SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, 3:04 p.m. Dec. 7 (AP)
U.S. special forces accused of abusing prisoners in Iraq threatened Defense Intelligence Agency personnel who saw the mistreatment and once confiscated photos of a prisoner who had been punched in the face, according to U.S. government memos released Tuesday by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The special forces also monitored e-mails sent by defense personnel and ordered them "not to talk to anyone" in the United States about what they saw, said one memo written by the Defense Intelligence Agency chief, who complained to his Pentagon bosses about the harassment.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 2:46 p.m. Dec. 7 (AP)
Iraqi official denounces neighbors for doing too little to keep foreigners from joining insurgency: A top Iraqi official accused the country's neighbors Tuesday of doing too little to stop foreigners from joining the brutal insurgency, while the U.S. combat death toll neared 1,000 with the killing of an American soldier in Baghdad.

BERLIN, 2:16 p.m. Dec. 7 (AP)
U.S. soldier accused of killing wounded Iraqi to be court-martialed: A U.S. tank company commander accused of killing a critically injured Iraqi driver for radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr will be court-martialed, an Army spokesman said Tuesday.

WASHINGTON, 2:15 p.m. Dec. 6 (AP)
Bush determined to see Iraq elections on Jan. 30: President Bush acknowledged Monday that American military forces "can never guarantee 100 percent security" for Iraq's elections Jan. 30, but said the voting must proceed on schedule to let people choose democracy over terrorism.

FORT HOOD, Texas, 2:50 p.m. Dec. 6 (AP)
Military judge says president's statements didn't taint jury pool: A military judge ruled Monday that statements by President Bush and military leaders about alleged Abu Ghraib abuses do not appear specific enough to taint the jury pool for next month's trial of a reputed ringleader in the case.

NEAR FALLUJA, Iraq, 2:57 a.m. Dec. 6 (REUTERS)
Falluja's displaced grow angry in harsh conditions: Forced out of their homes by a U.S.-led offensive in Falluja in November, thousands of Iraqis facing winter cold, medicine shortages and contaminated water are eager to return home.

WASHINGTON, 6:50 p.m. Dec. 5 (AP)
New account of Pat Tillman's last minutes describes friendly-fire horror: The last minutes of Pat Tillman's life were a horror of misdirected machine-gun fire and signals to firing colleagues that were misunderstood as hostile acts, according to an account published Sunday of the death of the NFL player-turned-soldier.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 11:49 a.m. Dec. 5 (AP)
Iraqis headed to military dump for work latest targets in massive insurgent campaign, 17 killed: Gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying unarmed Iraqis to work at a U.S. weapons dump near Tikrit on Sunday, killing 17 and bringing the toll from three days of intensified insurgent attacks to at least 70 Iraqi dead and dozens wounded.

MANAMA, Bahrain, 6:45 a.m. Dec. 4 (AP)
U.S. commander in Iraq: American troop increase is needed to ensure Jan. 30 elections are held: The United States will boost its forces in Iraq to a record number of 150,000 in coming weeks because inexperienced Iraqi troops cannot ensure security for next month's national elections, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq said Saturday.

CORONADO, 2:25 p.m. Dec. 3 (AP)
Navy investigating another set of Iraqi prisoner photos: The U.S. military has launched a criminal investigation into photographs that appear to show Navy SEALs in Iraq sitting on hooded and handcuffed detainees, and photos of what appear to be bloodied prisoners, one with a gun to his head.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 5:26 p.m. Dec. 3 (AP)
30 killed in insurgent attacks in Baghdad: In the deadliest insurgent violence in weeks, militants stormed two police stations and a mosque in Baghdad on Friday, killing 30 people. In the northern city of Mosul, 11 militants died in street battles with American and Iraqi forces.

WASHINGTON, 3:41 p.m. Dec. 3 (AP)
Pentagon says insurgents had lab in Fallujah to research chemical weapons: A chemical weapons laboratory that U.S. forces found last week in Fallujah as they chased out insurgents had chemicals and other paraphernalia to make deadly hydrogen cyanide, Pentagon officials said Friday.

FORT HOOD, Texas, 3:44 p.m. Dec. 3 (AP)
Three soldiers charged in abuse at Abu Ghraib prison scheduled for hearings: A lawyer for a soldier accused of leading the abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison plans to ask for charges to be dropped, arguing that the man cannot get a fair hearing because President Bush and military leaders have already said they believe he should be punished.

WASHINGTON, 2:49 p.m. Dec. 2 (AP)
Bush insists that Iraqi elections, planned for January, not be delayed: President Bush rejected calls for a delay in next month's Iraqi elections, insisting Thursday that the vote was too important to put off even though violence and chaos still grip much of the country.

