Iraq Looking Into Young Girl's Death

An Iraqi medics cleans the wounds of an Iraqi person, injured in mortar attack, in Baqouba, 60 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad,Iraq, Tuesday Aug. 22, 2006, Two rounds of mortars exploded in a market Tuesday, wounding 11, police said. (Mohammed Adnan) (Mohammed Adnan - AP)

"The accused U.S. soldiers were not involved in military action when they committed the crime, so they should not enjoy immunity given to U.S. soldiers," he said. "We are trying to keep this case under the spotlight as long as possible so that it is not forgotten and the criminals are able to get away."

The soldiers accused of rape and murder _ Spc. James P. Barker, Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman and Pfc. Bryan L. Howard _ could face the death penalty if they are convicted by a court-martial. Another soldier, Sgt. Anthony W. Yribe, is accused of failing to report the attack but is not alleged to have been a direct participant.

Former Pfc. Steven D. Green was discharged from the Army for a "personality disorder" after the incident and was arrested in North Carolina in June on rape and murder charges. He has pleaded not guilty in federal court and is being held without bond.

The rape-slaying has increased calls for the withdrawal of American forces at a time when U.S. commanders are trying to stamp out a Sunni Arab insurgency grinding on more than three years after the ouster of Saddam Hussein.

The insurgents hope to restore the power that the Sunni Muslims wielded in this Shiite-majority country during Saddam's rule. The U.S. military says al-Qaida members, both Iraqi and foreigners, have joined the insurgency.

On Tuesday, U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell told reporters that "well over 100 known and suspected al-Qaida terrorists and terrorist associates" were arrested during several raids in the past week.

"All these captures have severely disrupted and disorganized the capability of al-Qaida in Iraq," Caldwell said.

Among those arrested was a Saudi Arabian al-Qaida member, who was preparing Iraqi men for suicide operations, a U.S. statement said.

Also arrested, in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, was a suspect who allegedly was directly linked to the Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra.

The attack triggered a cycle of tit-for-tat attacks by Shiites and Sunnis in sectarian violence that many fear could lead to a civil war.

For ordinary Iraqis, the precarious security situation has been made worse by the harsh living conditions _ long power cuts and fuel shortages.

On Tuesday, about 550 employees of the Iraqi Pipes and Lines Company in the southern cities of Basra and Nasiriyah went on strike to demand higher pay.

The company runs tankers and pipelines, transporting oil and gas from the Shuaiba refinery in Basra to electricity stations, factories and companies in southern Iraq.

Also Tuesday, former electricity minister Ayham al-Samaraie was arrested on corruption charges after he surrendered to a court, Judge Radhi al-Radhi, chief of the Public Integrity Commission, said. Al-Samaraie, a dual Iraq-U.S. citizen and Sunni Arab political figure, was a member of the transitional government set up after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.