Bush warns of heavier casualties in bid to crush insurgency (Iraqis)

[ProSense]

U.S. warns of heavier casualties in Iraq

By Dean Yates and Aseel Kami
12 minutes ago

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The United States said on Monday its military was expecting to suffer heavier casualties as it pushed into "tougher neighborhoods" in a bid to crush insurgency in Iraq.

The White House warning came on a day when 25 people were killed near Ramadi in two suicide bombings police blamed on al Qaeda. They were the latest in a string of big car bombings across Iraq in recent weeks that have killed hundreds despite a U.S.-backed security crackdown in Baghdad and outlying areas.

"We are getting to the point now with the Baghdad security plan where there is going to be real engagement in tougher neighborhoods and you're likely to see escalating levels of casualties," White House spokesman Tony Snow said.

"We've known that, been saying it all along. We're getting into some of the grittiest security operations."

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Winning = Killing more Iraqis

U.S. colonel shot while surveying Baghdad wall

41 minutes ago

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A U.S. combat brigade commander was shot by a sniper while surveying the construction of a wall to protect a Sunni Arab enclave in Baghdad, the U.S. military said on Monday.

Colonel Billy Don Farris, commander of the 2nd "Falcon" Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, was shot in eastern Adhamiya on May 3, a statement said.

Farris, who was hit by a single bullet, was evacuated from the area and is in stable condition.

Initial plans to build a controversial 5-km (3-mile) wall with concrete barriers up to 12 feet high drew bitter complaints from residents in Adhamiya, which is surrounded on three sides by Shi'ite districts.

They said the project would isolate them from other communities and sharpen sectarian tensions.

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