WASHINGTON, 2:35 p.m. Dec. 2 (AP)
Bush to give medal of freedom to three men key to his Iraq policy: President Bush is awarding the nation's highest civilian honor to three men central to his Iraq policy, the White House announced Thursday.

WASHINGTON, 2:48 p.m. Dec. 2 (AP)
Marines say they will resume publicly reporting battle deaths in Iraq: More than a month after it stopped publicly reporting individual Marine deaths in Iraq, the Corps' main headquarters there intends to resume the announcements, a spokeswoman said Thursday.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 10:46 a.m. Dec. 2 (AP)
Mortar rounds strike central Baghdad, U.S. Embassy bans travel on dangerous road leading to airport: Insurgents killed an American soldier in the restive city of Mosul and mortar strikes pummeled central Baghdad on Thursday, while the U.S. Embassy barred employees from the dangerous highway leading to the airport.

WASHINGTON, 3:00 p.m. Dec. 1 (AP)
U.S. force in Iraq to rise to biggest of war as election nears: The United States is expanding its military force in Iraq to the highest level of the war – even higher than during the initial invasion in March 2003 – in order to bolster security in advance of next month's national elections.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 1:17 p.m. Dec. 1 (AP)
Iraq's Sunni president backs Jan. 30 elections: Iraq's president, an influential Sunni Muslim, threw his support Wednesday behind holding the Jan. 30 election on time despite insurgent threats he said have paralyzed voter registration voter registration in some Sunni areas of the country.

WASHINGTON, 8:26 a.m. Dec. 1 (AP)
Confidential report alerted some U.S. commanders in Iraq to abuse in December 2003: Some U.S. commanders in Iraq may have been alerted in December 2003 – before the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse allegations surfaced – that Iraqis in detention were being abused, a senior official said Wednesday.

TEHRAN, Iran, 7:07 a.m. Dec. 1 (AP)
Iraqis and their neighbors seek ways to stop foreign fighters from entering Iraq: Iraq and its neighbors sought ways at a high-level security meeting Wednesday to stop foreign fighters from entering Iraq as differences emerged on what to do with those already taken captive.

LONDON, 6:30 a.m. Dec. 1 (AP)
Hassan likely dead although dental records show mutilated body isn't hers, Britain says: Britain said Wednesday it believed kidnapped aid worker Margaret Hassan was likely dead, even though dental records proved a body found in Iraq wasn't hers.

NEAR ISKANDARIYA, Iraq, 3:40 a.m. Dec. 1 (REUTERS)
U.S., British troops raid old Baathist retreat: Hundreds of U.S. and British troops raided homes of insurgent suspects at first light on Wednesday in an area that was once a favoured country retreat of Saddam Hussein's Baath party elite.

BAGHDAD, 3:40 a.m. Dec. 1 (REUTERS)
Iraq Shi'ites set to present united election list: Iraq's Shi'ite Muslims are close to finalising a unified list of candidates to stand in next month's election, including representatives from the Sunni Arab and Kurdish communities, a senior Shi'ite official said.

KABUL, Afghanistan, 6:24 a.m. Dec. 1 (AP)
Officials: All six Americans killed in plane crash in Afghan mountains: Search teams have recovered the bodies of six Americans who died when their plane crashed high in Afghanistan's snow-covered mountains, U.S. military officials said Wednesday.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 2:00 p.m. Nov. 30 (AP)
Allawi in Jordan for meetings with influential Iraqis but rules out talks with Saddam loyalists, insurgents: Iraq's interim prime minister went to Jordan on Tuesday for meetings with tribal figures and other influential Iraqis in a bid to encourage Sunni Muslims to participate in the Jan. 30 elections, but he ruled out contacts with insurgent leaders and former members of Saddam Hussein's deposed regime.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 1:52 p.m. Nov. 30 (AP)
Coalition of 38 Shiite parties breaks off talks with al-Sistani followers: A group of 38 Shiite Muslim political parties broke off negotiations Tuesday with backers of Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric, claiming a candidate list under discussion was dominated by religious extremists.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 6:12 a.m. Nov. 30 (AP)
Iraq's Allawi headed to Jordan for meetings aimed at winning support among Sunni Arabs: Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi will travel to Jordan on Tuesday to meet with tribal figures and other influential Iraqis to try to win support among Sunni Arabs and encourage participation in upcoming elections. He ruled out a full-blown conference with insurgent enemies.

WASHINGTON, 1:47 p.m. Nov. 29 (AP)
Amnesty seeks files on Taser use by military in Iraq, Afghanistan: Amnesty International is asking the Defense Department whether the military used Taser electric stun guns on prisoners in Iraq or Afghanistan, saying it is uneasy about reports of mistreatment and abuse.

