As the original incident is now thought to have occured in Iraq, it's in the Iraqi section rather than the Global Hotspots one. Watch this space.

From the AFP via The Australian :

Eight British servicemen captured by Iran after their boats supposedly strayed into Iranian waters were “forcibly escorted” across the national boundary from Iraq, Britain's defence minister said today.

The six marines and two navy sailors were detained for three days in Iran last week, during which they were paraded blindfold on television and forced to publicly apologise for what they called a “mistake”.

Iran insisted that the boats were intercepted only after they entered Iranian waters on the Shatt al-Arab waterway that divides southern Iraq from Iran.

But in a strongly-worded written statement, British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon dismissed this version of events.

“In a recent debriefing the crews have said that they were operating inside the Iraqi border and were forcibly escorted into Iranian territorial waters,” he said.
“Our assessment continues and will be greatly assisted by the retrieval of navigational information in the Global Positioning System equipment carried by the crews,” he said.

This equipment, along with the three boats in which the servicemen had been travelling, had yet to be returned by Iran despite a deadline set by Britain of yesterday, Mr Hoon said.

This statement indicates a significant change of attitude in the UK's relations with Tehran. So far, the UK has bent over backwards to ensure that worsening relations aren't exacerbated by forthright and public criticism, while quietly exerting considerable pressure behind the scenes. So far, the Mullahs have kept their promises, but no longer, it seems. The gloves are now off. For a historical counterpoint, see USS Pueblo.

From The Australian :

a car bomb […] exploded outside a police headquarters in Samawah, 240km south of the capital
[…]
Meanwhile, police slapped a 9pm to 6am curfew on the Shiite holy city of Najaf yesterday, a day after discovering about 67.5kg of explosives in a white BMW, police Brigadier Ghalib al-Jazaari said.

One Libyan man who allegedly entered Iraq from neighbouring Syria to fight US forces was detained in connection with the incident, Brigadier al-Jazaari said.

The police chief also said militiamen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr kidnapped 25 policemen on Tuesday in Najaf, 160km south of Baghdad, in response to the arrest of two of their colleagues but released 16 of them yesterday.

Ahmad al-Shibani, an al-Sadr spokesman, confirmed the kidnappings, but said all 25 had been freed. “We just wanted to teach them a lesson,” he said.
[…]
…a 1st Armoured Division soldier was killed and four others were injured during a traffic accident near the Kuwait border last night, the US military said. The accident was non-combat related, the military said.

From The Australian :

… insurgents fired mortar rounds at a US base on the outskirts of Baghdad's airport, wounding 11 soldiers and starting a fire that burned for over an hour.
[…]
Guerillas fired at least 10 mortar rounds at the logistics base on the edge of Baghdad's airport at about 8:15 a.m., Lieutenant Colonel Richard Rael, their commander, said.

Black smoke hung over the airport for an hour after one of the 82mm mortar rounds struck a petroleum products yard. The fire caused no injuries.

The base has been subject to almost daily mortar attacks, but this was the first time the attacks caused significant casualties and damage.

From The Australian :

The US military launched another air strike early today against a suspected hideout of terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Fallujah, killing four people and wounding 10 others, US officials and residents in the city said.

The air strike was the fourth such attack in recent weeks against suspected terrorist targets in the city west of Baghdad.

US Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, deputy operations director for the multinational force, said the attack was carried out after “multiple confirmations of Iraqi and multinational intelligence”.

His statement gave no further details but residents contacted by telephone said US jets fired missiles at a house on the eastern side of the city. A doctor said four people were killed and 10 were injured.

From the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :

Iraq's former dictator Saddam Hussein is expected to be charged in a Baghdad court today.

When he appears, Saddam will probably be charged with crimes stemming from the war with Iran in the 1980s and the invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

The government of Kuwait has called for Saddam to be executed.

He is also likely to be charged with the gas attack that killed thousands of Kurds at Halabja in 1988.

Ali Hassan al Majid, a former senior aide to Hussein, better known as Chemical Ali for his role in the attack, will also be charged.

Plans are underway to televise the event.
[…]
Earlier, Saddam appeared before an Iraqi judge as the country's new interim Government took the first step towards bringing him to justice.

The deposed dictator and 11 of his lieutenants were turned over to face Iraqi justice nearly 15 months after US-led forces overthrew him.

