Missile strikes the Italian Embassy in Iraq

Another three thousand American marines are on their way

A mortar shell was launched into the second floor of the Italian diplomatic offices in Baghdad. Fortunately, no one was wounded. The episode occurred at 11:30 p.m. local time. The second floor of the embassy is the office of the chancery. At that particular moment, there were few people in the office and all were unharmed.
Earlier in the week, around the Italian Embassy, there were two carts found each with 20 rockets ready to be launched, but it was not confirmed whether the target was intended to be the Italian diplomatic offices in Baghdad.
In the meantime, American operations continue in Iraqi territory. Last week, arrests were made of the wife and daughter of the Number 2 in the former Iraqi regime, Ezzat Ibrahim Al Douri. The two women were captured in the city of Samarra, north of Baghdad. There was no trace of Ezzat Ibrahim, 61, Vice President of Consul of Command of the Revolution before the fall of the regime, or the more sought-after Saddam Hussein. There is a $10 million price tag on his head.
Last week, Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld said that 3,000 American soldiers will be added to the present contingent in Iraq, starting in January. Last week, there was another American casualty, a soldier, who was killed from a shot accidentally fired from a fellow soldier. An inquiry has begun.
On the terrorism front, there was fear in New York when five people were put under medical surveillance after being exposed to what could be defined as an "unknown substance." The incident occurred in the underground tunnel "F" in Manhattan. In Germany, the recanting Shadi Abdallah, and ex-guard of the Bin Laden group, was sentenced to four years in prison for organizing terrorist acts against Israelis.
Ex-General Jay Garner, temporarily in charge of the administration of post-war Iraq, has admitted that there have been mistakes made in the management of the country since the war. Paul Bremrer later substituted Garner, who was already retired when he was asked to manage the U.S. administration in Iraq from the beginning of April until the middle of May.
Interviewed by BBC, Garner stated that some problems were derived from "rivalry between the various American agencies present in Iraq." He underlined the deficiencies of strategic communication between the Pentagon and the state department.

Publication Date: 2003-12-07
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=3441