WASHINGTON, 1:56 p.m. Nov. 29 (AP)
Exceptional number of homemade bombs found in Fallujah: U.S. troops in Fallujah reported finding nearly as many homemade explosives over the past three weeks as had been uncovered throughout Iraq in the previous four months.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 2:00 a.m. Nov. 29 (AP)
Iraqi terror group's claim of responsibility for Mosul killings raises fears it has expanded north: A claim by Iraq's most feared terror group that it is behind the slaughter of Iraqi security force members in Mosul has raised fears that it has expanded to the north after losing its purported base in Fallujah.

FALLUJAH, Iraq, 11:07 p.m. Nov. 28 (AP)
Abandoned insurgents' hospital yields medical supplies laced with anti-American propaganda: Leaflets urging people to "count all the American tanks you see and report them to us" were strewn across the courtyard of a two-story building that doubled as a hospital for those who fought U.S. troops in this former insurgent stronghold.

NEAR ISKANDARIYA, Iraq, 6:00 a.m. Nov. 27 (REUTERS)
U.S. sends in secret weapon: Saddam's old commandos: Twenty months after toppling Saddam Hussein, U.S. troops still battling his followers in the heart of Iraq's old arms industry are hitting back with a new weapon – ex-members of Saddam's special forces.

BAGHDAD, 6:55 a.m. Nov. 27 (REUTERS)
Iraqi Shi'ite parties reject calls for poll delay: Iraq's main Shi'ite Muslim parties called on Saturday for elections to go ahead on Jan. 30 as scheduled, rejecting demands by Sunni and secular politicians for the poll to be postponed amid relentless violence.

WASHINGTON, 11:33 a.m. Nov. 26 (AP)
Audit: Halliburton lost track of government property in Iraq: A third or more of the government property Halliburton Co. was paid to manage for the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq could not be located by auditors, investigative reports to Congress show.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 8:40 a.m. Nov. 25 (AP)
Eight Sunni political groups want Iraq vote delayed unless election law reformed: Eight Sunni Muslim political groups have called on the Iraqi government to delay the Jan. 30 elections unless it meets a number of demands, including amending the law that considers the entire country a single constituency.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 6:17 a.m. Nov. 25 (AP)
Government says it arrested a lieutenant of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Mosul: A lieutenant of Iraq's most feared terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was captured a few days ago in Mosul, the government's national security adviser said Thursday.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 6:51 a.m. Nov. 25 (AP)
Iraqi official: Troops found chemical lab during sweep of Fallujah: Iraqi troops searching suspected terrorist hideouts in Fallujah discovered a laboratory with manuals on how to manufacture explosives and toxins – including anthrax, Iraq's national security adviser said Thursday.

WASHINGTON, 4:17 p.m. Nov. 24 (AP)
State Department official dies in Iraq: Secretary of State Colin Powell announced on Wednesday that a State Department education specialist was killed in Iraq.

FALLUJAH, Iraq, 3:32 p.m. Nov. 24 (AP)
U.S. officers say troops finding vast stores of weapons in Fallujah: U.S. Marine officers said Wednesday that U.S. and Iraqi troops sweeping Fallujah have uncovered enough weapons to fuel a nationwide rebellion and that clearing the former insurgent bastion of arms is holding up the return of civilians.

FORT HOOD, Texas, 2:09 p.m. Nov. 24 (AP)
Fort Hood soldier charged with murder of Iraqi citizen: A U.S. soldier was arrested and jailed on murder charges Wednesday in the death of an Iraqi civilian in January.

WASHINGTON, 2:48 p.m. Nov. 24 (AP)
Powell says Syria can do more to curb infiltration into Iraq: Secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday that Syria can do more to curb infiltration of foreign fighters into Iraq.

UNITED NATIONS, 4:44 p.m. Nov. 23 (AP)
Iraq protests decision to use $30 million from oil-for-food to investigate alleged corruption in the program: Iraq has protested a U.N. decision to use $30 million in revenue from the U.N. oil-for-food program for Iraq to help pay for the investigation of alleged corruption in the humanitarian effort.

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt, 8:17 a.m. Nov. 23 (AP)
Leaders attending conference on Iraq turn attention to Middle East peace process: The coming Palestinian elections provide an opportunity to revive the Middle East peace process, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Tuesday, adding that Israel is ready for such a step.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 3:36 p.m. Nov. 23 (AP)
Iraqi journalist in Fallujah tells of his time in U.S. detention, cites tough, sometimes humiliating treatment: An Iraqi journalist who stayed in Fallujah to report on the battle for his hometown says he and hundreds of other civilians who eventually turned themselves in to escape the violence suffered tough, sometimes humiliating, treatment from American and Iraqi guards.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 3:25 p.m. Nov. 22 (AP)
Allawi confident only small minority will boycott January vote: Iraq's interim prime minister said Monday he's confident only a small number of people will boycott the Jan. 30 elections despite anger among many Sunni Muslims over the Fallujah offensive and a deadly U.S.-Iraqi raid on a Baghdad mosque.

