Iraq Notebook
Risky rescue draws praise

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TAJI, Iraq — An Army helicopter gunship pilot is being recommended for a bravery medal for the rescue of a pair of wounded American fliers whose helicopter crashed in hostile territory south of Baghdad Oct. 16.

Capt. Ryan Welch, 29, of Lebanon, N.H., who co-pilots an AH-64 Apache helicopter with the 1st Cavalry Division's 4th Brigade, led a risky night mission that saw him strap himself and a wounded flier to the exterior of the two-seat gunship that flew them to safety.

Welch hoisted one semiconscious man into the front seat of the Apache, and strapped the second pilot, also wounded and in shock, to the outside of the helicopter's body.

Welch said he then strapped himself to the helicopter's exterior for the 15-mile trip to an Army combat-support hospital.

Welch described the ride as "like driving a motorcycle 90 mph without a helmet."

Iraq duty extended for 6,500 soldiers

WASHINGTON — The Army has extended by two months the Iraq tours of about 6,500 soldiers, citing a need for experienced troops through the Iraqi elections scheduled for late January.

About 3,500 soldiers of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, based at Fort Hood, Texas, and 3,000 from the 1st Infantry Division headquarters in Germany will remain in Iraq two months longer than planned, Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said yesterday.

About 135,000 American troops are in Iraq.

"It makes sense to keep experienced soldiers who know the area and have developed relationships in Iraq on the ground during the election period," Whitman said. The Army had scheduled 10-month deployments for the units rather than the usual 12-month tours, to stagger the rotation of forces in and out of Iraq this winter.
 
Japanese backpacker is found beheaded

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A decapitated body wrapped in an American flag and found in an insurgent-controlled section of Baghdad was that of a Japanese man kidnapped by Islamic militants, a Japanese official said today. Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said in Tokyo that the government confirmed that the body found Saturday was that of Shosei Koda, 24.

An al-Qaida-linked group led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi showed Koda, a backpacker, on a video posted on a militant Web site Tuesday.

The group vowed to behead Koda within 48 hours unless Japan withdrew its troops from Iraq. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi quickly rejected that demand.

Polish hostage pleads for her life in video

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A Polish woman being held by militants pleaded for her life and asked Poland to remove its troops from Iraq in a video aired yesterday by Al Jazeera television.

Teresa Borcz Khalifa, a 54-year-old with dual Polish-Iraqi citizenship, was sitting in front of a banner with the militant group's name, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Fundamentalist Brigades.

"My life is in great danger. The one thing that will save my life is any response to the Iraqis' demands: by first getting the Polish troops out of Iraq and second, giving any help to release the female Iraqi prisoners from the various American prisons in Iraq."

Poland has about 2,400 troops in central Iraq. The Warsaw government has ruled out any possibility of negotiations or a pullout from Iraq.

Anti-war protests block streets in Rome

ROME — Tens of thousands of anti-war marchers blocked parts of central Rome yesterday to protest the U.S. led-invasion of Iraq.

Organizers from the "Stop the War" movement said more than 70,000 people had taken the streets, carrying banners reading "Troops out of Iraq" and "Stop bombing the cities."

Police declined to give a number but witnesses said the numbers looked to be less than that.

Italy has about 2,700 troops in Iraq.