They will stay under US military guard.

“Saddam said 'Good morning' and asked if he could ask some questions,” US-trained lawyer leading the work of a tribunal set up to try the former president, Salem Chalabi said.

Mr Chalabi said Saddam was told he should wait until his next court appearance.

REUTERS: Saddam Lawyer Says Trial Mockery of Justice

Saddam Hussein will not get a fair trial and his captors have already decided his fate, the deposed Iraqi president's defense lawyer said Wednesday.

“This is a mockery of justice. We are facing clear legal violations. … The allegations that this is going to be a fair trial is baseless,” said Mohammad Rashdan, one of a 20-member legal team appointed by Saddam's wife to represent him.

A U.S. official said the United States formally transferred Saddam and 11 of his top lieutenants before an Iraqi judge as Iraq took legal custody of them.

Saddam will remain in the physical custody of U.S. forces. He and his top aides are to be charged Thursday.

“Any trial of the president is illegal and unjust and it follows from the aggression that took place against Iraq. The trial is a farce and the guilty verdict had been issued even before the trial has begun,” he added.

Some information about the Iraq War was available as it happened. Some will no doubt be released in the future. Here's some that has only just been released. Updating a previous post.

From The Telegraph :

America's military commander in Iraq ordered British troops to prepare a full-scale ground offensive against Iranian forces that had crossed the border and grabbed disputed territory, a senior officer has disclosed.

An attack would almost certainly have provoked open conflict with Iran. But the British chose instead to resolve the matter through diplomatic channels.

“If we had attacked the Iranian positions, all hell would have broken loose,” a defence source said yesterday.

“We would have had the Iranians to our front and the Iraqi insurgents picking us off at the rear.”

The incident was disclosed by a senior British officer at a conference in London last week and is reported in today's edition of Defence Analysis. The identity of the officer is not given.

“Some Iranian border and observation posts were re-positioned over the border, broadly a kilometre into Iraq,” a Ministry of Defence spokesman said.

The incident began last July when Revolutionary Guards pushed about a kilometre into Iraq to the north and east of Basra in an apparent attempt to reoccupy territory which they claimed belonged to Iran.

Lt Gen Ricardo Sanchez then ordered the British to prepare to send in several thousand troops to attack the Revolutionary Guard positions.

The Revolutionary Guard Corps has 125,000 soldiers, making it 25 per cent larger than the entire British Army, and is equipped with 500 tanks, 600 armoured personnel carriers and 360 artillery weapons.
[…]
The Iran-Iraq incident lasted around a week and was resolved by a telephone conversation between Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, and Kamal Kharrazi, his Iranian counterpart, British officials said.

“It did look rather nasty at the time,” one official said. “But we were always confident it was a mistake and could be resolved by diplomatic means. We got in touch with Baghdad and said, 'Don't do anything silly; we are talking to the Iranians.' “

While Mr Straw was trying to resolve the issue peacefully, British military commanders on the ground were calming their Iranian counterparts, the ministry said.

Not explicitly mentioned in the article is whether or not the Iranians went back to their start lines.

Hat Tip : reader Max.

EVENING STANDARD: Britain thinks Saddam will be executed

Britain accepts that Saddam Hussein is likely to be executed by the Iraqi government for war crimes, senior Government sources have revealed.

The former dictator is facing what one senior Iraqi called “the trial of the century” after he was transferred from American to Baghdad legal custody today. He will remain in the physical custody of US forces.

He is due to appear in court tomorrow along with 11 of his henchmen including former deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz and Ali Hassan Al Majid, also known as “Chemical Ali”.

Iraq's interim government is reinstating the death penalty but will offer an amnesty to Iraqis who “do not have their countrymen's blood on their hands”, President Ghazi al-Yawar was quoted as saying.

The United States has transferred legal custody of Saddam Hussein and 11 of his top lieutenants to Iraq's new government, a U.S. official says.

Saddam will remain in the physical custody of U.S. forces. He is expected to be formally charged on Thursday.

Saddam fled when U.S. forces entered Baghdad on April 9 last year. He was found hiding in a hole near his hometown of Tikrit.

More:

After the transfer, which took place Wednesday morning, Saddam looked visibly shaken, Salem Chalabi, executive director of the Special Iraqi Tribunal said.

