Truck-bomb kills 11 troops

A truck-bomb has killed 11 Iraqi troops and wounded dozens at a base in the Diyala province.

It is understood that a roadside bomb was detonated as soldiers passed the truck which was parked outside the Kanaan army headquarters, around 70km's east of Baghdad. A second car-bomb which was left at the scene was defused. Contrary to earlier reports the security forces have said they do not believe that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber and believe that the bomb may have been detonated remotely.

Army officials said that a building at the base was destroyed in the attack and another seriously damaged. It is believed that up to 30 other soldiers were wounded in the attack which comes just days after 7 soldiers and a policeman were killed in gun and bomb attacks in the city Mosul.

This month has seen attacks by Iraqi rebels increase and the capacity of security forces to deal with the threat has been questioned.

Insurgents step up attacks in Iraq

Seven Iraqi soldiers and a policeman were killed in seperate attacks in Iraq as rebel groups step up their campaign.

In Mosul, seven soldiers were ambushed and killed by gunmen as they left their base in a minibus. It is understood that two cars pulled up in front of the vehicle, blocking it's path. Four armed gunmen then jumped out and fired into the bus with automatic weapons killing seven soldiers and seriously wounding the driver.

Later in the day, on the outskirts of Mosul, a police officer was killed by a sticky-bomb which was attached to his personal car. He was off-duty at the time.

US soldier back in custody over murder charge

US Marine Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins has been returned to the brig to serve the last five years of his eleven year sentence for murder.

Hutchins was released eight months ago after his murder conviction was overturned by a military court who ruled that his 2007 trial was unfair. The US Armed Forces court of appeal ,however, overruled that decision last month.

Sgt. Hutchins was charged with commanding an eight-man unit which abducted a 52-year old Iraqi man from his home in Hamdania, Al Anbar province, before binding his hands together and shooting him to death in a ditch. While most of the soldiers shot him, another fired a confiscated AK-47 assault rifle into the air before throwing the weapon into the ditch with the body, so as to give the impression that the dead man had attempted to ambush them. The identity of the deceased is unknown but he is not thought to have any connection with insurgent forces.

The other soldiers involved all served less than 18 months despite some receiving sentences of up to 14 years.

Hutchins' lawyer said that he will appeal for early release.

Gun and Bomb attacks rock Iraq - at least 11 dead

A wave of gun and bomb attacks have rocked Iraq over the past three days.

Since the new year two US soldiers, three Iraqi civilians, four Iraqi police and two Iraqi soldiers have been killed and over 100 others wounded.

Yesterday morning a suicide carbomb exploded outside a police intelligence office in Baquba, killing one man and wounding 15 others.

Insurgents also targeted Christian churches in the Iraqi capital, leaving two dead and over 40 wounded in seperate gun and bomb attacks.

In Taifiya a police officer was shot dead by an insurgent unit which used silenced weapons. A string of similar attacks also left three police officers and two members of the Iraqi army dead. One of those killed was a senior Colonel in the police.

Two US soldiers were also killed in central Iraq yesterday. The US Military refused to release any details about the incident or the identities of the two troops. These are the first US casualties of 2011.

There are currently 50,000 US troops still in Iraq although an agreement between Washington and Baghdad requires that they be withdrawn before the end of the year.

British troops could face war crimes charges

A squad of British soldiers who beat a civilian to death and seriously injured eight others could be charged with war crimes.

Father of two Baha Mousa, 26, sustained 93 injuries while in the custody of the Queens Lancashire Regiment in Basra in 2003. An inquiry into Mr. Mousa's death is set to publish it's findings in the Spring and while it has no powers of prosecution, it may open the way for criminal proceedings.

Mr. Mousa and a number of other men were detained during a raid on a hotel in Basra where they worked. They were accused of being insurgents and had bags placed over their heads before being taken to a detention centre. They were then subjected to a prolonged form of torture known as "conditioning" which involves food and sleep depravation and making them stand in painful stress positions for hours on end. Conditioning was banned by the British Army in 1972 after they were brought to the European Court of Human Rights by the Irish government over the mistreatment of internees in Northern Ireland.

While in captivity, Mr. Mousa suffered a staggering 93 injuries which would appear to show that he was violently tortured before eventually succumbing to his wounds. He was the father of two young boys at the time of his death, both of whom are now orphans as their mother had died of cancer only a few weeks before his detention.

The troops responsible for his death were court martialed over the incident but all bar one were found not guilty of any wrongdoing. Corporal Donald Payne became one of the first British soldiers to be convicted of a war crime when he was found guilty of inhumanley treating civilians.

The British government has agreed to pay €3.3 million in damages to the families of Mr. Mousa and the nine other Iraqi men who were tortured.

David Kilcullen attempts to justify murder of Reuters cameraman

US military strategist David Kilcullen has attempted to justify the murder of two Reuters cameramen in an airstrike in Baghdad in 2007.

When asked on BBC Newsnight whether the soldiers responsible for the killings had "made a mistake", Mr.Kilcullen responded by saying he did not think any mistake was made, despite the killing of up to 18 people (mainly civilians) and the wounding of two children. Following this, the reporter responded by pointing out that two Reuters cameramen were killed Mr. KIlcullen said "cameramen who were standing with insurgents, kind of interesting isn't it?"

He then went on to claim that the US and British invasion which has killed upwards of 100,000 civilians was "good for the Iraqi people".

Three killed in Iraq bomb attack

Two members of the Iraqi security services and a civilian were killed in a militant carbomb attack on a checkpoint in a Sunni area of Baghdad.

Another civilian was killed in booby-trap bomb attack on a pickup truck on the other side of the city.

Sectarian attacks have increased dramatically in Iraq following the fall of Saddam.