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Armed gunmen attack Al-Sayid Idrees'' Shrine in Diyali

BAGHDAD, Nov 2 (KUNA) -- Armed gunmen attempted Tuesday evening to blow up one of the religious shrines in the province of Diyali north Baghdad.

An Iraqi Police source asserted that the gunmen were able to destroy the outer fence of Al-Sayid Idrees' Shrine near the province's Police Center between the city of Baqouba and Buhruz.

The source added that no casualties were reported while the shrine was severely damaged.

Several religious shrines in the province of Diyali have been attacked recently including, Imam Mansour Shrine, Al-Sayid Salih Shrine and Imam Askar Shrine in the Baldorz town, in addition to Imam Habbash Shrine in the town of Bazaiz Buhruz and the Imam Mohsin Shrine in Baqouba.

Paying Respect to Those Who've Earned It

Monday, October 31, 2005

Bruce Willis is one of the finest and most successful actors in the world. Further introduction would be redundant. Mr. Willis has been to Iraq with his band and the USO, and has been following the events in Mosul through my dispatches. He has expressed his desire to support our troops to me on numerous occasions. One need only read his website to see how strongly he feels about this: www.brucewillis.com.

And so, Mr. Willis wanted to personally thank American soldiers for their successes and sacrifices in Iraq, and made plans to fly to the Fort Lewis area and thank soldiers who fought so well. Mr. Willis will attend the Deuce Four Ball near Fort Lewis, on November 5th, 2005.

His gesture is being warmly and enthusiastically received by the soldiers, who are looking forward to welcoming Mr. Willis to the Fort Lewis area, and thanking him for his support for American troops.

I also have returned to the USA for the first time this year, and am greatly enjoying being in Seattle, and getting to talk again with the soldiers I lived with in Iraq. Nearly 600 soldiers were killed or wounded from the 1st Brigade (Stryker), 25th Infantry Division, while fighting in Iraq. I visited the newly-built 1st Brigade Memorial, and as I read the names of the fallen etched in the granite face of the memorial, I was humbly reminded of the great price our soldiers continue to pay for my freedom to write and to speak.

I look forward to spending the next week with American soldiers at Fort Lewis and attending the Deuce Four Ball on November 5th. Both Bruce Willis and I are honored to be invited. I will write a full report after the occasion.

The Ball will be the last time the majority of these soldiers will be together; most are being transferred to other units, while many others who were under the Army's stop-loss program will depart the service before Christmas.

I will return to Iraq immediately following the Ball, to continue to write firsthand about the dangers facing our troops and their struggles and successes.

http://michaelyon.blogspot.com/2005/10/paying-respect-to-those-whove-earned.html

British Airways keeps up Tehran service despite blast

11/2/05

LONDON (AFP) - British Airways said its operations in Tehran were continuing as normal despite a small explosion in the building that houses its offices in the Iranian capital.

A BA spokesman in London said no-one was hurt when the "percussive device" -- intended to make more noise than damage -- went off in the building housing the offices of its regional partner British Mediterranean Airways.

"Staff are continuing to work as normal and there has been no impact on BMed services to the city," the spokesman told AFP, adding that security services have been called in.

The Sayeh building also housed the Tehran offices of British Petroleum, as well as a number of other international companies.

A Foreign Office spokesman in London said it had no information that anyone had been killed or injured.

"We are in contact with the affected companies and our embassy staff are at the scene," he added.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051102/bs_afp/iranbritainattack_051102095341