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WH: Bush to announce end of major Iraq combatFallujah sees second clash between U.S. troops, protesters
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush will announce the end of "major combat operations" in the Iraqi war in a televised speech Thursday night aboard a returning U.S. aircraft carrier, the White House said Wednesday. Gen. Tommy Franks, commander of U.S. forces in the region, has told Bush that the need for extensive combat operations has passed, the White House said. Bush is expected to say that the focus of U.S. troops remaining in Iraq will be on providing security and rebuilding the country, which a U.S.-led military coalition invaded March 20. (Full story) But White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Bush would not announce the end of the war when he addresses the nation. "This is not a formal, legalistic ending of combat, but [an announcement that] major combat operations have ended," Fleischer said. "From a legal point of view, this is not the end of hostilities." The president is set to make the announcement from the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln, Fleischer said. The carrier is making its way across the Pacific from the Persian Gulf region, where it took part in the Iraqi war, making a stop in San Diego, California. The address is scheduled for 9 p.m. EDT Thursday. The Lincoln will be more than 100 miles off the California coast at the time Bush speaks, Fleischer said. The White House announcement will come at a time of tension in parts of Iraq, marked by confrontations this week between U.S. troops and Iraqis at a town west of Baghdad. Two demonstrators were killed and 15 wounded Wednesday in Fallujah, according to hospital officials, when U.S. forces fired at Iraqis who gathered to protest a Monday clash that killed at least 15 Iraqis. (Full story) The captain in charge of U.S. forces said he was uncertain if his troops fired at the demonstrators Wednesday. He told CNN's Karl Penhaul that Iraqi protesters shot at a U.S. convoy as it passed by the demonstration, and the forces fired warning shots, then possibly opened fire on the protesters. "All I know is a couple hundred people gathered out in the streets; they threw rocks, so we shot back, and they all ran down that way," one U.S. soldier said. Protesters were demonstrating against Monday's deadly clash at an elementary school in Fallujah that left at least 15 civilians dead and wounded up to 53 others, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Among the dead were three boys under the age of 11, Red Cross officials said. The violence broke out as protesters approached members of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division -- based at the school -- and demanded that they leave, according to a telecommunications engineer. Iraqis said U.S. troops fired on the protesters first, while U.S. Central Command said the Iraqis shot at the soldiers first with AK-47 rifles. (Full story) In Baghdad, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld appealed to the Iraqi people Wednesday to help the U.S.-led coalition capture former officials of Saddam Hussein's regime and to find "foreign fighters" seeking to "hijack" the country. The defense secretary is the most senior U.S. official to visit the nation since the removal of Saddam's regime. (On the Scene: Barbara Starr) Rumsfeld recorded a radio and television speech for national broadcast. During the address, he credited the Iraqi people for their help in capturing senior leaders from the toppled government. "We need your help to capture the rest of them," Rumsfeld said. "We also need to get rid of foreign fighters, those from neighboring countries who are seeking to hijack your country for their own purposes." Rumsfeld also said reconstruction efforts in Iraq have resulted in improved conditions. "In fact, in a number of parts of the country, people already have more food, water and electricity than they had under the old regime," Rumsfeld said. "But some do not have these necessities, and the coalition is working day and night to help provide them." The defense secretary also met and talked with U.S. soldiers, thanking them for their service. (Full story) Railroad test run
The British military and Iraqi railroad workers Wednesday made a test run of a vital rail line from Baghdad south to the port city of Umm Qasr. Expected to open for passengers Saturday, the train line should be a boon to the U.N. World Food Program, which plans to move some 140,000 tons of food per month along the route. The train also is expected to bring fuel oil from Umm Qasr to Baghdad to power electric plants in the Iraqi capital. Meanwhile, senior Bush administration officials said Tuesday that U.S. forces have captured a member of an al Qaeda-affiliated terror group operating in Iraq. Officials did not provide his name. Sources said the captive belongs to a group operating west of Baghdad under the leadership of Abu Musab al Zarqawi, a Jordanian who U.S. officials allege masterminded the October assassination of U.S. diplomat Lawrence Foley in Amman. Zarqawi was said to have received medical treatment in Baghdad in May and June 2002 after being wounded during the war in Afghanistan. A surgeon in Iraq amputated his leg, U.S. officials said. (Full story) Other developments• A letter attributed to ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein calls on Iraqis to band together to fight occupying U.S. and British troops, saying they "will only bring you poison." The letter was published Wednesday in the London-based Arabic newspaper al Quds. Staffers at the paper told CNN they received the letter by fax Tuesday and that it appeared to be in Saddam's handwriting. It told Iraqis: "God is with you, because you are fighting the sinners and protecting your rights." (Full story) • Iraqi Christian leaders on Wednesday called for an Iraq "without religious or ethnic distinction" as the country adjusts to the post-Saddam era. In a statement issued for Iraq's patriarchs and bishops by the Vatican, the religious leaders asked that a new Iraqi constitution "consider Christians as Iraqi citizens with full rights." • U.S. troops have found a number of graves in Iraq that may contain the bodies of Kuwaiti soldiers, a Pentagon official told CNN Wednesday. The graves, said to be under 20 in number, were discovered near the town of Ramadi, about 50 miles west of Baghdad. Officials believe some of the remains could be Kuwaiti because military uniforms were found in some of the graves appear to have Kuwaiti military identification. Investigators have been asked to come and examine the sight, officials said. • The Iraqi lawyer who officials say took great risks to help with the rescue of Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch has been granted asylum in the United States. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced that the man, previously known only as Muhammad, has been granted asylum along with his wife and daughter. (Full story) EDITOR'S NOTE: CNN's policy is to not report information that puts operational security at risk.
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