Saddam and his aides are no longer prisoners of war, although they will physically remain in coalition military hands until the Iraqi security apparatus is ready to hold them.

Legally, Saddam and his aides will be in Iraqi custody until their trials, which are not expected before next year.

Saddam was advised that he had the right to legal counsel, and he wanted to ask questions but was told he would be able to ask them during his court appearance Thursday, Chalabi said.

The former Iraqi leader is expected to be charged Thursday, however the formal indictment could take months.

From the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :

Australia, the United States and Denmark have become the first countries to send ambassadors to present credentials to Iraq's interim President, just 24 hours after the country regained 'sovereignty'.

Australia's ambassador was the first to be officially welcomed by the Iraqi President followed by the US and Danish diplomats.

Australian ambassador Neil Mules joined his US counterpart John Negroponte, head of the world's largest American embassy and Denmark's Torben Getterman in handing their credentials to President Ghazi al-Yawar at the formal ceremony.

Australia First Again. Oi Oi Oi!

From the ABC :

Saddam Hussein could be tried after other members of his ousted regime, Iraq's ambassador to the United States has said.

Saddam will be handed over to Iraqi justice on Wednesday, two days after the country regained sovereignty from Washington, but US soldiers will still guard him to ensure he does not escape.

Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said on Tuesday that Saddam and up to 11 top members of his ousted government would appear before Iraqi judges to be charged on Thursday, although a trial was still months away.

“I have always believed that the sooner Saddam Hussein was brought in the courtroom, the better for Iraq”, Iraqi ambassador Rend Rahim said.

“We're approaching that trial,” she said at a conference called at a conservative Washington think-tank, the American Enterprise Institute.

“It could happen in the coming weeks, it might start with the trials of lesser persons, like Ali Hassan al-Majid (known as Chemical Ali)”.

She called the trials “a cleansing, reconciliation process” and “a kind of reverse trauma the Iraqis need to go through”.

“It's an important part of working out their legacy.”

Saddam would be charged with crimes against humanity for a 1988 massacre of Kurds, the 1990 invasion of Kuwait and the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, said Salem Chalabi, a lawyer leading the work of a tribunal that will try the former Iraqi leader.

From the AFP via the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :

A British civilian contractor was killed in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Thursday while working as a security consultant, Britain's Foreign Office said.

”I understand that his vehicle was ambushed,” a Foreign Office spokeswoman told AFP, giving no more details of the incident.

“We have informed Mr (Julian) Davies' family and we would appreciate the maintenance of their privacy at this time in order for them to grieve their loss,” a spokeswoman for his company Global Risk Strategies said.

From AP

1. Saddam Hussein; president; detained Dec. 13

2. Ali Hasan al-Majid, also known as Chemical Ali for his role in chemical weapons attacks against the Kurds; Number five on the most wanted list; detained Aug. 21

3. Aziz Saleh al-Numan; Baath Party Baghdad regional command chairman; number eight on the most wanted list; detained May 22, 2003.

4. Barzan Ibrahim al-Hassan al-Tikriti; presidential adviser and Saddam's half brother; number 38 on the most wanted list; allegedly the chief organizer of a clandestine group of companies and funds handling Saddam's money; detained April 16, 2003.

5. Kamal Mustafa Abdullah al-Tikriti; secretary of the Republican Guard; Saddam's son-in-law; number 10 on the most wanted list; detained May 17, 2003

6. Muhammed Hamza al-Zubaydi; retired revolutionary command council member; a leader of the 1991 suppression of the Shiite rebellion; number nine of the most wanted list; detained April 20, 2003.

7. Sabir Abdul Aziz Al-Douri; governor of Baghdad; head of military intelligence during the 1991 Gulf War; detention date not known.

8. Abid Hamid Mahmoud al-Tikriti, presidential secretary; he oversaw personal security force; detained June 16, 2003.

9. Sultan Hashim Ahmad; defense minister; number 27 on the most wanted list; detained Sept. 19.

10. Taha Yassin Ramadan; Iraqi vice president; revolutionary command council member; number 20 on the most wanted list; detained Aug. 20

11. Tareq Aziz; former deputy prime minister; former foreign minister; number 25 on the most wanted list; Detained April 25, 2003.

12. Watban Ibrahim al-Hasan al-Tikriti; presidential adviser and Saddam's half brother; detained April 13, 2003

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from Iraq that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. This (updated) briefing is brought to you by Andrew Olmsted of Andrew Olmsted dot com.