WASHINGTON, 11:30 a.m. Nov. 22 (AP)
Wounded Marines die at U.S. hospitals, raising death toll in Iraq for November beyond 100: Three Marines who were wounded in action during the Fallujah offensive later died at American hospitals in Germany and the United States, the Pentagon said Monday, raising the U.S. military death toll in Iraq for November to at least 101.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 2:45 p.m. Nov. 22 (AP)
U.S. says bomb found on commercial airliner in Iraq, security boosted at Baghdad airport: A homemade bomb was found Monday on a commercial flight inside Iraq, prompting additional screening measures to go into effect at Baghdad International Airport, the U.S. Embassy said.

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt, 11:22 a.m. Nov. 22 (AP)
Conference on Iraq to back the government's war on insurgents: Leaders meeting on Iraq's future plan to give strong backing to the interim government's war against insurgents, but won't set a deadline for withdrawing U.S.-led forces from Iraq – despite a push by France and some Arab countries.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 11:47 a.m. Nov. 21 (AP)
Baghdad: a city at war after raid on revered Sunni mosque, Fallujah fighting: A U.S.-Iraqi raid on the Abu Hanifa mosque – one of the most revered sites for Sunni Muslims – spawned a weekend of street battles, assassinations and a rash of bombings that changed Baghdad. The capital, for months a city of unrelenting but sporadic violence, has taken on the look of a battlefield.

FALLUJAH, Iraq, 11:49 a.m. Nov. 21 (AP)
U.S. troops say they find 'atrocity sites' in Fallujah: U.S. troops have found close to 20 "atrocity sites" used by insurgents to imprison, torture and kill hostages in Fallujah, a U.S. military officer said Sunday.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 8:18 a.m. Nov. 21 (AP)
Iraq Prime Minister's cousin released by kidnappers: Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's cousin has been released by his kidnappers, the Iraqi leader's office said Saturday.

PARIS, 8:56 a.m. Nov. 21 (AP)
Official: Paris Club, with exception of Russia, agrees on Iraq debt reduction: Major economic powers agreed in principle to write off billions of dollars of debt for Iraq, officials said Sunday, with France in particular agreeing to compromise as it seeks improved ties with the United States.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 11:21 a.m. Nov. 20 (AP)
U.S. military finds nine Iraqi soldiers executed in Mosul: The bodies of nine Iraqi soldiers, shot execution-style, were discovered in northern Mosul Saturday, the U.S. military said.

SANTIAGO, Chile, 10:09 a.m. Nov. 20 (REUTERS)
Japan PM says wants to continue helping Iraq: Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told President Bush Saturday that Japan wants to keep helping Iraq, but he stopped short of promising to extend a deployment of Japanese troops.

OMAHA, Neb., 9:59 a.m. Nov. 20 (AP)
Marine killed in Iraq just hours after son's birth in Nebraska: Marine Lance Cpl. Shane Kielion was killed in action in Iraq not knowing that his first child had been born just hours before.

WARSAW, 9:50 a.m. Nov. 20 (REUTERS)
Polish hostage freed in Iraq already in Warsaw: A Polish woman kidnapped in Iraq last month has been freed and flown to Poland and said she was treated well, raising hopes for other foreign hostages.

SANTIAGO, Chile, 8:38 a.m. Nov. 20 (REUTERS)
U.S. general says Zarqawi harder to nab than Saddam: Iraqi insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is harder to catch than Saddam Hussein but the chances may have improved since he fled Falluja, a U.S. general who captured the former president said Saturday.

BERLIN, 7:56 a.m. Nov. 20 (AP)
Key creditors to forgive up to 80 percent of Iraq's debt under U.S.-German accord: Germany and the United States have agreed on a proposal to write off as much as 80 percent of Iraq's debt, Germany's finance minister said Saturday, capping a monthslong U.S. push for debt forgiveness.

MOSUL, Iraq, 7:37 a.m. Nov. 20 (REUTERS)
U.S. troops see enemy all around as Mosul simmers: From the minaret of a mosque, two men appear to be watching U.S. troops, one peering through binoculars while the other talks on a mobile phone.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 4:37 p.m. Nov. 19 (AP)
U.S., Iraqi forces raid major Baghdad mosque as part of crackdown on militant Sunni clerics: Iraqi forces backed by American soldiers raided one of the country's most important Sunni mosques as worshippers were leaving after Friday prayers – part of a crackdown on militant clerics opposed to the U.S.-led attack on Fallujah. Witnesses said at least three people were killed and 40 arrested.

