The Death Toll in Iraq Keep rising!

[Diane Melendez]

Not only do our troops continue to die in a conflict that could have been avoided, so too is the number of innocents caught in this brutal war.


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00317/iraq2_385x185_317218a.jpg
(Reuters)



A boy wounded in a bomb attack in Baquba last week



The Sunday Times
Deborah Haynes in Baghdad

More than 55 people were killed in three car bomb attacks across Iraq today, including two blasts near restaurants filled with lunchtime crowds in Sunni Arab cities that had been relatively calm.
In one of the deadliest moments in months, a car bomb exploded outside a courthouse and the offices of the provincial government in Baquba, the capital of Diyala province, north of Baghdad, leaving at least 40 dead and another 80 wounded. A busy restaurant was also close by.
The sheer number of victims, among them women and children, left emergency services struggling to cope. Dr Ahmed Fuad, at a local hospital, said that most of the dead were "burnt beyond recognition".
One witness described seeing a huge fire that sent black smoke billowing into the sky. Passing cars were set ablaze, trapping drivers and their passengers in a deadly inferno. Several stores and the restaurant were badly damaged, with glass strewn across the street.

[jbm32206]

This is what happens when you're dealing with sick bastards that have absolutely no regard for human life...they don't care who they hurt or kill, and then claim it's in the name of 'their' God (Jihad)...sick, sick beyond what words could begin to describe!

[Diane Melendez]

It's getting worse and worse too.


The Sunday Times
April 13, 2008
More than 200 dead as battle rages in Baghdad

Marie Colvin and Ali Rifat

THE toll from fierce fighting in Baghdad’s Sadr City has risen to at least 200 dead and more than 1,000 injured, according to doctors in the besieged suburb.
US and Iraqi troops killed at least 13 gunmen in heavy fighting there yesterday against the Mahdi Army loyal to the radical Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
The reports from Sadr City hospitals suggest far higher casualty figures than previously reported, although they cannot be independently verified. Dr Qassem Mudalal, the director of the Imam Ali hospital, said: “There are 230 killed, I can confirm, in the hospitals of Sadr City. I’ve been living in the hospital for two weeks.
“I can’t leave because of the siege and it’s too dangerous to be on the streets because of snipers and bombs.”
He said most had died from shrapnel wounds. Other doctors claimed only a minority of the dead appeared to be militants.
The Iraqi government yesterday briefly lifted a blockade of the suburb, and allowed about 20 lorries loaded with food, blankets and medical supplies to enter the area.
An American convoy was struck by at least 10 roadside bombs while moving in to support Iraqi soldiers setting up a checkpoint in the west of the city, the US military reported.
There was no sign of a cessation of hostilities between al-Sadr and Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister. “Children, women and old men have been injured and killed and there are no ambulances,” said Um Ali, a housewife, by telephone from her home in Sadr City. “The hospitals have no first-aid supplies and there are so few doctors.”

[jbm32206]

Today, the PGR escorted the remains of a fallen service member from NAS Jax to the beaches funeral home. I couldn't get out of work for it, but I'm sure Frank was there....as well as hundreds of others!
NAVAL AIR STATION JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Forever, the family of Army Specialist Jeremiah Hughes will remember the cold, biting wind and the warm, caring reception that greeted their fallen soldier on his final trip home.

Just before 3 p.m. Tuesday, a small charter jet touched down on the runway at NAS Jacksonville.

Inside, it held the remains of Specialist Jeremiah Hughes, who died last week in Iraq after what the Army calls only a "non-combat related incident." He was known by his friends and family as Jere.

Outside, members of Hughes' family held each other and trembled against the cold air.

Jere Hughes' mother, father, and two brothers have served in the armed forces. But this time, the flag-wrapped casket, lowered from the plane and carried to a waiting hearse, was holding their brave son and brother.

The Hughes family may have felt cold and scared -- but they were not alone.

As a motorcycle escort from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office rumbled away from the runway, it led a procession through the naval air station.

Cars holding Hughes' family rolled past a humbling sight.

Along every inch of Yorktown Avenue, the street that runs the length of the base, sailors and civilians stood shoulder-to-shoulder.

A look down the line of men and women showed a slice of Jacksonville. Some wore crisp uniforms or mottled green camouflage, others stood in button-up shirts, casual skirts, or work boots.

In the cold wind, they snapped to attention as Hughes' remains passed. Some brought their hands to their brows, others put their hands over their hearts.

Hundreds had come to honor a First Coast hero with a final, silent salute.
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=107114

[Diane Melendez]

I saw that on the news Joan. They said that the representation and from the people of Jacksonville is the best in the nation. I am proud of that. Those who give their lives for us deserve the highest respect.

[jbm32206]

Yeah, I was disappointed not being able to attend today...but I'm proud of all of those who were able and stood in silent respect of a fallen service member.

[Diane Melendez]

Shoot Joan. You are more than making up for that by teaching our communities autistic children.