UPI NewsTrack TopNews June 14, 2008

Iraqi, U.S. forces flood Amara

AMARA, Iraq, June 14 (UPI) -- Iraqi troops and police backed by the U.S. military swarmed Amara, Iraq, Saturday in an attempt to break the will of armed Shiite gunmen there, officials said.

Checkpoints were set up in the southern Iraqi city and Iraqi Army tanks were seen patrolling major streets in what was believed to be another attempt by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to impose central government authority on the war-torn nation, the BBC reported. Leaflets were dropped from helicopters warning people to stay in their homes and not to interfere with the troops and police, the British network said.

A U.S. military spokesman would say only that the operation was led and planned by the Iraqis.

The Iraqi security forces say their latest offensive will target what they refer to as "outlaws," the Voice of America network reported. Amara, which is near the Iranian border, is believed to be a major weapons-smuggling conduit.

Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr has indicated he supports the Iraqi-run operation, VOA said. His militia, the Mahdi Army, agreed to a cease-fire with the Iraqi government last month, but he has said he will continue to oppose the presence of U.S. forces.

Bomber attacks Iraqi soccer match

QARA TAPPA, Iraq, June 14 (UPI) -- At least 29 people were injured in northern Iraq Saturday when a female suicide bomber detonated explosives in a marketplace, authorities said.

Col. Ragheb al-Omairi, spokesman for Diyala military operations command, said the explosion occurred in Qara Tappa in Diyala province where Iraqis were celebrating after watching the Iraqi national soccer team defeat the Chinese team 2-1 in China, CNN reported. The wounded included 25 civilians -- at least 12 in critical condition -- and four police officers were wounded, the U.S. network reported.

The soccer game was part of the Asian qualifier for the 2010 South Africa World Cup.

Gunfire was reported in Baghdad, where the military requested that people not fire weapons in celebration.

Twenty females have carried out suicide bombings in Iraq this year, compared to eight bombings by females in 2007, the U.S. military said.

"We do see certain members of cells attempting to persuade women, specifically in many cases wives of those who have been killed as terrorists, to conduct suicide operations," U.S. Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling said recently.

Iowans wait for rivers to crest

DES MOINES, Iowa, June 14 (UPI) -- Flood waters began receding Saturday in some Iowa towns while others waited for rivers to crest.

In Des Moines, the state capital, Mayor Frank Crownie announced the lifting of voluntary evacuation orders as of 6 p.m. CDT as the Des Moines River began dropping, the Des Moines Register reported. He said inspectors had determined bridges and levees are safe except in the Birdland neighborhood, where a mandatory evacuation remained in effect.

The National Weather Service said the Iowa River, already well above flood stage, was expected to continue rising in Iowa City through Tuesday morning. The flooding threatens the University of Iowa campus, where volunteers moved library materials to higher levels and built walls of sandbags on campus.

"This is our last effort," UI President Sallie Mason said as she surveyed walls of sandbags on campus.

Where the Iowa and Cedar rivers join at Columbus Junction, authorities ordered all 250 residents of Fredonia to evacuate. In Columbus Junction and Columbus City, those living near the levee and in low-lying areas were also told to leave.

Columbus Junction Councilman Hal Prior, who said river levels were higher than expected, predicted a "catastrophic failure" of the levee.

The Birdland neighborhood in Des Moines was totally emptied early Saturday after a levee failed.

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver toured the city with members of Iowa's congressional delegation, visiting an emergency shelter at a county fairgrounds and parts of the University of Iowa campus that border the river.

More secret documents found on train

LONDON, June 14 (UPI) -- More secret British government papers have turned up on a train, a Treasury Ministry official said.

The documents, which dealt with British policies on terrorism, were found abandoned Wednesday on a train headed for Waterloo station, The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday. The files, which have been returned to the Treasury Ministry, outlined how trade and banking systems could be used to finance weapons of mass destruction in Iran and other terrorist efforts, the British newspaper said.

It was the second such incident in a week involving top-level secret papers.

"We are extremely concerned about what has happened and will be taking steps to ensure it doesn't happen in the future," a Treasury spokesman said.

Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat shadow home secretary, called it "extremely damaging" to the government's fight against terrorism since it was not known who may have seen the information.

"This is another appalling embarrassment for an accident-prone government," Huhne said.

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