Nov. 19 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Marine to stand court-martial in slaying of his alleged lover: The court-martial of a Marine accused of killing a married woman with whom he allegedly had an affair is scheduled to begin Nov. 29.

Nov. 18 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Navy SEAL to be tried in death of Iraqi man: A Navy SEAL implicated in the beating of an Iraqi prisoner who later died at Abu Ghraib prison will face a court-martial after all.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 11:03 p.m. Nov. 17 (AP)
American troops in Baghdad slum see their reconstruction effort as blueprint for Fallujah: Goats nibble on rotting vegetables, barefoot children scavenge through garbage and women in black robes scuttle over slivers of pavement to avoid raw sewage floating down the street. As U.S. soldiers pass by, the bustle continues uninterrupted.

LONDON, 7:25 a.m. Nov. 18 (AP)
Chirac and Blair say relations between their countries are not strained despite disagreement over Iraq war: French President Jacques Chirac and British Prime Minister Tony Blair maintained Thursday that relations between their countries were not strained by their disagreements over the Iraq war, as evidenced by their cooperation on a number of international issues.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 4:13 p.m. Nov. 17 (AP)
Suicide bomber, clashes with insurgents claim at least 27 lives across Iraq's Sunni Muslim heartland: A suicide car bomber blasted an American convoy north of Baghdad and U.S. troops battled insurgents west of the capital Wednesday as a wave of violence across Iraq's Sunni Muslim heartland killed at least 27 people.

FALLUJAH, Iraq, 12:41 p.m. Nov. 17 (AP)
U.S. troops find personal effects of Marine said to have been abducted in Iraq: U.S. troops have recovered belongings of a U.S. Marine who was once feared beheaded by Iraqi insurgents after disappearing from his unit, U.S. officials said.

ABOARD THE USS JOHN F. KENNEDY, 10:58 a.m. Nov. 17 (AP)
U.S. warplanes scaling back Fallujah missions, watching for fleeing insurgents: American warplanes launched over Iraq from this aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf are scaling back their missions over Fallujah while keeping watch on cities where insurgents may flee.

BEIRUT, Lebanon, 11:18 a.m. Nov. 17 (AP)
Marine slaying of wounded Iraqi dominates Arab media, overshadowing British aid worker's killing: The chilling video of a U.S. Marine shooting and killing a wounded and apparently unarmed man in Iraq dominated the Arab world's media Wednesday, overshadowing the slaying of a British aid worker who had been kidnapped by Iraqi insurgents.

WARSAW, Poland, 8:44 a.m. Nov. 17 (AP)
Polish official warns Iraq coalition could be damaged by further international troop pullouts: If other countries follow Hungary in pulling troops out of Iraq, there might not be enough soldiers left to continue a Polish-led international security force, a Polish official warned in an interview published Wednesday.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 10:21 a.m. Nov. 17 (AP)
Family, colleagues mourn kidnapped aid worker believed slain in Iraq: The apparent slaying of CARE head Margaret Hassan by her kidnappers deepened the chill among aid agencies already fearful of operating in Iraq. In Ireland, where Hassan was born, hundreds of mourners packed a church Wednesday to pay final respects.

FALLUJAH, Iraq, 10:12 a.m. Nov. 17 (AP)
Militants battle on in Fallujah, days after control declared: U.S. Marines killed seven suspected insurgents trying to swim the Euphrates River, and militants' rockets fell on a U.S. camp on Fallujah's northern edge Wednesday, four days after American troops occupied all of the city.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 3:44 p.m. Nov. 16 (AP)
Aid worker Margaret Hassan believed dead after TV receives video of woman's slaying: Margaret Hassan, the British aid worker kidnapped after decades of helping Iraqis, is believed to have been murdered by her captors, a British government official said Tuesday, based on a video that showed a hooded militant shooting a blindfolded woman in the head.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 12:00 p.m. Nov. 16 (AP)
U.S., Iraqi troops launch offensive to retake parts of Mosul from insurgents: U.S. and Iraqi troops stormed insurgent-held police stations and neighborhoods Tuesday, launching an offensive to retake parts of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, where gunmen staged a mass uprising last week in support of fighters in Fallujah.

WASHINGTON, 11:58 a.m. Nov. 16 (AP)
November already is second deadliest month for U.S. troops in Iraq: U.S. deaths in Iraq this month are approaching 100, making it the second-deadliest month since American forces invaded the country in March 2003, Pentagon records show.