TOP TOPICS

• JK: In a surprise move, the USA has handed over formal sovereignty to the new Iraqi government 2 days earlier than planned. That ought to distrupt a few terrorist timetables - and probably doesn't do Reuters and The New York Times any favours, either. Here's a roundup of reaction from the Iraqi blogosphere.

• Al Jazeera is reporting that an Iraqi terrorist group has captured a U.S. Marine and will behead him unless the U.S. released certain Iraqi prisoners. The Pentagon has confirmed that a Marine has been missing since June 21, but cannot confirm that this Marine is actually a captive or not. One thing is certain: if the Iraqis follow through on their threat and behead a Marine, terrorists facing Marines in future combats won't need to worry about being mistreated at Abu Ghraib.
  UPDATE: There are reports that PFC Keith Maupin has been executed.

• President Bush is meeting with the heads of state of NATO for a two-day summit in Istanbul that will include discussion of NATO's role, if any in Iraq as the transitional government takes charge. The U.S. is hopeful it can gain at least limited NATO support for training and technical assistance to the new Iraqi government. If successful, the summit will garner some valuable international support for the new Iraqi government; if not successful, the Bush administration may have to go to the well yet again to draw on American forces to provide the necessary training. More NATO analysis here.

Other Topics Today Include: how 1AD beat al-Sadr; Violence continues in Iraq; Car bombing updates; Sovereignty's limitations; A new (Iraqi) sheriff is coming to town; An al-Qaeda terrorist recants; Books for Iraq; Toys for Iraq; How to support the troops.

Read The Rest…

From The Australian :

The extremist group responsible for beheading two foreign hostages was releasing three Turkish captives “for the sake of their Muslim brothers”, Al-Jazeera television said today.
[…]
Supporters of al-Zarqawi, a suspected al-Qaeda terrorist, said on Saturday that they would behead the Turkish hostages within 72 hours unless Turkish companies stopped doing business with US forces in Iraq.
[…]
The following day, Turkey's defence minister, Vecdi Gonul, reportedly said Turkey would not give in to terrorists' threats.

From Reuters via the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :

A road-side bomb blast has killed an unknown number of US Marines in eastern Baghdad, a Marine at the scene says.

”I don't know how many died here, [they] killed some Marines,” the Marine said.

“It's very sad to see people die today.

“We are just trying to help and I don't know why the terrorists want to kill us. We just want to help Iraqis.”

A US military spokesman had no immediate word on the attack, which wrecked a Humvee vehicle in the Canal district.

And from The Australian :

The explosion took place about 10am, Army Major Phil Smith of the 1st Cavalry Division said.
[…]
A US soldier at the scene said several US troops were wounded or killed in the attack when a roadside bomb hit the lead vehicle.

Footage from Associated Press Television News showed blood inside a slightly damaged Humvee and a flak vest lying in the road.

More details as they become available.
UPDATE: From the AFP via the ABC :

Three US marines were killed and two wounded when their convoy was hit in a bomb attack in Baghdad early on Tuesday, the US military said in a statement.

”Three marines were killed and two wounded when a Marine convoy was attacked with a roadside bomb in east Baghdad at 2:00am on June 29,” the statement said.

From the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :

Two planes built by an aircraft designer and manufacturer in Queensland have been sold to Iraq's new air force.

The Seeker aircraft will be used for oil, pipeline and border patrol.

Two planes manufactured by Hervey Bay's Seabird Aviation will be delivered to the southern city of Basra mid-next month.

A joint venture will see the aircraft assembled in Jordan.

Member for Wide Bay Warren Truss says the Seekers represent the rebirth of an air force that will fly in cooperation with coalition forces in Iraq for the first time in almost two decades.

Seabird Aviation managing director Don Adams says Iraqi pilots and engineers are being trained in Jordan to operate the planes.

The planes are fitted with surveillance systems and digital video recording hardware.

The pilots will pass on suspicious activity to Iraqi and Coalition forces.

From the AFP via The Australian :

The US-led coalition has officially agreed to hand jailed dictator Saddam Hussein and 11 members of his old regime over to Iraqi custody in the next few days, the country's war crimes tribunal said today.

Salam Chalabi, executive director of the Iraqi Special Tribunal, and the coalition forces agreed to the handover of Saddam, the tribunal said.

