Bombing stirs Shiites to lash out at Jordan

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The Jordanian Embassy was broken into and its flag torn down yesterday as thousands of Shiites protested after hearing reports that relatives of an alleged Jordanian suicide bomber who killed 125 people celebrated him as a martyr.

Hundreds protested in Baghdad, and thousands took to the streets of Najaf, spiritual home of the Shiites.

Anti-Jordanian sentiment has spread since Iraqis read newspaper reports that Raid al-Banna blew himself up beside people lining up for jobs in the Shiite town of Hillah on Feb. 28 in the single bloodiest attack in postwar Iraq.

Al-Qaida in Iraq, a group led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed responsibility for the blast.

The protests were the biggest outpouring of Shiite fury over Sunni insurgent attacks that have killed thousands.

In Jordan, Prime Minister Faisal al-Fayez said his nation stands by the Iraqi people in their struggle against terrorism targeting innocent civilians.

Witness: U.S. officer became brutal "sheik"

FORT CARSON, Colo. — The trial of an Army captain accused of assaulting Iraqi civilians began yesterday with a witness testifying that the officer, Capt. Shawn Martin, saw himself as a "sheik" or "king" of Rutbah, the small Iraqi desert town under his supervision.

Martin faces eight counts of assault and one count each of obstruction of justice and conduct unbecoming of an officer.

Lt. Joseph Heyman testified he saw Martin point a gun at the head of an Iraqi detainee and shout, "What do you know about this? If you don't tell me, I swear I'll kill you."

Prosecutors have also said Martin beat Iraqis with an aluminum baseball bat and once fired his pistol at the feet of an Iraqi suspect during an interrogation.

Millions questioned in Halliburton costs

WASHINGTON — Pentagon auditors have questioned more than $108 million in costs claimed by Halliburton on its $875 million contract to provide fuel in Iraq in 2003 and 2004, including a payment of $27.5 million to transport $82,000 worth of propane, according to records released yesterday.

The Defense Contract Audit Agency also faulted Halliburton subsidiary KBR for failing to provide the records necessary to evaluate spending on the contract. The data KBR gave the auditors didn't match the company's internal accounting records, the agency said.

Company spokeswoman Wendy Hall said yesterday that Halliburton gave the auditors all of its necessary records. She said the company did not overcharge.

"The facts show that KBR delivered fuel crucial to the Iraqi people when failure was not an option," she said.

A suicide car bomb exploded in northeastern Baghdad today, killing a child and wounding at least four people, officials said. The bomber apparently was trying to hit a traffic patrol, police said.