NEW YORK, 5:47 a.m. Nov. 16 (AP)
U.S. military investigating television pool report of U.S. Marine shooting wounded prisoner in a Fallujah mosque: The U.S. military is investigating the videotaped fatal shooting of a wounded and apparently unarmed Iraqi prisoner by a U.S. Marine in a mosque in Fallujah, a Marine spokesman said.

BAGHDAD, 1:08 a.m. Nov. 16 (REUTERS)
U.S. soldier killed in attack north of Baghdad: Insurgents killed one U.S. soldier and wounded another in an attack on their convoy north of Baghdad on Tuesday, the U.S. military said.

FALLUJA, Iraq, 7:34 a.m. Nov. 16 (REUTERS)
U.S. Marines rally round Iraq probe comrade: U.S. Marines rallied round a comrade under investigation for killing a wounded Iraqi during the offensive in Falluja, saying he was probably under combat stress in unpredictable, hair-trigger circumstances.

GENEVA, 7:25 a.m. Nov. 16 (AP)
Geneva Conventions on war spell out ban on harming wounded: Protection of wounded combatants is a basic rule in the universally accepted treaty on warfare applying to the U.S. investigation of the videotaped fatal shooting of a wounded and apparently unarmed Iraqi combatant, international legal experts said Tuesday. But there is debate on whether self-defense could apply.

LONDON, 12:58 a.m. Nov. 16 (AP)
French president: Britain got little for supporting U.S. in Iraq: Britain got very little in return for supporting the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, and U.S. policies make it all but impossible for anyone to act as a bridge between Washington and Europe, French President Jacques Chirac said in an interview published Tuesday.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 7:47 p.m. Nov. 15 (AP)
U.S. troops battle insurgents across central Iraq: U.S. soldiers battled insurgents in the Sunni Muslim strongholds around Baghdad and in the north of Iraq on Monday in clashes that killed more than 50 people. Some guerrillas were said to be "fighting to the death" inside Fallujah, where American forces struggled to clear pockets of resistance.

NEW YORK, 7:49 p.m. Nov. 15 (AP)
Television pool report says U.S. Marine shoots wounded prisoner in a Fallujah mosque: A U.S. Marine shot and killed a wounded and apparently unarmed Iraqi prisoner in a mosque in the former insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, according to dramatic pool television pictures broadcast Monday. A Marine spokesman in Washington said the shooting was under investigation.

LANDSTUHL, Germany, 12:45 p.m. Nov. 15 (AP)
U.S. troops wounded in Fallujah tell of fierce battle with Iraqi insurgents: Everyone keeps telling Lance Cpl. Ryan Chapman he's lucky. The 22-year-old Marine gunner from Lawrence, Kan., was wearing an ugly stitched-up wound over his left eye Monday, a reminder of an encounter with an insurgent in the Iraqi battleground city of Fallujah.

WASHINGTON, 1:22 p.m. Nov. 15 (AP)
Few foreigners are among insurgents captured in Fallujah: Only a tiny percentage of the more than 1,000 insurgents detained by U.S. forces in the Iraqi city of Fallujah over the past week are foreigners, a Marine officer said Monday.

KIRKUK, Iraq, 11:37 a.m. Nov. 15 (AP)
Saboteurs attack oil pipeline, pumping station in northern Iraq: Saboteurs blew up an oil pipeline Monday, shutting down Iraqi oil exports from the north, and set fire to a storage and pumping station in northern Iraq, offficials said.

RAMSTEIN, Germany, 8:57 a.m. Nov. 13 (AP)
Two planeloads of U.S. soldiers brought to hospital in Germany: More than 70 U.S. soldiers from Iraq were flown Saturday to a military hospital in Germany, most of them wounded in the battle for Fallujah, officials said.

FALLUJAH, Iraq, 11:38 a.m. Nov. 12 (AP)
Americans push deeper into Fallujah: American forces Friday pushed deeper into the last remaining insurgent stronghold in Fallujah, and the Iraqi government rushed massive reinforcements to Mosul, the country's third-largest city, where police lost control in the face of insurgent attacks.

WASHINGTON, 4:44 p.m. Nov. 12 (AP)
Army again raises requirement for armored Humvees in Iraq: With no sign of the Iraq insurgency ending soon, the Army has again raised its goal for replacing regular Humvee utility vehicles in Iraq with armored Humvees, the Army's top civilian official said Friday.

PARIS, 2:29 p.m. Nov. 12 (AP)
France found way to contact kidnappers in Iraq, says relative of freed hostage: Before the U.S. assault on Fallujah, France had found a channel for direct contacts with an Iraqi group thought to have taken two French reporters and their driver hostage, the driver's brother-in-law said Friday.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 3:08 p.m. Nov. 12 (AP)
Aid agencies warn of a major disaster if civilians cordoned in Fallujah don't receive aid soon: Iraqis trapped in Fallujah face a humanitarian disaster unless Iraqi and U.S. authorities allow food, water and medicine into the besieged city, aid agencies said Friday.