“As a consequence over the next few days, the Iraqi authorities will be taking custody of 12 senior members of the previous regime, including Saddam Hussein, this being the first transfer of those senior members who will be charged with the commission of serious crimes,” Chalabi said.

Update to story here.

This morning, we posted a story about Pfc. Keith Maupin, who was taken hostage in Iraq on April 9th.

Fox now has more on the story, though it's still not confirmed.

Iraqi militants killed an American soldier they have held hostage for nearly three months, saying the killing was because the U.S. government did not change its policy in Iraq, Al-Jazeera television reported Tuesday.

….

The Arab satellite station aired video showing a blindfolded man sitting on the ground. Al-Jazeera said that in the next scene, gunmen shoot the man in the back of the head, in front of a hole dug in the ground. It did not show the killing

.

As you're all aware, sovereignty was formally handed over to the interim Iraqi government yesterday, a couple days ahead of schedule (But do you know that a blogger scooped CNN et. al.?).

So, what are the Iraqi bloggers saying about all this?

AP — Strong Explosions Rock Central Baghdad

At least four strong explosions shook the heart of the Iraqi capital early Tuesday, hours after the U.S.-run coalition transferred sovereignty to the interim Iraqi government.

Three strong blasts reverberated through the city about 12:35 a.m. The cause of the blasts was unknown but it appeared the explosions occurred on the western side of the Tigris river where the U.S.-controlled Green Zone is located.

Cross-post from OTB

20 year old Pfc. Keith Matthew Maupin was declared missing after an April 9 convoy attack near Baghdad. He was the first American soldier captured after major combat ended in Iraq.

Now comes this report from Yahoo News:

There are unconfirmed reports that a soldier from the Tri-State kidnapped in April in Iraq has been killed, WLWT has learned.

Pfc. Matt Maupin, 20, of Batavia, Ohio, a member of the 724th Transportation Company, was captured April 9. His convoy was attacked by gunmen using rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons.

According to military representatives close to the Maupin family who spoke to WLWT, sources are reporting that the Al Jazeera TV network has a videotape of Maupin being shot.

The military has not changed Maupin's status, and the report of his death has not been confirmed.

A tape showing Maupin being held by guerillas was released about a week after Maupin was reported missing.

Looking for confirmation. Meanwhile, you can read more about Pfc. Maupin here.

Turkey - NATO leaders opened a summit Monday and agreed to help train Iraq's armed forces just hours after the new government in Baghdad took over sovereignty from the U.S.-led administration.
“We are united in our support for the Iraqi people and offer full cooperation to the new sovereign interim government as it seeks to strengthen internal security,” said a statement adopted in the opening session of the two-day summit.

***

A statement called on alliance officials to “urgently” discuss details of the training plan with the Iraqi authorities, who are struggling to contain a wave of deadly insurgent attacks. NATO said it would also urgently consider “further proposals to support the nascent Iraqi security institutions.”

MEMBERS of Iraq's new government took their oath of office today in a ceremony only hours after the US-run coalition transferred sovereignty, formally ending the US military occupation.

Members of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's new government each stepped forward to place their right hand on the Koran and pledged to accept their new duties with sincerity and impartiality.

Behind them, a bank of Iraqi flags lined the podium.

“Before us is a challenge and a burden and we ask God almighty to give us the patience and guide us to take this country whose people deserves all goodness,” said President Ghazi al-Yawer after taking his oath.

“May God protect Iraq and its citizens.”

Bremer's statement:

“As recognized in U.N. Security Council resolution 1546, the Coalition Provisional Authority will cease to exist on June 28th, at which point the occupation will end and the Iraqi interim government will assume and exercise full sovereign authority on behalf of the Iraqi people. I welcome Iraq's steps to take its rightful place of equality and honor among the free nations of the world. Sincerely, L. Paul Bremer, ex-administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority.”

Bremer left Iraq immediately after the handover.

From Reuters via the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :

An unidentified group of gunmen in Iraq have kidnapped a Pakistani driver and are threatening to behead him within three days unless Iraqi prisoners are released, Al Arabiya television has reported.

”This man was taken after an attack on a US base in Balad,” said one of the masked gunmen on a tape Al Arabiya said it had obtained.

