Iraq Notebook
Guardsman from 81st dies in blast

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Related stories "Fight in Fallujah is far from over" Washington Marine dies in Iraq blast

Spc. Qouc Tran, 26, was a member of the 181st Support Battalion, which is headquartered in Seattle but includes a San Bernardino, Calif., unit.

The 81st Brigade includes some 4,500 soldiers and was deployed to Iraq last April as part of the largest mobilization of Washington soldiers since World War II. The unit also includes soldiers, such as Tran, from the California Army National Guard.

Brigade members now are stationed around Iraq, as well as in Kuwait for what is expected to be a 12-month tour of duty.

Web site warns Iraqis to stay at home today

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A posting on an Islamist Web site warned Iraqis to stay at home today in Baghdad and other cities or they would be "putting their lives in danger."

The statement, in the name of eight known militant groups, said the unified "Islamic resistance" would step up operations against the "American enemy" in retaliation for the U.S.-led attack on the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah.

In Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, insurgents distributed leaflets warning shopkeepers to close their stores indefinitely starting today to protest the attack on Fallujah. Some families said they would keep their children away from school.

Sunnis criticize Fallujah offensive

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Prominent Sunni Muslim clerics and politicians condemned the U.S.-led offensive in Fallujah, lambasting the interim Iraqi government and urging a boycott of national elections scheduled for January, which could jeopardize the elections' success.

The Iraqi Islamic Party, the country's most influential Sunni political group, announced its withdrawal from the government. To date, it has supported the political process by sending members to join the U.S.-appointed Governing Council and its successor, the interim administration of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.
 
"From today, we have nothing to do with this government," said Iyad al-Samurraie, deputy secretary general of the Iraqi Islamic Party. "We don't want to take the responsibility of shedding Iraqi blood without any legal excuse."

But Hachem Hassani, the party's only Cabinet minister, said he planned to keep his position and form a new party because it is important for Sunnis to remain involved in the political process.

"Iraq is larger than any party," he said. "I feel it's a mistake to leave the government."

He also decried the boycott plan. "It will be a big mistake not to have the Sunnis' participation in the election," he said.

President visits wounded soldiers

WASHINGTON — President Bush paid a bedside visit to wounded soldiers at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center yesterday.

The president and his wife, Laura, went from room to room in two wards of the hospital to visit privately with 42 soldiers being treated for injuries ranging from broken bones and minor injuries to missing legs and severe skull injuries. The president also met with the family of a soldier who was in surgery.

"Every time I come to Walter Reed, I'm struck by the courage and bravery of our men and women who wear the uniform," Bush said after his meetings.

It was Bush's sixth visit to wounded troops at Walter Reed since 2001. The hospital has treated 3,612 patients from the Iraq war alone. Bush also has visited with wounded troops at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. As he travels around the country he also frequently meets with soldiers or families of those who have been killed.