FALLUJAH, Iraq, 10:35 a.m. Nov. 12 (AP)
U.S. Marines blast and batter way across in Fallujah in hunt for insurgents: Trooping past bodies and abandoned weapons, U.S. Marines blasted their way through walls and hammered open doors Friday in the hunt for insurgents in Fallujah. On the Muslim holy day, no calls to prayer were heard in a town dubbed "the city of mosques."

CAIRO, Egypt, 7:41 a.m. Nov. 12 (AP)
Audio recording purportedly by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi urges fighters to hang on as 'victory is on the horizon': An audiotape purportedly made by al-Qaeda-linked terror suspect Abu Musab al-Zarqawi encouraged his fighters in Fallujah and said victory was near.

NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq, 7:47 a.m. Nov. 12 (AP)
U.S. military: Helicopter shot down north of Baghdad, three crew members wounded: A U.S. Army helicopter was shot down Friday north of Baghdad, and its three crew members were wounded, the U.S military said.

SACRAMENTO, Nov. 12 (COPLEY NEWS SERVICE)
Soldier asks court to stop deployment: Scheduled to be shipped out to Iraq in less than 10 days, a Sacramento soldier continues to pursue his legal challenge to the Bush administration's so-called stop-loss policy that involuntarily extends enlistment periods.

NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq, 2:38 p.m. Nov. 11 (AP)
U.S. military intelligence officers comb through Fallujah 'hostage slaughterhouse': U.S. and Iraqi troops battling their way through Fallujah stumbled on a horrific find – a small, windowless room with blood-soaked mattresses and straw mats on the floor that U.S. commanders are calling a "hostage slaughterhouse."

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 2:35 p.m. Nov. 11 (AP)
Al-Jazeera airs video of American hostage held in Iraq: Al-Jazeera television aired a videotape Thursday showing what the station said was an American contractor of Lebanese origin held hostage in Iraq.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 2:56 p.m. Nov. 11 (AP)
The Iraqi government instructs news organizations to push the official line on Fallujah coverage: The Iraqi government warned news organizations Thursday to distinguish between insurgents and ordinary civilians in coverage of the fighting in Fallujah and to promote the leadership's position or face unspecified action.

CAMP PENDLETON, Nov. 11 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Marine guilty in death of Iraqi: An officer in charge of a Marine-run jail in Iraq was convicted of maltreatment and dereliction of duty and kicked out of the Corps yesterday for his handling of an Iraqi prisoner found dead last year.

FRANKFURT, Germany, 8:38 a.m. Nov. 11 (AP)
Dozens of Fallujah wounded arriving at U.S. military hospital in Germany: A steady stream of American wounded from the Fallujah offensive in Iraq have been arriving at the U.S. military's main hospital in Europe, prompting staff to expand bed capacity, officials said Thursday.

BEIRUT, 7:12 a.m. Nov. 11 (REUTERS)
Family begs for release of abducted Allawi relative: Relatives of a kidnapped member of Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's family have begged her captors to release her saying she was pregnant, in a videotape aired by Lebanese satellite channel LBC on Thursday.

MOSUL, Iraq, 6:33 a.m. Nov. 11 (AP)
Clashes escalate in Mosul with attacks on police stations: Insurgents overwhelmed several police stations and clashed with U.S. and Iraqi troops Thursday in this northern Iraqi city, where gunmen roamed the streets and explosions and gunfire heard.

NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq, 5:54 a.m. Nov. 11 (AP)
U.S. military estimates 600 insurgents killed since Fallujah offensive began: An estimated 600 insurgents have been killed since the start of the battle of Fallujah on Monday night, the U.S. military said Thursday.

DUBAI, 5:39 a.m. Nov. 11 (REUTERS)
Two U.S. helicopters shot down in Iraq – Arabiya: Two U.S. Cobra helicopters have been shot down near the Iraqi city of Falluja, Al Arabiya television said on Thursday, quoting U.S. military sources.

NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq, 4:53 a.m. Nov. 11 (AP)
Two Marine helicopters shot down over Fallujah: The U.S. military said Thursday two U.S. Marine attack helicopters were shot down in separate incidents near Fallujah and their crews were rescued without injuries.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 3:53 a.m. Nov. 11 (AP)
U.S. troops find an Iraqi chained to a wall in Fallujah building: U.S. forces found and freed an Iraqi who had been chained to a wall and beaten by his captors in a building in Fallujah, the military said Thursday. The man told Marines he was a taxi driver held for 10 days.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 3:30 a.m. Nov. 11 (AP)
Car bomb on central Baghdad thoroughfare kills 17: A car bomb exploded in the heart of Baghdad Thursday, killing 17 people and wounding at least eight in a crowded commercial area, police said.

