http://my.earthlink.net/article/int?guid=20061022/453c3e40_3ca6_1552620061023-512458262Attacks Kill 44 in Iraq As Ramadan EndsBy HAMZA HENDAWI (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
October 23, 2006 12:51 AM EDT
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Militants targeted police recruits and shoppers rounding up last-minute sweets and delicacies Sunday for a feast to mark the end of the Ramadan holy month, the highlight of the Muslim year. At least 44 Iraqis were reported killed across the country.
The U.S. military announced the deaths of a Marine and four soldiers, raising to 83 the number of American servicemembers killed in October - the highest monthly toll this year. The pace of U.S. deaths could make October the deadliest month in two years.
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"There will be no holiday in Iraq," said Abu Marwa, a 46-year-old Sunni Muslim father of three who owns a mobile phone shop in the capital. "Anyone who says otherwise is a liar."
In Sunday's bloodiest attack, gunmen in five sedans ambushed a convoy of buses carrying police recruits near the city of Baqouba 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, killing at least 15 and wounding 25 others, said provincial police chief Maj. Gen. Ghassan al-Bawi. The recruits were returning home after an induction ceremony at a police base south of Baqouba.
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The United Nations has said at least 100 Iraqis are now killed daily.