“You must release our prisoners held near the US base in Balad, in Dujail, in Yethrib, in Samarra and near Abu Ghraib. You have three days from the date of this recording and after that we will behead him. We have warned you.”

The tape also showed the Pakistani man, who was wearing an identity card given to contractors linked to the US military, urging Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to shut down his country's embassy in Iraq.

From the AFP via The Australian :

One British soldier has been killed and two have been wounded after a bomb attack on a military convoy in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, the Ministry of Defence said today.

”I can confirm, unfortunately, that one British soldier has been killed and two have been injured,” a Ministry of Defence (MOD) spokeswoman said, without giving any information on the extent of the injuries.

“What we believe so far is that it was an improvised explosive device used against a mobile patrol,” she said. “We believe it exploded under part of the vehicle as it was driving through on its mobile patrol.”
[…]
The MOD said the incident occurred at 6:30 am GMT (15.30 AEST) and that the name and unit of the dead soldier would be released after the next of kin had been informed.

So far just rumors via Reuters, but we'll keep our eyes and ears out for this one:

The U.S. military says it is checking unconfirmed reports that al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been captured in Iraq.

The Jordanian-born Zarqawi, who Washington says is its number one enemy in Iraq, is accused of masterminding a string of suicide bombings and of the execution of an American and a South Korean hostage.

The reports suggested that Zarqawi had been captured near the town of Hilla, south of Baghdad and in the Polish military area of responsibility.

“We are working on that issue,” a U.S. military official said on Monday.

A Polish spokesman added: “I cannot confirm that information… When the operation is ongoing at the moment I cannot make any comment.”

The only other story I can find is from albalwaba news:

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the man believed to be leading the resistance in Iraq, has been captured, the US military said Monday.

Al Zarqawi was America's most wanted man in Iraq.

He is believed to have been behind a number of kidnappings and beheadings.

Reports indicated he had been captured in the town of Hilla, south of Baghdad. The area is under the responsibility of Polish forces

Via the comments, Gen, Kimmitt is dousing water on the rumor:

“It's not true, the reports are not true,” said Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of operations for the US military in Iraq.

“We've heard the reports about it, but they are not true.”

Update: U.S. says it was look-alike:

The U.S. military denied reports Monday that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian militant who Washington says is allied to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, had been captured in Iraq.

“It's not true, the reports are not true,” Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of operations for the U.S. military in Iraq, told Reuters. “We've heard the reports about it, but they are not true.”

Earlier, reports on a U.S.-funded Iraqi radio station had suggested Zarqawi had been captured near the town of Hilla, 100 km (60 miles) south of Baghdad, in an area controlled by Polish troops. Iraqi officials in Hilla said a man had been captured who resembled Zarqawi and spoke with a similar accent.

But Polish forces said the man was not Zarqawi.

Update to this story

VOA:

At a small ceremony Monday morning inside the heavily guarded Green Zone area of Baghdad, Iraq's chief American administrator, Paul Bremer, reading a statement, turned over legal documents to interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, officially giving Iraqis long-awaited sovereignty.

“We welcome Iraq's steps to take its rightful place with equality and honor among the free nations of the world,” said Mr. Bremer.

Prime Minister Allawi thanked the United States. “They helped us in liberating our country, we are very thankful,” said Mr. Allawi.

Mr. Allawi said he requested the early transfer of sovereignty because Iraqis needed to control their own destiny as soon as possible. He says the security of his people is his first priority.

Reuters:

“This is a historic day, a happy day, a day that all Iraqis have been looking forward to,” Iraqi President Ghazi Yawar told the ceremony, which began at 10:26 a.m. (7:26 a.m. British time).

“This is the time when we take the country back into the international community.”

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari:

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said in Istanbul the handover was brought forward to try to avert attacks by insurgents mounting a campaign of bloody attacks.

“I believe that we will challenge these terrorists, criminals, Saddamists and anti-democratic forces by bringing even the date of the handover forward,” he told reporters.

“We want to prove to the Iraqi people and the world that we are in charge. We can manage our own security and can defend ourselves provided we are given the means and support to do that.”

“Those who are counting on Iraq being divided … should revise their assessment.”

Zebari conceded the interim government faced many security challenges but said he didn't think the possibility of civil war existed.

“(There is a) very deadly terrorist network operating there (in Iraq), but we will rise up to responsibility and face those challenges,” he said.

