders from member of a branch leadership in the Baath party who gave them large financial support.
Meanwhile a Chinese diplomatic official delegation arrived in Baghdad to prepare for re-opening the Chinese embassy. The delegation which is composed of 13 members, is headed by a charge de affairs and includes employees from the ministries of commerce and foreign affairs and six Chinese police men.
China, the permanent member at the UN Security Council, which opposed the war against Iraq, seeks to benefit from the post- war phase in Iraq. It is expected that the delegation will try to get contracts in rebuilding of Iraq.
Last week China announced it had got the first contracts at a value of USD 5 million to provide Iraq with communications equipment after 6 months of difficult negotiations.