CAMP PENDLETON, 10:01 p.m. Nov. 10 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Marine convicted in death of Iraqi inmate: An officer in charge of a Marine-run jail in Iraq was convicted of maltreatment and dereliction of duty Wednesday for his handling of an Iraqi prisoner found dead last year.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 7:16 p.m. Nov. 10 (AP)
Statement in the name of Iraq-based extremist group threatens suicide attacks against U.S. interests in Bahrain: A statement found Thursday on an Islamist Web site and posted in the name of an Iraqi extremist group warned it plans suicide attacks against American and other targets in Bahrain.

CAMP PENDLETON, 4:44 p.m. Nov. 10 (AP)
Jury finds Marine major guilty of lesser charges in death of Iraqi inmate: A military jury acquitted a Marine major of assault and battery Wednesday in connection with the death of an Iraqi prisoner, but found him guilty of two lesser counts.

TEMECULA, Nov. 10 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
The perpetual gloom of Fallujah not easily forgotten by Marines: Marine Staff Sgt. Robert Talley has a term for the sniper fire his platoon encountered in Fallujah this year: "Spray and pray."

NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq, 12:32 p.m. Nov. 10 (AP)
Many insurgents appear to have fled Fallujah before U.S. offensive: The rapid U.S. push into Fallujah has come without the sort of fateful showdown that would break the back of the insurgency. In fact, advance U.S. and Iraqi government warnings gave the militants plenty of time to get out of town, and it appears many did just that.

WASHINGTON, 2:18 p.m. Nov. 10 (AP)
Ultimate success will be measured by political stability: U.S. troops have cut through the insurgent sanctuary of Fallujah like a hot knife through butter, but the true measure of success is more political than military: Once this battle is over, will the newly installed Iraqi authorities be able to keep the city under control?

NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq, 10:21 p.m. Nov. 9 (AP)
U.S. forces battle their way into Fallujah's center: U.S. troops fought their way across the main highway that divides the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah on Wednesday, and the military said at least 71 militants were killed in intense urban combat in the city's deserted and narrow lanes.

CAMP PENDLETON, Nov. 10 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Major let Iraqi die, prosecutor says: A Marine Corps major in charge of a detention facility in Iraq allowed a prisoner to die because to him, the man "was getting what he deserved," a military prosecutor told a jury yesterday.

CAMP PENDLETON, 3:50 p.m. Nov. 9 (AP)
Prosecutors say Marine major set bad example at Iraqi prison camp: A Marine major in charge of a military jail in Iraq set the wrong example for his men and the result was the tragic death of a prisoner last year, a prosecutor said Tuesday at the end of the officer's court-martial.

WASHINGTON, 12:21 p.m. Nov. 9 (AP)
Bush visits with wounded soldiers as fighting rages in Iraq: President Bush, paying a bedside visit to soldiers wounded in Iraq, said Tuesday that U.S. troops leading the assault against insurgents in Fallujah were doing "the hard work necessary for a free Iraq to emerge."

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 11:34 a.m. Nov. 9 (AP)
Baghdad airport closed to all traffic after missile fired at transport plane: Baghdad's international airport was closed to military traffic Tuesday after a missile was fired at a transport plane, U.S. officials said.

WASHINGTON, 11:47 a.m. Nov. 9 (AP)
U.S. death toll rising in Iraq, but not just in Fallujah offensive: American casualties in Iraq are mounting as the U.S.-led offensive in Fallujah unfolds. Monday's death toll of 11 was among the highest for a single day in Iraq since last spring, though most were killed elsewhere in the country.

FALLUJAH, Iraq, 11:58 a.m. Nov. 9 (AP)
Marines, Iraqi forces turn newly captured train station into new forward base in Fallujah: As earthshaking artillery blasts and machine-gun fire shook the streets of Fallujah, U.S. and Iraqi forces rested at their new forward base, a train station on the city's northern edge captured from insurgents after a long night of fighting.

CAMP PENDLETON, Nov. 9 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Officer says harm to Iraqi prisoner was unintentional: A Marine Corps major said yesterday he did not intend to harm an uncooperative Iraqi prisoner and would have stopped the man from being dragged from his cell by the neck had it appeared the man was being injured.

CAMP PENDLETON, 2:21 p.m. Nov. 8 (AP)
In court-martial, Marine says he doubted Iraqi inmate was ill: A Marine major implicated in the death of an Iraqi prisoner testified Monday at his own court-martial that he believed the prisoner was uncooperative and faking illness, but that he never intended to harm the man.