From the AFP via The Australian :

Power in Iraq has been handed over to the interim government, AFP reports.

The US overseer in Iraq, Paul Bremer, would leave Iraq today, a coalition official said, after the US diplomat handed sovereignty back to Iraq in an official ceremony.

Earlier Sky News in the UK said the handover was imminent.

It was possible it would happen within the next 12 hours, according to reports.

A formal announcement would be made later today, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said.

The informal announcement was made by Iraq's foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari.
[…]
“We will challenge these elements in Iraq, the anti-democratic elements, by even bringing the handover of sovereignty before June 30 as a sign we are ready for it,” he said.

UPDATE : From the BBC :

In a low-key ceremony in Baghdad, US administrator Paul Bremer gave legal documents to an Iraqi judge at 1026 local time (0626 GMT).

From The Australian :

An American passenger fatally wounded aboard an Australian RAAF C-130 Hercules in Baghdad was hit by the only bullet to penetrate the aircraft, the Australian Defence Force said today.

Defence spokesman Brigadier Mike Hannan said the aircraft was struck by ground fire soon after it took off from Baghdad airport yesterday.
[…]
“The information we have at the moment is that the person was in the cargo area. There were only three passengers on board the aircraft at the time so the probability of this individual being hit was extremely remote,” Brigadier Hannan said.

“Only one fragment or projectile came through the hull and hit the individual”.
[…]
Brigadier Hannan said the aircraft had transported personnel from the north of Iraq and was heading south. He said it was the first time an Australian aircraft had been hit.

From the AFP via the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :

Two Iraqi children have been killed and eight wounded in a mortar strike on the Tigris river bank near Baghdad's Sheraton Hotel, popular with Western media and businessmen, a local hospital said.

Earlier, a policeman at the site of the attack had said five people were killed by two mortars as they had just finished wading in the Tigris.

A doctor at Al-Kindi hospital corrected the officer's toll and his account of the incident.

The group of boys and young men had been playing football when two mortars burst, sending shrapnel flying, and killed two of them, said Dr Walid Hamid.

“Two children were killed and eight wounded, three of them seriously,” Dr Hamid told AFP.

“They were playing football along the river and Abu Nawas street. We don't know who fired the two mortars,” a witness said.

Blood stained the eastern bank of the Tigris river. The projectiles had gouged a hole in the dirt.

The mortar strike was the source of two loud blasts that shook central Baghdad at 7:05pm local time.

Fox:

An Arab satellite TV network broadcast a videotape Sunday showing a blindfolded man in military fatigues and said he was a U.S. Marine taken hostage in Iraq.

There was no immediate comment from the U.S. military, but the video showed a card identifying the man by a Pakistani name and as an “active duty” Marine. The man had a trimmed moustache and his eyes were covered with a white blindfold.

The Al-Jazeera network said the group claimed it infiltrated a Marine outpost, lured the man outside and abducted him. The station said the group demanded the release of all Iraqis “in occupation jails” or the man would be killed.

The group identified itself as “Islamic Response,” the security wing of the “1920 Revolution Brigades” referring to the uprising against the British after World War I.

There seems to be some confusion as to whether this is a new hostage or if this is the Pakistani taken hostage this morning. The earlier hostage is a civilian employee from Pakistan. From all appearances, the marine is a completely different, though Pakistani, man.

Update: Blogs of War has a still photo of the Marine hostage, showing his ID badge, though the story has still not been officially confirmed by any authority.

Here's the story at Al Jazeera. The AJ story says that the marine was captured after the militants infiltrated a U.S. base. Most other news sources say the hostage was lured into a trap by the group.

Update: The military has confirmed only that the Marine in question has been missing.

KBCI Boise and the AP report that:

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says the United States has no immediate plans to send more troops to Iraq.

In an interview with the B-B-C, Rumsfeld says the task of security “is not to flood a country with more troops.”

He says he has approved a study of the practicality of sending more troops but that doesn't mean they'll be needed.

Noting that the number of troops in Iraq has increased to more than 140-thousand, Rumsfeld said the U-S doesn't want to become “an occupying power.”

News.com.au (Australia) is reporting that elections will take place in Iraq at the end of January, 2005 “as planned.”

FOXNews is reporting that officials have revised the death toll from the dual car bombings in Iraq from 40 to 23.