Meanwhile in Iraq

US casualty rate in Iraq worst since Fallujah: The number of US troops being wounded in Iraq is now at its highest level for two years as American forces are confronted by increasing sectarian violence and a continuing insurgency. Figures released by the Pentagon show that 776 soldiers were wounded in action in Iraq last month.

Sunnis change names to avoid Shia death squads: Lurking in the small ads on page 10 of Al Taakhi newspaper was an announcement that Umar Salman wished henceforth to be known as Samir Salman. It was among many similar notices of submissions to the office of national identity requesting name changes.

40 corpses found in occupied Baghdad in past 24 hours: Some 40 corpses have been found in scattered places here in the last 24 hours, an Interior ministry source said on Monday.

Iraq: At least 13 killed, 46 wounded in occupied Baghdad: At least 13 people were killed and 46 wounded when a car bomb exploded in a busy market in northeast Baghdad on Monday, police said.

Another 6 Killed in Ongoing U.S. Occupation: Gunmen killed Amer al-Hashemi, the brother of Iraq's Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi in northern Baghdad late on Sunday, police and members of the Sunni Islamic Party said.

Three Marines killed in western Iraq : The deaths of the three soldiers brought to at least 32 the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq since the start of October.

11 dead as Australian firm linked to food poisoning of police: Hundreds of Iraqi policemen fell sick and 11 may have died from poisoning at a base in southern Iraq after eating food provided by an Australian contractor.

Aid worker for U.S.-based Muslim charity killed in Iraq: A key staffer for a Muslim humanitarian organization based in suburban Detroit was slain in his native Iraq, the group said Monday. Abdul-Sattar Abdullah Al-Mashhadani was killed Saturday at a checkpoint run by one of the sectarian militias in Baghdad, Southfield-based Life for Relief and Development said in a statement.

How Al Qaeda views a long Iraq war: A letter from Al Qaeda leaders found in Iraq shows that the group sees the war as a boon for its cause.

U.S. military deaths in Iraq hit 2,748 Monday, according to count by The Associated Press: As of Monday, Oct. 9, 2006, at least 2,748 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 2,176 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.